LeftyBassist.com

Hi Guys,
Anyone know about these. Are they only made in China and what are they like quality wise. I like the look of them but i'd like something NOT made in China. What would an original Ampeg lefty go for and what are they like as an instrument.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/282754044660?ul_noapp=true

Here is a beautiful copy of an Ampeg that sold in 2013 for about $2200.
It has -MJS 'mystery' pickup
-African mahogany body
-Bloodwood facing
-Ebony face inlay
-Morado board with maple binding and dots
-Bartolini P Pickup
-Passive with Vol, Vol, Tone, Tone

Unfortunately this is a righty makes you want to learn to play upside down

I bought mine in 2007, which was right around the time they were first issued by Eastwood. Mine was made in Korea. Not sure about the latest ones, however.

Build and sound-wise, it's not bad. It's in the P bass ballpark, but a bit warmer and fatter sounding. Digging in, especially with a pick, will overdrive the PUP, but not in a bad way. I kinda dig it. The neck is nice and chunky. As with most Eastwood recreations, some sacrifices had to be made to keep it affordable, so sorely missing is the scroll headstock. If you're comparing it to an original Ampeg, I'd say it's far more versatile and useful. The early original Ampeg AEB-1 (and AUB-1 fretless version) is one of the worst sounding basses I've ever heard/owned, as I had a righty for a while. The "mystery" PUP gave it a hollow plunky, plastic-like sound. (Though I've heard that these basses were originally intended for gut strings). The later models (now dubbed the AMB-1) added a useful PUP in the middle position, and those are far better sounding. Rick Danko of The Band is probably the most famous player of one (He played the fretless model AMUB-1).

As for finding a lefty, good luck. I've seen maybe 2 or 3 in the past 25 years. I don't believe more than 5 or 6 were made, period. So if you do find one, expect to pay $$$ money.

Bruce Johnson has a great informative website devoted to these basses. He also builds new and improved versions, including lefties, though I'm not sure how active he is in building these days. he hasn't updated his website in years: http://www.xstrange.com

Well thanks pjmuck for all the info encyclopedia man very much appreciated.

Here's a video from Ed Friedland, the "Bass Whisperer"... go to 5:35 to see his review of the EEB-1... it's a great sounding bass! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmSUjhcJaPo

Boz Burrell played a fretless Ampeg in King Crimson and Bad Company. Only player I had ever seen with one back then. I didn't even know it was an Ampeg. I always assumed a one-off luthier build.

Bruce Johnson, who is pretty much "Mr Ampeg" (has all the factory records; restores/rebuilds them; and makes very nice copies of them - leftys, too) told me some years ago that Ampeg told him that they only ever made one lefty (a custom one). He knows who owns it, and has worked on it; and that it isn't for sale. You can find out all you ever wanted to know about them at Johnson's Extremely Strange Guitar Works (http://www.xstrange.com), or on the "Love of Ampeg & Other Scroll Basses" forum over on Talk Bass. He posts there quite a bit - as you might imagine. I almost bought a really trick, blue lefty from him a couple of years ago - with both fretted and fretless necks, and a custom made case - but due to a communication screw up (totally my fault), the deal fell through. I'm still thinking about getting one, though...

@GIBrat51 thanks a lot mate

He may have been referring to the Devil Bass, (of which I've only seen 1 lefty) as I've seen a handful of lefty AEBs over the years. I know Joe Long (Four Seasons) used to own one of them:

I just looked up my post to Bruce on Talk Bass in 2014, asking about leftys. I was trying to operate from memory (which seems to be a losing battle lately) and I misspoke; what he actually said was that "Ampeg made about 3 of them - all AEB-1s." And, that he knew of only one still in existence. He later said that it's the one that belongs to Joe Long. He didn't mention anything about the Devil Bass, but someone else on the Ampeg & Other Scroll Basses forum at TB said that they were "reversible" - which Bruce didn't contradict. So,...? If you know where any of the originals are, you should let Bruce know - if only to update the records...
As for the Eastwoods? The EEB-1 is one of their higher end basses, and IIRC, used to be made in Korea, with the less expensive instruments being made in China. I think it's China/Indonesia, now. I have 3 Eastwoods; 2 basses and a baritone guitar. Mine are all very good value for the money, and I have no complaints with them. I've been tempted by the EEB-1, but I could afford one of Bruce's recreations, and they're hard to resist...

Thanks for the update. Is Bruce still actively making his basses? I wanted one myself a while ago.

It always thought it would be cool if Eastwood would offer a "second neck" option for their EEB/ EUB model (since they make both anyway) so owners could interchange both a fretless and fretted neck without having to buy an entire second bass. I remember Westone offering that option on some for their basses back in the 80's.

Here's the bass I was referring to in my previous post- The Westone Spectrum LX by Matsumoku around 1986 or so, came with interchangeable fretted/fretless necks in a custom case: