D'Angelico - Premier EXL-1 Brown Burst

A brown gradient reminiscent of the weathered leather of an antique double bass: the Brown Burst showcases this smoky hue beneath a high-gloss finish, caught between light and shadow. The Hollow Body archtop, with its Single Cutaway silhouette, embodies New York’s DNA in every curve.

Beneath this finish, the wood tells a different story. A laminated spruce top, with laminated flamed maple sides and back: the body, measuring 431.80 mm wide by 76.20 mm deep, resonates with a rich, full-bodied tone. The rosewood bridge conveys every attack with texture and sonic richness.

The maple neck, with a C-profile, transitions smoothly from 20 mm at the first fret to 22 mm at the twelfth fret beneath the fingers, without ever feeling awkward. The ovangkol fingerboard, with a scale length of 355.60 mm, features 22 Medium Vintage nickel-silver frets, whilst the Graph Tech NuBone XL nut and gold-plated Grover 109 Super Rotomatic tuners keep the instrument in tight tuning, session after session.

The D’Angelico floating mini-humbucker pickup, controlled by a simple Volume/Tone knob, captures the mellow, rounded tone of jazz as well as the vintage grit of a late-night blues session. A Stairstep tailpiece, a 5-ply Tortoise Scalini pickguard, a Cupola headpin and an engraved serial number on the back distinguish each instrument. Made in Indonesia and supplied with a gig bag, it weighs 4.41 kg when slung over the shoulder.