D'Angelico Excel EXL-1 Amber

A D'Angelico Archtop Designed for Modern Jazz

The Excel EXL-1 follows the spirit of classic traditional archtops: generous body, floating bridge, Stairstep tailpiece, and floating pickup. The goal is clear: to offer a guitar with a strong acoustic character while providing faithful and musical amplification, ideal for capturing the "jazz club" tone with excellent note-to-note clarity.

For Which Guitarist and Styles?

This D'Angelico is especially suited for intermediate to advanced guitarists seeking an expressive and nuanced hollow body. It excels in jazz (bebop, swing, chord melody), but is also very suitable for vintage pop, clean blues, and any context where a full, smooth, and precise sound without harshness is desired.

Sound Characteristics

The spruce top provides a quick response and great dynamics, perfect for complex chords and pick attacks. The flamed maple back and sides enhance projection and clarity, slightly tightening the bass to maintain definition. The Seymour Duncan Johnny Smith Floating Mini Humbucker (Alnico V) emphasizes a rich midrange, silky highs, and rounded lows, with excellent balance for both chordal and single-note playing. The simple electronics (1 volume, 1 tone, and 3-position selector) focus on essentials: a clean, effective, and immediately usable jazz sound palette.

Recommended Compatible Accessories

To get the most out of this archtop, a guitar strap with standard ends is perfectly suitable, and jazz picks (sharper shape, precise attack) will help improve articulation. The guitar comes delivered in a case, so you are ready for transport and protection.

Technical specifications

Electronics: microphone configuration	H	Nbrs of frets	22
Category	Hollow body	Body	Flamed Maple
Left handed	No	Bridge / tailpiece	Fixed
Strings	Steel	Electronics	Passive
Nbr of strings	6	Color	Yellow
Top	Spruce	Finishing	Glossy
Fingerboard	Ebony	Hardware	Gold

Type	Hollow Body guitar	Inlays	"small diamonds" (acrylic)
Cutaway	yes	Frets	22
Back and sides	flamed maple	Nut	Graphtech NuBone XL, 43 mm / 1.69"
Thickness	7.62 cm / 3.00"	Bridge	floating ebony
Width	43.18 cm / 17.00"	Tailpiece	D'Angelico Stairstep
Binding	7-ply	Tuners	Grover 150 Imperial
Profile	C	Pickguard	5-ply Tortoise
Construction	3-piece glued neck (maple/walnut/maple)	Headstock overlay	Cupola
Reinforcement	double-action truss rod	Neck pickup	USA Seymour Duncan Johnny Smith Floating Mini Humbucker (Alnico V)
Neck thickness	1st fret 21 mm / 0.83"; 12th fret 23 mm / 0.91"	Controls	1 volume, 1 tone
Scale length	639 mm / 25.16"	Selector	3-position switch
Wood	ebony	Power	none (passive electronics)
Radius	304.8 mm / 12.00"