longterm test
A few months’ gigging, recording and everything that goes with it – welcome to Guitarist’s longterm test reports
Well, I’ve had this guitar for a few months now and have been able to take it out on several gigs as well as some studio work. My regular semi is an old Japanese Aria Pro II TA DLX and it was interesting to compare the two. This D’Angelico compares very favourably and can hold its own in a jazz, blues or funk setting, which is where I’ve used it most.
First, it needed a tweak as I like a slightly higher action. Once that had been done it felt very comfortable to play. It has a slightly wider and flatter neck than my Aria and it’s quite a slim-feeling neck in the hand. One concern was that, with such a large headstock, it would feel neck heavy, but that’s not the case. It’s very well-balanced when worn with a strap and, vitally for me, not too heavy. The frets are finished really well and the build quality is top drawer. It comes in a beautiful, vintage-styled hard case too which, unlike some, fits the guitar perfectly.
At gigs, it received quite a few oohs-andahhs for its looks and build quality and it was often a case of having it dragged off me so others could have a quick play on it.
Sound-wise, the two Kent Armstrong humbuckers are warm sounding and fat without being muddy. There are a lot of options just using the three position selector switch and some subtle use of the volume and tone controls; all of which perform well. I must add that I didn’t really get to experiment with how the guitar would work with pedals. That’s not really my thing anyway but I can’t imagine there would be any problems there seeing as it works so well just plugged straight into an amp. I used it, clean, through a Marshall Vintage Modern, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a Two Rock Studio Pro 35, and found it to maintain its own personality as well as not forcing itself on the inherent sound in those amplifiers. Adding a little drive in a blues setting was a musical and pleasant experience although Iwonder how many dedicated blues players would go for the jazz-oriented look of this guitar?
It’s probably going to appeal to players at the jazzier end of things and, as a straightahead jazz machine, it sounds gorgeous. It’s not quite as warm and ‘plummy’ sounding as my ES-175, but that’s not such a bad thing. I’m guessing it would sound fantastic with a set of flatwounds on it for that real 60s sound. Rolling back the tone control on the neck pickup, even with the set of 0.10s it came with, produced a very useable jazz tone.
On a recent funk gig, it was pretty much stuck on the middle setting. I rolled a little tone off the bridge pickup, had the neck pickup tone on full, plugged straight into the Fender and got a gorgeous, fat, funk sound with just the right amount of bite and plenty of clarity from those Kent Armstrongs.
The bridge setting has buckets of what you’d expect from any decent semi. Bright yet with an amount of warmth you wouldn’t get from a Strat, Tele or Les Paul and I can certainly see it holding its own against any high-end semi, Gibson or otherwise.
To sum up my first report, this is definitely a pro-level instrument that is as versatile as any I’ve ever played. The bling aspect might put some blues players off but the sound wouldn’t! BB and Freddie King tones are all here if you want them. For Larry Carlton fans, that warmer, jazzier tone is where this guitar really excels. The Armstrong pickups do everything you’d expect. Complex chords ring out bell-like all over the neck and the sound balance through the registers is a joy to behold. The volume and tone controls have lots of breath in them and the variety of tones available without pedals is nigh-on perfect. At over a £1,000 these D’Angelico Excel’s should definitely be on the shopping list for those who want a guitar dripping with bling.
“I can see it holding its own against any high-end semi, Gibson or otherwise”