This is my review of the D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE guitar.
D’angelico is known for their high-quality jazz guitars, but makes many more excellent guitars in other models. Take the solid bodies they release under the Deluxe Atlantic Limited Edition. These guitars are super interesting for a wide audience.
The story of D’angelico begins in New York with founder John who started building (semi) acoustic guitars in 1932. By his hand, almost 1200 guitars would be in circulation until his death in 1964. These unique and rare guitars are now collectors’ items and you pay a fortune for them.
Together with James D’acuisto, John built up the guitar brand in the fifties and sixties, but after that it became quieter around the brand. New acoustic and semi-acoustic guitar models and a line of solid-body guitars appeared in 2011. Today there are three solid-body models in two variants Premier or Deluxe. I looked at the Limited Edition of the D’Angelice Deluxe Atlantic in Sapphire Blue. My finding in brief? This is a multi-purpose, high quality guitar. Let’s dive in!
Overview
D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE Sapphire
- Price indication: $ 1500
- Body: Alder.
- Neck: Narrow C-shape, Abalone Split Block fretboard inlays, Scale: 628mm, Nut width 43 mm.
- Fretboard: Rosewood, 22 Frets.
- Pickups: Seymour Duncan Stack P90
- Controls: 1 Volume and 1 tone controls, 3-Way switch.
- Hardware: Satin Nickel hardware
- Other: Grover 509 Super Rotomatic Tuner, 5-Ply Solid White F-Hole Style Pickguard, EG2P Switchcraft socket, D’Angelico Stopbar Tailpiece.
Body and Neck
D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE Sapphire
The shape of the single cutaway solidbody is derived from the Les Paul. The neck is glued to the neck and is more ergonomic than a Les Paul. The guitar is released in Sage (light green), Sapphire (blue) and Rust (brownish red) colors.
The relatively large pickguard that covers almost half of the top is immediately noticeable. Along the neck of the guitar is a three-layer binding (Maple-Walnut-Maple) and includes position markings of a beautiful combination of abalone and mother of pearl. The frets are neatly finished on a rosewood fingerboard. The neck is 43 mm wide at the nut and has a thickness of 20 mm at the first fret, rising to 12 mm at the twelfth fret. The radius is fairly flat at 14 inches, and the 628 mm scale will feel familiar to Gibson players.
The shape of the headstock is recognizable among thousands. The neck pin plate depicts a New York skyscraper and demonstrates the attention to detail at D’angelico. The hardware is satin nickel giving a vintage-inspired, minimalist appearance. Everything about this guitar exudes impeccable quality and looks like these guitars are still being hand-built today.
Satin Nickle hardware
Electronics
D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE Sapphire
The Sapphire and Sage versions contain Seymour Duncan Stack P90 pickups. The hardware is finished in matte nickel and looks very neat. The volume and tone knobs are ebony. The guitars are fitted with a D’angelico stopbar tailpiece.
Playability
With its 3,7 kg, the guitar hangs well balanced around your neck and even when seated, the guitar feels comfortable, partly because of the cutaway at the back of the body. Everything is perfectly adjusted: a pleasantly low action without fret buzz and a pure intonation. The slim neck with C-profile lies comfortably in the hand and the deeply sunk heel construction ensures that the high positions are perfectly accessible, comparable with for example a Les Paul Axcess. The combination of alder and rosewood gives the guitar a lot of resonance, which can be felt immediately when playing unamplified.
Sound
The Seymour Duncan Stack P90s (on both the Sage and Sapphire versions, the Rust version has Antiquity Retrospec hum buckers) are top-notch and give the guitar a wide range of tones. The P-90 pickup is regarded by many guitarists as the ideal compromise between the chime and clarity of a single-coil pickup and the midrange girth and snarl of a humbucker. These pickups sound warm and detailed when clean and adore an overdriven amp. They deliver all the midrange punch and high-end sparkle you need.
Customer Reviews
It’s an killer guitar that I would put head to head with an American made Gibson. It’s a fantastic, modern interpretation of what American guitars have been doing forever. The D’angelico neck is impossibly comfortable. It spoils you for other, similar guitars.
For
- Unique design.
- Excellent, high-quality finish.
- Broadly applicable.
Against
- Price is on the high side. Very justified for this guitar, but in this price range there is more to choose from.
- Only 50 available of each variation, but you can expect the same quality of the regular Atlantic Deluxe.
Alternatives
Gibson Les Paul Classic HCS
The Gibson Les Paul Classic combines the Les Paul model from the early 1960s with certain useful and tried-and-true adjustments. It is constructed with a mahogany back and maple top, a slim taper mahogany neck, and a bound rosewood fingerboard, as is to be expected. Due to the open coils, the Burstbucker 61R & 61T zebra, open-coil pickups give vintage Gibson tones from the era a little extra punch. The control assembly has 4 push-pull pots which allow choices of coil tapping, phase switching and pure bypassing for useful and adaptable audio diversity.
Schecter Solo II Supreme
The Solo-II Supreme combines the Solo-natural II’s power with upgraded pickups, high-quality hardware, and a flame maple top for greater tone and beauty. The Solo-II Supreme is for guitarists who want a vintage-sounding Solo-II. Its well-rounded “C” neck bears reference to early hard rock single-cut guitars. The Solo-II Supreme’s tone is driven by two Lundgren Black Heaven humbucking pickups, a refined version of the company’s popular M6s. When converted to coil-split mode, the Black Heavens provide rich single-coil cleans that maintain note clarity even during gain storms.
PRS S2 McCarty 594
The S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut combines vintage appointments with current PRS manufacture and craftsmanship. The S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut’s 58/15 “S” pickups and dual volume and push/pull tone controls can master both humbucking and single-coil sounds.
S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut’s structure and design complement its warm, familiar tone. The S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut has a bound 22-fret Pattern Vintage neck and a thicker back for increased sustain. It stays in tune and is intonated down the neck. Two-piece zinc bridge and vintage-style tuners keep the McCarty promise.
Verdict D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE
Modern production techniques and the best materials are used by D’Angelico to produce playable pieces of art for today’s guitarist. It is a versatile guitar that can be used for various styles of music, think pop, rock, blues and jazz. D’Angelico’s commitment to fine craftsmanship has carried the company from a little store in Little Italy to the international arena, guaranteeing that this brand won’t be going out of business anytime soon.
D’angelico Deluxe Atlantic LE
