1970 Ampeg Dan Armstrong
The Dan Armstrong was a true space-age guitar. The guitar was the brain-child of Dan Armstrong with help from Matt Umanov. Although it’s generally just known as the Armstrong Lucite guitar it was actually made under the Ampeg name. (Armstrong had approached the amp company at the 1968 NAMM show.) The body was made from Perspex—also known as plexiglass or lucite—and despite what one might think it wasn’t molded. It was carved just like wood and then polished to a see-through sheen. Adding to the weirdness, the pickguard and headstock overlay was made of Formica. Yes, the same laminate material used on kitchen or table tops.
The pickups, and there were six of them with different voicings, were designed by Bill Lawrence and could be swapped out without soldering. The pickup simply slid into a groove in the body and was then secured by a small thumb screw on the back of the body. The only traditional thing about the Dan Armstrong was its maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and the decidedly low-tech bridge which had a single rosewood saddle piece. That wood saddle piece came in three heights for “adjustable” action and later had an added piece of fret wire for better intonation and more high end “zing”. (The saddle could be moved and angled to adjust intonation but since there were no individually adjustable saddles the intonation could still be a little iffy. The saddle also wasn’t secured to the base plate in any way, it was only held in place via a small brass pin that fit into a groove in the base plate and the tension from the strings.)
I have to admit that I have no idea why Paul ended up playing this guitar. True, his main Custom LoBue V and the backup Les Paul Custom 54 Reissue had both been stolen during the recording sessions for Hotter Than Hell so he needed a new guitar. But this thing? Paul had no use for the possibility of changing the pickup on the fly and he probably didn’t care for the weight which could easily top 10 lbs (4,5 kg). The band had been in Los Angeles for weeks, surely they could have found a relatively cheap used guitar that was more “regular”. But when the band returns to the stage in mid-September Paul is playing what is most likely a 1970 Ampeg Dan Armstrong. (The model was only produced 1969-1971.)
Paul found a new guitar within weeks but for some reason, and we have to assume it was financial, the Dan Armstrong stuck around as a backup. Even though it is hard to spot, being see-through and all, it can be found on Ace’s side of the stage in some photos as seen below. Paul might have played it on September 29 in Evansville, Indiana, and Ace played it during part of the show in Youngstown, Ohio on October 27, 1974.
Not surprisingly the Dan Armstrong disappears when the budget Gibsons start showing up. The last time it's seen is in Saginaw, Michigan on November 10, 1974, as seen below.
