D’Angelico Guitars Explained Blog
Today we’re talking about D’Angelico Guitars and what makes them one of the world’s most sought after Electric Guitars. In this blog we will take a journey of discovery and by the end you’ll want to make your next electric guitar a D’Angelico from Rimmers Music.
Every D’Angelico that we sell gets photographed and listed on our website. A video is also done to accompany every listing, so not only can you have a look at the actual guitar you will be purchasing but you also get to hear it being played and talked about.
We are very proud at Rimmers Music to sell D’Angelico guitars and will do our very best to always have a fantastic selection available for you, so no matter what style of guitar music you play we’ll have the D’Angelico for you.
History Of D’Angelico Guitars
John D’Angelico (1905–1964) was a luthier from New York City, noted for his handmade archtop guitars and mandolins. From 1932 – 1964 D’Angelico made a total of 1,164 guitars; they were the most coveted arch top guitars of the period.
In 1952, he hired Jimmy D’Aquisto as an apprentice, who would eventually buy the business from the D’Angelico family. D’Angelico and D’Aquisto are generally regarded as the two greatest archtop guitar makers of the 20th century.
D’Aquisto went on to be the most eminent jazz guitar builder of the 1970’s and 1980’s. His first guitar under his own name was made in 1965. As well as jazz guitars he also made solid body electrics for artists such as Steve Miller and acoustics for Paul Simon. He died in 1995 having made just 371 instruments.
In 1988 Mr. Jerry Barberine, President of D’Angelico, signed an agreement with Mr. Hidesato Shiino from the Vestax Corporation to revive the D’Angelico New Yorker. This agreement lasted until 2004.
Since 2005 D’Angelico guitars have been produced in Japan (New Yorker archtop models) and South Korea (Excel series and New Yorker solid body models), with years of development having gone into them; they offer a laminated spruce top and laminated maple sides and back to stay within a price range. This method of laminated construction is a major point of departure from original D’Angelicos, reminding us that it is a manufactured copy of a piece of Americana.
The D’Angelico Guitar Excel line has several models from which to choose – the EXS 16″ archtops, the EXL 17″ archtops, the NYSD solid body and the recently redesigned EXSS and EXDC semi hollow models. All are first class instruments. Owner and jazz guitar player Jeff Hale liked the first EXS-1DH so much that he kept it for himself and gigs with it regularly.
Stand Out Models at Rimmers Music
The D’Angelico SS XT Iced Tea Burst Quilt is certainly a standout model for me, it looks gorgeous and plays amazing! It comes loaded with Seymour Duncan 59 Humbuckers, making it great for Jazz, Rock, Blues and Funk.
Another personal favourite of mine is the Excel 59 Trans Cherry, it’s beautiful in looks and sounds amazing with the Seymour Duncan Great Dane P-90 pickups, P-90’s is one of my personal favourite pickups and this D’Angelico model with its semi-hollow sounds out of this world!
Having played all the D’Angelico models we currently have in stock at Rimmers Music, I have to say I am very impressed. All the models come loaded with Seymour Duncan pickups, so they sound amazing, and the build quality of each model is superb! The playability really does put the icing on the cake, making D’Angelico the complete all-rounder.
D’Angelico New York
D’Angelico still have a shop in New York at 141 West 28th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001 where they host artist’s and events and design and develop ideas of what to bring to the guitar world next.
To summaries, D’Angelico guitars are simply fantastic, the tones you can get, and the playability of each guitar is like no other. The design lets you stand out on stage and shine in the studio. We hope you make your next guitar a D’Angelico from Rimmers Music.
Click here to buy a D’Angelico from Rimmers Music
James – Rimmers Music.
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