Best of DA Registry
In no particular order, here's some interesting Dan Armstrong items we've come across.
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Here's an amazing pickup set that was being offered in Japan for ¥120,000, or just a little over US$1,000. That's a fantastic bargain for five pickups, especially since you get the brochure and several boxes as part of the package.
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Here's a project you don't see everyday - somebody making a custom concrete body for their Dan Armstrong bass neck and going for the ultimate sustain machine. Note all the detail work that went into making the mold, etc. - you have to think this whole thing through upfront, no going back and fixing it later. |
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Here's the interim step when the concrete is poured and you're just crossing your fingers that it will turn out correctly. The photo to the right shows the technician drilling bolt holes for the neck. |
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After curing, the concrete body is removed from the mold... |
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And the final assembly of neck, bridge and electronics begins. |
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And here's the finished project. And yes, it's 100% and guaranteed that nobody else is going to show up at the Friday night jam session with a concrete bass. |
It's common knowledge that the Dan Armstrong formica pickguard is a weak point of the design, especially around the input jack where there's a lot of stress. Some guys solve the problem by putting a large washer around the jack; some guys just live dangerously and leave it alone.
But a prior owner of this bass has really thought outside the box and gone in a whole new direction. A genuine Fender Stratocaster input jack! As you can see, it just barely fits in the space, and part of the lucite body has been routed to accommodate the longer jack body. You'd better like it because there's no turning back now. This is one of the more audacious mods we've seen, but there's some mechanical sense to it as well. The angled plug transfers stress and strain in a parallel path to the top, rather than perpendicular to thin formica as in the OEM design. There's something to this idea that could be explored.
But a prior owner of this bass has really thought outside the box and gone in a whole new direction. A genuine Fender Stratocaster input jack! As you can see, it just barely fits in the space, and part of the lucite body has been routed to accommodate the longer jack body. You'd better like it because there's no turning back now. This is one of the more audacious mods we've seen, but there's some mechanical sense to it as well. The angled plug transfers stress and strain in a parallel path to the top, rather than perpendicular to thin formica as in the OEM design. There's something to this idea that could be explored.
Here's one that's been fully modified (A1426D), including a neck pickup that's been installed over the bolt area. We're dying to know just how that's been accomplished, and how much stability is left of the neck/body joint.
Bridge, pickups, pickguard, headstock, body, neck and knobs have all been altered in some way or replaced. The only thing left that's truly original might be the strap buttons
Bridge, pickups, pickguard, headstock, body, neck and knobs have all been altered in some way or replaced. The only thing left that's truly original might be the strap buttons
I found this guy on Craigslist in 2011 selling a strat-style guitar with an embedded Sustain Treble pickup. Here's the listing:
KILLER STRAT (LA) CUSTOM PERFORMANCE STRAT - With 1969 Dan Armstrong Humbucker (rare & awesome tone) black art deco, great Performance--made in HOLLYWOOD, CA-maple neck, Floyd Rose Tremolo, outstanding w/HSC - $895--
If you look closely, there appears to be some kind of black plastic bezel surrounding the pickup, almost as if someone created a unit to just drop in. Perhaps that was done to accommodate the banana jacks on the pickup, but in any event it's a hell of an installation. I guess the guy just had to have the sound of an ST... It's certainly unique, and the pickup itself is probably worth $500 if not damaged so seems like a reasonable deal for the entire guitar. And where is it now?
KILLER STRAT (LA) CUSTOM PERFORMANCE STRAT - With 1969 Dan Armstrong Humbucker (rare & awesome tone) black art deco, great Performance--made in HOLLYWOOD, CA-maple neck, Floyd Rose Tremolo, outstanding w/HSC - $895--
If you look closely, there appears to be some kind of black plastic bezel surrounding the pickup, almost as if someone created a unit to just drop in. Perhaps that was done to accommodate the banana jacks on the pickup, but in any event it's a hell of an installation. I guess the guy just had to have the sound of an ST... It's certainly unique, and the pickup itself is probably worth $500 if not damaged so seems like a reasonable deal for the entire guitar. And where is it now?
Here's another funny Dan Armstrong formica repair that we found. To be sure, formica patches, washers, repairs, etc., are nothing new with Dan Armstrongs. But what's truly enterprising here is how someone sourced an old AM-FM ratio escutcheon plate, in brown wood-grain formica no less, and screwed it right over the problem area.
That's an old school repair and you have to love it.
That's an old school repair and you have to love it.
There's no mistaking this body shape. Here's a custom-made guitar I found (Craigslist again), which has some interesting features besides the basic Dan Armstrong shape. By using wood for the body, the luthier was able to improve the basic DA neck joint by gluing in the neck and extending the neck tenon deep into the body. It's at least twice as long as a standard DA tenon and looks to be extremely stable. Here's the ad...
"Fritz Brothers P-90 Guitar. This guitar was a custom build by Roger Fritz of Fritz Brothers guitars. Roger has made guitars for Keith Richards and Roy Buchanan, as well as the main guitar George Harrison used on tour with Clapton in the 90's."
"The body and neck of this guitar were hand carved from a gorgeous piece of old growth Black Walnut, and the fretboard is slab Brazilian Rosewood. The finish is hand rubbed gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. The neck is a copy of a 1960's Gibson SG profile. It is a very fast and comfortable neck. The body is somewhere between a '59 Gibson Les Paul Special and a Dan Armstrong model guitar. It has a long tenon one piece neck design that extends through the bridge to increase sustain. The pickups are Lollar P-90's, tuners are locking Sperzels. The nut and other hardware was custom crafted from stainless steel by Roger Fritz. The guitar comes with a custom G&G case marked with the Fritz Bros. logo."
"Fritz Brothers P-90 Guitar. This guitar was a custom build by Roger Fritz of Fritz Brothers guitars. Roger has made guitars for Keith Richards and Roy Buchanan, as well as the main guitar George Harrison used on tour with Clapton in the 90's."
"The body and neck of this guitar were hand carved from a gorgeous piece of old growth Black Walnut, and the fretboard is slab Brazilian Rosewood. The finish is hand rubbed gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. The neck is a copy of a 1960's Gibson SG profile. It is a very fast and comfortable neck. The body is somewhere between a '59 Gibson Les Paul Special and a Dan Armstrong model guitar. It has a long tenon one piece neck design that extends through the bridge to increase sustain. The pickups are Lollar P-90's, tuners are locking Sperzels. The nut and other hardware was custom crafted from stainless steel by Roger Fritz. The guitar comes with a custom G&G case marked with the Fritz Bros. logo."