I specialize in an obscure model of electric bass guitar known as the Scroll Bass, so most of this site is about them. These unusual instruments were originally manufactured by the Ampeg company in the mid-'60's, and are a personal obsession of mine. I've been collecting
them and researching about them for more than 18 years, and I guess I've become the expert on them by default.
Over the last ten years, I've brought the Scroll Bass design back to life by developing a new generation of them, which are called the AEB-2 and AUB-2. I build every part of these basses myself here in my shop in Burbank, CA at a rate of about eight per year. The AEB-2/AUB-2 section of this site has many pages of information, including extensive technical details on how they were designed and developed. Note: Through this spring and summer (2006) I'm going to be completely updating and reworking this site to cover the newest Series IV model Scroll Basses, and other things. For a while, there will be some new parts that don't quite match up with the old parts...
In 2000, I introduced a new generation version of Ampeg's rare little short scale bass. The new SSB is a short scale bass which is light weight and very comfortable to play, particularly for bassists with smaller hands. It is a pro-quality instrument, with similar internal construction and tone to the AEB-2 and AUB-2. The styling is based on the '67 Ampeg SSB, but I've made so many changes to the design,
that it can't be considered a reissue. The new SSB is available by special order.
In the fall of 2006, I'll (finally!!) be introducing my wild new version of the infamous Ampeg Devil Bass. It's a derivative of my AEB-2/AUB-2 models, and is not for the timid...The first batch of them are under construction now.
For anyone interested in how musical instruments are built, the technical section of this site has dozens of images of the special machines and fixtures that I've had to build to get these instruments into production. Most luthiers and instrument manufacturers are quite secretive about their processes, but I'm not. I'm in this business because this is what I love to do, and I'll be glad to talk to you about it, and try to answer any questions that you have.
The Vintage Ampeg Scroll Basses section covers the instruments made by Ampeg in the '60's, in more detail than any other source that I know of. It does not cover Ampeg Baby Basses, or Dan Armstrong Ampeg guitars and basses. Those are not my specialty, although I do some neck repairs on Baby Basses. I do restorations and repairs on vintage Ampeg Scroll Basses as well as supplying custom size strings and some replacement parts for them.
I am not a retail music store or a vintage instrument dealer. If you are selling a vintage Ampeg or looking to buy one, I may be able to help line you up with a buyer/seller, but I generally don't buy or sell vintage instruments here. Occasionally I take a vintage Ampeg as a trade-in, if I want it for for my own personal collection, but that's about it.
I also offer custom order necks for guitars, basses, and other stringed instruments. I can build necks to any dimensions and configuration that you need, in partially-completed blank form, or fully shaped and finished. I supply necks and custom metal hardware to several top luthiers around the LA area. If you want an unusual custom guitar, I can put you in touch with them.
I'm proud to say that I've built this site by myself. It's a little simplistic in layout because I wrote it in raw HTML code, but I had to start somewhere, and it was a good basic education. Most of the images were taken with my trusty Sony Mavica FD7, although the best ones were shot on 35mm or 120 film and scanned in. All of the image processing was done in Adobe Photoshop. I'll be continuing to expand all sections of this site as I have the time.
Bruce Johnson
