The History of D’Angelico Guitars
By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer
During the early 20th century there were a variety of guitar tech and playing innovations that made it possible for the instrument to compete with other louder sounds. Some luthiers used the new electronic technology, others made larger bodies, and in some cases builders used a mixture of both! When learning how to play guitar, it can be important to understand the history of the instrument. One famous archtop guitar luthier was John D’Angelico and this is a brief history of the company and instrument he helped create.
Why Archtop Guitars?
Up until 1900 guitars were not that popular of an instrument, mainly because they had a hard time with sound projection. At the time there were brass marching bands, orchestras, and even string instruments like banjos and violins had a better time at being heard! Guitars originally used animal guts for both the frets and strings so it wasn’t like today with the metal components.
As the Industrial Revolution gave inventors access to better building methods and materials, people started to create new instruments and improve on old models. One way guitar luthiers created louder and nicer tones was by expanding on the body cavity, the more room to project, the better the sound. Orville Gibson is often credited with creating the first archtop guitar, but there were others who used this technique as it was common with violins and mandolins.
These early Gibson models look more bulbous and have round sound holes, they don’t look too much like their modern archtop counterparts. The famous guitarist Eddie Lang was one of the first to popularize these archtop styles and other musicians saw how much better they were in projection, tone, and even their stylish looks. As the decades progressed the archtop guitar evolved into the models that we know today.
The History of D’Angelico Guitars
John D’Angelico was born in New York City in 1905, just as these archtop guitars were getting their first patents. He also had the chance to apprentice under his violin making uncle starting at the age of 9, so it is safe to say he was comfortable and well versed in getting more space out of an instrument body. Many of the early archtop guitar luthiers of the day started as violin or mandolin makers and then used these skills on new guitar ideas.
By 1932 he had started his own company and his early models used a violin type bracing and were like the Gibson L-5. However it had become common to use the violin “f holes” as opposed to a round sound hole, this was mainly for aesthetic reasons, it doesn’t change the tone. Eventually this method became the standard for archtops and now one rarely sees one without f holes. D’Angelico’s early models did not use pickups, they were all acoustic guitars, and known for being able to be used in a jazz big band.
If you look at his early models you can see how he progressed with the use of X bracing, floating bridges, pickups, and even truss rods. Despite some early model issues, musicians really loved the tone of his guitars and soon his styles like the Excel and New Yorker were popular enough to be used by Chet Atkins. Back then his guitars were handmade and roughly the same price as the more popular and mass-produced Gibson’s, and many players preferred this handcrafted approach.
The Archtop Vs The Electric Solid Body
Initially the archtop was a hit and many makers copied the violin inspired technique that gave them more power. At the same time luthiers were creating more projection with arched bodies, they were also using pickups on solid and hollow body wood. As the rhythm and blues genre began to grow there was a push for more overdrive, gain, and distortion, unfortunately this caused feedback issues with early hollow and semi-hollow bodies.
While these feedback issues were mostly fixed, the archtop guitar became known more for jazz and a cleaner rocking sound. Early rock was filled with artists that played archtops, as it provided a clean but raw tone and looked great! Solid bodies would eventually take over as they are cheaper to produce, smaller, and more accessible, especially for the harder rock that started in the 1960’s.
However the archtop had become a staple and was still sought after by many guitarists. The models of John D’Angelico and his apprentice Jimmy D’Aquisto were in demand up until John’s death in 1964.For the next 30 years archtops were still built, but the D’Angelico company did not relaunch until the Big Band, rockabilly, and swing revivals of the 1990’s. Even though all those styles can be played on any electric guitar, the archtop has developed a reputation for being the right tone and look.
D’Angelico Guitar Facts
If you are an older musician you may remember the Mel Bay educational books, these were often featured with a D’Angelico model. The famous Modern Guitar Method book had an archtop on its cover, so this helped cement the popularity and higher status of the model. Students saw that unique build and the f holes as the instrument of a professional guitar player!
D’Angelico’s company only released a little over 1100 guitars in his lifetime so they have become collectors’ items. Musicians like Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton would buy and use them because they were so famous for their sound and appearance. And of course being known specifically as a jazz guitar meant artists like George Benson played them on a regular basis.
Owning an original D’Angelico is not easy as there are only so many, but since the companies return they have built more inspired by the older styles. Of course they also sell a variety of acoustics and solid bodies, but usually buyers are after their hollow or semi-hollow archtop styles that they were so successful with nearly 100 years ago.
Modern artists like Bob Weir, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Allen Stone, Melanie Faye, and Susan Tedeschi are all known for playing D’Angelico models. Their genres are classic rock, jam band, R&B, blues, and Americana so the archtop can work in a variety of situations. If you need a clean tone that mixes an acoustic and electric vibe, and is aesthetically pleasing, the D’Angelico archtop models are necessary for your playing and guitar collection.
It may not be easy to get your hands on an original D’Angelico archtop, but luckily the brand is still building guitars. The shapes and sounds of these guitars are both a mix of vintage and modern that suit many genres of music. If you are interested in owning or playing an archtop guitar, some of the best models of the last century come from John D’Angelico and the luthier company he helped create!
