D'Angelico Excel

[Stringswinger]

Joe, the reissue Neck Rods are a bit small for the vintage pickups. (They are close and with a bit of glue could work, but they are not right) You need to find an original...

[vinnyv1k]

Regarding those scratches, I am sure you have all kinds of Menzerna products to buff them out. I have used the Guitar Players Scratch removal products with great success. Really safe on nitro.
If that was my guitar I would get a repro pickguard made for it. Maybe have fws6 make it for you. Then put a thin floater and thumb wheels on the new pickguard with a JS pickguard jack. Now you can go back and forth with having the best of both worlds and always go back to completely stock. Although DeArmonds sound absolutely awesome you can't risk dinging up that beauty or drilling 2 holes into the side of the neck. Just IMO....it's not my axe, you do what is right for you bro.

[iim7V7IM7]

The elation grows more and more every day with this guitar. I sit there and stare at things on the guitar. Like for instance, the shape of the headstock. The crown, the finial... All the etching there and on the fretboard inlays.. I am in amazement that the man considered the Stradivarius of archtop guitar did all of that over 80 years ago. With his own hands.
I am afraid to play any of my other guitars. I might blow through a set of TI's in a month. Which is actually ok because I have to buff out the scratches that I put on it when removing that stupid, god damned DeArmond contraption.. I am so pissed about that..

It is fantastic that your new guitar is providing you with so much joy. I also feel that your comparison to Antonio Stradivari is very appropriate in my opinion.

Parallels:

• Antonio learned from his master Amati and John learned from his Uncle (Ciani)
• Antonio produced 960 violins across a very lengthy 70+ year career as a luthier. John's shop produced 1,160 guitars in a far shorter 32 year span (that's about 35 guitars/year!)
• In comparison, even with today's technology, most solo luthiers can only produce about 15 guitars/year. So John's small shop was certainly prolific; with its output augmented by the use of assistant builders like Jimmy Di Serio and Jimmy D'Aquisto. You can see that Bob Benedetto's output also doubled to ~30 guitars a year when he added a pantograph and an assistant in his shop in the late 1980s as well
• Both luthiers (Antonio and John) produced very high quality instruments no doubt, but more importantly they made MANY of them and got them in the hands of some great musicians. Cremona was the center of lutherie in Europe when Stradivari made violins and New York was the center of Music when John made guitars.

Further Observations:

• One of the annuity benefits of a large body of work is that many still exist long after the death of the luthier and are now in the hands of today's players (like you and Mark!) further bolstering the legend of the great builder.
• To illustrate the power of making prolific numbers of instruments, in comparison to Stradivari, Andrea Guarneri in his 40+ year career made only 250 violins (<1/4 that of Stradivari).
• In comparison in the violin world, only 150 Guarnerius exist today vs. about 650 Stradivarius. Some violin aficionados consider these to be even finer instruments than those made by his prolific, more famous colleague, but the how many lay people know the name Guarnerius vs. Stradivarious?

​

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[travisty]

regarding Vinny's idea two posts up...

Has anyone tried to solder/braze a larger tab onto a Dearmond 1100 so that it could be mounted onto a pick guard like a Johnny Smith pickup?

The tab is quite small (and the tab on the repros doesn't appear much bigger), but it doesn't seem impossible.

[sgcim]

As I've mentioned before here, the DeArmond RC 1000 is an incredible pickup, but it does have that design flaw of not being able to pick up the high E string as well as it does the other five strings.

When I used it on my 1935 D'A, it used to drive me nuts, but I was too young, stupid and cheap to take it to someone who could have helped me with the set up problems, and did it on my own.

That said, I got a sound out of it through a Peavey Vintage with two SRO EV speakers that sounded like an orchestra.
One pianist friend of mine who was light years ahead of me musically, used to tell me my chord melodies were pathetic and infantile compared to what he did harmonically, but I sounded better than him because of my equipment.

The question of which DeArmond Johnny Smith used is still not certain in my mind. The only clear picture of a pickup on his 1955 D'A (the greatest guitar that ever existed IMHO) is the one on his great "Guitar and Strings" LP, which I finally found under a pile of junk after doing some Christmas cleaning. The JS LP was recorded in 1960, and has a gold humbucker on it, and the sound is not as good as his previous Roost LPs, when he had a DeArmond on the axe.

When I had Roger Borys install the Guild reproduction of the RC 1100 on my D'A, he asked me why I wanted to sully the acoustic virginity of one of his favorite guitars. I told him I wanted to get the same sound that JS and Kenny Burrell got out of their D'As. He told me that JS didn't use the 1100; he used one of the earlier "Guitar Mikes" that DeArmond made (which I have). A quick wave of panic flooded over me as I looked at the $175 job that RB just completed, and then I was able to save face and tell him, "Well, I guess I'll have to try and get the Kenny Burrell D'A sound."

As it turns out, that was a more realistic decision; I'll never have JS' technique.

[Stringswinger]

My experience with Dearmonds is that all three, the guitar Mike, the 1000 and the 1100 sound awesome.

And even with a vintage D'Angelico and a vintage Dearmond, none of us will sound as good as Johnny Smith or Kenny Burrell. Those are two of the all time masters...

[Max405]

Damn.. I could have said it better myself..

It is fantastic that your new guitar is providing you with so much joy. I also feel that your comparison to Antonio Stradivari is very appropriate in my opinion.

Parallels:

• Antonio learned from his master Amati and John learned from his Uncle (Ciani)
• Antonio produced 960 violins across a very lengthy 70+ year career as a luthier. John's shop produced 1,160 guitars in a far shorter 32 year span (that's about 35 guitars/year!)
• In comparison, even with today's technology, most solo luthiers can only produce about 15 guitars/year. So John's small shop was certainly prolific; with its output augmented by the use of assistant builders like Jimmy Di Serio and Jimmy D'Aquisto. You can see that Bob Benedetto's output also doubled to ~30 guitars a year when he added a pantograph and an assistant in his shop in the late 1980s as well
• Both luthiers (Antonio and John) produced very high quality instruments no doubt, but more importantly they made MANY of them and got them in the hands of some great musicians. Cremona was the center of lutherie in Europe when Stradivari made violins and New York was the center of Music when John made guitars.

Further Observations:

• One of the annuity benefits of a large body of work is that many still exist long after the death of the luthier and are now in the hands of today's players (like you and Mark!) further bolstering the legend of the great builder.
• To illustrate the power of making prolific numbers of instruments, in comparison to Stradivari, Andrea Guarneri in his 40+ year career made only 250 violins (<1/4 that of Stradivari).
• In comparison in the violin world, only 150 Guarnerius exist today vs. about 650 Stradivarius. Some violin aficionados consider these to be even finer instruments than those made by his prolific, more famous colleague, but the how many lay people know the name Guarnerius vs. Stradivarious?

​

​

[Max405]

Regarding those scratches, I am sure you have all kinds of Menzerna products to buff them out. I have used the Guitar Players Scratch removal products with great success. Really safe on nitro.
If that was my guitar I would get a repro pickguard made for it. Maybe have fws6 make it for you. Then put a thin floater and thumb wheels on the new pickguard with a JS pickguard jack. Now you can go back and forth with having the best of both worlds and always go back to completely stock. Although DeArmonds sound absolutely awesome you can't risk dinging up that beauty or drilling 2 holes into the side of the neck. Just IMO....it's not my axe, you do what is right for you bro.

regarding Vinny's idea two posts up...

Has anyone tried to solder/braze a larger tab onto a Dearmond 1100 so that it could be mounted onto a pick guard like a Johnny Smith pickup?

The tab is quite small (and the tab on the repros doesn't appear much bigger), but it doesn't seem impossible.

you guys are right. I don't want to put any holes in the neck. There are none there now and I won't make any, and there is no end pin, so I won't add one even though I miss that little handle back there..
i am still struggling with keeping this fully acoustic, adding a Barbera or putting a floater on it. Honestly, the right floater (Zoller) would have been a dunk but I don't have much room under the strings. I am leaning toward the Barbera. I could always put the DeArmond on if I need it. I will make a felt barrier that I can place under the strings for when I fit the DeArmond on. That will keep it scratch free.

[Max405]

As I've mentioned before here, the DeArmond RC 1000 is an incredible pickup, but it does have that design flaw of not being able to pick up the high E string as well as it does the other five strings.

When I used it on my 1935 D'A, it used to drive me nuts, but I was too young, stupid and cheap to take it to someone who could have helped me with the set up problems, and did it on my own.

That said, I got a sound out of it through a Peavey Vintage with two SRO EV speakers that sounded like an orchestra.
One pianist friend of mine who was light years ahead of me musically, used to tell me my chord melodies were pathetic and infantile compared to what he did harmonically, but I sounded better than him because of my equipment.

The question of which DeArmond Johnny Smith used is still not certain in my mind. The only clear picture of a pickup on his 1955 D'A (the greatest guitar that ever existed IMHO) is the one on his great "Guitar and Strings" LP, which I finally found under a pile of junk after doing some Christmas cleaning. The JS LP was recorded in 1960, and has a gold humbucker on it, and the sound is not as good as his previous Roost LPs, when he had a DeArmond on the axe.

When I had Roger Borys install the Guild reproduction of the RC 1100 on my D'A, he asked me why I wanted to sully the acoustic virginity of one of his favorite guitars. I told him I wanted to get the same sound that JS and Kenny Burrell got out of their D'As. He told me that JS didn't use the 1100; he used one of the earlier "Guitar Mikes" that DeArmond made (which I have). A quick wave of panic flooded over me as I looked at the $175 job that RB just completed, and then I was able to save face and tell him, "Well, I guess I'll have to try and get the Kenny Burrell D'A sound."

As it turns out, that was a more realistic decision; I'll never have JS' technique.

thank for that info.
none of us will ever come close to Johnny. And for that matter, Joe.
i am getting ideas for finishing up Darn that dream and I stumbled across this.. Incredible playing..

[QAman]

you guys are right. I don't want to put any holes in the neck. There are none there now and I won't make any, and there is no end pin, so I won't add one even though I miss that little handle back there..
i am still struggling with keeping this fully acoustic, adding a Barbera or putting a floater on it. Honestly, the right floater (Zoller) would have been a dunk but I don't have much room under the strings. I am leaning toward the Barbera. I could always put the DeArmond on if I need it. I will make a felt barrier that I can place under the strings for when I fit the DeArmond on. That will keep it scratch free.

Joe, I play my 35' purely acoustic and imho would never consider adding holes. Your better off engineering a non invasive removal pickguard that would accomodate your choice of P/U. Just take your time and think it through -it will all come together. Ive come across many great guitars over the years that appear violated/ basterdized and contain unsightly accesory holes...that im sure were regretful decisions.

[iim7V7IM7]

As I said in a prior thread. I would not drill your neck to install a Dearmond pickup. Yes, its vintage, but if you like the acoustic tone, I would recommend the following:

1) Go to a luthier (not just a repair person) who has experience working on a D'Angelico and has installed a Barbera Soloist before
2) Have them build you a replacement pickguard preserving the one you have with an edge volume pot
3) They will build you a replacement saddle to hold the Barbera Soloist PU, preserving your original
4) Put some 80/20 bronze strings on it
4) Call John Buscarino and see if he will sell you a jack pre-amp for a Barbera
5) Invest into a high quality 2-way speaker so you can capture some overtones amplified

This is totally reversible and will do very good job at capturing the acoustic timbre of the guitar. This not a "vintage" solution, but it captures the natural sound of your guitar, it does not damage what you have and is totally reversible (aside from an end jack which lives where your strap button does). While it is nostalgic to have vintage magnetic PU and it is a classic jazz tone, if John was building today on an acoustic archtop I suggest that he would use Rich's transducer.
My $.02

Bob

[Cunamara]

The question of which DeArmond Johnny Smith used is still not certain in my mind. The only clear picture of a pickup on his 1955 D'A (the greatest guitar that ever existed IMHO) is the one on his great "Guitar and Strings" LP, which I finally found under a pile of junk after doing some Christmas cleaning. The JS LP was recorded in 1960, and has a gold humbucker on it, and the sound is not as good as his previous Roost LPs, when he had a DeArmond on the axe.

According to Lin Flanagan's book, many of those classic Roost records were recorded on the 30s guitar Smith borrowed- he used that guitar from 51-55. There is a video of Smith playing "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" on what I assume is the '55 with a mini humbucker and a finger tailpiece, IIRC. It does not sound as good to my ears with that pickup, either.

[kamlapati]

Just a side note: I notice the Ameritage case in the background. I have the same model case, and it dulled the finish of my '46 L-5 in several spots. I went back to the original case for storage. Be careful.

[Max405]

Just a side note: I notice the Ameritage case in the background. I have the same model case, and it dulled the finish of my '46 L-5 in several spots. I went back to the original case for storage. Be careful.

Kam, ok, you got me nervous. Can you tell me more? And thanks for lookin out.
I love the case. It would suck if I had to dump the case. JD

[kamlapati]

Kam, ok, you got me nervous. Can you tell me more? And thanks for lookin out.
I love the case. It would suck if I had to dump the case. JD

Not much to say. I bought the Ameritage case because it was so sturdy and good looking. I wanted to save my vintage case from any more bumps and scrapes, and to tell the truth the vintage Gibson cases are not very snug fits either, so I thought it would protect the guitar better. My L-5 isn't always in the front of my rotation so at some point it was in the case for several months. When I took it out I noticed the dulled finish that perfectly matches the pads between the case top and the guitar top, that straddle the tailpiece. That hurt, but there's nothing to do at that point. I just put the guitar back in it's old case for storage.

I know I'm not alone in this experience. Anything made from petrochemicals can out gas, including case padding, and the plastic bits on the guitar itself. The safest place for the finish is on the stand in your music room!

When I take my guitar out to gigs now I use my Hoffee case, which is really nice. But I store it in the old original case, which has stood the test of time, or at least, already emitted any chemicals that it originally contained.

Your D'Angelico is absolutely stunning. I've played a few and it's been a religious experience every time. I am really happy for you. Now, be careful.

[Max405]

Not much to say. I bought the Ameritage case because it was so sturdy and good looking. I wanted to save my vintage case from any more bumps and scrapes, and to tell the truth the vintage Gibson cases are not very snug fits either, so I thought it would protect the guitar better. My L-5 isn't always in the front of my rotation so at some point it was in the case for several months. When I took it out I noticed the dulled finish that perfectly matches the pads between the case top and the guitar top, that straddle the tailpiece. That hurt, but there's nothing to do at that point. I just put the guitar back in it's old case for storage.

I know I'm not alone in this experience. Anything made from petrochemicals can out gas, including case padding, and the plastic bits on the guitar itself. The safest place for the finish is on the stand in your music room!

When I take my guitar out to gigs now I use my Hoffee case, which is really nice. But I store it in the old original case, which has stood the test of time, or at least, already emitted any chemicals that it originally contained.

Your D'Angelico is absolutely stunning. I've played a few and it's been a religious experience every time. I am really happy for you. Now, be careful.

Thanks Kam. I only use the case for transport. I will be careful. I am currently looking at wall hanging display cases so, long periods of storage will be in a different arrangement.
This guitar didn't come with the original case.
I very much appreciate your help. As the baby sitter of this guitar for the next 30-40 years, I have a responsibility to keep it nice.
thanks buddy.
Joe D

[Max405]

As I said in a prior thread. I would not drill your neck to install a Dearmond pickup. Yes, its vintage, but if you like the acoustic tone, I would recommend the following:

1) Go to a luthier (not just a repair person) who has experience working on a D'Angelico and has installed a Barbera Soloist before
2) Have them build you a replacement pickguard preserving the one you have with an edge volume pot
3) They will build you a replacement saddle to hold the Barbera Soloist PU, preserving your original
4) Put some 80/20 bronze strings on it
4) Call John Buscarino and see if he will sell you a jack pre-amp for a Barbera
5) Invest into a high quality 2-way speaker so you can capture some overtones amplified

This is totally reversible and will do very good job at capturing the acoustic timbre of the guitar. This not a "vintage" solution, but it captures the natural sound of your guitar, it does not damage what you have and is totally reversible (aside from an end jack which lives where your strap button does). While it is nostalgic to have vintage magnetic PU and it is a classic jazz tone, if John was building today on an acoustic archtop I suggest that he would use Rich's transducer.
My $.02

Bob

hey bob,
i like the Barbera idea. My tech is a luthier too. He is real good at this kind of stuff and won't hold the guitar. Ronaldo will keep it for a month and I'll end up losing my mind. The bridge top will not be touched, he will make a new one that will fit the existing base.
The Chameleon speaker is nice but me and my wallet are not ready for that.
Thanks, Joe D

[iim7V7IM7]

hey bob,
i like the Barbera idea. My tech is a luthier too. He is real good at this kind of stuff and won't hold the guitar. Ronaldo will keep it for a month and I'll end up losing my mind. The bridge top will not be touched, he will make a new one that will fit the existing base.
The Chameleon speaker is nice but me and my wallet are not ready for that.
Thanks, Joe D

Ronaldo Orlandoni is who you're likely referring to so he can indeed do the job. Consider having him make you a duplicate pickguard as well so the installation of potentiometer doesn't mar your original one. While I understand a Barbera without the benefit of a two-way speaker, you will not really capture the acoustic sound you seek. I have a Raezers Edge Nighthawk 10 ER that I no longer use (replaced by my Chameleon) that I will give ya a great deal on if you're interested...:-)

[Max405]

Bob, PM sent.

[skykomishone]

Joe,

Just one quick question that I hope you don't think is too personal, but, those shots of your D'A guitar in your bed, hmmm., where does your wife sleep these days? Ha!

Love this thread.

Steve

[rpguitar]

...where does your wife sleep these days? Ha!

She let him buy the D'A!

So the answer is - wherever the hell she wants!

[neatomic]

joe D is in the process of importing henry the VIII's bed for her!! haha



cheers

[Max405]

Hey Steve, that's her now a days.. The brown thing with the beautiful curved body and the unusually long neck..
Na, just kidding. My baby has been putting up with a lot of my crap lately but when the day is done, she's right next to me like she has been for the last 21 years of marriage. Always by my side through thick and thicker, that's never gonna change bro. thanks, Joe D

[Max405]

Funny story, Ronaldo has my HDA. He has had it for 4 weeks, for a 1 week touch up job. I was supposed to pick it up today, and he called me this morning and said "Joe it will be done a tomorrow". I said! ok! no problem Ronaldo.
About 6pm tonite he had one of his capo's call me and tell me that the lacquer is not dry yet, it will be done next Monday... So I called him to give him the business a little and he said, "Joe. I won't give a you the guitarra until it's right, you know what I'm a saying a Joe? Let me tella you a secret.. I don't really care about the customer, Joe. I joosta care care about a the guittara. That's it.." This the second time he told me this "secret" in the past week..
If he was in the same room, I would have hugged him. He is 83 years old, the most lovable lil man you could meet. I hope he lives forever.. In a round about way, him working on my HDA, now makes the HDA feel like a real DA. I love the guy..

[Gregc57]

This is the best thread I read on the internet this week. Congrats on holding a great one, both in looks and tone. Though I don't know you, I get the feeling that it went to the right guy (very important).