D’Angelico NYL-2 Vestax vs Epiphone Broadway Elitist

[Peterson]

I’m considering buying either a D’Angelico NYL-2 Vestax or an Epiphone Broadway Elitist. Which would you recommend and what would be reasonable prices?

Which do you think has the most volume acoustically? I play mostly at night with headphones and don’t want to disturb my family.

[Klatu]

Disclaimer: I own the Epiphone Broadway Elitist but have not played or experienced the D'Angelico.

The D'Angelico features a floating pickup while the Epiphone has two built in pickups. This alone would indicate that the D'Angelico would outperform the Epiphone acoustically.

The Epiphone isn't intended to excel acoustically, so while its volume doesn't compete with a dedicated acoustic, the sound quality is very high.

[Greentone]

They are intended to be slightly different archtop guitars. The Epiphone is a descendant of the Gibson L-5CES. It has a solid spruce top. It is an exceptionally well-made guitar from the Terada factory in Japan. It is a pro-level guitar, again, of the L-5CES design.

The Vestax D'Angelico also has a solid spruce top. It features a floating pickup in the neck position. It, too, is an exceptionally well-made Japanese guitar.

The D'Angelico is designed to be used the way that the great Johnny Smith employed his D'Angelico in the 1950s--an acoustic archtop guitar, amplified by a floating pickup to club levels. Smith made wonderful music with an instrument like this.

The Epi Elitist is designed primarily as a jazz electric guitar--the way that the L-5 had evolved by the 1950s. Think Wes Montgomery or any of the bazillion great jazz guys who employed the L-5CES as THE axe for electric jazz in the 50s-70s. In many ways, it is the signature sound of jazz guitar...but we are talking about electric jazz guitar, here. The L-5CES (and the Elitist) are not the acoustic instruments that the Vestax is.

So, how do you envision playing? (Me, I keep an acoustic archtop with a floater _AND_ a CES-style archtop on hand at all times. Playing a quieter venue? I take the Johnny Smith-style guitar. Playing something bigger and more challenging as a venue? Time for the CES. Outdoor gig? I actually take a Strat.

Also, and this is something that people don't think about often, how are you going to be amplified? If I am going to be at the mercy of a sound man, I don't bother with an expensive, carved body archtop. A Strat/Tele can be DI'd/padded/etc. by the sound person and still sound like a Fender. It will break your heart what happens to a woody, sensitive archtop once it gets mashed through the house system. It's still recognizably guitar, but it's not the same. Food for thought.

FWIW, both the Vestax and Elitist are excellent guitars. Just different.

[Woody Sound]

I believe the D'A is carved, and the Epi is not. That should give you something to go on.

Edit: Of course, there can be both good, and bad results from both methods, even though in general, carved is thought to sound louder acoustically.

[Greentone]

I believe Woody is correct. The Vestax is a carved top; the Elitist is a solid but "arched" or "pressed" top. The arch on the Vestax is accomplished via carving. The arch on the Elitist is accomplished via forming the top between two shaped plates, IIRC.

Both methods work. The second method, being more mechanical, is less expensive a production process. All else equal, you usually see the NYL-2 go for more $$$ than the Elitist. Neither is being given away, though.

[deacon Mark]

I’m considering buying either a D’Angelico NYL-2 Vestax or an Epiphone Broadway Elitist. Which would you recommend and what would be reasonable prices?

Which do you think has the most volume acoustically? I play mostly at night with headphones and don’t want to disturb my family.

Peterson,

I have a Dangelico Vestax New Yorker but it is NY 4 as it is 18 inch body like most real Dangelico. I bought it in the glory days these were made. It is from 2001 I have had it all these years. It is mint condition blond plays like a dream sounds great. I would cut a decent deal to you and I know about these I own 2 real original Dangelico s. I would let this go if interested send me personal email. I am a known quantity on the forum, at least I think, no risk.

[Peterson]

Thank you! I only play at home and at an amateur level. I have an Elite Strat, a malaysian blackwood Tele with P-90’s and an Ibanez AS-153. All can produce decent jazz sounds but the vibe isn’t quite there. I want an archtop that inspires me and that’s fun to play but I’m new them. I really appreciate your advice!

So, there’s a NYL-2 available for around $2400 and a Broadway Elitist for roughly half that. I can’t play them side by side if at all before deciding.

[Peterson]

Thanks Mark, but I’m in Sweden and I suspect customs, VAT and shipping would add up to quite a lot.

[Klatu]

If you can score a Broadway Elitist for $1200, it's a steal.

[Peterson]

It’s a 2004 with Sperzel tuners and Gibson top hats, original parts are not included. Still a good deal?

[Jabberwocky]

It’s a 2004 with Sperzel tuners and Gibson top hats, original parts are not included. Still a good deal?

There is the Made in Korea Epiphone Broadway, and there is the Made in Japan Broadway Elite/Elitist. Make sure it is the Elite/Elitist that is being offered to you for $1200. In the USA, the Broadway Elitist was cleared out for about $1650 each in 2008. $1200 for an Elite/Elitist is acceptable. Sperzels and tophats won't dissuade me; the Grover Imperials and white octagonal knobs that came from the Terada factory won't be missed

I bought one, New Old Stock, from Ishibashi Gakki in 2010 and I paid about JPY185000 for it.

[TH]

I believe the D'A is carved, and the Epi is not. That should give you something to go on.

Hmmm, they must've changed while in production. The ones I'd known and worked on were solid but pressed. Nice sound though, and not any real reason to think less of them in a production instrument. Press arching on solid woods is a technique I don't hear much about these days, but a few decades ago it was a really good way to get the purity and resonance of a solid piece of wood with the quick production time that allowed for a more affordable price point.
If they did indeed change production methods, the ones I was familiar with were from the early years of the runs and I haven't had the pleasure of working with a later(?) run carved top. The ones I tried and worked on were really nice and I'd give them my thumbs up over the Epi for acoustic sound.
I own an Epi zephyr regent and aside from that Korean guitar, I generally haven't been impressed by the factories Epiphone chose to contract for their archtop laminate work. Instruments that originated from the Peerless factory are an exception; Japanese Elites are a superior exception but hard to find. Plywood is not a given when it comes to the spectrum of quality.

My two cents, to be taken with a large grain of salt.
David

[kris]

D’Angelico NYL-2 Vestax or an Epiphone Broadway Elitist-you have to try them before you buy.