Hull—himself a dedicated upright player—was already focused on amplifying acoustic instruments, especially bass. Ampeg’s Jess Oliver modified the existing design, and the decision was made to change from fiberglass to a clear synthetic plastic called Uvex with an aluminum internal frame. The hollow body was filled with dense foam in order to limit unwanted resonance, and consequently the Baby Bass is fairly quiet acoustically. Because the body and foam are heat-activated, there are a few horror stories of Baby Basses "exploding" with foam bursting out of seams when the bass was left inside a hot car. An interesting fact is that these basses were painted from the inside. They were available in various colors, including white, red, black, turquoise, and "mahogany wood grain." (The "grain" is actually contact paper stuck on the inside and surrounded by brown paint to create a primitive sunburst effect.) Baby Basses originally sold for $349.50.

The 41w"-scale neck is a little thinner than a typical upright neck. The bridge and pickup assembly are made of aluminum, as is the outer bridge protector. Unlike magnetic pickup systems, which require steel strings, the Baby Bass’s diaphragm pickup works with both steel and gut strings. The diaphragm-style pickup works by transferring string vibration to two metal discs located under the bridge, which were designed to simulate an upright’s vibrating wood top. The discs would then stimulate two magnetic coils. (This design was later adapted by Ampeg for the "mystery pickup" on the AUB-1 and AEB-1 "Scroll" basses.) The pickup’s sonic limitations are apparent rather quickly; not helped by the non-resonant body, it seems like you’re hearing mostly the sound of the string. The pizzicato tone is somewhat pinched and one-dimensional, but nonetheless this bass definitely has its own thing. Interestingly enough, once you roll down the tone knob, the instrument’s "thuddiness" fits the needs of Latin music so well that it has become a ubiquitous presence in salsa bands. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the pickup sounds for arco playing—very rich and full.

The bass pictured was once owned by Merle Haggard; now it belongs to Ronnie Reno, a bluegrass legend who played in Merle’s band for many years. Rick Danko played one of these in The Band’s The Last Waltz concert film, and New York players such as Ruben Rodríguez have played Baby Basses for years in various Latin bands. Electric upright builder Steve Azola produces a reissue Baby Bass available with a number of pickup options; Ampeg distributed the reissues, with the original pickup design, under its own name from 1997 to ’99. Many thanks to Steve Azola, and also George Chestnut of Nashville, for sharing valuable information about the history of this unusual bass.

Bass courtesy Ronnie Reno. Photo credit Mickey Dobo.

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