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Ampeg Portaflex B-15N (early 1970s)

Ampeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent. Although the company specializes in the production of bass guitar amplification, Ampeg also manufactures electric guitar and double bass amplifiers.

History[link]

Ampeg first named in 1946" Michaels-Hull Electronic Labs", a partnership between Everett Hull, a pianist and bassist, and Stanley Michaels. The first products were a pickup designed by Hull for upright bass, and instrument amplifiers to have minimal output distortion that jazz musicians favored. The pickup was called the "Amplified Peg", which became "Ampeg". Michaels left the company to Hull, who named it "Ampeg Bassamp Company".

Ampeg was acquired by Magnavox in 1970 and held until MTI of Japan acquired Magnavox in 1980. In the 1990s-00s Ampeg came under SLM (St Louis Music). SLM was subsequently bought by Loud Technologies in 2005.

Ampeg SVT Classic

Bass rig with Ampeg SVT-6 Pro

Ampeg now[link]

The current Ampeg company is mainly successful in the field of bass amps. They also have a line of guitar amplifiers and a remake of the Dan Armstrong guitar and bass.

In 2005, Ampeg, and its parent company, St. Louis Music (also makers of Crate amps) was purchased by LOUD Technologies Inc., an umbrella company name given to describe the family of brands now consisting of Mackie brand of mixers, pro audio and recording equipment, Crate amplifiers, Alvarez Guitars, Martin Audio U.K., and Eastern Acoustic Works. In March 2007, Loud ceased production of Ampeg and Crate at the manufacturing facility in Yellville, AR, outsourcing the manufacture of Ampeg and Crate to contract manufacturers in Asia.

A major selling point for Ampeg in the past was that it was designed and made in America, and its brand image and history (stretching back over 65 years) is considered among the most iconic and great American brands such as Harley Davidson. Today, the Ampeg Heritage Series, and Pro Neo cabinet line are still built in the U.S.A. and all new products are desinged in Woodinville, WA, by U.S. musicians/engineers.

Amplifiers[link]

Innovations[link]

Ampeg holds six U.S. patents under the Ampeg brand name. In 1960 Jess Oliver (real name: Oliver Jesperson) created a combo amplifier with a chassis that could be inverted and tucked inside the speaker enclosure to protect the vacuum tubes. This combo bass amp became known as the "Portaflex" and remained a popular choice through the 1960s. Also in the 1960s, Ampeg became the first company to incorporate reverberation (reverb) in an amplifier with its Reverberocket, which preceded Fender’s Vibroverb amp by nearly two years.

Ampeg SVT VR "Vintage Reissue"

Super Valve Technology[link]

During the 1960s Ampeg only produced fairly low wattage combo amplifiers. Rock concerts were becoming increasingly large affairs and bigger amplifiers were needed. In 1969, Ampeg's Chief Engineer Bill Hughes designed the Super Valve Technology circuitry for the amplifier of the same name. At 85 lb (39 kg), the Ampeg SVT provided 300 watts of RMS power, considerably more than most other bass amplifiers of the era. The high power rating made the SVT a candidate for use in larger venues. The SVT saw widespread use by rock acts in the 1970s. After their Hiwatt amplifiers were delayed at U.S. Customs, the Rolling Stones decided to take SVTs on tour with them.

Many original '70s SVT's are still in use today. A bass speaker cabinet for use with the SVT was designed by Roger Cox. These large speaker cabinets used eight 10" loudspeakers in four rows of two speakers. These cabinets were designed as a sealed, infinite baffle enclosure. Originally issued with CTS speakers, from 1972 until the purchase of the company by SLM electronics, Ampeg used Eminence loudspeakers. The use of 10" speakers for a high-powered bass amplifier was a major departure from the prevailing wisdom of the era, which was that large diameter drivers were required for low-end sound reproduction. The SVT guitar amp and the companion 8 X 10" speaker cabinet have been reissued by Ampeg.

Collectability and playability[link]

Compared to the major brands Fender and Marshall, the collectability and playability of the guitar amps is a mixed affair. While vintage Fender amps always command high prices, Ampeg guitar amps can most of the time be found for less money. In general, Ampeg guitar amps until 1964 are not very much wanted as they have a dark, moody sound and remain very clean, even when pushed hard. With the introduction of the Galaxy line (Gemini, Mercury, Reverberocket) in 1964, treble boost circuits and spring reverbs were added, and higher wattage models (such as the 30 watt Gemini II) were made available. Many of these models are underrated, take pedals well, and are the best buys for guitar amps from that time period. From 1969 until 1979 the SVT line was introduced, and these amps are more often sought after. Original SVT bass amps are very much sought-after for their fat, clear, punchy sound, and the V2 and V-4 heads along with the VT-40 and VT-22 combos are sought after for the classic 70s crunchy but clean sound. See complete article on the V-series Amps: Ampeg V Series

Instruments and accessories[link]

Zorko Bass		Ampeg Baby Bass

Ampeg also manufactured (or had manufactured for them) lines of quirky but distinctive instruments to complement their amplifiers. This began around 1962 with the Baby Bass, an electric upright bass with a full-size wooden neck and a cello-sized Uvex plastic body (not fiberglass, as is often stated). The design was purchased from Zorko, re-engineered by Jess Oliver, and manufactured in a corner of Ampeg's Linden, New Jersey factory. It appeared in Ampeg's price list until about 1970.

In the early 1960s, Ampeg-branded guitars and basses were produced by Burns of London, but these instruments did not sell well, because the cost of importing the instruments made them too expensive compared to Fenders and Gibsons. Baldwin's purchase of Burns in 1965 ended the association with Ampeg.

Ampeg AEB-1 Horizontal Bass

Dan Armstrong Plexi (1970)

In 1966, Ampeg introduced their home-built line of long-scale "Horizontal Basses" (aka "scroll" or "f-hole" basses), both fretted and fretless (reputed to be the first production fretless electric bass). Some with different bodies were produced as the "Devil Bass" with distinctive horns, but the circuitry was identical. Originally using a transducer below the bridge, they were redesigned around 1968 to use a conventional magnetic pickup. At the same time, short-scale fretted and fretless basses, with magnetic pickups, were also produced.

In 1969 the Horizontal Basses were replaced by the Dan Armstrong-designed and -built "see-through" guitars and basses (aka "Plexi,^[1] "Lucite" or "crystal" named after various brand names of acrylic glass). The guitars incorporated snap-in replaceable pickups to change the sound, and the short-scale basses used two stacked coils with a pan pot to gain a very wide range of tones. The transparent lucite bodies were Armstrong's original idea and contributed to incredibly long sustain but were very heavy. Ampeg's production of the "see-through" instruments ended in 1971 due to financial disagreements between Armstrong and Ampeg over amplifier designs.

In the mid-1970s, Ampeg had a line of Japanese-made guitars and basses under the "Stud" name. The guitars included the Stud, Heavy Stud, and Super Stud, and the basses included the Big Stud and Little Stud. The Studs were knock-offs of popular Fender and Gibson instruments. Some of the Stud instruments were poorly built (e.g. the plywood bodies and necks on the Little Stud), while others had good-quality features (e.g., gold-plated hardware on the Super Stud). In the late 1990s, Ampeg reissued the Baby Bass, the Horizontal Bass, and the "See-Through" instruments, as well as wooden instruments based on the "See-Through" design.

Ampeg also produced effects pedals, including stand-alone reverb units in the 60s, the Scrambler (octaver) from 1969 (a resurgence in interest resulted in an updated Scrambler being reissued in 2005), the Phazzer (phaser) from the mid- to late-70s, and a line of nine stompboxes produced in Japan in the mid-80s. There were also Ampeg-branded picks, strings, straps, polish, as well as two practice amps, the Sound Cube and the Buster (a Pignose clone).

Selected Ampeg users[link]

Rick Danko with Ampeg AUB-1 bass, Hamburg, 1971

Scott Hill with Ampeg Plexi, Colorado Springs, 2007

Arnold Fishkind with Ampeg products

• Gail Ann Dorsey - solo artist and David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Gwen Stefani, Susan Werner
• Steve Morse - Dixie Dregs, V4
• Mark Hoppus - Blink-182
• Matthew Bellamy - Muse
• Josh Homme - Queens of the Stone Age
• Art Greenhaw - The Light Crust Doughboys
• Dave Grohl - Foo Fighters
• Joe Lally - Fugazi
• James Jamerson - Funk Brothers, Motown recording band. Used B-15n in live performance.
• Duck Dunn - Booker T. and the MG's, Stax recording band.
• Victor Wooten - Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Solo Artist
  Note: Victor Wooten no longer uses Ampeg gear. He now uses Hartke Bass Rigs.^[2]
• Les Claypool - Primus
• Cliff Burton - Metallica
• Jason Newsted - Metallica, Rock Star Supernova, Voivod
• Rick Danko - The Band
• Keith Richards - Rolling Stones
• Mick Taylor - Rolling Stones
• Bill Wyman - Rolling Stones
• Paul Simonon - The Clash
• Billy Sheehan - Mr. Big
• Gene Simmons - Kiss
• Doug Pinnick - King's X
• John McVie - Fleetwood Mac
• Roger Waters - Pink Floyd
• Nicky Wire - Manic Street Preachers
• Dee Dee Ramone
• Kyle Toucher - Dr. Know
• Greg Sage - The Wipers
• Matthew Followill - Kings of Leon, Uses two Ampeg Reverberocket 212R's
• Mikey Welsh - Weezer, Juliana Hatfield, The Kickovers
• Scott Shriner - Weezer
• Chris Wolstenholme Muse
• Jeremy Davis - Paramore
• Tom Hamilton - Aerosmith
• Chris Wood - Medeski, Martin, & Wood
• Jack Casady - Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, SVT (band), used SVT tube amplifiers
• Jackie Fox - The Runaways, SVT & 810 cab
• Bruce Hauser - Stepson, 1973 SVT with two flatback 810 cabs with dollies

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)

• The Official Ampeg Page
• Milestones section at official website
• History section at official website
• Ampeg (1950s-2005) Various sales brochures and advertisements.
• Dan Armstrong: The Man and His Guitars
• Hopkins, Gregg; Moore, Bill (1999). Ampeg: The Story Behind the Sound. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-7951-1. 
• Fjestad, Zachary R. (2009). "Ampeg/Dan Armstrong Ampeg". Blue Book of Electric Guitars (12 ed.). Blue Book Publications. ISBN 978-1-886768-93-2. https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Category.aspx?product=2&id=29. 
• Fjestad, Zachary R. (2010). "Ampeg". Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers (4 ed.). Blue Book Publications. ISBN 978-1-936120-05-5. https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Category.aspx?product=1&id=12. 

1. ^ "New Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Bass". Ampeg. March 10, 2008. http://www.ampeg.com/roundsound/2008/03/i-can-play-clearly-now-the-woo.html. 
2. ^ "Vix Gear - Victor Wooten". http://www.victorwooten.com/gear.html. 

Further reading[link]

• Hopkins, Gregg, Moore, Bill, "Ampeg Horizontal Basses: From Liden, NJ. to Linden Avenue, Burbank, CA.", Vintage Guitar (magazine), March 1997.

External links[link]

• Ampeg.com
• AmpegV4.com - Dedicated to late-1970s Ampeg V4 amplifiers

The Classic (Hangul: 클래식; Keulraesik) is a 2003 South Korean melodrama / romance film directed by Kwak Jae-yong.

Plot[link]

The film tells the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter. The story of the mother is told partially in flashbacks.

The movie starts in the present day. The daughter, Ji-hye (Son Ye-jin), is cleaning-up around her house when she comes across a box full of old letters and a diary that detail the story of her mother, Joo-hee (who is also played by Son Ye-jin). Periodically in the movie, Ji-hye reads one of these letters, which starts a flashback scene in which the story of the mother is told. These flashbacks are intertwined with Ji-hye's own story, in which she falls for a fellow student, Sang-min (Zo In Sung), who is involved with the school theater.

The movie tells the story of both relationships. The mother, Joo-hee, visits the countryside as a student one summer and meets Joon-ha (Jo Seung-woo). Together they explore the countryside, playing near a river which they both will always remember as their special place. When a storm starts they take shelter together under a tree, but not before Joo-hee twists her ankle and is rendered helpless. Joon-ha carries her on his back and they struggle home, only to be confronted by her angry parents. Before they separate, Joo-hee gives him a necklace, which he keeps close as a precious reminder of their time together.

Unfortunately, as often happens in affairs of the heart, a third party prevents any deepening of their relationship. Joo-hee has been promised by her parents as a bride to Tae-soo, Joon-ha's friend. But Tae-soo, a noble friend, finds out about Joo-hee and Joon-ha's attraction for each other and helps the two communicate secretly by letting them use his own name in place of Joon-ha's in their letters. When Tae-soo's father finds this out, however, he beats Tae-soo. Tae-soo tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide so that his two friends can be together.

Meanwhile, in the present, Ji-hye falls for Sang-min in whom her friend Soo-kyeong is also very interested, but he seems not to notice. Then, in a sweet scene, they take shelter from the rain together under the same tree. He uses his coat to cover both of them and escorts her to where she needs to go. The moment, while magical, does not go anywhere as she feels his help was only due to his generous nature and not from any feelings for her on his part.

Back in the past, Joon-ha is guilt-ridden over his friend's attempted suicide and Joo-hee's own guilt. Determined to prevent any more hurt to her, Joon-ha joins the army and goes to Vietnam. There he loses his eyesight while he tries to retrieve the necklace Joo-hee had given him. When he returns to Korea, he meets again with Joo-hee, and, trying to hide his blindness, convinces her he has married in the hope she will move on with her life. Though heart broken that their relationship cannot continue, she does move on and eventually marries Tae-soo, Joon-ha's kind friend. After they have been married for several years and have a young daughter (Ji-hye) Joo-hee is approached by friends of Joon-ha, who relate Joon-ha's last wish: that his ashes be scattered by Joo-hee in the river, now a reservoir, where they first met. She then finds out that Joon-ha hadn't married, but he later did after Tae-soo and Joo-hee were married. She was told that he had a son also. The heart-break is too much and she cries.

In the present, Ji-hye's own story unfolds. Sang-min reveals his true feelings for Ji-hye - feelings that mirror her own. It is also revealed that their taking shelter together during the storm was no accident: he had purposely left his umbrella behind in a shop so that he could join her under the tree. Then, when Ji-hye pensively reveals her mother's story to him, tears stream down his face. Silently he lifts a necklace from around his neck and places it around hers. It is the necklace that Ji-hye's mother, Joo-hee, had given to Joon-ha when they met. The circle is completed: Joo-hee's daughter and Joon-ha's son have fallen in love.

Cast[link]

• Son Ye-jin in dual role as Ji-hye and Joo-hee (Ji-hye's mother)
• Jo Seung-woo as Joon-ha
• Zo In Sung as Sang-min
• Lee Ki-woo as Tae-soo (friend of Joon-ha)
• Lee Soo-in as Soo-kyeong (friend of Ji-hye)
• Seo Yeong-hee as Na-hee (friend of Joo-hee)
• Lim Ye Jin as Shopkeeper

Development[link]

Several of the school scenes were filmed at various universities in Korea. Notably, the library was in Kyung Hee University. There are many parallels between the flashback and present day stories. In the flashbacks, Joon Ha writes letters in the name of his friend Tae-soo to their mutual love interest. In the present day, Ji-hye writes letters in the name of her friend to their mutual love interest. In the flashbacks, Joo-hee has an annoying female friend that Joon-ha is initially set up with. In the present day, Ji-hye also has an annoying friend that interferes with her relationship. Also, Joo-hee and Ji-hye both receive the same poem from the people they love: "When the sun shines...".

Reception[link]

The Classic was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards in the category Best Asian Film in 2004.^[3]

Son Ye-jin received several awards for her performance in the film:^[4]

• 2003 40th Daejong sang Awards: Best New Actress (The Classic)
• 2003 39th PaekSang Arts Awards: Best New Actress (The Classic)
• 2003 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards - Most Favourite Star (The Classic, Crazy First Love)
• 2004 9th Moscow International Love Movie Awards: Best Couple (The Classic)

Music[link]

The film relies heavily on music to help convey emotion.

Korean Songs in the film:

• 그랬나봐 ("Geuraetna pwa" - World without love) - performer: Kim Hyung Joong
• 고백 ("Gobaek" - Confession) - performer: Delispice - played during the art gallery scene
• 너에게 난 나에게 넌 ("Neoehgeh nan naehgeh neon" - Me to you, you to me) - performer: Jatanpung - played during both special umbrella scenes
• 너무 아픈 사랑은 사랑이아니었음을 ("Neomu apeun sarangeun sarangee anieosseumeul" - It wasn't love if it hurt so much) - performer: Kim Kwang Suk - played during train and last meeting scenes
• 사랑하면 할수록 ("Saranghamyon halsoorok" - If we are in love, then...) - Played in different instrumental versions throughout the film - always at emotional moments. It is sung in the final scenes by performer Han Song Min. There is also a Mandarin version of this song titled "Hui Se Kong Jian" (灰色空間 in Mandarin) which is sung by Taiwanese singer Show Luo in Taiwanese drama called "The Outsider II".

The piano piece performed by Joo-Hee on stage is Beethoven's Piano Sonata 8, movement 2 Pathetique Sonata.

Pachelbel's Canon in D was also used as the background music. This same music was featured in the director's earlier film, My Sassy Girl.

Some American songs were used as well.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Classic at the Korean Movie Database
• The Classic at the Internet Movie Database
• The Classic at HanCinema