Ampeg AMG1

I purchased this one brand new, I believe it's made in Japan. Excellent craftsmanship just what you would expect from japanesse guitars. Solid Mahogany body with a venier curly maple cap and a rosewood neck. 2 Seymour Duncan P-90's with a Wilkinson style wrap around bridge. It had crappy tuners, so I replaced them with Schallers. Pretty much a meat and potatoes guitar, the classic Les Paul Jr. tone. I have to deduct a couple of points for the cheap tuners

Excellent tone, just what you'd expect from P-90's. I'm running it through a Boss pedal tuner, a TS-9, and a Hiwatt tape echo into a white Fender Deluxe Reverb with a changed Bruce Zinky speaker. It's fairly noisy around neon lights but that's the drawback of single coils. The sound is very full and rich. I love the sound of P-90's thier as thick as a humbucker and still retain the highs of single coils. Think Social D or Neil Young.

The factory set-up sucked. In fact I had to do quite a bit of work to get this thing to play right and stay in tune. First I changed the tuners to Schallers as I mentioned above, but the biggest problem was the Wilkinson wrap around bridge. It's nice because it allows you to seperatlly intonate the B and G string. The problem is the set screw dose not have enough hold or torque to keep the seperate saddle peice where it should be. It kept moving on me and going out of tune and intonation. To solve the problem I removed the seperate bridge peice and filled the bottom and the seat for a rough finish and then added some super glue. It hasn't moved since. I also had to cut string slots on the bridge so the strings would stay in place. Now, it stays and plays in tune like it should. Other than that the things put together better than most American guitars and the finish is very good, no overspray or buffing compound in the body cavities. Something you'd see on Gibson or Fender guitars.

It's a very simple guitar, an excellent take of of a Les Paul Jr. with a PRS type bolt on neck. I'd gig it without a backup for sure. I replaced the strap buttons with the locking type.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for 15 years or so. I've owned just about every type of major guitar, and I've learned one thing. Major Name brands are overrated. If it sounds good, and feels good then play it. It dosn't have to say Fender or Gibson to be good. This guitar kick's ass in a major way. If your lookin' for a basic, bare balls rock & roll guitar this is it. P-90's are down right dirty pickups it's a nice sonic change from high power humbuckers. I'd replace it if was stolen, but I don't think their making these anymore. My favorite part is the simplicity of the guitar. 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch and two pickups. This thing rocks with attitude!

Very nice AAA quilted maple top. 22 fret neck that has excellent feel and absolutely no buzz. Guitar has 2 seymore duncan p90's that are as deep as the ocean and have an excellent clean tone. The guitar has a bolt on neck but has absolutely incredible sustain. My one complaint is that who ever designed the guitar did not leave enough room between the neck and the cutaway. Every time that I try to play the 18th through 22nd fret, my knuckles take a beating from the cutaway. I was thinking of taking a dremel tool and knocking off some wood on the underside of the cutaway because I have VERY limited access to the lower frets. The problem will be finishing the guitar after the modification is made.

Has a great tone! I am playing it through a Marshall TSL 601 Combo amp and it sounds great! I am impressed with the sustian ... it compares to a Gibson Les Paul and I'm not joking! I couldn't believe it ... I will say that the sustain diminishes slightly 14th through 22nd frets. Very rich and full sound ... no complaints whatsoever in this catagory!

Great action and feel. Unfortunately, the guitar will not stay in tune that well. I'm going to try to change the tuning machines, and possible take another guys suggestion of adding epoxy between body and neck. I also might replace the bridge???

Seems pretty durable to me. The quality of the wood, finish, and workmanship are excellent. It's a really high quality guitar at a low price ... bottom line!

N/A

I would rate this guitar a ten, but the tuning problem holds it back ... however, I think this can be fixed!!! Unfortunately, the cutaway problem really sucks because it would be very costly to fix professionally, and I'm sure that the job that I will do will be at least slightly noticable ... (thankfully, the dremeling will be on the UNDERSIDE of the cutaway). After the work on the guitar is finished ... the value of the guitar will drop drastically! To be honest, if you can find this guitar priced $250 or lower buy it ... otherwise spend a little extra on a Gibson les paul special dc!!!!

Great- everything I've always wanted in a guitar. Real Seymour Duncans, quilted maple top, and a nice lookin' headstock to boot.

List:
2 P90's. Quilted maple top. Black cherry finish. 3 peice maple neck. Mahogany back. Rosewood f'board. Wraparound tailpeice (PRS Style).

NEEDS A CASE

A nice bright sound, which is just what I am (was) looking for. Great for reggae, funk, anything you would need a single-coil for. However, I am having trouble keeping the G and B strings in tune, there is a previous review that addresses this issue so I guess I'm not alone.

Woah. The finish is immaculate. I got a floor model and I expected it to have some sort of nicks, but I had no such occurence. The body looks like it was dipped in glass and is tough; very PRS-like.

Although the guitar is great, and I am very impressed with it. I must say that I am having trouble with the bridge. This is a real spoiler for me. There is a signifigantly large gap between the G and B strings, which troubles me and may be responsible for my tuning problems (I'm used to a strat headstock which allows you to lie the guitar flat on its back, you cannot do that with this kind of headstock, so this may be the source of my tuning problems). I may buy a replacment bridge later on to solve this problem, but for now I'm not bothered, playability-wise, by the gap.

I have not played with the guitar live, but it seems like it will stand up.

Never dealt with 'em.

Once again, everything is tip-top, except for that damned gap. You should buy this guitar. It's better than the Santana SE, which was my runner-up.

Even though this is Japanese made (they make quality cars, but their guitars just aren't as good as America's) this guitar is right up there with lower end PRS's and Gibsons. It fly's right past most Fender's in terms of quality and features.

Most of the basic features have already been listed. The real selling point for me were the vintage seymour duncan p90s (real ones, not the duncan designed). I walked into Daddys Junky music planning to put down about 300 for something I'd trade in within a couple weeks when I had more cash. I spied this beauty on the wall and thought it had to be at least $700. It was only 299 so I figured it was just a cheap japanese import. I strummed it a bit and put it back and went home. I then checked out the specs on it and realized that the price represented a closeout and immediately went back to the store and bought it. It's very close in dimensions to a les paul jr lite (which was on my wish list) but has a beautiful real AAA quilted top in purple. The looks alone might be worth the price of the guitar as a project, but the quality limits the need for any mods.

I can never tell how a guitar sounds in the store since i have a rather unique setup. I'm running a boss gt-3 through a THX movie system. It's really funky and has serious balls. When I tried this puppy for the first time on my system (mostly on the AC30 or Matchless sims) i was blown away. It sounds like a bastard and a half (which is good). It's got a real snappy warm tone that begs to me used for blues or rock. Not too great with high gain, but that's not what this guitar is for. I liked the sound better than the les paul jr and the hamer special I tried. Both those guitars are set necks, but this one really sustains as well. Theres an unique bolt on neck that goes into the body and has almost no heel. Thus the frets are all easy to access. Bottom line, for p90 sound - this is an absolutely amazing deal.

Finish is flawless. The quilting is rather dark and the guitar looks black under low light, which I like since when you pick it up and show it to people its fun to watch their faces when they see how beautiful it really is. Haven't had any problems with the action and i like the neck a lot. The frets are pretty small, but really well done. It seems that these Japanese made guitars are the best of the imports (Jacksons anyone?).

Just bought it, but seems very sturdy...

Never dealt with them...

I give this guitar an easy 10. I might still give it a ten even if I paid twice it's price, but the price really adds to the whole feeling of satisfaction. This is one of those purchases that gives you a nice warm feeling inside since you know hours of enjoyment are ahead. This is my 5th guitar in a high quality collection (US fenders, washburns, etc.) and it's one of my favorites already. If you can find it for this price, grab it before someone figures out how killer it is.

This guitar is a 2001 japan made ampeg. It has 22 frets. I bought it for 300$, so i knew i would have to do some mods to it. Ok, lets go! The neck is a three piece maple job with slight figure. Three piece! Very nice. It has great, low action, rosewood board, and a small c shape, but there is plenty of wood here. The top looks like quilt maple but is probably that photo flame stuff that fender uses, it is also veneered on the headstock. Boy, it may not be real but it shure looks BEUTIFUL. Mine is blackcherry. It has one vol and one tone control and a three way toggle for the 2 seymoure duncan p90s. The body is a two piece mahogany, light, slightly figured, staight grained deal. It has been a LONG time since i have seen anything like this on gibson. The neck was staight and the truss rod worked well. The frets were fine, no complaints here. The tuners are the sealed kind and worked well. I do not like the wilkenson bride as it cannot be adjusted for intonation proporly. There is no screw to adjust the one movable saddle, this is becoming a common design. That said, here is something else. Paul Reed Smith is the man solely responsible for bringing this cheep, cost cutting bridge design back from oblivion, which is where it belongs. Everyone knows these things suck. Having said all that, it will be immediatly replaced with a Leo Quan Bad Ass, of PROPER FIT. That is the bridge that was invented to replace that piece of dung that gibson used to call a bridge. The bridge posts, when the Willkenson is removed, have lots of sloppy play in the body inserts. Bad.Very bad. This will be fixed with either the right posts or some plummers tape around the posts.

It sounds wonderfull with the p90s but will not stay in tune. Here is the thing. It is bolt in neck and the heel inside of the body was routed for the neck pickup which really weakens the neck at that point. Solution. I glued in a thin tight fitting plate of graphite in that joint. Problem solved. The neck pocket looks like they used the wrong jig to rout it out. VERY NEAT, just like the controls cavity, but way too much room. Solution. I wax the neck and body where it needs it and then line the neck pocket with epoxy, x15 i think it is called. Then i set the neck in the pocket, line it up, and put in the neck plate and screws. After it has cured the neck is removed, cleaned and then put back in the body and bolted up like normal. The result? A neck pocket that is TIGHTER THAN A BUGS ASS! period.

It was set up just fine. No buzzes. The finish was stunning! When i looked inside the guitar, besides the beutiful, neatly executed routs, there was a suprizingly lack of buffing compound. Very clean. Try that with a fender, gibson or prs.
Everything besides the neck pocket and the bridge were right up to par. Remember, i knew what i was getting into before i bought it, and i have alot patience to do mods. i consider them a hobby.

Without the mods i did to the neckpocket and the bridge you might as well try taking a piss up a rope before getting this thing to play in tune. No song No dance.

Ampeg was very helpful when i needed info for my ampeg v7 amp. Very friendly.

I would pay someone to steal this guitar!
I wish this guitar had a pair of breasts!
Peace be with you, god bless.

2001 Japanese Ampeg, Mahogany body with a very nice quilted maple top, bolt-on maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays and 22 medium frets, two honest-to-goodness Duncan P-90's (not the second-rate "Duncan Designs" often found on imports), single volume, single tone control, standard three-way pickup switch, Wilkinson (yes, Wilkinson) wraparound bridge/tailpiece with a keen little screw for setting the G and D strings, tuners that look like Gotohs and act like Gotohs but only say Made In Japan on them... so if they're not Gotohs they're probably made in the Gotoh factory. Why they didn't just put straight Gotohs on is a little odd since they didn't seem to cut any other corners--but the 'non-Gotohs' are more than adequate.

It's a 24& 3/4" scale, double cutaway with unlimited access to each and every fret due to the depth of the cutaways and the extra care that went into the design of the deep set and ultra-tight neck joint.
The neck is nice and wide (1.75" at the (sigh) plastic nut) and a very comfy shade of flat (12" radius).

Flawless transparent Purple Burst finish that shows off the quilt of the maple top and the grain of the Mahogany back. The front of the short (ala PRS) and pitched headstock is also sprayed body color, and features a rather small, probably faux Mother of Pearl Ampeg logo at its tip. The Ampeg name is painted on the pickguard. SLM really outdid themselves here. Maybe that's why they stopped importing these... the biggest disappointment is (besides the one just listed) is that there is no case included. On the bright side, it will fit into anything a Les Paul Junior will fit into. Oh, yes, and you get two strap buttons off the lower bout for a choice of heights. Nice and noteworthy feature.

In a word- Wow. I was in the market for a USA Hamer Special when I spied this beauty on the wall at Rockhaus (yes, they are a real store with a real location in Milwaukee, WI, not just on ebay. If you're in the area, check 'em out). It had the P-90's and the correct scale length, so I took it for a test spin. Without even plugging it in I was hooked. You can practically hear it sustaining on the wall, much less when actually playing it. Plugging in, it was all over. Johnny Thunders is alive and well and reincarnated as an Ampeg AMG1. Even though it clearly does that perfectly by virtue of its pickups and scale length alone, that's not the only trick up its sleeve.

Any P-90 solid-body sound you want is there in warm, drippy fullness and eternal sustain. Yes, it hums. Single coil pickups hum. If you don't want hum you don't want P-90 tone, buy something with humbuckers. The Duncans are very, very wax potted, however, so there is no squeal at high volumes, only glorious, Hendrixian feedback if you want to let it out.

It's clean tones are also very nice, they're just P-90 clean tones-- not what most people expect or particularly look for. It does not sound like a strat, it does not have the same snap because of the pickups rather low resonant peaks and the scale. It is, however, capable of a very warm, dark and mellow sound, and steps into the twangy zone a little more freely than, say, the average humbucker will.

Jazz to hard rock, it's in there. Like I said, the ultimate P-90 tone with over-the-top sustain. It cannot do everything, but everything it does is nice. It will in all liklihood be the only guitar I play at an all electric gig, but I'm also big on the P-90 sound. If this is what you're looking for, look no futher-- but you'd better look quick or look carefully.

I don't know what kind of setup SLM originally had done on it, but the good folks at Rockhaus set it up picture perfect. .011's (probably GHS), low-er action but no buzz anywhere.

As for the guitar itself, the level of craftsmanship at whatever Japanese factory built it is very high. Higher than many later PRS products and as high as a good one. The neck joint is perfect; to sustain the way it does the joint would have to be. I have yet to play its equal in a bolt-on, and if it breaks it will be an easier and far cheaper fix than a set neck.

The finish is flawless, not a trace of fish-eye, overspray or any other common malady, and it shows off the grain of the obviously high quality woods.

The pickguard may or may not be covering one giant, hideous body route, although I doubt it the way it sustains. Plus, you can see wood around the pickups so it is doubtful that they saved money this way.

I would have liked to see a graphite nut but this is the only complaint I can think of. It's simply gorgeous.

This was yet another selling point. It should be obvious from my comments above that this thing is built like a tank.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing almost 14 years and in that time there have been exactly 4 guitars that have really blew me away. This was number three. For a P-90, Junior or Hamer Special style guitar, there wasn't a better deal to be had. I say WASN'T, because, sadly, they have stopped importing these. Luckily, Rockhaus snagged a scad of them and sold a guitar that lists at $1,100 for under $400. If you like basic, P-90 equipped guitars and see one of these, anywhere, buy it immediately. I gave it a 'fantastic value' because it was one of the best bargains I have yet encountered.

japanese made, 22 frets, quilted maple top, mahogany back, rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, p-90's wired parallel, 3-way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone, good pots and caps for tone control, see-thru purple finish, simple pear shape body with double cutaways for neck access, thickish and flattish neck, thinnish frets, bridge is a bit odd style to adjust intonation, nickel plated, similar to bad-ass..., nice tuners (time will tell)... rated 8 because it has not my favorite neck shape and fret style...

p90's are hot spongy and stingy, not as much variety in clean tones...
this is straight into class a 5 watt 6v6 tophat cadet into a variety of alnico speaker boxes... not too noisy... vintage heavy arena rock tones... best sustain i've ever held...

had to turn the bridge up from the wood 3/4 turn each side, better feel and eliminate buzz... raised screws on bridge pickup for hotter tone...
all else aok...

10

have called ampeg before, generally a little waiting and then a quick answer... no discussions etc... get yer info and list of questions ready before you call them...

i've tested other guitars with p90's around $400 ea, never liked one enough to get it... saw this and liked both the brand and the color/finish... figured I could hock an ampeg if I didn't like it enough... not dissapointed tho... still want a g&l asat special...