D'Angelico Acquires Supro and Pigtronix

[Ray175]

D’Angelico Guitars Acquires Supro USA and Pigtronix | D'Angelico Guitars

Interested to see how this will pan out..... What do others think?

[neatomic]

wow..supro was based on long island ny and making their amps there...had some nice quality amps...hope they stay that way...


tho the frequent musicians friend deal of the day for budget 200$ d'angelico acoustics doesn't exactly comfort me...john d'angelico rollin in his grave

cheers

[Spook410]

D'Angelico would likely be thrilled to see his name on one of the biggest players in the guitar market in the year 2020.

[neatomic]

^ i seriously doubt that..there used to be a thing called integrity...old school guy like john d'angelico had it in spades... never talked to johnny smith again after smith went to gibson for sig model with d'angelico guitar ideas...

watch some jimmy bruno vids to get the idea!

time will tell with supro deal...i'd buy mine now if i wanted one tho!

cheers

[citizenk74]

A good friend and frequent collaborator has a vintage Supro that sounds terrific. If the quality and sound remain the same, I'd be open to one. I divide D'As into Actual (John/Jimmy made); School of D'Angelico (Jimmy and his followers); and "D'Angelicos," which are legal; again subdivided into Replicas (the Vestax instruments and others) and look-alikes (current multi-national production).

Don't think for a minute I wouldn't love to have one of the current guitars, provided it had the good (IMHO) stairstep tailpiece. Homage has its place, and fits my budget.

[wintermoon]

Still makes me cringe whenever I see D'Angelico on a headstock not made by the master. I don't care who made it or how good it is, I'll never accept the licensing of that legendary name. Show some originality instead of being a flat out copycat for $ sake.
Yeah, been discussed ad nauseam but it's too late for me @ this point to feel any differently, I grew up holding that name in the highest regard as the best of the best.
I just remember his and the D'Aquisto name as being truly magical when you heard them, like Stradivarius before Sears and every Tom, Dick and Harry sunk their teeth into it. Now they're so watered down it's a shame.
Now kindly get off my lawn, latest rant over.

[rabbit]

Aside from all else, perhaps this means that Supro & Pigtronix won't go under in this crisis; livelihoods, eh?

[neatomic]

^ in the linked article...the deal was in the works pre covid...has nothing to do with!

supro had huge range of amps and guitars...for a smaller company

cheers

[rabbit]

^ in the linked article...the deal was in the works pre covid...has nothing to do with!

supro had huge range of amps and guitars...for a smaller company

cheers

Might still apply, though, sadly.

[rmpmcdermott]

Looooove my Supros, both new and vintage. They're making some fantastic amps in New York. I have no idea what will happen with D'Angelico taking over, but I certainly hope for the best. Been thinking about pulling the trigger on a Black Magick so this might be the time.

[Spook410]

^ i seriously doubt that..there used to be a thing called integrity...old school guy like john d'angelico had it in spades... never talked to johnny smith again after smith went to gibson for sig model with d'angelico guitar ideas...

watch some jimmy bruno vids to get the idea!

time will tell with supro deal...i'd buy mine now if i wanted one tho!

cheers

The current D'Angelico company makes some good guitars at many price points and they seem to be doing business like most corporations do without any outward signs of malfeasance. So what does integrity have to do it? If John D'Angelico would only have been happy with high end customs or boutique guitars being made under his name, then I would say arrogance had the better of him. And I would be disappointed if he had not wanted his family to benefit from his name. Though I believe that was certainly mishandled. Anyway, I'm sure he understood the difference between guitars built by the thousands and custom instruments. And the only way his name is worth anything is in an actual commercial application.

[Sam Sherry]

If John D'Angelico would only have been happy with high end customs or boutique guitars being made under his name, then I would say arrogance had the better of him.

Sure. John D'A 'made' plenty of plywood archtops by attaching his necks to stock plywood bodies he bought from United and Code. For example:




Or any of the other examples in this old thread.

[Spook410]

Do we really think John D'Angelico would not have understood the marketing of mass produced guitars?

[Cunamara]

The current D'Angelico company makes some good guitars at many price points and they seem to be doing business like most corporations do without any outward signs of malfeasance. So what does integrity have to do it? If John D'Angelico would only have been happy with high end customs or boutique guitars being made under his name, then I would say arrogance had the better of him.

Seriously? John D'Angelico made no provision whatsoever for his brand to outlive him, although he probably also did not expect to die at 59. This is distinct from someone like Orville Gibson or Leo Fender, who set up large factories and clearly intended the brand to outlive them. It is not arrogance on his part if he had no intention for the brand to carry-on after him. I am amazed you had the gall to say that, in fact.

The brand-name has been floating around for a while, having been utilized by several completely different companies. The current company has no connection with John apart from having acquired the use of the name and mimicking some of his aesthetic choices. As far as I am concerned it is classless. Other people obviously disagree because the instruments seem to sell well. I have played a couple of them, although I don't know that they were made by the current users of the name, and they seemed to be well-made instruments that played reasonably nicely and sounded OK. They were about the same as the other Asian made instruments that come out of the same factories with other brand names on them.

And I would be disappointed if he had not wanted his family to benefit from his name. Though I believe that was certainly mishandled. Anyway, I'm sure he understood the difference between guitars built by the thousands and custom instruments. And the only way his name is worth anything is in an actual commercial application.

When he died, the family (his brother, I believe) offered his name and business to Jimmy D'Aquisto. Jimmy bought the business with a partner/lawyer who turned out to be a crook, at least in Jimmy's estimation. The story, sordid as it is, is in the book "Acquired of the Angels." The partner got the business, its contents and the name. Jimmy got a few tools. It's probably more likely that individual is who has benefited from the use of the name, not John's family, depending on how the trademark was set up. BTW, John had no children.

[Spook410]

Yes. Seriously. He left a business to the family. It is not a reflection on his intent to benefit them that they botched it. And if you are trying to say that because he did not pursue a more boutique guitar manufacturing enterprise like Collings or Benedetto (a bit better examples than Fender or Gibson) he would have preferred to slip into obscurity, you are certainly welcome to that view. I feel he would have appreciated some notoriety. But this is only based on what we know of the man and human nature.

(edit: Do you ever find yourself discussing on internet what a long passed individual would or would not have liked about present day anything? )