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Ampeg scroll basses (aeb-1, amb-1)
- Thread starter link wray
- Start date
Don't wish to double post so here goes a link to my other post about the Ampeg Devil Bass. Mine is a fretless one and I agree with whats been said before. The neck is wonderful. The tone is sweet too. Not something you can play everyday but still its great to have it in the house... Enjoy!
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/holy-moly-devil-bass-617160/#post11199686
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/holy-moly-devil-bass-617160/#post11199686
It was cool at times in my AUB-1, but I think the way the idea was implemented in the Ampeg Baby Bass was probably a little more successful given the taller saddle and break-angle as a result (just speculation on my part, but I do like that Baby Bass sound). Of course @Bruce Johnson probably knows more about these than anyone so hopefully chimes in.
It’s been a long time since I had it, but as I recall my Mystery Pickup was pretty touchy- it worked when I bought the bass, then didn’t work one day and I just didn’t pay it much mind anyway as someone had added a P pickup to the bass at some point with a pickup switch and that sound worked better for me anyway. Some time later I was curious and flipped the switch and the diaphragm pickup was working again (I had cleaned up the soldering and replaced the disintegrating pickup switch at some point in the meantime which may have contributed, but the DCR readings I got from the Mystery Pickup were always pretty strange and inconsistent even when it worked so I suspect there also may have been a sometimes shorted coil). It did continue working from that point FWIW, but I didn’t totally trust it to use it live with that pickup. Soundwise it was a strange thing with a tendency to be kinda “honky” with a bit of a subtle ringing frequency that couldn’t quite be dialed out. In a mix and when specifically trying to play more “upright-like” with short notes it could work nicely and actually mixed well with the P pickup (when I bought it the two pickups were actually audibly out of phase, which is part of why I messed with the shoddy wiring to begin with, then replaced the P pickup later). I can certainly understand why it was discontinued given the relatively complicated setup and hardware required (plus the extra-long strings) vs the actual sound. It was a cool idea for sure, but I guess there’s a reason such a thing hasn’t really been played with much with a bass guitar since (that I’m aware of).
Everything you ever want to know about the original Ampeg Scroll Basses and my new Scroll Basses is in this thread. It's been going on for 12 years, and is currently at 449 pages:
