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Ampeg Little Stud.
- Thread starter ErikP.Bass
- Start date
Hello, Fellow Boston Craigslist browser.
I had one back in the day.
Perhaps I had a bad one, but it was quite thin in sound, yet very heavy in weight.
I had one back in the day.
Perhaps I had a bad one, but it was quite thin in sound, yet very heavy in weight.
they actualy don't sound too bad when you consider the fact that they have a plywood body, they weigh a ton, don't have much sustain. The sound isn't too bad.They were built in a time where set ups ment shimms and they generaly needed one or two.It is a fun bass to mess around with, own a piece of history, hang on your wall, but if you need something to gig with ,unless you are the hulk, I would keep looking, IMHO.
The Ampeg Stud series guitars and basses are from 1974. They were made for Ampeg by one of the large Japanese manufacturers (I forget which one) and sold only here in the US for less than a year. There are five models, three guitars and two basses. The guitars are the Stud, the Heavy Stud and the Super Stud. The basses are the Little Stud and the Big Stud. The styling is a mix of Fender and Gibson; Fender bodies and Gibson headstocks. I have both a Little Stud and a Big Stud in my Ampeg collection.
The construction is typical for '70's Japanese instruments. The woodworking and paint are fairly nice, but the pickups and hardware are cheezy. Both the bodies and the necks are laminated up from thin layers of mystery wood. If I remember right, the neck is 11 laminations and the body is 22 laminations! They are heavy and stiff. Mine have good sustain, but a thin weak tone from the pickups. I've heard from a few owners who have modified their Studs with better pickups, tuners, and bridges, and made them into good solid players.
As far as I know, the Studs were only available in three colors: all black, a transparent golden yellow, and a dark transparent red. We've never been able to uncover the production numbers, but it's not many. I'd guess that only a few hundred of each model total were made. They are rare, but not worth very much. Not many collectors are interested. A nice clean all original one, like that black Little Stud that Erik P. Bass linked to might sell for $500 or so. Most sell for $100-$200.
The construction is typical for '70's Japanese instruments. The woodworking and paint are fairly nice, but the pickups and hardware are cheezy. Both the bodies and the necks are laminated up from thin layers of mystery wood. If I remember right, the neck is 11 laminations and the body is 22 laminations! They are heavy and stiff. Mine have good sustain, but a thin weak tone from the pickups. I've heard from a few owners who have modified their Studs with better pickups, tuners, and bridges, and made them into good solid players.
As far as I know, the Studs were only available in three colors: all black, a transparent golden yellow, and a dark transparent red. We've never been able to uncover the production numbers, but it's not many. I'd guess that only a few hundred of each model total were made. They are rare, but not worth very much. Not many collectors are interested. A nice clean all original one, like that black Little Stud that Erik P. Bass linked to might sell for $500 or so. Most sell for $100-$200.
The Little Stud pickup cover hides a metal-covered single-coil pickup. I seem to remember the Little Stud had a different pickguard, I've only seen it in pictures and could be remembering wrongly.
Off Topic: The Big Stud however was the very first bass guitar I ever played, and I played that sucker for two years! My school owned one, and I was 12. I used to haul that plus our old Traynor tube combo (YBA amp with a 15" speaker) home every couple of weekends, but most of the time just the Big Stud.
It is remembered as being a piece of crap - likely due to having been hauled home by so many kids over the years - but truthfully was a perfectly serviceable bass for its time. Heavy... And the strap pins kept falling out on account of being stripped because the holes were drilled into the edge of plywood. The pickups were noisy - one single coil and a bridge humbucker, both with metal covers, Gibson or Telecaster-style. Pickup selector switch. The knobs kept falling off. This was in 1982-84, when it would have been just a few years old. These days - there are many, many MUCH better places to spend $650 (!!!!) than on one of these plywood wonders.
Off Topic: The Big Stud however was the very first bass guitar I ever played, and I played that sucker for two years! My school owned one, and I was 12. I used to haul that plus our old Traynor tube combo (YBA amp with a 15" speaker) home every couple of weekends, but most of the time just the Big Stud.
It is remembered as being a piece of crap - likely due to having been hauled home by so many kids over the years - but truthfully was a perfectly serviceable bass for its time. Heavy... And the strap pins kept falling out on account of being stripped because the holes were drilled into the edge of plywood. The pickups were noisy - one single coil and a bridge humbucker, both with metal covers, Gibson or Telecaster-style. Pickup selector switch. The knobs kept falling off. This was in 1982-84, when it would have been just a few years old. These days - there are many, many MUCH better places to spend $650 (!!!!) than on one of these plywood wonders.
Yes, the Big Stud and Little Stud have different styling and different pickguards. The Little Stud looks like a P-bass with a Gibson headstock. The Big Stud is more like a Tele or Jazz, with the controls in a chrome plate. They both have a single pickup in a chrome cover. I think it's the same pickup in both models. I haven't looked at mine in a while. The black and red instruments have black pickguards. The golden yellow instruments have white fake pearl pickguards. My Big Stud is one of those, a glitzy cowboy looking bass. My Little Stud is red with the black pickguard, a decent looking bass.
The bodies aren't really "plywood". They are glued up out of a whole bunch of thin layers, but the grain all goes the same direction. The wood is fairly hard, about like soft maple. The paint is thick, probably a polyester. Yeah, all of the hardware is cheap. Soft metal, bad fit, bad plating.
The bodies aren't really "plywood". They are glued up out of a whole bunch of thin layers, but the grain all goes the same direction. The wood is fairly hard, about like soft maple. The paint is thick, probably a polyester. Yeah, all of the hardware is cheap. Soft metal, bad fit, bad plating.
It's a little more than a wall hanger, y'all.
I had one of these. My bassist found one with the case, it was blond, sitting at a pawn shop gathering a lot of dust. The place mostly dealt in firearms. He bought it for $50 and when he got back with the thing we were all floored... It sounded like crap. But he used it and when he needed money I bought it. I had a plan.
I took the bridge off a replaced it with those 'finger' bridge/saddle combos. Took the tuners off as they were missing bushings and put a lighter set on. We found a small crack in the neck and got it with the glue. Last thing I did was put some Gibson speed knobs on it.
I was in a another band at the time and I took it to practice. I hadn't played it loud. We just had it on a little 5W. Man, put a little work into it and that pick up ain't so cheesy.
It had articulation to the point of being breathy if played softly. With the same stock electronics & the removal of the two barrel bridge the tone was huge.
I sold it back to him and we recorded with it. We played shows and night after night it delivered. Sadly he had to sell it and I wasn't around to buy it. Some kid out there is loving it.
My bassist did find a black one and now all is right again if wrong is right.
Yes, it weighs a ton and makes you look like you really should grow out your sideburns. If you can get the leisure suit all the better.
And ya know what else? I got a trophy for this post. Go me!
I had one of these. My bassist found one with the case, it was blond, sitting at a pawn shop gathering a lot of dust. The place mostly dealt in firearms. He bought it for $50 and when he got back with the thing we were all floored... It sounded like crap. But he used it and when he needed money I bought it. I had a plan.
I took the bridge off a replaced it with those 'finger' bridge/saddle combos. Took the tuners off as they were missing bushings and put a lighter set on. We found a small crack in the neck and got it with the glue. Last thing I did was put some Gibson speed knobs on it.
I was in a another band at the time and I took it to practice. I hadn't played it loud. We just had it on a little 5W. Man, put a little work into it and that pick up ain't so cheesy.
It had articulation to the point of being breathy if played softly. With the same stock electronics & the removal of the two barrel bridge the tone was huge.
I sold it back to him and we recorded with it. We played shows and night after night it delivered. Sadly he had to sell it and I wasn't around to buy it. Some kid out there is loving it.
My bassist did find a black one and now all is right again if wrong is right.
Yes, it weighs a ton and makes you look like you really should grow out your sideburns. If you can get the leisure suit all the better.
And ya know what else? I got a trophy for this post. Go me!
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