D'Angelico Excell SS Soho Hollowbody Electric Guitar With Stairstep Tailpiece Dark Cherry Burst

Hi my fellow guys and gals who play jazz guitar. I play jazz guitar too. I gig a lot and am published. My go-to axe's are hollow bodies, usually a high end Ibanez or D'Angelico EXL-1. When I searched and found this guitar I was intrigued as there are no real reviews out there BUT the YouTube videos were interesting and Mark Whitfield is a great musician who had a serious hand in the guitars creation. SO, I ordered one and waited and waited as there apparently is demand for this instrument. Well, once I received it I could not wait to open the box and check it out. I'm not sure what the best adjectives one could use to describe this upon opening, but WOW, BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, a WORK OF ART, LOOKS LIKE A CUSTOM ARCHTOP certainly come to mind! It is a stunning guitar and honestly, I can't find a single flaw in its construction. That said, given the smaller depth I was wary but hopeful that the guitar would reproduce the classic jazz tone that I need. The 12-52's electrozinc strings that D'Angelico put on are actually very nice and I'll keep them on for a while even though I typically use flats - (either D'addario or TI's) and a heavier gauge. What amazed me so far is that you can get really great tone out of this - so I am very pleasantly surprised and this is without a doubt a KEEPER AND might even become my new go-to guitar as those others I play are getting a bit too heavy for me as I typically stand and have been doing 4 hour jazz gigs on a regular basis. THIS GUITAR is light as a feather! I could hold it all day. The other thing I want to mention is mine came with a case vs a gig bag. VERY NICE and well constructed. As I write this I'm using the guitar for the first time in a performance tonight. I've put it thru its paces and it performed remarkably. I think I may put flats on it in a month or so. maybe 13' or maybe 14's if TI's but for now its really great and I write this because others, like myself likely have a need for a true hollow body that can serve as a genuine substitute for the heavier ones I and likely you are using. This guitar is not for everyone, but if you play jazz, blues etc this is it. Really. And, if you've reviewed the specs you'll see this comes with locking tuners and strap locks. So awesome...!! Happy playing, enjoy your music everyday and I would highly recommend you get one of these. I could not be happier and looking forward to performing with it on a regular basis! my best to everyone!

This guitar plays amazingly.