Ampeg’s Vintage Scroll Bass

In 1966, Ampeg launched their unique collection of long-scale "Horizontal Basses" (commonly called the "scroll" and also "f-hole" basses). They were produced in both fretted and fretless versions (known for being the very first production fretless electric bass guitar).

Most of these were crafted using a headstock very similar to those seen on a vertical bass or cello, for this reason these types of instruments are generally referred to as "Scroll Basses."

The one with the most eye-catching design goes by the nickname of "Devil Bass" featuring unique slender horns, however the circuitry was the same. Initially employing a "mystery" pickup underneath the bridge, they ended up being re-designed somewhere around 1968 to go with a traditional magnetic pickup.

In addition, a short-scale fretted and fretless bass using magnetic pickups was also manufactured, known simply as the SSB (short scale bass).

For more information check out Vintage Bass.

Top Ten Bass Players of All Time

Rolling Stone ran one of their weekly polls recently asking their readers to pick the top 10 bassists of all time.

The results are in but it's really hard to narrow the range down to only ten. Obviously some great players are going to be left out but this lists looks really solid.

Check it out for yourself along with video clips of the top ten in action at: Top 10 Bassists

Thanks for reading: Vintage Bass Guitar

The Val-Pro 85 “Map Bass” Vintage Bass Guitar

They say good things come in small packages and the Valco/National Val-Pro 85 vintage bass guitar surely fits the bill.

Its large white body shaped like a map of the United States (frankly, I don't see it) is rather deceptive. It gives the impression that it is a much larger bass than it actually is but its scale length was only 25 inches, the same as an electric guitar.

The body was also made from a unique polyester/fiberglass compound which was a huge departure from the woods that were typically used during the early 1960s. This made it a lot cheaper to mass-produce and they could create molds to make any design they wanted.

Personally I think this is a great looking bass. Considering its short scale and that it was made from synthetic materials it was surprising that it sounded as good as it did.

For images and the full story visit: Vintage Bass Guitar

Win an Ansir Custom Built Bass

Ansir Music is sponsoring a custom bass giveaway (valued at $2,000) to help all kick off spring 2011.

Ansir Music is custom bass builder that is based in Ohio and consists of the founder Jody Michael and designer and artist-level woodworker Deric Smith.

 

The lucky winner gets a custom-built Ansir bass, designed in collaboration with the Ansir team. Once the bass is finished, videos of the building process will be posted so everyone can view how the lucky winner’s dream bass came into being.

The first stop is Ansir’s patented playing angle technology. The Ansir team will personally work with the winner to figure out their perfect playing angle so that the bass is ergonomically designed specifically for them. The winner will also choose from the wide variety of state-of-the-art features Ansir offers in every custom bass build including choosing the wood, hardware, tone inlays, finish, etc.
 

So what are you waiting for? Enter Ansir’s contest right now and keep your fingers crossed!

The contest ends April 25th, 2011. Enter at: Ansir Contest

Info by: Vintage Bass Guitar

Paul McCartney Playing Bill Black’s Bass

A fun short video with Paul McCartney doing an Elvis impersonation while playing the original upright bass Bill Black used in backing up The King. It’s a clip from his 2006 movie “Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road.”
 

Just thought you might enjoy it: Vintage Bass Guitar

Steinberger “Headless” Vintage Bass Guitar

So what do you do when you want to try something different than build cabinets or design ergonomic furniture? Well, what about designing bass guitars? That may not seem like the next logical step on your career path but that's what Ned Steinberger did and he gave us the L2 or "Headless" vintage bass guitar.

Now, if you're a purist you probably prefer the look of a traditional beautifully carved wood bass with sweeping curves. If that's the case you would probably think that a headless bass made out of graphite is a monstrosity, many did. But Steinberger didn't design this bass for aesthetic reasons he based it on ergonomics as he did with his furniture. He felt the typical bass was unbalanced because the heavy tuners are located at the end of the long neck, so he decided to move the tuners to the butt end of the bass. This led to an interesting design, to say the least, and one which was not readily accepted.

Read more about this bass at: Vintage Bass Guitar

2011 Primus U.S. Tour Dates

Les Claypool and Primus will be touring the U.S. this spring to help promote their first studio album release in 11 years.The album is due out during the tail end of spring or early summer.

The tour will take them primarily through the South with a few dates in the Mid-West. 

Tickets are now available for presale, but you will need to use the password “salmonman”.

Check out the tour dates and purchase tickets at: Primus Tour

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Learn to Play Bass With Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton

Here is an opportunity to learn bass from one of the world's most accomplished musicians!

Bassist Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith is teaming up with CharityBuzz.com to auction off an exclusive bass lesson with Mr. Sweet Emotion himself. All proceeds go to benefit the “Music and Youth Initiative.”

Aerosmith, of course, is the best-selling U.S. hard rock band ever. Tom co-authored some of their hits like “Sweet Emotion”, “Jamie’s Got a Gun”, “Jaded”, “Sick as a Dog” and “Uncle Salty.”

Check out the details on how you can win a Tom Hamilton bass lesson.

 

Info by Vintage Bass Guitar.

Dan Armstrong Lucite Vintage Bass Guitar

On the one hand you had Ampeg which was a renowned maker of amplifiers and had recently started offering their own bass and guitar line.

On the other hand there was Dan Armstrong who was a studio musician and owner of his own guitar repair shop. Besides repairs, he also improved the look and sound of instruments with his modifications.

In the late 60s the two would combine to create the Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass, an eye-catching jaw-dropping instrument if there ever was one.

Check out the full story here: Vintage Bass Guitar

Larry Graham’s Funk Around the World Tour

Larry Graham is cited with inventing the slap technique… he calls it Thumpin’ & Pluckin’. He took Graham Central Station out on a tour around the world last year and in 2011 he's going to be touring the U.S., at least for a portion of the year.

After he appeared on Prince's "Welcome 2 America" tour for a few dates he has announced his own set of concert dates this year. His "Funk Around the World Tour" begins April 8 in San Francisco.

Check out the rest of his schedule and see special packages on his website: Larry Graham

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