It may come as a surprise to some that electric guitar and acoustic guitar specialist D’Angelico has never produced a baritone guitar in its entire history.
That’s right: since it was established in 1932 by John D’Angelico, the company has never dipped its toes into the long-scale waters that many of its peers are currently swimming lengths through.
That is, however, until today, with D’Angelico announcing two all-new electric models that also mark the brand’s first-ever baritone six-strings.
Arriving in the form of the Deluxe Atlantic Baritone and Deluxe SS Baritone, the two latest models are quintessential D’Angelico, despite their longer scale lengths: in its quest to harness low tones and deeper voices, the company has compromised on absolutely none of its inherent DNA of luxuriously appointed guitars.
To look at, the Deluxe SS Baritone is just the regular Deluxe SS, though, obviously, with a longer 26.75” scale. It’s longer than the standard 25” scale that its smaller sibling sports, with the guitar also flashing some neat functional updates.
The undersized semi-hollow body is still laminated maple, and the three-piece maple/walnut/maple neck with ebony fretboard is also taken from the regular Deluxe SS. Other unsurprising specs include mother of pearl split block inlays, three-ply ‘board binding and the standard D’Angelico headstock.
It shakes things up in the electronic department, though, coming loaded with two Seymour Duncan D’Angelico Great Dane P-90s, as opposed to the familiar Seymour Duncan Seth Lover A4 humbuckers of the regular version.
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Available in Satin Honey and Satin Trans Wine, other noteworthy features include a streamlined control layout – a set of volume and tone controls have been ditched – a five-ply tortoise shell pickguard, Stairstep Tailpiece and Grover 509 Super Rotomatic locking tuners.
Joining it is the Deluxe Atlantic Baritone, which is even more similar to its smaller-scale counterpart. Again, it features a 26.75” scale length and the hallmark features of the regular Deluxe Atlantic.
That means it boasts a solid alder body with seven-ply binding, as well as a three-piece neck with a 14”-radius ebony fingerboard. The Deluxe Atlantic Baritone also flashes a tune-o-matic bridge/Stop bar combo, and makes use of split block inlays.
Further features include a standard D’Angelico headstock, two Seymour Duncan Seth Lover A4 humbuckers and a control layout comprising two volume knobs, two tone parameters, a three-way switch and a push/pull coil-splitting pot.
Again, two colors are on offer: Solid Black and Satin Walnut.
The Deluxe Atlantic Baritone is the cheaper of the bunch, ringing up at $1,699 in comparison to the Deluxe SS Baritone’s $2,199 price tag.
For more information, head over to D’Angelico.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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