The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I know we had a big thread about the D'Angelico EXL-1 when the company was revived yet again, and began producing the second generation of MIK EXL-1. The newer one has block inlays and some other different appointments as compared to the Korean ones from a few years ago. It's offered in a floating pickup configuration only.

    Has anybody actually played or owned one of the new ones yet? They are all over Ebay for $1150. I had three of the first gen ones, and while they lacked character in the way that a lot of these type of guitars do, they were very high quality and a great option for a "safe to take anywhere" proper archtop guitar. Also they are 25.5" scale which is desirable for an L-5 player (Ibanez are all 24.75").


    D'Angelico EXL-1-dangelico-exl-1-jpg
    Last edited by rpguitar; 11-25-2013 at 10:48 AM.

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  3. #2

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    I tried one at a music store here recently. I was impressed with the playability and the sound of it unplugged was good. I never did try it plugged in (I'm not really a floating pickup guy). If they made it with set in pickups, I'd find it difficult to pass up, there's just not much out there that's 25.5 scale.

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by dmorash
    there's just not much out there that's 25.5 scale.
    You can say that again. Neither Peerless nor Eastman seems to have a model that's 17", spruce top, 25.5" scale length. These D'As are still unique in that regard.

  5. #4

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    I played one acoustically. It was flawless and actually surprised me with its acoustic sound. better than the Artcore United next to it. It isn't as good as a real carved spruce top, but it sounded good. I think I'll wait to the inevitable used ones hit the market for $700.

  6. #5

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    One thing I'm trying (in vain so far) to determine is if the finish is the same ultra-gloss poly that the old MIK ones had, and which is ubiquitous on Asian guitars. There are some pics of what appear to be the most recent EXL-1 models that do not seem as bad as the usual dipped-in-plastic variety.

  7. #6

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    Hey Roger, they play great. I actually had a hard time putting it down at the store and not leave with it. I just don't need another guitar right now, but if I did... The new excel would be at the top of the list.

    The finish on the two I played was the typical shiny poly. Nice but pretty typical.

  8. #7

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    you mean the vestax made d'angelico?

  9. #8

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    No, the latest generation of Korean D'As since the company was re-invented yet again earlier this year.

  10. #9

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    I haven't played one yet, but I haven't seen a bad or even mediocre review, from a magazine or from someone who's actually played them.

  11. #10

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    I brought one home for a few days and almost bought it. It played great and looked really good (more authentic looking than the older MIK ones, due to the traditional block inlays). It actually sounded quite good acoustically, with plenty of volume. It definitely had the thick poly finish, but as a gigging guitar, that would be fine with me. I wanted to buy it, but I have quite a few guitars and I decided it just wouldn't get played. I was also thinking that used ones might show up down the road, but I can't help but wonder how many will be produced. They have come and gone quite a few times in the past. Overall, I think they are excellent inexpensive guitars

  12. #11

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    The vestax DA's are very high quality instruments and can be found for not a lot of money. I have also looked very closely at the Aria D'Aquisto NY'er and IMO it is virtually the same guitar, except for the cosmetic appointments. They go for pretty low prices in the used market too. I prefer the D'Angelico styling though.

  13. #12

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    I tried a D'Angelico EX-SS out from a big internet website.

    The guitar was beautiful out of the box, but a bit flashy for my liking. I found that I liked the aesthetics a lot more without the truss rod cover (kind of a minor quibble).

    I swapped the strings to TI 12s and performed a full set up. To my great surprise, while the tone was very nice, I was not able to get the intonation properly set up -- notably, on the lower strings, I found the intonation to be off even when the adjustable bridge pieces were at their extremes. On the A string, the intonation was surprisingly off to the point where I boxed up the guitar and sent it back -- no questions asked.

    I am pretty good at my own set ups, I've built guitars from parts, etc so I doubt this is user error. The guitar itself was very pretty and the tone / pickups were on the "good" side of acceptable. The guitar is a bit flashy aesthetically for me and when the intonation was off, I threw my hands in the air.

    Hoo boy... keep on trying.

  14. #13

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    That's odd - I have owned two of them, a stop tp and a trapeze tp, and both are/were perfectly in tune. Great players.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by ingeneri
    My Vestax NYL2 is my workhorse guitar and a great instrument. I find the Asian neck a bith thin and prefer the beefier necks on my Heritages. The poly finish doesn't really bother me. Despite being solid topped, I find the DA to be very sturdy and as impervious to weather as a laminate. Nice acoustic tone for practicing sans amp around the house.
    Hey Matt. Is that the NYL2 I shipped to Indonesia about a year ago? I sold it to a buyer local to you, and I later provided your gig info to him. If that's the same NYL2, it had a Tom Short-Steve Bistrow floater when I shipped it. The guitar had been previously owned by a Bay area gigging musician.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by ingeneri
    Nope, I bought the NYL2in 2006 from the widow of a then recently deceased musician from Vegas. It was my only guitar until I got the Super Eagle a year later. I still routinely use the D'angelico for practice around the house, gigging in any inclement weather, and jam sessions where space is going to be too tight to be bumping into everything with an 18" guitar.

    I changed the pup too, though to the handmade Kent Armstrong Johnny Smith replica sold at archtop.com. It's not as hot and seems to have a mellower tone than the Korean made stock pickup.

    Always curious about that Tom Short pickup. I'm too poor to justify buying a Dearmond, but think the KA single coil looks kinda ugly. How bad was the single pickup hum on the Tom Short?
    I couldn't get it to feed back, even in my small room less than 5' from my 2x10.

    I'm a fan of the KA hand wounds. I've owned more of those than I can count. But in the NYL2 the Tom Short was truly special. It was warmer than the KA, with all the clarity one is accustomed to receiving from the KA.

    The TS - NYL2 combo matched the ideal in my head, at the time, of the consumate floating pup jazz guitar tone.

    I later read several comments of NYL2 users who'd matched the TS floater to their guitars. My guitars previous owner had read the same positive references, and that prompted him to install the TS. Needless to say, he was delighted.

  17. #16

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    It has floating pickup, I never played floating pickup, Is it good for wes and joe pass?
    Last edited by dvirulu; 11-14-2014 at 05:53 AM.

  18. #17

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    I've had an EXL-1 for a year. It's the current model (the one the cork sniffers bristle at).
    Its a huge guitar both in size and sound AND scale length. The floater was nice but not my thing so I converted it to a humbucker (dremel routing, harness hassle and finishing took 2 hours). Low, fast action and perfect intonation. A matching priced Peerless New York with the shorter scale and tamer appointments is a killer guitar too. My EXL is 17.5 inches wide and came with a really nice case that's also humongous. Scale is the key here. Montgomery played 25.5 and Pass played 24.5. The D'Angelico is 25.5 - you wrestle it when you're cookin'. No one talks about how beautiful and great playing the current D'Angelico's are and that's weird. Someone will probably tell you to get an Eastman. Don't drink that Kool-Aid.

  19. #18

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    I played an EXL-1 a few months ago at a local shop and thought it was really nice. The neck carve and nut width along with the low action fit me like a glove... definitely my preference in styling. Unfortunately, my old creaking shoulder didn't like the 17in body width. Definitely a sweet guitar.

  20. #19

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    Played one at a shop the other day. So tempted to go buy it. Really lovely instrument in terms of playability, and amazing tone.

  21. #20

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    I really really liked the D'angelico exl-1 and was thinking about getting one. I found out about another store in my area that sold more archtops and started really liking some of the Eastmans (I think it was the ar810ce I really liked... also 17" with floating pickup) and have since been a little torn between the two.

    The Eastman is a little more expensive than the exl, but in the same general ball park. I thought maybe the carved top on the Eastman made it sound a little nicer acoustically... definitely more volume, but my tone preference is probably a taste/mood thing and subject to change with the wind. I didn't play it plugged in though, so I can't compare there.

    I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm curious why you'd advise against Eastmans...

  22. #21

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    " (the one the cork sniffers bristle at)."

    Haaaa..... That's a good one! :-) I gotta remember that!

  23. #22

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    I bought one a few years back. The Korean made EXL-DP model with all the abalone you could stand. Bill Comins actually signed the Certificate of Authenticity. I must say, It is an extraordinary guitar. Many times I've thought of selling it and every time I get close, I change my mind. It is an incredible playing and sounding Guitar. I've done a couple of videos on Youtube with it. If you are interested in seeing/hearing it, just search my name (Joe DeNisco) and a couple videos will pop up.

    The playability is close to my L5. Its a strong guitar in that you can really bare down on it and it doesn't crumble up on you. Its classy, Beautiful and a keeper if you can find one.

    Joe D

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
    About the EXL-1. The playability is close to my L5. Its a strong guitar in that you can really bare down on it and it doesn't crumble up on you. Its classy, Beautiful and a keeper if you can find one.
    Joe D
    You know, it's funny you say that. I have an EXS-1DH and a Tal Farlow and the D'A plays as well as the Tal and does not take a back seat in sound either. Gads, I "KNOW" the brand has detractors, I get it, but how many of those detractors have played or owned one?

    If I could say ANYTHING untoward about the brand is their changing model names all the time.

  25. #24

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    After GAS'ing for another archtop for the better part of last year (after having sold my Elferink last year to finance a baritone build), I ordered two medium-priced guitars to check out.

    I ordered an Ibanez SJ300 and this beautiful D'Angelico EXL-1.

    Ibanez first: It played smooth (as all the Artcores and Artstars IMO do) and the Super 58s are great pickups. However, I did not like the acoustic tone of the instrument and it felt too close to what I already have and had in the past. I was aiming for something more traditional that I can also just play unplugged - either fingerstyle or with a pick.

    Enter this stunning EXL-1. The guitar felt and looked great right out of the box. Setup was spot-on and I got to jam on it for a couple of hours before even getting close to an amplifier.

    My only complaint about this great instrument is the pickup. It isn't balanced nicely and even with serious polepiece adjustments, I don't really dig it's sound. Don't get me wrong, in the small settings that I usually play in, I am merely using the amplified tone to enhance the acoustic tone, not as sole means.

    However, could you guys please point me towards some nice floating pickups. I don't mind using a bracket to fix the PU to the neck rather than the pickguard. I am really a little clueless as to types, brands and such of floating pickups available on the market. Thank you so much in advance.

    Cheers,
    Sebastian
    Attached Images Attached Images D'Angelico EXL-1-fullsizerender-1-jpg D'Angelico EXL-1-fullsizerender-jpg 

  26. #25

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    You could try having the bridge in the centre so the strings are over the pole pieces and you still have the protection strip under the bridge. The EXL-1 has a laminated Spruce top so a floater is never going to sound as good as a set in humbucker. I have a Benedetto S6 on an old Guild Savoy that sounds great but the Savoy has a solid top so I don't know how it would sound on a laminated one, I have guitars with DeArmond 1100 and 1000 pickups on they are great pickups the 1100 being better as it has pole pieces, I believe Kent Armstrong do some nice floating pickups but I have no experience with them, it really is a personal preference and few people will agree 100% on pickup choice.