Information AboutAmpeg |
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| electronics companies of the united states | |
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INNOVATIONS Ampeg prides itself on its innovative products, which have resulted in the company's six U.S. patents under the Ampeg brand name. For example, in 1960 Jess Oliver (real name: Oliver Jesperson) created a combo amplifier with a chassis that could be inverted and tucked inside the speaker enclosure; thus, the inner workings could be better protected, increasing the portability of the amp. This combo bass amp became known as the "Portaflex" and remained as the standard in bass amp combos through the 1970s. Also in the 1960s, Ampeg became the first company to incorporate Reverb in an amplifier with its Reverberocket, which preceded Fender ’s Vibroverb amp by nearly two years. Super Valve Technology Perhaps its most famous innovation, Ampeg created the ''Super Valve Technology (SVT)'' amplifier in 1969. The SVT amp managed to increase the power of amplifiers from 100 watts to 300 watts establishing SVT as a stage and roadworthy amplifier. To complement the massive power output of the SVT amps, Ampeg began manufacturing their now-classic bass speaker cabinets in July of 1969. These enormous speaker cabinets consist of eight ten-inch loudspeakers. The speakers lay in four rows of two speakers. Each row of speakers is completely sealed from the rest of the cabinet, resulting in an infinite baffle design. From 1972 until the purchase of the company by SLM electronics, Ampeg has used Eminence loudspeakers. The 10 inch (254 mm) speakers allow for more projection and a faster response than the traditional fifteen-inch speaker found in many older bass speaker cabinets. The Rolling Stones took the SVT amp and matching speaker cabinet on tour in both 1969 and 1972, using it for both guitar and bass. The SVT bass amp and matching eight by ten inch speaker cab have remained the standard in rock and roll bass amplification. INSTRUMENTS AND ACCESSORIES Ampeg also manufactured (or had manufactured for them) lines of quirky but distinctive instruments to complement their amplifiers. This began around 1962 with the Baby Bass, an electric upright bass with a full-size wooden neck and a 'cello-sized Uvex plastic body (not fiberglass, as is often stated). The design was purchased from Zorko, re-engineered by Jess Oliver, and manufactured in a corner of Ampeg's Linden, New Jersey factory. It appeared in Ampeg's price list until about 1970. Next up, starting around 1963, were Ampeg-branded guitars and basses by Burns of London. The collaboration was less than successful because, while the quality was good, the cost of importing the instruments made them too expensive compared to Fenders and Gibsons. Baldwin's purchase of Burns in 1965 ended the association with Ampeg. In 1966, Ampeg introduced their home-built line of long-scale "Horizontal Basses" (aka "scroll" or "f-hole" basses), both fretted and fretless (reputed to be the first production fretless electric bass). Some with different bodies were produced as the "Devil Bass," with distinctive horns, but the circuitry was identical. Originally using a transducer below the bridge, they were redesigned around 1968 to use a conventional magnetic pickup. At the same time, short-scale fretted and fretless basses, with magnetic pickups, were also produced. In 1969 the Horizontal Basses were replaced by the Dan Armstrong-designed and -built "See Through" guitars and basses. The guitars incorporated snap-in replaceable pickups to change the sound, and the short-scale basses used two stacked coils with a pan pot to gain a very wide range of tones. The see-through lucite bodies were Armstrong's original idea and contributed to incredibly long sustain but were very heavy. They were also almost immediately copied by others. Production of the See Throughs ended in 1971 due not to lack of success, but rather due to financial disagreements between Armstrong and Ampeg over amplifier designs. Finally, in the mid-70s, Ampeg had manufactured in Japan the "Stud" line of guitars (Stud, Heavy Stud, and Super Stud) and basses (Big Stud and Little Stud). The Studs were knock-offs of popular Fender and Gibson instruments, and the quality varied a bit from so-so (poorly routed plywood bodies and necks on the Little Stud) to not bad (gold-plated hardware on the Super Stud). In the late 90s/early 2000s reissues of the Baby Bass, the Horizontal Bass, and the See Throughs were produced, as well as wooden instruments based on the See Through design. Ampeg also produced effects pedals, including stand-alone reverb units in the 60s, the Scrambler from 1969 (a resurgence in interest resulted in an updated Scrambler being reissued in 2005), the Phazzer from the mid- to late-70s, and a line of nine stompboxes produced in Japan in the mid-80s. There were also Ampeg-branded picks, strings, straps, polish, as well as two practice amps, the Sound Cube and the Buster (a Pignose clone). SOURCES
Dan Armstrong--The Man and His Guitars Hopkins, Gregg and Bill Moore (1999) ''Ampeg: The Story Behind the Sound.'' Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-7951-1 Ampeg (1950s-2005) Various sales brochures and advertisements. The Unofficial Ampeg Page EXTERNAL LINKS |
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