The following content is related to the October 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
The name D’Angelico is spoken in reverence, like the names of artistic masters such as Michelangelo, da Vinci and Stradivari. Luthier John D’Angelico and his apprentice, James D’Aquisto, made only 1,164 D’Angelico archtop guitars, and today original D’Angelico guitars command impressive prices on the vintage market.
John D’Angelico died in 1964, but during the late Eighties a Japanese company started to build new D’Angelico guitars in limited numbers, with meticulous attention to detail. A few years ago, guitar collector John Ferrolito Sr. purchased the D’Angelico brand with the intention of reviving it.
In addition to offering USA Masterbuilt reissues of original D’Angelico models, made in limited amounts by luthier Gene Baker, D’Angelico recently introduced a new line of affordable Standard Series guitars, which consist of an archtop hollowbody, a chambered solidbody and two semihollow models, including the double-cutaway EX-DC.
