D'Angelico - Excel Mini DC Amber

The Excel Mini DC Amber bridges the gap between two eras: the understated glamour of New York’s salons and the electric edge of contemporary rock. Beneath its Amber colour in a high-gloss finish, the semi-hollow body with a central block captures ambient sound without ever succumbing to unruly feedback. Every pluck of the string finds an echo here, a resonant chamber that breathes.
The laminated spruce top, combined with laminated maple sides and back, creates a rounded, woody, almost tactile tone. The three-piece C-shaped neck, glued to the body, glides effortlessly beneath the fingers. Its ebony fingerboard, cut to a radius of 406.4 mm, moulds to the guitarist’s hand, whether they come from a blues or gypsy jazz background. The 22 Jescar 47/104 nickel-silver frets offer plenty of room to play, right up to the highest notes.
On the electronics front, the Seymour Duncan DA-59 (neck) and SH-4 (bridge) pair, with gold-coloured covers, injects character without ever overwhelming the nuance. The two volume and two push/pull tone controls, operated by a three-position selector switch, deliver a wide sonic palette, ranging from a crystal-clear, mellow tone to a saturated rumble.
It’s the details that make the difference: a 42.86 mm Tusq nut, Grover 509 locking tuners, a gold-plated Tune-O-Matic bridge and a Stopbar tailpiece ensure stable intonation, gig after gig. The 5-ply tortoiseshell Scalini pickguard and the 5-ply body binding lend a visual elegance rarely seen in this price range. Manufactured in Korea and supplied with a gig bag, this Excel Mini DC is aimed at guitarists seeking an instrument that is both responsive and reliable.