How many Dan Armstrong guitars did Ampeg manufacture?
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Updated October 2023
This website has documented over 250 Dan Armstrong guitars, providing a rich data set for estimating the total number of guitars manufactured by Ampeg during the 1969-1971 production run. The actual math is quite simple. The key data points are the serial number of the first guitar, the serial number of the last guitar, and whether Ampeg employed a strict sequential numbering system in between. The starting serial number seems to be well documented. According to the www.danarmstrong.org web site and based on that site's research and interviews with Dan Armstrong, the first 100 serial numbers (i.e., A001D through A100D) were reserved for prototype guitars, although it seems unlikely that anything near that number were ever produced. But by all accounts, A101D is thought to be the first official production guitar. What this means is that even in this early stage, Ampeg was not being completely strict in employing a sequential numbering system, but rather jumping ahead to a convenient number for the first production guitar. The ending point is a little murkier, but can be reasonably estimated. Based on guitars that have surfaced so far, the highest serial number we’ve seen is A2850D, with several other documented guitars just below that. Our rough guess is that production ended right around A2850D, but time will tell as more guitars surface and change hands to new owners. |
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So with a starting serial number of A101D and a theoretical ending point of A2850D, that means approximately 2,750 guitars were produced over the 1969-1971 production run. But it’s actually much less than that. If you look at this website’s Guitar Gallery page, you will see that no guitars have surfaced with serial numbers in the 1600 – 1999 range. We have documented guitars with serial numbers as high as 1588 and as low as 2003, but nothing in between. This is statistically improbable in a group of over 250 guitars, particularly when the universe of serial numbers in the Guitar Gallery is otherwise evenly distributed across the range of possible values. For convenience, we have shaded the serial number range between A1601D and A2000D to highlight this difference.
The explanation for the missing serial numbers is likely related to Ampeg's decision to change the wiring specification during the middle of the production run. On March 18, 1971, Ampeg released Product Bulletin #17, which covers the procedure for dealers to convert the older wiring spec to the newer configuration. Importantly, the bulletin states that "This procedure applies to Armstrong guitars with serial numbers below A2000D." What this also implies is that the new wiring configuration began with guitar A2001D. Just as Ampeg jumped ahead to serial number A101D when it started retail production, we believe Ampeg jumped ahead approximately 400 serial numbers when it changed the wiring spec. Why such a big jump? We believe Ampeg wanted to establish a simple and clear boundary between the older and newer versions, and starting the updated version at A2000D would be easy to remember, especially when dealers were working with customers out in the field. "Below A2000D" was a dividing line that could be easily remembered by everyone. Again, time will tell whether guitars in the 1601 - 1999 range were ever produced.
Based on our research, we currently estimate that 2,350 Dan Armstrong guitars were produced between 1969 and 1971. That’s not very many. Consider that 2,751 goldtop Les Pauls were produced in 1969 alone according to The Gibson Les Paul Book by Tony Bacon & Paul Day (p. 82). Which leads us to our final conclusion – Dan Armstrong’s seem undervalued in the current vintage guitar market based on their rarity and ties to well-known guitarists like Keith Richards, Ron Wood and many others. So when you come across a nice example, consider adding to the collection!
The explanation for the missing serial numbers is likely related to Ampeg's decision to change the wiring specification during the middle of the production run. On March 18, 1971, Ampeg released Product Bulletin #17, which covers the procedure for dealers to convert the older wiring spec to the newer configuration. Importantly, the bulletin states that "This procedure applies to Armstrong guitars with serial numbers below A2000D." What this also implies is that the new wiring configuration began with guitar A2001D. Just as Ampeg jumped ahead to serial number A101D when it started retail production, we believe Ampeg jumped ahead approximately 400 serial numbers when it changed the wiring spec. Why such a big jump? We believe Ampeg wanted to establish a simple and clear boundary between the older and newer versions, and starting the updated version at A2000D would be easy to remember, especially when dealers were working with customers out in the field. "Below A2000D" was a dividing line that could be easily remembered by everyone. Again, time will tell whether guitars in the 1601 - 1999 range were ever produced.
Based on our research, we currently estimate that 2,350 Dan Armstrong guitars were produced between 1969 and 1971. That’s not very many. Consider that 2,751 goldtop Les Pauls were produced in 1969 alone according to The Gibson Les Paul Book by Tony Bacon & Paul Day (p. 82). Which leads us to our final conclusion – Dan Armstrong’s seem undervalued in the current vintage guitar market based on their rarity and ties to well-known guitarists like Keith Richards, Ron Wood and many others. So when you come across a nice example, consider adding to the collection!
Dan Armstrong Guitar Production 1969 - 1971 |
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Estimated Final Serial Number
Less Prototype Serial Numbers Less 'Skipped' Serial Numbers Estimated Total DA Guitars |
2,850
-100 -400 = 2,350 |