Ampeg Dan Armstrong copy

[Chris P.]

I stop buying basses now for a while.

As a '70s Faces and Stones fan I always fancied a see through Dan Armstrong bass. Real ones are around 3000 euros/dollars (Euro and Dollar are 1:1 at the moment) plus shipping, VAT, etc. A friend bought a copy at the NAMM, installed a Nordstrand and he loves it, so I went looking for one,

I bought this one on Aliexpress recently. The bass + shipping + taxes + i port duties were € 260  ($ 260) in total. A steal. It's very well made, I have to work on the action. It doesn't sound that good, the neck isn't that nice, but hey: who cares?  Maybe I'll look out for a decent MM pickup, but I see it more as a bass for pics, videos, etc. I don't want to spend too much moneys on it.

[gearHed289]

Hard to go wrong at that price. Standard pickup shape gives you lots of options.

[Alanko]

I had a Chinese Dan Armstrong copy for a week or so. I struggled with it. It had one or two fatal flaws sadly.

[godofthunder]

   I just took delivery of one of these and I have to say it's beautifully made. Great neck, excellent fret work and the body is a piece of machined acrylic art. Plays great. The pickup is a little lack luster but my DOD pre amp pedal gives it a good boost. For $299 I couldn't be happier.  I've played a original one more than one occasion and this beats them hands down.

[BTL]

Very nice, congrats!

[morrow]

I was looking at those recently as I had heard several recent reviews that raved about the overall quality. People were simply amazed at the price and service. They were quite prepared for an absolute POS to arrive , and quite happy with what arrived. I was all set until I realized these were not short scales like the originals.
And when I heard the godofthunder was looking too , my curiosity has been up.
I might still ask about a smaller shortscale model.
I’m also looking at a UniVox High-Flier , I seem to be in a weird cheap bass mode.

[Pilgrim]

The Univox Hi-Flyers and their clones have a great look, are light and easy on the shoulder, and are fun basses to play.  And a Good Univox isn't cheap any more!

[morrow]

I have a line on the second version , reasonable price. So raised headstock logo , black pickups. I understand there were four versions. I have a surprising number of friends that owned one around fifty years ago. Some simply hated them , and some love them. I found it interesting to learn that Roger Rossmeisl was a mentor to a young Semie Moseley. He worked at Rickenbacker.
So I’ve been down that rabbit hole , I’ve got far too much stuff as it is , but I’m fascinated. Herself is ok with me cluttering up the house with basses. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one arrive.
And I’m still curious to see if there’s a shortscale lucite somewhere in China …

[godofthunder]

   A Merry Christmas to all.  A short video of my Armstrong copy.

[morrow]

I wish it was a short scale.

[Dave W]

The latest from Scott.

[godofthunder]

  I took the Armstrong to my Sabbath/Ozzy tribute and I was more than impressed with it in a band situation. It's Big sound but cuts right through. It's tone has a very unique shimmering sustain that didn't show itself through small amp at home. I was able to get the action super low and it plays effortlessly. Easily one of the best sounding basses I own. 

[morrow]

There seems to be inconstant product coming out , And I’m thankful you got a beauty , Scott. Most of the recent reviews I’ve seen are glowing.
My UniVox arrived about four days after it was promised , but I know the mail can be iffy up here in the dead of winter (however here on the coast it’s been milder than usual)
I’m quite liking it. Someone asked me for a video so here’s a minute of mindless noodling. It’s just recorded with the iPad mic , I was playing at a very low volume.
Took it out to a rehearsal yesterday , the band loved it.

[Dave W]

Sounds good!