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 Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
 The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
 Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
 Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
 Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
 Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand spankin' new bass room in their Pittsburgh PA store and Ampeg was there to welcome this great new addition to the bass community.
Continue reading "Pianos 'N Stuff Pittsburgh Opens a Brand New Bass Room" »
 Another bit from Guitarist [UK]'s issue #301 reported the true fact that we're going to be reissuing the original Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass. That's right... you can play clearly now, the bass is here. Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind... the 4-string tone machine with the body you can see through, thanks to its plexiglass (perspex to you limeys) body. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we reissued this baby, since the guitar has done so well. And though some of the bass magazines missed it (perhaps they couldn't see it?), the super sleuths at Guitarist "saw their way clear" (couldn't resist) to running at least a little blurb on it. To quote them: "The ADA4 is sure to garner bass players out there some serious audience attention onstage. A recreation of the 1960s original, it also features custom interchangeable pickups (Bright Bass and Deep Bass are the models included) by Kent Armstrong [Dan's son, btw]--these use an ingenious design where the tone control can be usel to split the treble and bass coils for wide tonal options." Once again, thanks to Dave Burrluck and crew for the copy block and now if we could just get someone over in the UK to send our editor a box of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer biscuits, our (my) work here would be done.
 Okay, so we never actually ran a part one of this story. We did reissue the original, iconic Plexi Guitar recently, though, and now we're coming out with wooden versions of that great, comfy body. But the description "wooden" only describes the body material--these guitars are ready to rock, and they won't break your back OR your wallet. In fact, the story is so exciting, the UK's Guitarist magazine in their issue #301 just called this news the TOP STORY from NAMM 2008. That's right... toppermost of the poppermost. Let's let them tell you about 'em (transcribed so you can read it): "If the price of the 2006 Plexiglas reissue was too steep and the weight too much, check these new Ampegs. The new Korean-built. wooden-bodied AMG100 comes in three versions: swamp ash body (blonde), mahogany body (vintage cherry), and alder (black). They all have rosewood [fret]boards, a 24.75-inch scale, a three-way tone circuit and interchangeable pickups: either a Rock Treble single-coil, or Sustain Treble humbucker, which are both supplied. Hot cakes..." I believe they're referring to the old saying "... get 'em while they're hot."
They also gave some of our bass products some ink... see the next story. And thanks Dave Burrluck at Guitarist!
 Bassist Tom Araya's band Slayer was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held yesterday (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from their 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at a hypothesized "end of the world" scenario. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay. A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again—we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you."  Slayer's two previous Grammy nominations were for 2002's "Disciple" from the album "God Hates Us All", and last year's "Eyes of the Insane", for which they took home the Grammy Award. The nominees in this year's "Metal" category were as follows: AS I LAY DYING - "Nothing Left" KING DIAMOND - "Never Ending Hill" MACHINE HEAD - "Aesthetics Of Hate" SHADOWS FALL - "Redemption" SLAYER - "Final Six" Only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Tom's been a steady Ampeg player for ages...
 In its first week on the chart, The Mars Volta's new CD The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at number three in the US. As you probably know, bassist Juan Alderete is an Ampeg player. He's been playing dual SVT rigs for years ( SVT-VR heads and SVT-810AV cabs), not just with TMV but with speed metal band Racer X (which included guitarist Paul Gilbert) and The Scream. You may have seen Juan recently in an Ampeg ad called "Bedlam In Goliath?" which ran in Bass Player here in the States, where he was also featured in an interesting article. In person, Juan's a great guy. He digs punk rock and hard rock, and he's just a music fan in general and quite a genial dude.
Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand spankin' new bass room in their Pittsburgh PA store and Ampeg was there to welcome this great new addition to the bass community.
Continue reading "Pianos 'N Stuff Pittsburgh Opens a Brand New Bass Room" »
Another bit from Guitarist [UK]'s issue #301 reported the true fact that we're going to be reissuing the original Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass. That's right... you can play clearly now, the bass is here. Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind... the 4-string tone machine with the body you can see through, thanks to its plexiglass (perspex to you limeys) body. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we reissued this baby, since the guitar has done so well. And though some of the bass magazines missed it (perhaps they couldn't see it?), the super sleuths at Guitarist "saw their way clear" (couldn't resist) to running at least a little blurb on it. To quote them: "The ADA4 is sure to garner bass players out there some serious audience attention onstage. A recreation of the 1960s original, it also features custom interchangeable pickups (Bright Bass and Deep Bass are the models included) by Kent Armstrong [Dan's son, btw]--these use an ingenious design where the tone control can be usel to split the treble and bass coils for wide tonal options." Once again, thanks to Dave Burrluck and crew for the copy block and now if we could just get someone over in the UK to send our editor a box of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer biscuits, our (my) work here would be done.
Okay, so we never actually ran a part one of this story. We did reissue the original, iconic Plexi Guitar recently, though, and now we're coming out with wooden versions of that great, comfy body. But the description "wooden" only describes the body material--these guitars are ready to rock, and they won't break your back OR your wallet. In fact, the story is so exciting, the UK's Guitarist magazine in their issue #301 just called this news the TOP STORY from NAMM 2008. That's right... toppermost of the poppermost. Let's let them tell you about 'em (transcribed so you can read it): "If the price of the 2006 Plexiglas reissue was too steep and the weight too much, check these new Ampegs. The new Korean-built. wooden-bodied AMG100 comes in three versions: swamp ash body (blonde), mahogany body (vintage cherry), and alder (black). They all have rosewood [fret]boards, a 24.75-inch scale, a three-way tone circuit and interchangeable pickups: either a Rock Treble single-coil, or Sustain Treble humbucker, which are both supplied. Hot cakes..." I believe they're referring to the old saying "... get 'em while they're hot."
They also gave some of our bass products some ink... see the next story. And thanks Dave Burrluck at Guitarist!
Bassist Tom Araya's band Slayer was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held yesterday (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from their 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at a hypothesized "end of the world" scenario. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay. A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again—we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you." Slayer's two previous Grammy nominations were for 2002's "Disciple" from the album "God Hates Us All", and last year's "Eyes of the Insane", for which they took home the Grammy Award. The nominees in this year's "Metal" category were as follows: AS I LAY DYING - "Nothing Left" KING DIAMOND - "Never Ending Hill" MACHINE HEAD - "Aesthetics Of Hate" SHADOWS FALL - "Redemption" SLAYER - "Final Six" Only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Tom's been a steady Ampeg player for ages...
In its first week on the chart, The Mars Volta's new CD The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at number three in the US. As you probably know, bassist Juan Alderete is an Ampeg player. He's been playing dual SVT rigs for years ( SVT-VR heads and SVT-810AV cabs), not just with TMV but with speed metal band Racer X (which included guitarist Paul Gilbert) and The Scream. You may have seen Juan recently in an Ampeg ad called "Bedlam In Goliath?" which ran in Bass Player here in the States, where he was also featured in an interesting article. In person, Juan's a great guy. He digs punk rock and hard rock, and he's just a music fan in general and quite a genial dude.
Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand spankin' new bass room in their Pittsburgh PA store and Ampeg was there to welcome this great new addition to the bass community.
Continue reading "Pianos 'N Stuff Pittsburgh Opens a Brand New Bass Room" »
Another bit from Guitarist [UK]'s issue #301 reported the true fact that we're going to be reissuing the original Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass. That's right... you can play clearly now, the bass is here. Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind... the 4-string tone machine with the body you can see through, thanks to its plexiglass (perspex to you limeys) body. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we reissued this baby, since the guitar has done so well. And though some of the bass magazines missed it (perhaps they couldn't see it?), the super sleuths at Guitarist "saw their way clear" (couldn't resist) to running at least a little blurb on it. To quote them: "The ADA4 is sure to garner bass players out there some serious audience attention onstage. A recreation of the 1960s original, it also features custom interchangeable pickups (Bright Bass and Deep Bass are the models included) by Kent Armstrong [Dan's son, btw]--these use an ingenious design where the tone control can be usel to split the treble and bass coils for wide tonal options." Once again, thanks to Dave Burrluck and crew for the copy block and now if we could just get someone over in the UK to send our editor a box of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer biscuits, our (my) work here would be done.
Okay, so we never actually ran a part one of this story. We did reissue the original, iconic Plexi Guitar recently, though, and now we're coming out with wooden versions of that great, comfy body. But the description "wooden" only describes the body material--these guitars are ready to rock, and they won't break your back OR your wallet. In fact, the story is so exciting, the UK's Guitarist magazine in their issue #301 just called this news the TOP STORY from NAMM 2008. That's right... toppermost of the poppermost. Let's let them tell you about 'em (transcribed so you can read it): "If the price of the 2006 Plexiglas reissue was too steep and the weight too much, check these new Ampegs. The new Korean-built. wooden-bodied AMG100 comes in three versions: swamp ash body (blonde), mahogany body (vintage cherry), and alder (black). They all have rosewood [fret]boards, a 24.75-inch scale, a three-way tone circuit and interchangeable pickups: either a Rock Treble single-coil, or Sustain Treble humbucker, which are both supplied. Hot cakes..." I believe they're referring to the old saying "... get 'em while they're hot."
They also gave some of our bass products some ink... see the next story. And thanks Dave Burrluck at Guitarist!
Bassist Tom Araya's band Slayer was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held yesterday (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from their 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at a hypothesized "end of the world" scenario. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay. A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again—we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you." Slayer's two previous Grammy nominations were for 2002's "Disciple" from the album "God Hates Us All", and last year's "Eyes of the Insane", for which they took home the Grammy Award. The nominees in this year's "Metal" category were as follows: AS I LAY DYING - "Nothing Left" KING DIAMOND - "Never Ending Hill" MACHINE HEAD - "Aesthetics Of Hate" SHADOWS FALL - "Redemption" SLAYER - "Final Six" Only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Tom's been a steady Ampeg player for ages...
In its first week on the chart, The Mars Volta's new CD The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at number three in the US. As you probably know, bassist Juan Alderete is an Ampeg player. He's been playing dual SVT rigs for years ( SVT-VR heads and SVT-810AV cabs), not just with TMV but with speed metal band Racer X (which included guitarist Paul Gilbert) and The Scream. You may have seen Juan recently in an Ampeg ad called "Bedlam In Goliath?" which ran in Bass Player here in the States, where he was also featured in an interesting article. In person, Juan's a great guy. He digs punk rock and hard rock, and he's just a music fan in general and quite a genial dude.
Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand spankin' new bass room in their Pittsburgh PA store and Ampeg was there to welcome this great new addition to the bass community.
Continue reading "Pianos 'N Stuff Pittsburgh Opens a Brand New Bass Room" »
Another bit from Guitarist [UK]'s issue #301 reported the true fact that we're going to be reissuing the original Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass. That's right... you can play clearly now, the bass is here. Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind... the 4-string tone machine with the body you can see through, thanks to its plexiglass (perspex to you limeys) body. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we reissued this baby, since the guitar has done so well. And though some of the bass magazines missed it (perhaps they couldn't see it?), the super sleuths at Guitarist "saw their way clear" (couldn't resist) to running at least a little blurb on it. To quote them: "The ADA4 is sure to garner bass players out there some serious audience attention onstage. A recreation of the 1960s original, it also features custom interchangeable pickups (Bright Bass and Deep Bass are the models included) by Kent Armstrong [Dan's son, btw]--these use an ingenious design where the tone control can be usel to split the treble and bass coils for wide tonal options." Once again, thanks to Dave Burrluck and crew for the copy block and now if we could just get someone over in the UK to send our editor a box of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer biscuits, our (my) work here would be done.
Okay, so we never actually ran a part one of this story. We did reissue the original, iconic Plexi Guitar recently, though, and now we're coming out with wooden versions of that great, comfy body. But the description "wooden" only describes the body material--these guitars are ready to rock, and they won't break your back OR your wallet. In fact, the story is so exciting, the UK's Guitarist magazine in their issue #301 just called this news the TOP STORY from NAMM 2008. That's right... toppermost of the poppermost. Let's let them tell you about 'em (transcribed so you can read it): "If the price of the 2006 Plexiglas reissue was too steep and the weight too much, check these new Ampegs. The new Korean-built. wooden-bodied AMG100 comes in three versions: swamp ash body (blonde), mahogany body (vintage cherry), and alder (black). They all have rosewood [fret]boards, a 24.75-inch scale, a three-way tone circuit and interchangeable pickups: either a Rock Treble single-coil, or Sustain Treble humbucker, which are both supplied. Hot cakes..." I believe they're referring to the old saying "... get 'em while they're hot."
They also gave some of our bass products some ink... see the next story. And thanks Dave Burrluck at Guitarist!
Bassist Tom Araya's band Slayer was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held yesterday (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from their 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at a hypothesized "end of the world" scenario. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay. A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again—we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you." Slayer's two previous Grammy nominations were for 2002's "Disciple" from the album "God Hates Us All", and last year's "Eyes of the Insane", for which they took home the Grammy Award. The nominees in this year's "Metal" category were as follows: AS I LAY DYING - "Nothing Left" KING DIAMOND - "Never Ending Hill" MACHINE HEAD - "Aesthetics Of Hate" SHADOWS FALL - "Redemption" SLAYER - "Final Six" Only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Tom's been a steady Ampeg player for ages...
In its first week on the chart, The Mars Volta's new CD The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at number three in the US. As you probably know, bassist Juan Alderete is an Ampeg player. He's been playing dual SVT rigs for years ( SVT-VR heads and SVT-810AV cabs), not just with TMV but with speed metal band Racer X (which included guitarist Paul Gilbert) and The Scream. You may have seen Juan recently in an Ampeg ad called "Bedlam In Goliath?" which ran in Bass Player here in the States, where he was also featured in an interesting article. In person, Juan's a great guy. He digs punk rock and hard rock, and he's just a music fan in general and quite a genial dude.
Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand spankin' new bass room in their Pittsburgh PA store and Ampeg was there to welcome this great new addition to the bass community.
Continue reading "Pianos 'N Stuff Pittsburgh Opens a Brand New Bass Room" »
Another bit from Guitarist [UK]'s issue #301 reported the true fact that we're going to be reissuing the original Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass. That's right... you can play clearly now, the bass is here. Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind... the 4-string tone machine with the body you can see through, thanks to its plexiglass (perspex to you limeys) body. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we reissued this baby, since the guitar has done so well. And though some of the bass magazines missed it (perhaps they couldn't see it?), the super sleuths at Guitarist "saw their way clear" (couldn't resist) to running at least a little blurb on it. To quote them: "The ADA4 is sure to garner bass players out there some serious audience attention onstage. A recreation of the 1960s original, it also features custom interchangeable pickups (Bright Bass and Deep Bass are the models included) by Kent Armstrong [Dan's son, btw]--these use an ingenious design where the tone control can be usel to split the treble and bass coils for wide tonal options." Once again, thanks to Dave Burrluck and crew for the copy block and now if we could just get someone over in the UK to send our editor a box of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer biscuits, our (my) work here would be done.
Okay, so we never actually ran a part one of this story. We did reissue the original, iconic Plexi Guitar recently, though, and now we're coming out with wooden versions of that great, comfy body. But the description "wooden" only describes the body material--these guitars are ready to rock, and they won't break your back OR your wallet. In fact, the story is so exciting, the UK's Guitarist magazine in their issue #301 just called this news the TOP STORY from NAMM 2008. That's right... toppermost of the poppermost. Let's let them tell you about 'em (transcribed so you can read it): "If the price of the 2006 Plexiglas reissue was too steep and the weight too much, check these new Ampegs. The new Korean-built. wooden-bodied AMG100 comes in three versions: swamp ash body (blonde), mahogany body (vintage cherry), and alder (black). They all have rosewood [fret]boards, a 24.75-inch scale, a three-way tone circuit and interchangeable pickups: either a Rock Treble single-coil, or Sustain Treble humbucker, which are both supplied. Hot cakes..." I believe they're referring to the old saying "... get 'em while they're hot."
They also gave some of our bass products some ink... see the next story. And thanks Dave Burrluck at Guitarist!
Bassist Tom Araya's band Slayer was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held yesterday (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from their 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at a hypothesized "end of the world" scenario. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay. A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again—we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you." Slayer's two previous Grammy nominations were for 2002's "Disciple" from the album "God Hates Us All", and last year's "Eyes of the Insane", for which they took home the Grammy Award. The nominees in this year's "Metal" category were as follows: AS I LAY DYING - "Nothing Left" KING DIAMOND - "Never Ending Hill" MACHINE HEAD - "Aesthetics Of Hate" SHADOWS FALL - "Redemption" SLAYER - "Final Six" Only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year's awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Tom's been a steady Ampeg player for ages...
In its first week on the chart, The Mars Volta's new CD The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at number three in the US. As you probably know, bassist Juan Alderete is an Ampeg player. He's been playing dual SVT rigs for years ( SVT-VR heads and SVT-810AV cabs), not just with TMV but with speed metal band Racer X (which included guitarist Paul Gilbert) and The Scream. You may have seen Juan recently in an Ampeg ad called "Bedlam In Goliath?" which ran in Bass Player here in the States, where he was also featured in an interesting article. In person, Juan's a great guy. He digs punk rock and hard rock, and he's just a music fan in general and quite a genial dude.
Ampeg is pleased to sponsor the Groove Garage, part of Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, taking place right now through July 6th, 2008. Our local dealer, Cascio Interstate Music, has helped outfit the Groove Garage stage with Ampeg bass equipment, and of course there'll be lots of bands throughout the 'Fest with Ampeg, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (longtime bassist Ron Blair). For a complete list of bands playing in the Groove Garage, click here. For the main Summerfest website, click here.
The July 2008 issue of Bass Player features a cover story on tube bass amps called Totally Tubular: Get Behind That Titanic Tube Tone. In it you'll see a ton of Ampeg bass gear--after all, it was nearly 40 years ago we brought out the SVT (Super Valve Technology) bass amp and cabinets. Over the course of many pages they dissect an SB12, made way back in 1966, and show how our SVTCL and SVTVR heads are still the cock of the walk.
Ampeg longtime endorser BILLY SHEEHAN played the London Guitar Show this past weekend at ExCel, Docklands, London. Our intrepid trainspotter/anorak David Phillips caught the gig/clinic and snapped a few shots for us. Billy played both solo and as a duo with Ray Luzier of Korn.
Not on the whole band, I guess, but at least on COLIN GREENWOOD, Radiohead's esteemed bass player and a big fan of Ampeg. And actually there's only the one hound, Charlie The Bloodhound, but what a handsome hound he is! Colin liked him so much when he visited our Ampeg Amp Shack in St. Louis, MO that he insisted we take pictures. Radiohead was in town on their US tour, supporting both their In Rainbows release, as well as their new The Best Of Radiohead compilation, which comes as a digital download, CD and a 4-LP record box set (!). [I gotta tell ya, the vinyl box set is THE BOMB! - ed.] Well, we wish Colin the best of luck and continued success in Radiohead. And Charlie, here's to your new modeling career!
Seattle's own Schoolyard Heroes have been touring and touring and TOURING supporting their Island/Stolen Transmissions release Abominations for longer than their guitarist's 'fro. On the latest leg of this coast-to-coast journey via van, guitarist Steve Bonnell donned an Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi guitar, joining bandmate and longtime Ampeg bassist Jonah Bergman, who plays--you guessed it-- through an SVT-VR head and SVT-810AV cabinet.
Continue reading "Schoolyard Heroes Zero In On Ampeg" »
Pianos 'N Stuff has just opened up their brand |
