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Who would sell every guitar they had to buy this?
https://www.archtop.com/ac_56excel.html
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08-04-2016 09:30 PM
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Me...but only after examining/playing it. A D'A is _that_ kind of guitar.
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once upon a time I did...
I played a chord and was blown away [wow, how can I actually buy this?] there was only one way for me, put a deposit down and sell most of 'em to get one that's truly great....
I mean, if you want to and can somehow land a grail, where else is there to go, you're kinda >there @ that point right?
but at the same time, ask someone like our own FSW6, [I think that's close to his monicker]...he has quite a collection of nice guitars and knows what's up...even so, he digs 'lesser' guitars as well.
so do I, even dig playing my double pickup laminate poly finish Aria PE-180 acoustically on the couch while having many much 'better' guitars suited for that....
a DA or Stromberg might ruin ya, as 'the chase' is over.>>until you play an even better DA or Stromberg than what you have]
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I hear you about the PE-180. Mine gets more time in hand than any other...even though it is my only non-carved arch top. It is a wonderful guitar.
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it would be the solution for a guitar hoarder such as myself, but I am a many eggs in many baskets type of person.
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I've played a couple of original D'Angelicos and D'Aquistos. While very fine instruments, they weren't the specs I would be ultimately comfortable with. Also having that much $$ invested in a guitar as a player doesn't really make that much sense. So if you're rich or investing for future selling maybe?
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I would seriously consider it if I only did jazz gigs. Since I play in a range of bands and do pit orchestra work, it's not an option. Even still, the collective value of every bit of gear I have would barely get a new mid spec Heritage let alone a real D'Angelico.
One can dream though. But I'd ditch that pickup on it and stick on a Dearmond 1100.
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I played one in a LGS once, and actually considered taking a mortgage on the homestead ;-) Then the reality of worrying about theft, and fire gave me the the smell of coffee I needed to walk from the store.
But I REALLY understand the mystique.
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Nope. Great guitar, but it cannot do everything I hear in my head.
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No. I want my guitars to be instruments I can take outside the house without worrying too much about something irreplacable being damaged. The older I get, the more I focus on utility value - with guitars and everything else. In addition, with my mediocre talent I wouldn't be able to take full advantage of what a good D'A has to offer.
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From a guy who prefer parallel braced thick laminated maple top with a set in pickup my grail is something else
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Several years ago, I sold a few guitars and bought a DA 1939 Style B. It was a thing of beauty and I really enjoyed owning it. I put an original De'Armond 1100 on it and played it on gigs, which was really fun. After owning it for about 10 years, someone offered to buy it from me for a fair price, so I decided to let it go and I used the funds to buy an L5 and a Campellone Deluxe. I have played lots of DAs and most of them were amazing. Mine, however didn't sound quite as good as most, so I don't really miss it. Having said that, I might do it all over again some day if the right one came along. They are very special.
Originally Posted by fritz jones
Keith
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Definitely not. It's taken many years for me to build up my collection.
Besides, who wants to paint with only one color...
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I also prefer workhorse guitars, which is why I say there aren't too many guitars over $2,000 or so that I'd be interested in. I've played some excellent, expensive instruments, and while, yeah, they're amazing, I've had guitars stolen, and I've had guitars break. I wouldn't want to subject a "holy grail" instrument to that, and honestly, you do start to hit a point of diminishing returns. If a $1,000 guitar gives you, say, 75% "holy-grail-ness," and a $1,500 guitar gets you to 80%, getting to 85% is going to cost you WAY more than another $500. Originally Posted by oldane
When I take my Tele out to a session, I feel really confident with it, because I know that short of a close-range nuclear blast, there's not much that's going to hurt it. Heck, I've put it upside down on my lap and eaten lunch off it. I honestly don't care about cosmetic damage with that instrument. On a Tele, that stuff just adds character. With, say, an L-5 or a DA I'd be constantly worried about dinging it.
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how many years will it take to sell down the road? That's something to consider. Archtop sales are already at an all-time low. Fast forward 10-20 years. Is a $20k d'angelico going to be worth anything to players in 20 years? I saw a guy selling an L5 for a fraction over $4k and it sat for almost a year on here and a couple other sites. How long would it take to sell something 5x that price?
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A while ago, I took the advice of a fine young outstanding Professional Jazz Guitarist from the Santa Cruz area. Well, alright, maybe he's not that fine.. But he is an amazing player and a great friend.
My dream was to own a Cutaway D'Angelico. But would it have been the only Guitar I owned. He told me to look into a non cutaway. He said, this is the way these guitars were intended to be. And he said, you'd be surprised how infrequently you really play above the 14 fret.. Thanks Stringswinger. The rest is history..
That's why the early non-cutaway models are desireable, well to me anyway..
For a reasonable price, they are great guitars to have, along with all the Provenance anyone can ever ask for.
I thought when I bought mine that it was mainly going to be a collector piece. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned into just as much of a "player" as any other guitar I've ever owned. And without question, it sounds better than any other guitar that I've ever heard.
As far as the OP's question..
No, not when I could have my 1935 Excel, a mint Johnny Smith, my Tal Farlow and an ES175. I think I would like that better.
Joe D.
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Even if I sold all the guitars I own, it wouldn't cover the price of this guitar! And I'd be afraid to take it out of the house or to leave it home alone. Originally Posted by fritz jones
I have a wonderful archtop already which is great to play and gets a sound I really, really like. I've got no reason to switch. I have always kind of wanted to be a guy with one guitar; most of my favorite players are associated with one instrument or at least one instrument for long stretches of time (Jim Hall, Ed Bickert, Jonathon Kreisberg, Rory Gallagher, Jerry Garcia, etc.). If I spent less time farting around with gear I'd be a much better player than I am! One amp, one guitar, one cord and great chops.
LOL! I'll never get there.... ;-)
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I here you about playing one guitar for long stretches of time. I played the same ES-175 for over 30 years. I got to where it was simply an extension of me.
Then, I grew infatuated with the sound of 17" and 18" carved body archtops. You can see the rest of the story coming.
Now, I am not as settled on a single guitar, but the sound is even more enchanting than the 175 was--and I never thought that was going to be possible. (I chose the 175 _over_ an L-5CES, a Guild Artist Award, and a Gibson Kalamazoo Award originally because it had _that_ sound. The sound I was chasing after, back then, was more Jim Hall/Herb Ellis. Now, however, I prefer Johnny Smith and some of the other big, carved archtop guys. I guess we evolve.)
So far, I hear nothing that sounds better than the old D'Angelicos. Interestingly, that's where it all began for me. My first guitar teacher had one.
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Life is short and we only get one chance to explore it. If having many guitars is of importance, have many guitars. If having a vintage DA is important, make it happen. It is not a one size fits all world.
Real D'Angelico guitars are special, and the best of them are, IMO, the best guitars ever made. While the blond cutaway DA for sale at archtop.com sounds like a dream guitar, the pricetag is too rich for my blood. I do have two not cut, lower end DAs that float my boat just fine, and I am into each of them less than 10 K, so I am not fearful about taking them out on gigs. My DA itch has been scratched. But I also have a plethora of other guitars.
I think the real goal is to live life fully and not having any major regrets when we get to our deathbed. Being at the end of life wishing you had made the sacrifice necessary to have had a real DA is not going to be a happy ending. As any prostitute will tell you, happy endings are quite important!
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[QUOTE=entresz;678808]I would seriously consider it if I only did jazz gigs. Since I play in a range of bands and do pit orchestra work, it's not an option.
Yes I think if I had a Jazz Gig that payed over $50 LOL!
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Would I like to have that beautiful, superb, historic, iconic example of John D'Angelico's legendary skills and blessed talents? Oh yes yes yes oh yes!
Would I sell all my twenty-odd other guitars to do it?
No way. Let me explain.
These hunks of wood and wire and bits of bone and stone and shell and steel and plastic and God-knows-what-shiny-petrochemical-cum-bug-juice-and-spit combination may look like and indeed are material objects; but they are at the same time, for me, and maybe for some of you, something more.
Each and every guitar in my possession, whether present, past, or future, is to me the living embodiment of a time or times, a place or places, a story (or many), a song written, a gig, a session, a tour; and most importantly, people:
family (gifts worked and saved and sacrificed for to give and receive); friends (ditto); fans, without whose support much of this whole music thing would remain a dream... these memories, though intangible, are not and never will be fungible.
The D'A remains, for me, a beautiful dream, an object of aspiration. here's to the lucky person who gets it!
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This implies a failure to understand the concept of 'More Debt.' Originally Posted by fritz jones
Or, alternatively, 'Crushing Debt.'
Keep 'em all.
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Me, I could buy that D'Angelico but I'm up to my ass in guitars and I'd worry too much about having something that expensive in my house. Besides my closets are stuffed already... I'm sure it's gorgeous and sounds like a million bucks, well maybe $29,000.00 or whatever that one is selling for.
To rich for me...
Big
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Maybe I should just be brutally honest and say that I'm not worthy enough of a player to own something so doggone wonderful. But maybe I'll get over that someday. What this guy does with this D'Angelico is just jaw dropping.
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Beautiful. do those strings sound like round wounds to you?
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