Ampeg Heavy Stud

I have read that this Ampeg Telecaster guitar was made around 1970 in Japan.Guitar is a plywood laminate with blonde maple caps on front and back.Volume,tone,and 3-way selector.Pots are replaced with newer ones.Pickups replaced with duncan vintage tele pickups.Original three section bridge,no cover.Where can I find one? Schaller mini tuners,warmuth maple/rosewood neck thin frets.Body has thick clear finish with long age cracks-good look to the guitar.No accessories,no case.Just the right amount of features.
Owned since 1989.

The guitar suits me,great intonation.Works well for classic rock,progressive blues,slide,jazz,country-rock.Good dry bright biting tone from bridge pickup.Neck pickup is fat sounding nice for jazz.
Guitar is played through a Crate VC 5310,or a new Fender Champ 300.
Heavy Stud is very durable,and a main guitar.Bridge pickup squeals at full volume if your close to the amp(single coils).I'll never sell it, though.

Not sure of factory settings,guitar was in need of electronic repair at time of purchase.First 5 frets were worn down to the fretboard on original neck.Still have this neck.Original Pickups were a bit noisy.Guitar was renovated for new neck,pickups,all electronics.Despite
that this guitar was made from 1 1/2" plywood,still has great sound.

Very reliable guitar,and can withstand alot of playing.Strap buttons are
Dunlop strap locks.Would use a backup guitar for heavier blues playing.
Frets are to thin.Built like a brick.

N/A on the company/warranty.Initial renovations were made at Knut Koupe'
in MPLS,MN.

Started playing in the late 1970's.Some other gear I have is a vintage Gibson SG standard,amps,Rodrigas model B classical guitar.

I should've asked how much renovation cost were before having it done,but after all this time,a wise investment.It total costs were
around $630.Would replace the guitar with a custom tele,or strat.That would cost more--you pay for quality these days.Maybe the neck should have bigger frets.Guitar was wisely purchased for affordability,and sound.
Use guitar for teaching locally along with the classical.

1970's Apeg heavy stud, japanesse. s/h pickups. bright yellow maple finish all over. tele design. included "ash tray" bridge cover.

sounds great on either pickup. single coil isnt too noisy, humbuck at the neck is extremely bassy and warm. i run it through a fender princeton and it rings like a bell. very bluesy and good with lighter distortion. not a metal guitar at all.

i bought this guitar from a hobo who needed drug money... and with it came the amp, some effects and cables, and the case. the action is fine. the tone pot is fried, but thats because its old... and i can due without a tone knob anyway. the finish is a bright yellow maple. even the neck is yellow maple. neck feels like glass, and is really fun to play on.

this guitar is a tank. the sheer weight of it proves that. its 30+ years old and to date the only problems were the tone pot going out and the screw coming out of the strap knob.. which i fixed. i would depend on it, but it has a select sound that i dont use all of the time.

never dealt with

great guitar. probably worth a fortune in the shape its in. if you can get one with the bridge cover in tact, keep it and cherish it.

When i picked it up used from a music store in 1980 I could see and feel its potential. Particularly the look and feel of the Gibson-like neck. It also had Grover tuning pegs, Telecaster styling, beautiful red finish; love those rectangular fret inlays. However, the Bridge and pickups would have to be replaced.

I had a guitarsmith load it with Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups, added a chrome plated brass bridge, a brass nut and had the string farrels cut through the back like a real telecaster. They initially intonated it and set the action. My musical style has a strong blues influence. After having it worked on its potential was fully realized. It's an absolutely great guitar. I played it next to my friends '65 telecaster. We were both impressed! (this post work on the guitar was an additional $300.00 parts and labor in 1980)

I must admit the Gibson ES 335 is one of the best necks I've ever played. I wouldn't go as far to say that it has a Gibson Les Paul neck. I would say it's close and I love it!

They don't call it Heavy Stud for nothing. I've played, and continue to play the hell out of this guitar.

I wonder if the makers fully realized the potential of this guitar. I 'd love to see a website on this guitar.

My semi-pro musician friend who has the 65 tele also has a vintage ES 335 which was published in guitar player magazine. He tells me, "Don't ever get rid of that guitar!"
I don't believe all guitars are alike. You can take two identical models and they won't feel the same. I was really lucky with this purchase.

Made in Japan, 22 frets, pickup config ( from brige to neck ) S/H, one I have has chrome tuners and controls (volume, tone, 3-way) and a black laquer finish, standard fare, nothing special. Tele style body.

I play lots of new rock and metal, sound is great for metal especailly. With a good amp, sound is quite heavy, but clear.

Everthing was adjusted great, but it does not hold a tune for long

This guitar is indestrucable!! had it for 3 years. I've accidentally dropped it, had it fall off a shelf, and turned around and smacked the neck against a wall, only to re-tune it and it would still work great!

I have no idea, this model was discontinued a while ago.

Been playing 3 years, I learned on this guitar. I own an Akai tube/diode pedal which I always use with this guitar. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Special II, which I use when playing anything besides metal. Overall, a great metal guitar.

This is a '70s era Ampeg Heavy Stud made in Japan. It's got a Tele body, with a neck and headstock that both look and feel like a gibson. The neck itself is bound and had block faux mother of pearl inlays. The guitar is made of plywood, so it's heavy as hell in terms of weight. The pick guard us faux mother of pearl as well. The finishis natural. The pickups are standard Tele fare, both single coil, pretty cheap, but still provide a decent sound with a lot of character. The tuners are stock I think, and don't hold a tune so well. The frets need serious work, but this is an old guitar that I bought for like $175 or so.

I play indie/math/punk style stuff and this guitar never really sounded right with my old ampeg portaflex, so it acted as a backup guitar. The electronics are noisy, and don't have much presence compared to my "real" tele. Through my tech 21 trademark 120, it sounds much better and has more character. For home recording it'll be great. Live, it's not so versatile.

Got it very used, but it was set up as good as it could have been for its age a wear. The action is lacking in that the frets *really* need to be redressed or replaced. Other than that, it's a decent guitar for the price, and hell, it's called a Heavy Stud! For me, it was more of a collector's piece anyhow.

Like I mentioned, it's made of plywood. This thing will probably outlast me. The laquer is very thick. I would not use it without a backup, not without putting about $200 worth of work into it.

N/A

I've been playing for about 15 years. I'm not much of a gear snob, but I like stuff with style and character. This guitar really has style and a great look to it. I wish I had looked at the frets a little closer and tried it through my amp. If it was stolen, I'd be bummed, but I'd probably use the insurance money to go towards a decent gibson or something like that.

This Ampeg guitar was made in Japan in the 1970's. The model that I picked up has been modified heavily. The guitar is a Telecaster lookalike in natural finish. There is a fake mother of pearl pickguard and two controls with the jack flush on the control plate. The neck has fake block inlay and a Gibson style headstock. The neck is very beefy. This entire neck and body is made of plywood. There is a humbucking pickup in the neck position. Modifications include a Dimarzio bridge humbucker and mint condition Kahler Tremolo.

I own a great deal of good equipment, but I really like this guitar for it's sound. Originally, I checked it out because I was interested in Kahler tremolo's at the time. It turns out, this guitar is a screamer. The electronics and pickups have been redone, so I couldn't suggest any other Heavy Stud's. Mine sounds very fat, but the bridge pickup really brings out the screaming solos.

The finish was sanded off, but these guitars were natural anyway. All of the modifications were done perfectly, and the frets seem to be in good shape. The neck is very fat and bulky. I like necks like this, but the telecaster shape makes you assume a smaller neck. Not so. The Kahler is installed very well, and there have been no problems with it.

This guitar is tough. You could throw it down a flight of steps and it would be fine. I would say that this guitar could gig well, although I have never played it live. Great in the studio.

I have never dealt with Ampeg. These haven't been made in a while.

A great value, although the work that went into this guitar is worth more than the original parts. I will not suggest that you pick one up, because the other Heavy Studs will not sound the same. You should always try a guitar out before you buy, because, at least in my opinion, all guitars feel and sound different.