D’Angelico Excel Tour Collection review – are these the ultimate road-ready semis?

Established almost 100 years ago in 1932, D’Angelico was best known for its big-bodied archtop jazz guitars made in New York City. Since the brand’s purchase by investors in 1999, however, the company has diversified, and in 2023 D’Angelico produces a versatile catalogue of both electric and acoustic guitars, manufactured mostly in Korea, designed to appeal to players of a wide variety of musical genres.

• READ MORE: Five reasons why the semi-hollow is the ultimate touring instrument

Which brings us to the Tour Collection – a brand new mini-range of road-ready instruments that form part of the brand’s Excel series. Now, as with many guitar brands, D’Angelico’s nomenclature and hierarchy can get a bit confusing so let’s clear this up. The Excel range falls between the Premier and Deluxe ranges – the former is the least expensive entry level range and the latter, with its opulent specs, is the more expensive. The very definition of mid-price then – happy? Good.

The Tour Series comprises three instruments that already exist within the Excel range –the single-cut DC tour, the SS Tour, and Mini DC Tour (with body widths of 16, 15 and 14 inches respectively). The difference between these and their regular brethren is in vibe and spec, or as D’Angelico puts it, each guitar is a “minimalistic powerhouse designed with the traveling player in mind”.

In practice that means they’ve been stripped of non-essential aesthetics, and given a more straightforward suite of hardware and electricals. Whereas the non-Tour Excel versions of our three review guitars feature block inlays, the trademark ornamental headstock with Grover 509 Super Rotomatic tuners, traditional shaped F-holes, and Seymour Duncan pickups; the Tour collection take a more utilitarian approach, so instead we have simple dot inlays, small vintage-style Grover tuners, no pickguard, Supro pickups and 1930s-inspired diamond f-holes.

All three models feature a semi-hollow construction with centre block, a 12-inch radius ebony fretboard, and laminated maple top, back and sides. As you may have noted, all the guitars have also been outfitted with the new Bolt Bucker pickups from Supro – D’Angelico acquired Supro in 2020, but this is the first time the two brands have collaborated on the hardware side since the joined up. Let’s see what they’ve been cooking…

In Use

The Tour range shares a great many similarities across each model, even down to the neck carve – a ‘C’ shape that bears more resemblance, in terms of girth, to a Strat rather than the guitars they have obviously been inspired by. On that note, there are no prizes for guessing the inspiration behind the DC and Mini DC but there remain several notable differences: namely the ebony board and the 25-inch scale length, instead of the rosewood ‘board and 24.75-inch scale length often employed on guitars of this style. For us, a 25.5-inch scale on vintage-style semi-hollow double-cut renders it a little inauthentic when trying to capture the feel a 24.75-inch scale length, but the 25-inch scale length is a happy compromise. And yes, we are aware we are talking about three quarters of an inch!

Each review model is remarkably lightweight so, cost considerations aside, it was a wise choice to appoint the small vintage-style Grover tuners in place of the larger ornamental pegs normally employed on D’Angelicos, otherwise we suspect we’d be experiencing some neck dive. As it is, all three guitars balance surprising well considering how light they feel. Our picking forearm is particularly grateful of the support the larger-bodied DC and SS provides, whereas the reduced real estate on the small bodied Mini DC is a little less comfortable, with the angle between the bridge and upper body not providing a great deal of contact with our right forearm.

The consistency across each model extends to their tonal capabilities too as the medium output PAF-style Supro Bolt pickups perform similarly in each guitar, each producing an open balanced sound and thanks to the ebony board, enhanced high-end frequencies.

We A/B the DC with a Gibson Custom ’59 ES-335 through a slightly overdriven Suhr Badger 30, and surprisingly there isn’t a great deal between, The added snap from the ebony board misleads us into thinking the DC has the hotter pickups, but a quick recording reference puts that theory to bed as they are virtually indistinguishable. Pushing the amp a little more our rockier rhythm tones sound rich with plenty of definition within the chords thrown at it

The Mini DC however, has a more strident tone – one more akin to a solid body. Out of the three models it packs the biggest punch and consequently we feel it necessary to engage a TS-808 to push the amp into further saturation which it handles with aplomb. We find it really excels on these kind of settings and lead lines sound fluid on both neck and bridge humbuckers.

The SC is the mellower of the three and when played through a Deluxe Reverb we notice the highs are a little softened compared to the other two. Consequently, we feel more at home performing faux-jazz lines, which sound especially authentic on the neck setting. When we switch to the bridge and stomp on an OCD though, all the jazz memories fade away and while there is slightly more airiness to the tone, it rocks almost as hard as the other two models.

Unexpectedly all three guitars respond to high gain amp settings in a manner not entirely expected from semi-hollow guitars, and they all prove capable of delivering some serious shred-style tones, should the mood take you. However, the pared-back electrics do have their drawbacks, as with just one volume and tone, we’re unable to blend both pickups: a feature which fans of this style of guitar tend to utilise.

Ultimately then, while the Tour series has a definite emphasis on minimalism and economy, it’s not like we’re left with a hastily constructed guitar with just a primer base coat! These are still attractive looking guitars and a number of delicate touches, such as the Ebony volume and tone knobs, give this a vibe of ‘quiet luxury’ more than penny-pinching. The scaled back appearance might actually be preferred by many, as there is a classic look to the Tour series – in contrast to the ‘classical’ appearance of a great many D’Angelico guitars (the headstock in particular).

If, as the brief suggests, touring musicians were the aim of these guitar models, then D’Angelico have succeeded. These are road-ready guitars, that will require little to no maintenance and zero fear of dinging the pretty flamed top on stage – because there isn’t one. To our ears, the DC is the more versatile of the three, capable of delving into rock and jazz territories with ease, whereas the DC mini fancies itself as something of a rock – reminding us a little of the gnarly tone of an Yamaha SG2000. The SS is the jazzier of the trio, but there really isn’t much between them – they are all very versatile and each would make a worthwhile house guest and/or reliable member of your gig ensemble

Key features

D’Angelico DC Tour

PRICE £1,199 (including D’Angelico gigbag)
DESCRIPTION 6-string semi-hollow double-cut electric guitar, made in Korea
BUILD Laminated maple back and sides, 3 piece maple/walnut/maple glued-in neck with 12” radius, ebony fretboard, 22 medium jumbo frets
HARDWARE Satin Nickel Tune-O-Matic and stop bar, Grover Vintage Deluxe Satin Nickel with Cream Buttons
ELECTRONICS Supro Bolt Bucker (Bridge and neck), 3-Way toggle, 1 volume, 1 master tone
SCALE LENGTH 25″/635mm
NECK WIDTH 43.88mm at nut, 53.23mm at 12th fret
NECK DEPTH 20.54mm at 1st fret, 22.88mm at 12th fret
STRING SPACING 52.44mm at bridge, 35.64mm at nut
WEIGHT 3.2kg/7.05lb
LEFT-HANDERS No
FINISHES Solid black (as reviewed), Solid wine, Slate blue
CONTACT dangelicoguitars.com

D’Angelico SS Tour

PRICE £1,199 (including soft case)
DESCRIPTION 6-string semi-hollow single-cut electric guitar, made in Korea
BUILD Laminated maple back and sides, 3 piece maple/walnut/maple glued-in neck with 12” radius, ebony fretboard, 22 medium jumbo frets
HARDWARE Satin Nickel Tune-O-Matic and stop bar, Grover Vintage Deluxe Satin Nickel with Cream Buttons
ELECTRONICS Supro Bolt Bucker (Bridge and neck), 3-Way toggle, 1 volume, 1 master tone
SCALE LENGTH 25″/635mm
NECK WIDTH 43.52mm at nut, 52.65mm at 12th fret
NECK DEPTH 21.34mm at 1st fret, 22.78mm at 12th fret
STRING SPACING 52.47mm at bridge, 35.47mm at nut
WEIGHT 3kg/6.61lb
LEFT-HANDERS No
FINISHES Solid black, Solid wine (as reviewed), Slate blue

D’Angelico Mini DC Tour

PRICE £1,199 (including soft case)
DESCRIPTION 6-string semi-hollow double-cut electric guitar, made in Korea
BUILD Laminated maple back and sides, 3 piece maple/walnut/maple glued-in neck with 12” radius, ebony fretboard, 22 medium jumbo frets
HARDWARE Satin Nickel Tune-O-Matic and stop bar, Grover Vintage Deluxe Satin Nickel with Cream Buttons
ELECTRONICS Supro Bolt Bucker (Bridge and neck), 3-Way toggle, 1 volume, 1 master tone
SCALE LENGTH 25″/635mm
NECK WIDTH 43.58mm at nut, 52.95mm at 12th fret
NECK DEPTH 20.69mm at 1st fret, 23.13mm at 12th fret
STRING SPACING 52.51mm at bridge, 35.89mm at nut
WEIGHT 2.9kg/6.39lb
LEFT-HANDERS No
FINISHES Solid black, Solid wine, Slate blue (as reviewed)
CONTACT dangelicoguitars.com

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