It’s not cheap -Some players might prefer ’57 Classic humbuckers or Burstbuckersĭoes anyone need more reasons to buy an ES-335? It’s one of the foundational designs of electric guitar – the archetypical ‘electric Spanish’, with the pioneering centre-block design a means of bridging the gap between generations and making it ship-shape for the high-volume styles that came out of the 1950s. This, combined with the gold hardware, the Frequensator tailpiece and a tone that spreads hot butter on any chord you care to play on it makes the reissued Broadway one of the best jazz guitars you can buy today, with the SlimTaper neck a more palatable proposition for speedy, note-heavy runs. It’s more luxurious, with seven-ply binding around the body, and multi-ply binding around the neck and headstock – the latter decorated with a pearloid ‘vine of life’ inlay. It has full-sized humbuckers, the V-profile neck of the early models has been updated with a SlimTaper C-profile, and the body is a wee bit thinner (but still a roomy 17”/431mm wide).ĭespite these modern updates, it presents a sensational taste of old-school guitar-making at a very attractive price. The reissued Broadway – which has been out since the late ’90s – is a slightly different proposition. Early versions were equipped with New York single coils, but, as with the Coronet, Epiphone ran out of stock at the beginning of the 1960s and used mini-humbuckers instead, and these would remain on the Broadway until it went out of production in 1969. The Broadway name dates back to 1931, when Epi Stathopoulo was making non-cutaway acoustic archtops to soundtrack good times with swing beats, but it was not until 1958 that it was released in its single-cutaway electric form. It’s like the dimmer switch on the light has been turned down a tad, and when you take off some of the treble, a bell-like voice gives chords and note-heavy passages a remarkable level of musical detail.
When you put the guitar through an amp, that directness mellows out a little, the tone more magisterial. Played acoustically, the Excel EXL-1 gives you a taste of things to come with a forthright character that might lack volume but not attack. If you’ve played the EX-SS, a superb semi in its own right, you’ll know what we’re talking about. Ostensibly it’s a C-profile, but there’s an asymmetric feel to it – just like the originals, made when hand-carving would naturally lend itself to such player-friendly ergonomics. The Excel EXL-1 is made in South Korea and is generously proportioned, with a neck that’s of a more refined era. John D’Angelico was there at the start, building archtops that soundtracked the jazz age.
A D'Angelico guitar carries with it the weight of history.
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