NGD: D'Angelico EXL-1

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honyock
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Happy birthday to me (next week).

Been 6 years since I sold my Douglas WNO-640, and I've been wanting a bigger bodied jazz machine for some time. Looked hard at the Eastmans, but new price was a little steep and used lefties aren't really common (still haven't seen one pop up).

This one I get 45 days to decide if I like it or it goes back.

Looks dang near new, still has the plastic on the pickguard and the case smells like new inside despite guitar being a skosh over 7 years old.

It is I think SPG built, former Samick plant taken over by former employees ala Heritage/Gibson, based on the little googling I did.
https://samick.fandom.com/wiki/Serial_N ... Present.29
https://samick.fandom.com/wiki/SPG_Musi ... ruments_Co.

Strings are a bit rusty, so I am guessing this was someones case queen because it pretty much looks unplayed (the gold hardware is just too dang clean).

Has an ebony fret board that looks more rosewood like than Agile uses sort of like my Unsung built Dean Chicago Flame series.

Classy looking MOP block inlays. Really well done binding and fit and finish is immaculate.

Honestly surprised D'Angelico sprung for a lefty specific tailpiece.

The guitar is definitely a step above the Douglas in terms of quality, but then again these were supposed to be well over $1k when new.

Plays like butta! The neck feels dang near perfect. I think it would be hard to send this one back to Guitar Center...

Going to swap on a set of D'Addario EXL110w's and see if I can start learning to play jazz...
all that jazz in your face.jpg
10 years, 2 months, and 8 days of blissful ignorance ruined by that snake in the grass Major Tom.
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bleys21
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How's the pickup sound? I feel like a jazz box should be a guitar that I should own, but don't really know anything about them, so I'm curious to learn vicariously through your research and purchase :-)
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dearlpitts
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Bitchin
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honyock
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bleys21 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:07 pm How's the pickup sound? I feel like a jazz box should be a guitar that I should own, but don't really know anything about them, so I'm curious to learn vicariously through your research and purchase :-)
This was sort of just an impulse buy, but once I bought it, I had to know what I was possibly getting in to. When I had my WNO 640, I basically treated it like an acoustic. Wish I would have dug into it more, it probably would have been good enough to last a lifetime, but I got bored with it.

when I first got this home, the pickup did not sound great. However, I noticed that the pickup was angled such that the bass side was touching the body while the treble side was floating. I straightened it out so it is more parallel with the strings and it really improved the balance. It is really early to judge it, but I thought it sounded fine. Just using it running through the Jazzmaster amp sim on my SCX2, it was did a decent job recreating the tone of the guitar acoustically. At first I couldn't tell if the amp was even making noise, but I knew the volume was high enough because I had just been playing my Taylor 414CE through it so I knew it was working. I need to learn some jazzier stuff to really figure out if it is any good. Typical chords and some of my favorite noodling bits sounded nice, but more or less just like an electric acoustic on that particular amp sim.
10 years, 2 months, and 8 days of blissful ignorance ruined by that snake in the grass Major Tom.
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mickey
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If memory serves, when those were introduced the pickup got a lot of kind words from the jazz guys.
Congrats! @honyock nice score! I'm jealous! :)

Tho if I owned one, it would likely be a case queen.
That headstock is as overpowering as an Epi headstock!
I'd be embarassed to play it for the dog. :lol:
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AnotherJim
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Congrats and Hapy Birthday!
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jtcnj
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AnotherJim wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:41 am Congrats and Hapy Birthday!
Ya! What he said! ^^^
Old AGF since Feb. 2015; refugee of the Great MOMO Purge of May 2020.
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redman
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What a beautiful guitar I have a D'Angelico acoustic it was made in Indonesia I think at Cor-Tek any way very well made so I'm sure yours is a great player. @mickey seems I remember that getting some great reviews.

So Happy Birthday in advance and Happy New Guitar Day great score.
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honyock
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mickey wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:56 am If memory serves, when those were introduced the pickup got a lot of kind words from the jazz guys.
Congrats! @honyock nice score! I'm jealous! :)

Tho if I owned one, it would likely be a case queen.
That headstock is as overpowering as an Epi headstock!
I'd be embarassed to play it for the dog. :lol:
Thanks!

It is quite a design choice to put it nicely, but to be honest the guitar plays so nice, I haven't really bothered to look at it (Much like my Heritage.)

From what I've read, the jazz guys either love em because they are fine players or they turn their nose up because the Arizona Iced Tea guy is basically dragging John D'Angelicos name through the mud.

I can't imagine anyone that plays one could find a bad thing to say about the fit and finish. Even my nicest Agile doesn't hold a candle in that department.
10 years, 2 months, and 8 days of blissful ignorance ruined by that snake in the grass Major Tom.
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jam
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I don't know... on that guitar, with that tailpiece, I think the headstock is okay. It all sorta works. I like it.
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Mossman
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Happy (belated) birthday and NGD!

So this is why you mentioned D'Angelicos in the other thread (I must have missed this). Looks nice! The headstock doesn't look so bad on that guitar. :)
Finally escaping the People's Republic of Kalifornia!

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honyock
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Mossman wrote:Happy (belated) birthday and NGD!

So this is why you mentioned D'Angelicos in the other thread (I must have missed this). Looks nice! The headstock doesn't look so bad on that guitar. :)
Thanks, the big body really needs the big headstock. I think it would look weird with a smaller headstock like an Agile for instance.
10 years, 2 months, and 8 days of blissful ignorance ruined by that snake in the grass Major Tom.
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redman
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I like D'Angelico guitars I just sold the only one I had to a friend and now he' s digging it.
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