New (old) Bass Coming Today
Sometime today UPS will be delivering a bass to my office. While it is new to me, it was built between 66 and 68. I have wanted one of these for over 30 years. Think Rick Danko.
I will post a couple of pics when it arrives. Since my hands are getting too stiff to play much; especially in the morning, I have been shedding some gear and plan to pick up some vintage stuff as a collector.
Pics coming today. By the way... this should give me 1,000 BP points ;)
Pete
New Bass
I have always wanted to own an old Ampeg AEB Horizontal Scroll bass. My inspiration to play bass was Rick Danko and I saw him play a fretless version and loved the look. These basses were only built for a couple of years in the late 60's.
I have never seen one in a store but have been watching them on eBay on the rare occasions that one shows up there.
Well, I finally bought one. It has five noticeable modifications: 1) The original bridge was removed; 2)) The mystery pickup has been removed; 3) P-bass pups were installed; 4) the nut was changed; and 4) A Badass bridge was installed.
The finish on this bass is great compared to others I've seen for sale on the bay. It arrived today, I tuned it up and have been playing it through my Pignose. It doesn't have the original thump, plus it doesn't sound much like a p-bass. It has its on voice.
Well... here's some pictures:
I'm very happy with this bass.
Pete
Wow, pretty nice piece of
Wow, pretty nice piece of wood you've got there. I dunno who Danko was, but he sure had style. -- But that thing must weight a ton! Not sure my back could support such a charge, lol.
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Wanted : Schrödinger's Cat. Dead or Alive.
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Wanted : Schrödinger's Cat. Dead or Alive.
Rick Danko was the bassist
Rick Danko was the bassist for The Band. Here's a signature track, "Up on Cripple Creek":
Wheat
bassplaying.com
And here's something from an
And here's something from an instructional vid by Danko:
Wheat
bassplaying.com
Here's the Ampeg fretless used by Danko
"Don't Do It" is a tune that starts with a bass intro by Danko on his Ampeg bass. Here it is live.
Good Look
If you get a good look at Rick's Ampeg you will see that he replaced the pickups. His bass is a black version... I like it.
Quite Light
This bass looks heavy but it is very light. The body is deceiving (the f-hole cut-outs and the empty space behind the pickguard lighten the load ;). I would guess it at 8 pounds. I thought it would neck dive but even playing it last night with a nylon strap it didn't slide around even when I took both hands of the bass.
I've always thought these
I've always thought these were really groovy looking basses. And I think the mods to this one are very tastefully done. Congrats on adding a real looker to your stable!
Wheat
bassplaying.com
Thanks Wheat
Since Lupus and arthritis are making my hands a lot stiffer, I am moving slowly from a player to a collector. I played the Ampeg for a long time last night. My hands are really stiff today. I'd like to collect some classic and unique basses over time. So far I have my 65 JG semi-hollow, this Ampeg and the EUB by Barker Bass. I have sold a number of my other basses, although I'm keeping my Jack Casady sig. model and my TBC. The TBC is a very comfortable and fast bass.
My son bought my Line 6... every guitar player needs a bass... just in case ;)
Pete
I'm glad you've found a way
I'm glad you've found a way to keep your love of bass alive despite the playing difficulties that lupus presents. I've always wondered what I'd do if my hands stopped functioning well enough to play the bass. I think I'd probably move to composing via MIDI (a keyboard controller and a pencil in my teeth, if it came to that), entering everything in "step-time" (i.e. one note at a time). It wouldn't be as intuitive as playing the bass directly, but it would still give me a way to create music.
Scarbee make some bass sample libraries (for Native Instruments' Kontakt sampler) that are really amazing in their lifelike reproduction of bass inflections. Try the demo of Black Bass. Amazing!
Anyway. That's my contingency plan. But I like the idea of collecting, too. Just goes to show there are a lot of ways to make/keep music a part of your life.
Wheat
bassplaying.com
That's one sweet looking
That's one sweet looking bass Pete! Congrats on the find.
B #
B #
Thanks B#
This is a joy... thank goodness we have the Internet. Now I have to come up with a strap idea for Griz. ;)
Very nice find Pete. It's
Very nice find Pete. It's very nearly one of a kind these days. Congrats.
Thanks Paul
They are rare bass guitars. I was just looking at a picture of George Biondo, bassist for Steppenwolf, playing an Ampeg AEB bass. I'll always like Steppenwolf ;) Makes me think Easy Rider
Yep! I was just talking to
Yep! I was just talking to the boys the other night about picking up "Magic Mustache Ride" by Steppenwolf.... the rest of you probably know it as "Magic Carpet Ride".... but it sounds like the same thing to me....LOL!
: )
Dave
LOL!
[quote=Dave Magaro] "Magic Mustache Ride"[/quote]
LOL!
Nice!
That thing looks wild Pete! I love the body! Nice score! Damn wallet is starting to itch again!
: )
Dave
Thanks Dave
I have sold off some of my gear to put together a nest egg in case one of these basses popped up on eBay. I have bid on a few over the years but was knocked out of the competition when the bids got too high. I have to thank the guy who hit my motorcycle last year. I used a bit of the settlement money plus the money I got from selling off some stuff and managed to be the highest bidder. :^)
This bass will stay in my family... I'll eventually give it to my son.
Pete
Some History of my Ampeg
I have been talking with Bruce Johnson who is the undisputed guru of old Ampeg bass guitars. Based on the pictures I sent to him, he states that this bass has the original nut. He thinks it was a prototype and was one of the first 50 built... maybe 038. The finish is original.... the production Ampeg's suffered from a degradation of the finish in about 15 years, and this bass still looks good. This would place the manufacture date in 1966.
He has two ideas regarding who owned this bass. Both were bass players for very successful bands. He thinks he may have had my bass in his shop once and is double-checking his photo library to make sure. The bassist for a band everyone knows sent it to him for some work. I don't want to mention yet who he thinks owned this bass until he does some more research.
Bruce told me that he expected this bass to sell for close to $3,000. I guess since the economy is scaring people, I was lucky and got it for MUCH less.
So, this appears to be a very rare Ampeg... I'm thrilled. I will post any additional info as I get it. If Bruce can help me lock down the former owner, I'll be sure to include that info. Right now he is recording my bass in his Ampeg database as 03* until he can better identify it.
His website is very cool. If interested in what Bruce is all about go to:
http://xstrange.com/
Sorry about the cut & paste.
Pete
Hey, it keeps getting
Hey, it keeps getting better! What a find! You'll be our resident Allen Woody:
Wheat
bassplaying.com
Wow! Now THAT"S a
Wow! Now THAT"S a collection. I'm getting GAS again...
Yeah, pretty nutty, huh? I
Yeah, pretty nutty, huh? I tried to find a complete list of all of them, but I couldn't find one. Some sites said he had over 400! I don't think I need that many. But, if money were no object, I'd certainly like a good dozen or so. :)
Wheat
bassplaying.com
Sounds interesting Pete.
Sounds interesting Pete. You've got me curious to know who might have owned it. Even if it turns out to be incorrect you should let us know who you thought it might have been.