Ampeg Armstrong Plexi Bass Sustains Like a Brick Wall
Ampeg's Armstrong Plexi Bass is a reissue of a 1967 design, and this time it's back for good. There are a lot of structural improvements to prevent damage, but one of the coolest features is the 2 slide-in interchangeable pickups. Ampeg plans to expand the range of pickup choices in the future, but for now we think two will do just fine.
The original idea behind the plexi was for sustain. The Plexi Bass is indeed really heavy, but Ampeg will soon bring out the lighter wooden version, which will also be lighter on the wallet. Hear more of the specs in the Gearwire video.
BILL HOLLAND: Welcome back to Gearwire.Com. I'm Bill Holland, and we are live in Anaheim for Winter NAMM 2008, and I'm here with Kent Armstrong, looking at the new clear bass. Tell me about the revisions in this. I know this is a reissue of a classic but you're bringing it back for good. It's not a limited edition.
DAN ARMSTRONG: No. It's back here to stay. Ampeg decided that the demand was so great for this they thought, "Well, let's bring it back," and currently the model comes with two interchangeable pickups, and we're going to expand the range to be almost infinite because the package is so big, we can actually produce just about anything from humbuckers to single coils to the sound. And the uniqueness of it is you can change the pickups. Compared to the original ones, the pickup was not slide-in. So, we can literally change the pickup in seconds.
BILL HOLLAND: So, anything you want. Put it in --
DAN ARMSTRONG: Anything you want. It can be done on the bass.
BILL HOLLAND: That's awesome.
DAN ARMSTRONG: That's the way it does. So, in general, it's pretty much the same. We made little improvements: better controls. The pickguard now has got a metal back plating so nothing can pull out and break. We've just -- thumb rests, better bolt-on neck system. The pickup is now 21st generation; it's screened and shielded, it's hot waxed, it's better potting, just -- it's just brought into the 21st century from a 1960 design. You know this was...
BILL HOLLAND: That's awesome.
DAN ARMSTRONG: ...designed '67 right into 2000, so it's really for this millenia, and it still got the same heavy weight. And, of course, we're now also going to be bringing out the new wooden versions of these. Same system of ramping in pickups, but of course the body will be now made of wood.
BILL HOLLAND: So, it will be a little bit lighter.
DAN ARMSTRONG: Quite a bit lighter, and of course the cost will be quite significantly different because...
BILL HOLLAND: Oh yeah.
DAN ARMSTRONG: ...Plexiglas is an expensive material especially with oil prices going up.
BILL HOLLAND: Now, what I've wondered is with Plexiglas, what does that do for your tone? Compared to wood, what -- does that do anything different?
DAN ARMSTRONG: The original design reason was for sustain. The heavier an object is, the less likely it is to absorb frequency. If you were to string up a brick wall, it's going to sustain forever.
BILL HOLLAND: Yeah.
DAN ARMSTRONG: Well, it's the same sort of concept. This is your brick wall. It's heavy but you hit a note and it just rings and rings and rings and it doesn't decay.
BILL HOLLAND: Okay, so it makes so much sense. I mean I'm not a bass player but that makes a lot of sense to me coming from guitar and piano. SO, well thank you again, Kent. I really appreciate it.
DAN ARMSTRONG: No problem. Thank you very much.
BILL HOLLAND: And we'll be back with more from Winter NAMM 2008 in Anaheim in a little bit. I'm Bill Holland for Gearwire.Com.
Wow, I want one. Nobody
Wow, I want one. Nobody wants interchangeable pickups, they want the plexiglass.
it's pretty cool
but it's really heavy. The advantage is that (like he says) it's like plucking strings against a wall. boing!
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