Ampeg Debuts New Dan Armstrong AMG100 Electric Guitar At NAMM

With its distinctive Plexiglas body and unique interchangeable pickup system, Ampeg's Dan Armstrong "see-through" guitar has been turning heads and impressing discerning guitarists since its introduction in 1969. Now, nearly four decades later, Ampeg is unveiling its AMG100 electric guitar line — wood-bodied iterations of the famed original, which was reissued in 2006 as the ADA6. Offering nearly the same specifications as the ultra-thin ADA6 — albeit crafted from traditional vintage electric guitar tone woods instead of clear acrylic — the new AMG100 is available in three versions: AMG100 BLD ($949.99 list / $729.99 MAP), featuring a lightweight swamp ash body with vintage blonde finish and single-ply black pick guard; AMG100 CH ($699.99 list / $529.99 MAP), with its lightweight mahogany body sporting a vintage cherry finish and laminated black pick guard; and AMG100 BK ($599.99 list / $449.99 MAP), featuring an alder body with black finish and tortoise-shell pick guard.

Boasting both the symmetrical, double-cutaway body and removable pickup system that set the Dan Armstrong design apart from other electric guitars, each of the three AMG100 models features a 24.75-inch-scale bolt-on maple neck, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard, and unique neck joint permitting easy access to two full octaves of riffage on every string. Above the nut, the headstock incorporates nickel Grover die cast tuners, which are positioned for nearly direct string pull while being close-coupled for minimum string tension differences. The result is a guitar that stays in tune even under the duress of overzealous windmills

Swappable pickups supplied with the guitar include the single-coil "Rock Treble" and dual-coil "Sustain Treble" controllable via retro-styled rotary pots for volume and tone, as well as a three-way tone switch offering multiple "presets" from a single pickup. The center switch position allows the tone circuit to be bypassed, while the other two positions enable the single tone control to affect different frequencies as the tone knob is adjusted.

The Ampeg AMG100 along with other new Ampeg/LOUD products for 2008, will be on display in booth #5776 (Hall B) at the NAMM Convention in Anaheim, California, from January 17-20.