D'Angelico Premier DC Review

An honest review - pretty darn good guitar!

I have been playing guitar for over 40 years and have always wanted a semi-hollow body to round out my collection. But for one reason or another, I never pulled the trigger. I finally did, and I am pretty happy with my choice. The overall fit and finish are nice. The binding is flawless. The fretwork is above average and the guitar plays really nicely. The Duncan-designed pickups… read more are...not bad, actually. The overall tone is warm, round, and just BIG. I play in a power-pop trio where I am the only guitar player and I usually use a Strat or Tele. When using the DC at rehearsal this past weekend, our songs took on a whole new life. The DC filled out the spectrum better and as a result my parts carried more weight. I was pleasantly surprised. The hardware and electronics leave a little to be desired: the 3-way switch is too stiff and makes an audible "clank" when moving between positions, and the bridge saddles and screws are similarly stiff and feel as if the threads on the adjustment screws are either damaged or poorly cut. Ultimately, I think I going to replace pretty much all the hardware and electronics as they are the only weak points. I am generally happy with my purchase and would gladly recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a semi-hollow body electric at a consumer-friendly entry point.

---

Cancel Comment

Found the one for me

I have a collection of guitars and wanted a nice semi-hollow body electric that was within my budget. I researched immensely and discovered this one fits the bill. It is quite beautiful from top to bottom, and the Champagne color is a shade of white with some sparkle flakes deep in the color (but not too loud). The neck is great and appears to have been set up in advance by a… read more pro at Sweetwater before shipping because I didn't need to do anything other than let it acclimate to the weather after shipping. Speaking of shipping, is was carefully packed in a carton inside a heavy duty shipping box with packing to restrain any movement. The pickups sound great and I can distinctly tell the different between the neck and bridge tones, which is not always so clear on my other guitars unless I have an amp driving the tone. The size is just right, probably a little thinner and small than an Ibanez 335 copy or genuine Gibson. And I like that even better. The headstock is somewhat radical but attractive. Some people like it, others hate it. I think it's fine. The only dent I can give it is the tuners. Not a big concern but are large and feel a little strange, and I have had to tune it prior to each session. All in all, I would recommend this to anyone playing a variety of music from jazz to country and classic rock. Maybe not metal but I wouldn't know about that.

---

Cancel Comment

Stick with Sweetwater!

Here is what you may get when you use one of the other online chain stores that refuse to show pictures of their Demo's or Open box specials. I requested photos and or a good description of the damage but was told it was not possible at this time. I gambled because this P90 pickup and color combination is no longer in production, so I was told by D'Angelico and this was the only… read more one I could find for sale in the US. Packing was single boxed with kraft paper surrounding the guitar, a thin layer of foam wrapped around it, and one thin layer of bubble wrap on the backside of the guitar only. That said I doubt any of the damage happened during shipping because the shipping carton had no damage to it. Other than that the guitar was gorgeous! I never plugged it in so cannot say how it played. Kudos to D'Angelico for producing such a beautiful instrument and I will get my hands on another once Sweetwater has them back in stock.

---

Cancel Comment

D'Angelico Premier DC Black Flake

Sweetwater is THE monster juggernaut company that excels in customer service A shout out to Mike A and Jeff C for being great customer service reps. Thank you both for helping me through some tough times this past year, and providing the customer service that Sweetwater excels at. Because of the well designed online website filtering, picking gear options is effortless, which is… read more how I found my new guitar.... D'Angelico Premier DC in Black Flake. WOW! I didn't think my search would've taken me in this direction, but, like other things in life, you sometimes find something that you didn't expect. D'Angelico has made a gorgeous version of the ES-335. My selection was in the muscular black flake finish. Researching the tone options on this guitar convinced me to purchase it. The neck and bridge pick ups sound perfect through my Fender on the clean channel. Switch on the neck pick up, add some overdrive and the Premier DC starts to bark like you'd expect a 335 would. The volume and tone controls along with the Pick up selector have a nice layout as well as being silent and smooth during position changes. I'm happy with this purchase, and proud I now own a guitar from the D'Angelico company. The guitar has a cool Art-Deco design motif on the head stock adding a NEW YORK vibe. Nice gig bag too!

---

Cancel Comment

First Semi-Hollow - This thing is awesome

I had some songs I was playing I really wanted a semi-hollow guitar for, and ultimately settled on this on as the best combination of features, price, and recommendations. I was immediately impressed by the richness and depth of sound. The pick-ups are amazing for the price.

---

Cancel Comment

Amazing Value!

Fantastic for stage and studio. ALL the tones you would expect from a 335 style guitar 3x's the price. Clean sounds are amazing. Throw a little dirt on your tone and it's a Rock machine! Well done D'Angelico, ....well done.

---

Cancel Comment