D’ Angelico EXL101 – Clarity Of a True Jazz Guitar

Body And Neck:
Electronics:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

• Check Price

While searching through the market in pursuit of the best jazz guitar money can buy, we ran into a variety of all-time classics such as certain Gibson or Epiphone models.

But a bit more thorough research of the market drew us to a conclusion that quite a few hidden gems can be found beneath the surface. And one of them is D'Angelico EXL101. Check out the full review below!

Body and neck

The guitar utilizes a laminated maple back and sides combined with a laminated spruce top. This is a fairly standard tonewood combination and a shoo-in for getting that bright and punchy jazz guitar sound to cut through the mix without eating away the frequencies of other instruments.

Neck is once again maple combined with a rosewood fingerboard, a set of 22 frets and white block inlays. The neck is quite playable and smooth, giving a bit more of a chunky feel on the lower registry and a slim vibe in the higher domain, which is perfect for those fast-paced licks.

The looks are classy classic stuff. The manufacturer managed to combine gold hardware and a decorated headstock and hit the sweet spot between elegant and too flamboyant.

Hardware

As noted, it's all gold stuff here, but the most prominent features of the hardware department are the instrument's adjustable bridge system and a signature D'Angelico tailpiece. Also included in the mix is a set of gold tuners and a standard pick guard. These components do a decent job in keeping the tuning and intonation in the proper spot.

Electronics

As for the electronics, the company went for the old-school approach by locking in just a single floating humbucker pickup. This instantly puts the guitar on the more jazzy, mellow, bright side. Seeing that most of out contestants in the best jazz guitars league utilize a pair of humbuckers, the sound this electronic section creates certainly makes the EXL101 stand out in its own unique way.

Also included in the mix are Volume and Tone control knobs, and of course no pickup selectors.

Sound

We are dealing with a humming retro jazz and blues tone here, with plenty of resonance, clarity, brightness and sustain. The single-pickup combo puts the guitar on the organic and natural side, but seeing that it is a humbucker after all, there's still enough room to add the gritty grip and grind to the mix.

It is worth noting that the final sound output is always crystal clear, with zero fret buzz or any sort of unwanted noise. That is something most jazz players particularly appreciate and something we're fans of as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIu_wQM2HY

Value/conclusion

For the listed price, this is a top-notch choice. If this puppy had a Gibson logo on it, it would probably have a price that at least 50% higher, but as it is, take it as a hidden gem from D'Angelico, one of the definite top jazz guitars under 1,500 bucks. Good stuff, a thumbs up from here!

For more info about the D'Angelico EXL101, click here.
For more Jazz electric guitars, click here.