Hello Friends!
Ampshop Bass Exchange out of LA makes a few special 5ers. They've been producing a 30" scale 5er called the Woodcraft Ampmaster. Inspired by a Fender Musicmaster bass but better in every way, bonus points for a tele headstock. Dan Kelly of Neighbor has been playing one (cream) for a while now and that's how it caught my attention. At the beginning of this fall, Ampshop Bass Exchange built him a 32" scale Ampmaster (orange) with two Nordstrand Big Splits and that's what really got me interested. Dan has tons of clips on his Instagram if you're curious about how they sound.
Time to talk about my favorite part, the price, Ampshop is selling these on their reverb and website from $1699 to $2199 depending on options. Other than used Spector Bantams, I haven't been able to find premium quality short/medium 5 string basses sold for under 2k. The Ampmaster hits that mark and it's made in the USA. I've been saving to put in a custom order for a medium scale Serek 5er for a while, but once these popped up on my radar, my Serek dreams went to the backburner. I'm sure I'll put in an order for a Serek one day, but the Ampmaster's price makes the most financial sense (the Serek I'd order would be around $3500). I got into contact with Dan Kelly who put me in touch with Gary from Ampshop Bass Exchange. I'll be honest, I'm super particular about the details of this custom order (if I'm spending a chunk of money I want to make sure I'm getting what I want) and Gary was very accommodating. I can't believe I'm getting a USA made custom medium scale 5 string bass for under 2k. I'm sure there will be caveats and it has probably been done before but the idea of this has me jumping over the moon. I thought I wouldn't be able to get what I was looking for until I could afford a Serek. If you're in the same boat as me, I'd buy an Ampmaster asap before the hype/demand for them grows. I remember gawking over Sereks in 2021, back then they were in the low $2000 price range and the turnaround time was pretty quick relative to now. I have a feeling these Ampmaster basses will eventually have a year long waitlist and 3k price tags as they become more popular. Maybe I'll be totally wrong, who knows! Anyways, here's the specs on my custom Ampmaster, can't wait to make a NBD post!
5 String
Maple Neck (32” scale)
Lollipop Tuners
16.5mm String spacing at bridge
Dark Green Satin Nitro Finish
Cream/Off White Pickguard
All cavities shielded with copper foil
2 Nordstrand Zen Blades (EMG40 Shaped) and
Nordstrand 2Band Preamp
3 Knob holes
-Volume (pull for passive)
-Blend
-Stacked Treble/Bass (concentric knobs) ~ Top controls Treble
Bottom controls bass
Ampshop Bass Exchange out of LA makes a few special 5ers. They've been producing a 30" scale 5er called the Woodcraft Ampmaster. Inspired by a Fender Musicmaster bass but better in every way, bonus points for a tele headstock. Dan Kelly of Neighbor has been playing one (cream) for a while now and that's how it caught my attention. At the beginning of this fall, Ampshop Bass Exchange built him a 32" scale Ampmaster (orange) with two Nordstrand Big Splits and that's what really got me interested. Dan has tons of clips on his Instagram if you're curious about how they sound.
Time to talk about my favorite part, the price, Ampshop is selling these on their reverb and website from $1699 to $2199 depending on options. Other than used Spector Bantams, I haven't been able to find premium quality short/medium 5 string basses sold for under 2k. The Ampmaster hits that mark and it's made in the USA. I've been saving to put in a custom order for a medium scale Serek 5er for a while, but once these popped up on my radar, my Serek dreams went to the backburner. I'm sure I'll put in an order for a Serek one day, but the Ampmaster's price makes the most financial sense (the Serek I'd order would be around $3500). I got into contact with Dan Kelly who put me in touch with Gary from Ampshop Bass Exchange. I'll be honest, I'm super particular about the details of this custom order (if I'm spending a chunk of money I want to make sure I'm getting what I want) and Gary was very accommodating. I can't believe I'm getting a USA made custom medium scale 5 string bass for under 2k. I'm sure there will be caveats and it has probably been done before but the idea of this has me jumping over the moon. I thought I wouldn't be able to get what I was looking for until I could afford a Serek. If you're in the same boat as me, I'd buy an Ampmaster asap before the hype/demand for them grows. I remember gawking over Sereks in 2021, back then they were in the low $2000 price range and the turnaround time was pretty quick relative to now. I have a feeling these Ampmaster basses will eventually have a year long waitlist and 3k price tags as they become more popular. Maybe I'll be totally wrong, who knows! Anyways, here's the specs on my custom Ampmaster, can't wait to make a NBD post!
5 String
Maple Neck (32” scale)
Lollipop Tuners
16.5mm String spacing at bridge
Dark Green Satin Nitro Finish
Cream/Off White Pickguard
All cavities shielded with copper foil
2 Nordstrand Zen Blades (EMG40 Shaped) and
Nordstrand 2Band Preamp
3 Knob holes
-Volume (pull for passive)
-Blend
-Stacked Treble/Bass (concentric knobs) ~ Top controls Treble
Bottom controls bass
