Westone Dan Armstrong Signature I and III
Dan Armstrong Signature I
- Body is solid Alder, satin Maple neck with 23 fret Rosewood fingerboard
- Pickups - 1 Maxi and 1 Mini-bucker
- Master volume and tone controls
- Floyd Rose licensed trem
- Black hardware, available in Black (WEA100BK) or White (WEA100WH)
Dan Armstrong Signature III
As the I, except for -
- Pickups - 1 Rock Monster, 1 Mini-bucker Bridge - fixed die cast
- Colours - Black (WEA300BK), Ivory (WEA300IV), White (No model number given)
- Both models (There is no Dan Armstrong Signature II) feature in the 1990 'A Sign Of The Times' catalogue
- All Dan Armstrong models are post-Matsumoku guitars
I was sent a text file along with the pictures below, I have no idea who wrote it or where it came from. Here it is - and a rare Westone prototype model which never went into full production (about 100 or less were assembled).
This is the 2nd headstock design. Originally the headstock was sort of like a Fender mandolin,with a 4+2 tuner configuration. We told Dan it was too much like a Fender but he wasn't too concerned about it. When the model debuted at the NAMM show Ernie Ball claimed a copyrght on the 4+2 headstock(despite Gretsch and others having produced such a design both before and since). This caused a cessation of production. Despite the new design for a 3+3 configuration the project was ultimately scrapped.
Among the unique features are humbucking pickups of Dans own design which he patented (note that they are of different sizes), and a 23 fret fingerboard (essential to Dans phlosophy of the rythym PU poles being right at the harmonic point of the 24th fret octave); also a unique upper bout crested contoured body shape ( a couple of years after this, St. Louis Music made guitars using the remaining bodies but they were not countoured and so didn't look very good). This guitar is wonderful with a variety of unique tones both single and double coil .
The black model shows the 4+2 headstock design, the white one has the revised 3+3 headstock. These pictures are supposed to be of prototypes:
