Reader James Hobbis-Mutton of Bridgend in Mid Glamorgan said HOW ABOUT an article on the guitars of the almost legendary Dan Armstrong? Paul Day agreed. If you'd like to see something in One Two on a neglected instrument, write to How About at the editorial address.

Throughout the history and development of the electric guitar, certain names seem to crop up with seemingly monotonous regularity, as instigators and innovators of ideas and products. Some, such as Leo Fender, have become renowned worldwide, virtually immortalised by their pioneering work and lasting designs.

But there is a second division, consisting of many worthwhile contenders, people who have contributed much to the evolution and refinement of the instrument but who have never quite achieved ultimate recognition — often so much deserved. Names such as Semie Moseley, Bill Lawrence and Jim Burns, mercurial characters all, whose talents may sometimes have been obscured and dissipated by the machinations of the music industry, bad business dealings, poor commercial sense or timing, or just plain bad luck. For whatever reasons, it is this seeming inconsistency that has often prevented such figures from gaining status on a par with the acknowledged greats of the guitar-making business.

Another member of this hierarchy is Dan Armstrong, a man of many ideas and achievements who, like a number of his contemporaries, has given much for comparatively little. Having started playing guitar at an early age, Dan paid his dues in the usual time-honoured fashion, ending up in New York as a session musician. However, as an interest and sideline he was already attending to the instruments and amplifiers of fellow players. This area of his activities continued to expand and finally, in 1965, having become disenchanted with the session world, he decided to opt for a full-time guitar business. Over the next five years he catered for the needs of the leading guitarists of that era.

In 1968 the Danelectro company (no relation by the way, the name being derived from its founder, Nathan DANiel) ceased trading and Dan subsequently acquired various instruments which he modified and successfully sold through his shop. This led him to conjecture on building his own guitars, and an association resulted with Ampeg, chiefly known for their simplifiers. The result was his then-revolutionary clear perspex-bodied solid electrics, a six-string and matching bass, which first appeared in 1969. These were officially designated 'Dan Armstrong Ampeg' models, but their 'See-Through' nickname was eventually trademarked.

Dan opted for the novel choice of a plastic body to provide increased density and sustain, and this original design idea was allied to other innovative features, notably the range of six interchangeable guitar pickups, co-designed with Bill Lawrence, which slid in and out of the appropriate body housing, the controls being mounted on a separate formica scratchplate. The bass, however, utilised two single-coil pickups stacked on top of each other. An unusual bolt-on neck/body joint allowed full access to all 24 frets on the rosewood fingerboard. A very small number of instruments were made in black plastic, and some fretless basses were also produced.

Keith Richards became the best-known exponent of the 'See-Through' guitar, but it has found favour with many players who prefer the more unusual tools of their trade. Inevitably its popularity promoted an array of Japanese-made copies, although these lacked the interchangeable pickup feature.

However, production proved more difficult than first anticipated, and the design didn't entirely live up to Dan's expectations. So after a disagreement over an amplifier project he and Ampeg parted company, and in 1971 Dan decided on a drastic change of environment, moving over to England with the intention of refining still further his ideas on guitar design. This he indeed pursued with a characteristic vigour, producing a number of experimental instruments, one of which utilised the strings as a low impedance coil, with just a magnet located beneath them to complete the pickup construction.

Eventually he settled on a more conventional guitar design, with styling based on his perspex model, but this time built in solid mahagony by a St Albans-based furniture maker. Having considered that his previous instruments lacked sufficient tonal versatility he endeavoured to improve on this situation by incorporating a novel single sliding pickup, which could be positioned anywhere between neck and bridge on a built-in graduated-height ramp. Also, the apparently simple circuitry provided a coil tap on the tone control.

Ably assisted by his son Kent (of whom more later) and noted guitarist Tony Pitt, Dan launched his new instruments in 1974, although his constant quest for improvement entailed numerous and often major design changes even at this late stage — a switch from a bolt-on neck to a glued-in neck joint and a radical alteration in body styling and fingerboard radius being some of the more noticeable modifications. Regardless of such production problems, the range, consisting of guitar plus medium and long-scale basses, met with a deservedly favourable reaction, bassist Jack Bruce being one of the more famous users. Dan also marketed a range of amplifiers, effects, strings and accessories all bearing his name, and these too looked set for a successful future.

However, as so often happens, the venture was under-financed. That factor, combined with various other problems, led to the demise of the 'Dan Armstrong, London' company in 1975, despite a healthy number of orders.

After this major setback Dan eventually returned to his native America and in recent years his name has been linked with various new ideas and products from Schecter, Fender and Groove Tubes. However, although he appears to be keeping an increasingly low profile these days, I'm sure this isn't the last that we have heard from him.

It is his son Kent who now appears to be succeeding his father as a respected and recognised figure in the industry, and his pickups can be found on many leading brands in this country and elsewhere, including Manson, Status, Overwater, Eccleshall, Pangborn and Ken Smith. He has also successfully relaunched the original series of Armstrong effects units, in response to demand, as these had achieved something of a legendary status among discerning players.

Another instance of historic action replay is the fact that he has renewed acquaintance with Tony Pitt as an invaluable aid in the production and promotion of his products. Kent's success is well-deserved, the welcome result of many years of uphill struggle gaining hard-earned experience and expertise. His renowned products and excellent service are backed up by an impressive knowledge of his subject. He shares his father's talent for invention, thus ensuring that the Armstrong name will continue to be associated with quality and innovation for years to come.