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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I have been looking into these and the NYSS seems like a really nice one. They recently relocated building this model from Japan to Korea and the price dropped by about a 1/3......(due to difference in labor costs????)
The one I played was an '04 MIJ and it was very nice and versatile.
Has anyone had any experience with these and a more important (and ON TOPIC) portion of the question is does Hamer make an equivalent? |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Hamer makes the Improv which is a much smaller (MUCH) archtop. It's also solid wood which the current D'Angelicos aren't (as far as I know). And the Improv is a $9000/$10000 item. which is why no professional jazzer plays one.
The D'Angelicos are nice guitars but I think you're paying for a name - and let's be honest how much is the name worth when you're comparing a hand built guitar from maybe the best archtop builder ever and a plywood box from Korea with the dead guy's name on it?
I guess what I'm saying is - if you like the guitar buy it, but don't expect it to bear any resemblance to the real thing.
test drive an eastman and check out some of the American archtop makers who hand build laminate guitars at real bargain prices.
And ES175s are ridiculously cheap on U.S. ebay.
And the Ibanez george Benson models are all fantastic value for money. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by schroeder:
plywood box from Korea with the dead guy's name on it?
Hmmmmmm....not sure were talkin about the same guitar here. The NYSS has a solid german spruce top and solid maple back and sides and an ebony fingerboard. Here are the specs:
Neck:
Figured Maple with Ebony fingerboard
24.75" scale length
1 11/16th" nut width
Pure mother-of-pearl inlay
Rosewood headstock veneer
22 frets
Body:
Hand-carved archtop construction
Solid German Spruce top with solid figured Maple back & sides
14.75" W x 1.75"D
Single venetian cutaway
7-ply ivoroid binding
Electronics & Hardware:
Gold plated Kent Armstrong floating minibuckers
Gold plated "tune-o-matic" style bridge
Faux tortoise-shell pickguard
2 individual volume & tone controls
Gold-Plated 3-way toggle switch
Gold-plated D'Angelico stairstep tailpiece
Gold-plated Grover Imperial tuners |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Wow - they've upgraded the spec since the last one I saw in a store (which admittedly was a fair while ago). How much are they selling for over there?
no wonder you liked it.
Presumably the SS in the title refers to the size because the original New Yorkers were 17" monsters, as were the NY models made in Japan when they started making them. I thought that the originals were 25 or 25.5" scale as well.
At one time Aria owned the rights to the name - don't know who owns it now. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I believe Al has one of the Originals . . . |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | He does... I've seen it...
He made me sign collateral reimbursement statement just to touch it... |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | ... it also has an amusing acquisition story.... |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
He made me sign collateral reimbursement statement just to touch it... I strongly doubt that it had anything to do with the value ;) |
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OT: D'ANGELICO NYSS