D'Angelico Excel SS Soho

[Jx30510]

Hi my fellow jazz guitarists. First of, my best wishes for this new year, may 2026 be a year of peace and music.

I'm on the quest of new archtop, under 2000$, and there after a lot of research, there are a few contenders by now :

* Ibanez LGB30
* Eastman AR372 with P90's
* Maybe an Ibanez GB10, but it's kinda out of my budget..

And this DAngelico Excel SS Soho.



This one looks very nice indeed. I don't like the tailpiece, but this could be easily changed so no big deal.
Has someone tried it? I didn't find a lot of information on it.
The price is pretty steep for a MIK guitar, but I've found out the country of manufacturing doesn't mean that much these days..

I'd prefer to buy new, so don't give used options..

Just would like some feedback on this one, and comments on the 2 others on my list are welcome !
Thanks.

[Jx30510]

I'd liked to add, there's also this one in the D'Angelico line up. As a matter of fact I think l messed up with the 2 guitars, and was thinking of this one rather than the Soho.. not sure

DAngelico Excel 16 Amber

They look almost similar ! This one is a little cheaper..
Got to write down the specs to find out the differences..



It's a fourth contender..

[Spook410]

I have a Korean D'Angelico Excel SS (small block, 2 pickup). They are very well made and mine sounds pretty good.


And while I like new stuff as well, these have a very steep depreciation curve. I suggest buying a used EXL-1. If it's not the Seymour Duncan pickup version would swap for some a quality 57 humbucker. Here in the US would be easy to find and keep around $1000 US even with the pickup swap.

[Jx30510]

Yes, you're right, used ones are almost half the price it seems. Haven't seen these models on the second hand market though..
They're kind of pricey new, so I suspect this keeps owners from selling theirs.. big loss of money.

[Jx30510]

I watched Rich Severson's youtube review of this guitar (Soho) and seems to find it very good.
One thing I didn't notice is the 16 radius, which I 'm not very fond of.. but on some guitars I don't even notice radius.. I think it depends of the fretwork more than anything
My Fender AV59 Stratocaster has 7.25 radius and has the best playability of any guitar I ever tried (whatever the radius)

[Spook410]

All modern guitars have a larger fretboard radius than vintage Fenders so you may not be able to find that.

Also, should have mentioned, used Eastman's (5 and 6 series) are ridiculously cheap here in the US. Don't know about France. These are genuinely great guitars. Hand carved. Very well made. And in archtop tone they are vastly better than anything in the sub-2K range.

And yea.. I get buying new. I buy new cars which is economically kind of dumb. Still, I'll buy used guitars. They often sound better than new ones since guitars age well.

[SOLR]

FWIW of the 4 choices
I'd def go with the GB10 japan for sale here Ibanez GB10 from a fellow member.
Best guitar of the bunch.

I might also suggest a look at the Comins GCS 1 "Brand New" Comins GCS1-ES Violin Burst also for sale on these pages by a well known member and the guitar is new.

A 16in radius is very much different to your preferred 7.5"

Hope this helps

S

[ClassyTouch]

FWIW of the 4 choices
I'd def go with the GB10 japan for sale here Ibanez GB10 from a fellow member.
Best guitar of the bunch.

I might also suggest a look at the Comins GCS 1 "Brand New" Comins GCS1-ES Violin Burst also for sale on these pages by a well known member and the guitar is new.

A 16in radius is very much different to your preferred 7.5"

Hope this helps

S

This is the way...

[Cunamara]

Yeah, ditto on MHeld's GB10. At $1850 it's a fantastic price. [edit: just noticed you're in France, sorry to be slow on the uptake]

I've had one since about 1983, it was my first electric guitar. I still have it and it will probably be the last instrument out of my possession. I always sound like a shill for these whenever they come up, like George pays me to post about it or something, but it really is the most versatile archtop guitar I have ever played.

There is a huge range of tones that can be achieved with these, not just the bright George Bensonesque tone. With the hot pickup output, with some experimentation you can find an amazing range (e.g., volume on 5 rolls off some high end and softens the attack, allowing a warm and dark jazz tone with the tone knob to taste. People who always want to keep the knobs on 10 really miss the trick with this guitar).

And the neck. It really is the best neck I've ever had on a guitar. My 2005 ES-175 is very close, however, but the GB10 nudges past it for the win. Almost everybody who plays one thinks it's a great neck.

OK, George, where's my check?

[Jx30510]

I do buy used guitars. As a matter of fact, out of my 8 or 9 guitars, the only one l bought new was my very last purchase, an Eastman Juliet Humbucker with Bibsby..
So I quite know about the thing..
To be honest, the main reasons I want to buy new is l don't want to go threw the hassle going to the bank for the cash (in France you need to get an appointement above 1500€) , driving to the buyer, and all... I did this a ton in the past (I mean at one time it was almost a hobby). That may seem lazy, but I got serious health problems the last years, so I just don't have the same energy to do this.
However, there are some used gear boutiques, so there's still this option.
The GB10 is a fabulous guitar.. and one of the rare high end archtops which the new price (2900€), is lower than vintage ones (around 2500€ or even less).

The little thing that bothers me with them is the weight.. for the health issues, I'd prefer lighter weight guitars.. for some reason the GB10SE is significatly lighter. But l tried it a few years ago, and found it to be overpriced for what it is.

Eastman is the brand I can't keep telling myself wil be the final candidate in the end.

There's a used AR603 CED-15 at 1800€ in a shop that's caught my attention. I can't try it, and only shipping is the option, but it looks terrific. Kind of GB10 format, and must be much lighter.

The Excel Soho light weight and small size are part why l'm interested in them.