-
After the Y2K experience in 2000, I acquired a flawless, unused D'Angelico New Yorker 7-string from an estate sale It was distributed by Vestax and built by Hidesato Shino, bearing his signature on the label. They acquired all the jigs and other elements from the D'Aquisto estate after John D'Aquisto decided to create his own line of jazz guitars. This instrument is hand-carved and crafted by Hidesato.
Like many of us, I suffer from Guitar Acquistion Syndrome and have collected over 20 instruments since 1974. This beautiful blond New York has been barely played, and after all these years, I feel guilty that it is not being used at all. I play a 335 in my electric efforts, and it just feels like such a waste to continue to keep it in its case in a controlled environment all the time. I live in Minnesota with a limited jazz guitarist population up here.
Any thoughts on how to find it a better home, and what might be a reasonable price? Thanks for your help!
Peter
Last edited by Marshpoine1; 12-08-2025 at 05:45 PM.
-
12-06-2025 04:31 PM
-
Hi and welcome,
these are very sought after Vestax rare models...
You could post here in the for https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/sale/ , and reverb of course : here's some useful info from reverb Just a moment...
possible > $10k ,depending on condition (+shipping costs)
more info here with $$ : D'Angelico Guitars of America
and here What model D'Angelico
S
-
The greater than 10K is a bit aspirational to be honest.If the OP got an offer of 10K he should take it and not look back.I have a mint 7 string Benedetto and i would say there is zero chance of me getting 10K and i think most people would consider Benedetto's better than a Vestax D'angelico.Don't get me wrong those Vestax are really nice playing sounding guitars but whenever i price a guitar always consider what i would get in resale.
Originally Posted by SOLR
-
I would be thrilled to see $7500. Do you think that is a reasonable ask? Originally Posted by nyc chaz
Peter
-
Going to be brutally honest on a real sale. The original Vestax NY with 6 strings are going for $2400 to as much as maybe 3500. Given it is 7 string the market for 7 strings is much less and the price would reflect this. I would think if you happened to get $3k for the guitar you did great. If you really want to sell it and not just put it ip for offers I would price accordingly. So a real sale $2500 no dickering back and forth that is the price.
-
Still seems high to me.The prices Deacon Mark quoted are accurate but a friend of mine about 18 months ago bought a beautiful blue Vestax for 4k mint.If i were you and selling on say Reverb i would start at$4,500 and be patient. Originally Posted by Marshpoine1
-
Most Vestax NYLs around are pressed-top. I bought one from Mak at Mairants in London maybe 15 years ago. Built in 2006. Can't remember the price. They had a carved version, which was from another planet, both in sound and price. I would imagine something like 5-6K. Current brand owners are likely to play down the Vestax era.
-
Very important. Originally Posted by nyc chaz
-
Archtop.com has one for sale for $5500
c.1999 D'Angelico New Yorker NYL-7
Not saying it is the right price, but it is at least a reference point.
Joe says his is hand-carved as well, but is missing the label.
Cool guitar either way!
-
and most know that Joe always prices guitars on the high end! Originally Posted by LesB3
-
The fact that the OP's guitar is a hand carved blonde should make it's value fall somewhere between 3K and 5K. The 7 string aspect will make it harder to sell, but it's rarity may push it's value even higher than 5K. If it were mine, I would price it at $5500 or best offer and see what happens.
This forum, Reverb and EBay would be where I would market it. One could consign it as well.
To the OP: GLWTS!
-
I doubt hand carved. 'Hand finished’ maybe. Originally Posted by LesB3
-
It could be one that was not pressed but carved by CNC, not sure how that is labeled. On the 6 string versions the model is designed as CUSTOM to show it was carved. I do not believe in any way shape or form, someone actually carved the top or did any extra carving even for the CNC versions. My own 18 inch was pressed into shape yet it has more sound than many carved top guitars I have played. I don't how they did it but they did. These of course are solid tops so that I think makes a difference too.
-
This D'angelico Vestax site refers to the NYL 7 as a completely hand carved model D'Angelico Guitars of America Originally Posted by Archie
Essentially a 7 string version of the NYL 1 D'Angelico Guitars of America
Lots of pretty guitars here: The justjazzguitars Collection
From AI:
The construction of Vestax D'Angelico guitars varied by model; while some high-end models featured a hand-carved solid spruce top, others utilized machine-carved or even solid pressed tops. They were not all entirely hand-carved in the same manner as the original John D'Angelico guitars.
Construction Details of Vestax D'Angelico Models
Vestax D'Angelico guitars were produced under license in Japan by the Terada factory, with master luthier Hidesato Shiino overseeing quality control. The construction methods used were:
- NYL-1: This model was the only one that was fully hand-carved from solid German spruce tops and solid maple back and sides, making it exceptionally rare and highly valued.
- NYL-2 and NYL-5: These models used a combination of machine carving followed by hand-finishing for the tops and backs.
- NYSS-3 (semi-hollow): The tighter curves of this smaller, Les Paul-sized body meant that many early versions used pressed tops (which were three cross-grained layers of spruce, referred to as solid spruce by D'Angelico of America) instead of carved ones to avoid cracking.
- Other Models: Other models like the Excel series were typically production guitars with laminated tops, backs, and sides, which provided a great look and feel but lacked the complex acoustic tone of the carved archtops.
In essence, only the flagship NYL-1 model was truly hand-carved, a feature that distinguishes the Vestax D'Angelicos from both the original, entirely handmade John D'Angelico guitars and the more modern, mass-produced D'Angelico models.
SLast edited by SOLR; 12-07-2025 at 09:23 PM. Reason: typo
-
$13.5k?! Whew, that’s rich for what, built in 1999?
-
I agree, this price is fairly silly right now. I have listed it at $7,500 and already an intrested play. We'll see over the next two days...
Peter
-
Found a great home for the Vestax D'Angelico New Yorker! Thanks for everyone's help on this.
Peter
-
Like it or not, I've become a 7-string "collector", somewhat because the resell market is much smaller, so when I get something I like I know it will be difficult to ever sell it. I'm serious. Sure, an enthusiastic buyer may pay asking price if they feel that is the one and only guitar for them, but the reality is there are so many used 7-string archtops out there with a small market of buyers.
I had for a moment ordered the Vestax NYL-1 6-string version when they had that crazy sale back when so I know it's a decent, not great guitar. I think you'd be fortunate to get $3,500 for yours, truth be told. Good luck with the sale.
-
I found a happy buyer at a price we both liked. Thanks for your thoughts on this instrument!
Peter
QUOTE=mikeSF;1439205]Like it or not, I've become a 7-string "collector", somewhat because the resell market is much smaller, so when I get something I like I know it will be difficult to ever sell it. I'm serious. Sure, an enthusiastic buyer may pay asking price if they feel that is the one and only guitar for them, but the reality is there are so many used 7-string archtops out there with a small market of buyers.
I had for a moment ordered the Vestax NYL-1 6-string version when they had that crazy sale back when so I know it's a decent, not great guitar. I think you'd be fortunate to get $3,500 for yours, truth be told. Good luck with the sale.[/QUOTE]Last edited by Marshpoine1; 12-16-2025 at 04:54 PM.
-
wonderful & congrats on the sale
-
Looks like the archtop.com one sold as well, so more than a few folks looking for these 7-strings...
-
I've only got the pressed top NYL-2, but I am absolutely never parting with it. I assume most folks don't like the thinner necks on them, but the VDAs I've played are very, Very good guitars.
-
There are unique motivators in play. If you really need a good 6 string archtop, you can get one pretty quickly. But 7s are not easy to find, and there aren’t any you can get for under $2k today. Pretty much all of us who play only 7s have multiple guitars, both for backup and different uses. Originally Posted by LesB3
When the tailpiece broke on my AF207, I’d have had to use a solid body until the new TP was fitted if I didn’t have other archtops. I’ve had tuning machines break the day of a gig. Failure of one small part can silence an electric, etc etc. When you play only archtop 7s, you consider each and every one that comes up for sale to be a potential purchase……..because you never know when you’ll need it.
When all you play is archtop 7s, there’s not a lot of variation in available instruments. If you want to collect a few, there are limited differences among the usual offerings, and most are even in the same price range. TBH, there’s really not that much difference among the most commonly found examples beyond size, wood, pickup(s), neck, and cosmetics. Once you have 2 or 3 with your preferred neck profiles and most comfortable size(s), there’s not a lot of difference among most to justify adding yet another same old same old.
So every one that comes up gets scrutinized. If it’s in good shape and at all different from the usual, it’s likely to be bought by one of us because we have fewer options and we’re a needy lot. I’d love to have a Vestax D’A 7. I’d love to have Rustic’s Da Cava. I tried to buy the 15” Foster Basin Street that popped up repeatedly on the Sale forum for almost 2 years. If I were 30 years younger, I’d own them all right now. But those of us who play only 7 string archtops can be a desperate lot. Pickin’s are slim and prices are fat. You 6 guys know that there’s always another L5, GB10, AA, JS, 175, etc around the corner. We live in fear.
-
Amen. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I did have a D'Angelico NYL-7 a while ago and it was stolen. REALLY fine instrument. I was shocked at how good a guitar it was, not on the glamour list of well known guitars but this one was hand made, all solid wood and I didn't care one bit about what name was on the headstock, it was a fine guitar in its own right.
I think because these were such a limited run, each one hand made by one of the finest archtop luthiers in Japan, there's not a lot known about them and people don't even look for them. No celebrity endorsements. Never any chatter about them. Considering the line up of the Vestax era, it's still a miracle that they even made a 7 string. They certainly didn't make any effort to promote these guitars. I have been a 7 string player for a while now and I never even know they made a 7 string, no less a hand built solid wood one.
It'd been over a decade since I even got a whiff of an available NYL-7 on the market. And I've heard rumours that Eastman discontinued offering 7 strings...shame, because they really were fine instruments.
My ultimate fantasy guitar is for the old standards Gibson luthier to make a 7 string Johnny Smith.
Even Jimmy D'Aquisto only made 7 guitars with 7 strings in his lifetime.
Not an easy world for 7 string players, but it sure does make it easier to turn my thoughts from Guitar Acquisition Syndrome.
-
AFAIK, there hasn’t been a 7 in the Eastman catalog since Covid. That was the main reason I bought a new 16” Jazz Elite 7 in ‘22 about 18 months after buying a new 810CE7. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
I danced with the seller of the Foster Basin Street in Louisiana posted off and on here for well over a year and had similar experiences over a Carl Barney in Connecticut and two American Archtops. All had problems and the sellers would not discuss any of them. I offered to fly to NOLA with cash to meet the Foster seller at the airport, so I could inspect it myself and bring it home if we could agree on price. He did not respond to this for months, then sent me an “are you still interested?” with no more information and the caveat that he had another buyer ready to give him his asking price. I ignored this, and it was then posted for trade a few months later.
So yes, it’s hard to find good used 7 string archtops and even harder to find new ones under $5k. I really thought about this Vestax when a $3500 value was being discussed. But more than that is more than it’s worth to me. Now that I have 4 really good archtop 7s (14” carved, 16” laminated, 16” carved, and 17” carved), there’s no pressure to get another one.
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos