D'Angelico Premier EXL-1 Hollowbody Guitar Review

Jazz box.

Nicely done again Sweetwater! Those jazz chords couldn't be more authentic on anything else.absolutely love this guitar it's not unbearable it's bigger but not uncomfortable.perfect fit and finish smooth frets and edges.It's that jazz sound and does it's thing,quickly becoming one of my favorite guitars.highly recommend this guitar for anyone playing jazz,swing or anything in between.perfect… read more experience every time with Sweetwater worth paying a couple bucks extra just knowing it's gonna be perfect from Sweetwater.6 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

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Great instrument.

What a great guitar.

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Wow, a full sounding hollow body with impeccable craftsmanship!

I purchased this champagne colored D'Angelico guitar. The craftsmanship is impeccable And I mean impeccable! She has good balance for a big body guitar. It plays easy and smooth with the C shaped neck and everything lines up perfectly with her appointments. It's appearance is quite stunning to the eye. But, what counts the most is 1. How it plays and 2. How it sounds. Let's… read more start with its overall playability. She handles well whether or not you're standing or sitting. She's big in the box area yet, it balances well. The neck does a good job of handling chords as well as powering off some single note runs. And, she's not shy on volume unplugged. The bridge is a good reference point for resting the hand when playing. Now for the magic. It's nice and tight in the upper register notes and can boom out the low end if necessary. Make no mistake, you can softly dance across the strings for some sweet quiet melodies to soothe the frazzle of the day. The pickup is tuned in where she needs to be - the tone knob brings her in to that sweet spot that we all are looking for to get that vibe as quickly as possible. She can deliver that rockabilly sound or that smooth jazzy blues if called upon. I usually don't rate or talk about guitars. at least not on record. But, this one, proved worth writing about and even sharing my personal feelings about it. I can't believe that the price was at only seven something out the door. I would have easily paid more for her. Perhaps in the neighborhood of a thousand to twelve hundred with a hard case. Listen, grab this while it's at its current price - you definitely will be blown away with its sound and craftsmanship not to mention its playability. I have to give a shoutout to Nick LaMendola for all his help and advice throughout the years - lots of years! Nick you're a super guy and a great rep for Sweetwater. Hats off to you bro and thank you!

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An old friend

I've had my Fiesta Red P.EXL1for two weeks now, so here are my thoughts. A beautiful guitar! Not overladen with binding or bling, but stunning simplicity. If they cheaped out on anything it's the truss rod cover (big deal) and the tailpiece, but absolutely useable. It stays in tune as much as any of my guitars do in an old drafty house. It has a good and surprisingly loud acoustic… read more sound. Plugged into a 1991 Gibson version of a Roland JC amp it's clear and clean until you totally max out the tone knob to the "dark" side. Excellent clear bass response, I mean EXCELLENT, It slipped right into my hands with no feeling of strangeness, like I'd been playing it a long time. One minus to Sweetwater. Although I bought a demo (saved a ton) the guitars are supposed to be intonated before shipping.I don't see how it's possible to intonate an archtop and then put the foam back underneath the bridge without undoing it, or expect the consumer to remove it and keep the intonation.

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Great guitar for a beginning jazz player

I normally play rock, rockabilly, folk, blues, but lately I've been getting into Jazz from the 30's and ragtime from the 1910's. This guitar is perfect for that style of music; e.g., "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now", "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" and "Diddy Wah Daddy" by Blind Blake. This is all in the style of Leon Redbone but flat picked; not finger… read more picked. Two things to know: I kept the strings at 12's, and I use their D'Angelico zinc coated strings for replacements. They sound good and work well; ...but I think they are worth it. (My other acoustics have Ernie Ball's brass wound strings; 12's and 11's). Second, the mini humbucker pickup is very low in volume due to no pre-amp on board. You will need a DI or pre-amp pedal to bring up the volume. I'm using the Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator for my other acoustics and it solves the volume issue fine. The AC-3 has two chorus effects that sound great with this guitar; it's not quite like the sound from a Roland JC 120 amp but not too far away from it either. Overall: This guitar is easy to play, has a well balanced weight from neck to body, good action, a sound great plugged or unplugged and is unbeatable for the price. Sweetwater sales guy Alan F. recommended this to me and he was right!

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