D Angelico Guitars of America NYL-4

This guitar is a stunning recreation of a '50s era D'Angelico New Yorker, made in Japan by Vestax. The NYL-4 is identical to the NYL-2 reviewed elsewhere with the exception of its 18" wide body.

The 18" body has a pressed, solid German spruce top and the 3" deep rims and arched back are laminated maple with beautiful flame figure showing. Because an archtop derives considerable structural strength from its arched top and back, internal bracing is minimal. There is only a single "X" brace under the top. The neck is made from from 2 plies of maple, laminated with a dark (ebony?) center stripe. The headstock has an ebony veneer on its face, and a rosewood veneer on the back. The fingerboard is ebony, and has 22 jumbo frets on a 25 1/2 scale. The fret ends are capped by the binding, in the Gibson style. The width at the nut is about 1 3/4, and the neck is large, yet comfortable, with just a hint of "V" shaping. The large mother of pearl block fingerboard inlays are split diagonally, reminiscent of a Gibson Super 400. The body, fingerboard, headstock and even the "f" holes are bound with multiple ply black and cream binding. The headstock carries the "D'Angelico" logo and the "New Yorker" label with the "skyscraper" motif inlayed in pearl. The stairstep theme is also carried out on the truss rod cover, the bound tortoise colored pickguard, and the heavy, gold plated tailpiece. There is even a pearl diamond inlayed in the BACK of the headstock.
The overall effect is one of class and elegance. The mix of graceful curves and stairstep straight lines defines the "art deco" school of design like no other guitar can.

The guitar is equipped with a single floating mini humbucking pick up, attached to the pickguard. The volume and tone knobs are also mounted to the pickguard.

This example is finished in a beautiful antique sunburst finish which really sets off the fine wood used. The orange center fades to burgundy and black cherry hues on the top, back, sides and neck. The finish is polyester and is applied very thinly and evenly.

The tuners are Grover "Super Rotomatics". These tuners combine the modern die-cast body of the Rotomatic with the "stairstep" style button of the Grover Imperial. They do their job without fuss or fanfare. The tuners and the tailpiece are gold plated. The height adjustable bridge is ebony with two small pearl blocks inlayed on the base. The top piece of the bridge is notched for intonation.

The guitar comes is a high quality hardshell case. The case is covered with brown vinyl in an alligator hide pattern, and has gold plated hardware, a "D'Angelico" emblem, and a leather handle. The interior is finished in cream velour, and fits the guitar perfectly.

The guitar also came with a leather strap, a truss rod wrench, and a nice "D'Angelico" t-shirt (size large).

Archtop guitars don't really have lots of features, but this one has everything an archtop should have and then some, so I give it a 10.

I was fortunate that I had the chance to play and compare the 17" and 18" versions of this guitar. The 17" was good, but there was no comparison to the 18" body. The 18" was much louder, deeper and punchier. I guess size DOES matter. Jazz chords are lush and articulate. Single note melodies and clear and full bodied. No matter what you play on this guitar, it sounds great. Plugged in to a small tube amp, the guitar delivers all the tones you'd want for jazz and swing, or even vintage style country or pop styles. Remember, many country and pop records from the 50's and early 60's were recorded by old session pros playing their trusty archtops. Sure, it's a jazz guitar, but why let labels limit you?

The guitar came strung with D'Addario flatwounds (.012-.050). I currently have the guitar strung with Thomastik-Infeld nickel flatwounds (.011-.047). The lighter strings suit my old, arthritic fingers, and allow me to due an occasional blues bend should the mood strike. One of the other reviewers suggested roundwound strings for this model, and I may try them in the future. At present, I love the feel of flatwounds, and the warm tone. I started playing guitar on flatwounds 36 years ago, so in a way this is like coming home again.

The guitar sounds so good unplugged, that I don't bother to plug in at home. The warm, fat tone draws me in and I find myself picking up the guitar and playing it, just to hear it. The acoustic tone is somewhat directional and projects stongly forward. This means that however good the guitar sounds to the player, it sounds even better to the audience.

The guitar was perfectly set up for 12's when I bought it. I have had to tweak the truss rod since moving down to 11's, but that's to be expected. The neck manages to find that elusive middle ground, large enough to be comfortable, small enough to be fast. The fretboard is wide, and the slight 'v' shape distributes the width comfortably without excess bulk.

Everything else about the guitar was flawless. I am pretty fussy about details, so I looked the guitar over thoroughly. The guitar is about a perfect as any object made by human hands is going to be. Truly, this guitar embodies a level of workmanship and pride that you just don't see very much anymore.

The New Yorker is as durable and reliable as any archtop jazz guitar could be expected to be. If you take reasonable care of it, your grandchildren will be playing it someday.

I have had a bit of finish chipping along one edge of the fingerboard. Since the finish is polyester, I couldn't melt in a bit of lacquer and repair it. I had to resort to super glue to tack down the finish in the spots where it was lifting. This is the only issue I've had with this instrument.

The gold plating will eventually wear, as all gold plating will, but the construction is tight and solid and the hardware is the best there is. In the context of its intended use, playing solo jazz or in a combo, I would surely depend on it, and feel comfortable without a backup.

There is a one year warranty from the manufacturer. The store where I purchased the guitar (Ithaca Guitar Works), extended the warranty for one extra year.

I haven't had to deal with D'Angelico except to ask them several questions about the guitar and its construction and finish via e-mail. Their repies have always been prompt and courteous.

I can't say enought good things about Chris Broadwell and the crew at Ithaca Guitar Works. Chris not only offered me the guitar at a great price, but bent over backwards to be sure I was happy with my choice.
Thanks, Chris.

I've been playing for 36 years. I currently play in a blues band, and occasionally in church. I own or have owned a number of fine guitars, including Fender, Gibson, Taylor, Ibanez, Alvarez, and so on.
I have always dreamed of owning a fine archtop guitar ever since seeing the picture of Mel Bay's D'Angelico New Yorker on the cover of his "Modern Guitar Method". Never in my wildest dreams could I ever have believed I'd one day own a guitar just like it.

This is a beautifully crafted and toneful instrument. I don't think you can find anything like it for the price today. It is expensive, but then so are all fine archtop guitars. Jazz guitars are a specialty item in today's world, and that is going to cost money. That said, a Gibson L-5 or Super 400 costs a lot more, not to mention the custom made products of specialty luthiers.

I love this guitar. It's the most beautiful guitar I own. The beauty entices me to pick it up every time I walk into the room, and the tone encourages me to play and play, just to hear it.

My only critcism is the location of the volume and tone knobs on top of the pickguard. I find myself constantly hitting my knuckles on them when strumming chords. No one else has mentioned this, so maybe it's just me.

Unfortunately, I am not a professional jazz musician, just an aging blues, rock, folk guy, and as such, I rarely can make this guitar sing the way it deserves. My limited use of the guitar can't possibly justify the amount of money I have tied up in it. If it were lost, I would like to replace it with another, but I would have a great deal of trouble justifying spending the money again.

This is no reflection of the New Yorker, just the musings of a self-confessed "hack with a guitar".

My NYL-4 is a 2002 model sunburst. This is a magnificently beautiful guitar. Its made in Japan and has a solid pressed spruce top. The grain is very fine. The pickup is a floater with adjustable pole pieces and has a volume and tone control mounted on the pickguard. (I don't know who makes the pickup for them but it has a nice warm sound). The back and sides are incredible quilted maple. The neck is also maple with an ebony fretboard and fat frets. It has Grover Imperial tuners. The bridge is an adjustable ebony floating bridge. I love the thickness of the neck. Not too thin, not too thick. It's very comfortable to play. The finish is really something to see. It just screams at you and says come touchme, come play me. You can't walk by this guitar without wanting to pick it up and play it...and it is really playable.

Since this model is the 18 inch bout, it has a great acoustic sound that vibrates the top well, translating that great acoustic tone into the floating pickup which in turn puts out a really great jazz tone when amplified. I have the guitar strung with TI GR112 George Benson Jazz Strings. They run 12 to 53 and are roundwound. I prefer roundwound strings. They are a bit brighter on a big deep sounding instrument like this. I run this guitar through two different amps depending on the situation. For small combo situations I use a Tech 21 Trademark 10. It's a fifteen watt modeling amp that is perfect for solo and small combos. If in a big room I run it through a Fender Pro Reverb. This guitar will give you the classic jazz sound you are looking for.

I could not find any flaws on this instrument. I did however have the guitar professionally set up for the type of action I prefer and for intonation. The guitar tech was however curious how well the instrument would "open up" with age. He doesn't have enough experience with the finishes (laquers) used in Japan and doesn't know if it will breath the same way US made instruments do. So far (I've had it almost a year) it is opening up just fine. Everytime I play it it seems to sound better.

This guitar is very well built and I've used it in live situations (though I am afraid I may damage the finish by bumping it against something). The hardware seems good so far though the gold finish is begining to wear off on the pickup where my thumb rubs against it occasionally. The finish will definately last. It's not thin and won't wear off the neck from playing (though the oils in my skin have never reacted that way on any neck of any guitar I've ever had)

I have not had to talk to them.

I've been playing guitar for over 30 years. I have several other guitars but this is the first big box jazz guitar I've ever owned. I would definately replace this guitar with another on just like it if it were lost or stolen. I love the classic art deco beauty it has and it just emanates jazz history to me. I tried several different jazz guitars before purchasing this one. I had narrowed my search to this and the Hofner Jazzica (which is also an excellent guitar in the same price range). The romantic beauty of this instrument overwhelmed however.

Same appointments as a NYL-2 but with an 18" body. Please see my other NYL-2 reviews for specific but all what is expected from a high end jazz box.

This is where we get excited. I am a big guy and love the size of an 18" full body. Compared to my regular 17" D A's this one is much louder and punchier. Love the tone that comes out of this full bodied guitar. I can't wait to see what it is like when the wood ages a bit.

Just beautifull like all my other D'Angelico's. Striking flamed maple back and sides and one of the nicest sunburst finishes. And of course all the fancy appointments of the art deco era. Action was quite high when I received it so it required a fret leveling job to get it the way I like it. But I yet get a new guitar that doesn't require that. Love this guitar so much accoustically I don't rush to plug in unless I have to.

Built like a rock like all others I own.

Like always Pete and the guys are great. Definitely have to meet them face to face one day. WOuld give Pete and Glen a 10+++ if that were possible.

What can I say I love this 18" NYL-2 so much I ordered a BlueBurst. If I can only now convince them to make a NYL-2 Custom in a full bodied 18" version.