I've always loved the headstock normally I love simple design but for some reason this is one of those exceptions it gives of feeling that it's still made by a small shop and you have something special
I'm trying to get a hold of them to see if they make a guitar with a neck that isn't wizard thin in this body style. I played it for a while tonight and it's simply too thin for me to get along with long term. Everything else is fantastic too, it's a shame.
Just bought one of these in champagne/antique white from MF and I’m diggin’ it. Neck is a little thinner than a like but it feels solid, plays fast, and it sounds great. Love the retro/Art Deco styling and the tremolo. A blast to play. Came ready to play out of the box. Just tuned it up and put some better matching knobs it. Will put some D’Addario 10’s on it. Very ergonomic and comfortable to play. Nice review.
Hi Jim, thank you for the excellent review. Based partly on your positive review and the current Guitar Center sale price I ordered the guitar. Nice playing and a very comprehensive overview. Keep up the great work!
I bought one of these a couple of days ago. It's the first guitar I've owned at at that scale and I really love it. The neck is a little thinner than the standard C but not quite a D. It also feels like it may get just the slightest bit thicker the further down you go, which makes it more comfortable for me personally. I own mostly Ibanez and BC Rich guitars so I was looking at getting something a little more, IDK, organic??? And the thinner neck was very familiar to me. It isn't an Ibanez Wizard neck but it isn't Strat fat and definitely not Gibson chunky. Unlike the reviewer I am a fan of thin necks and I was prepared to have to sacrifice the slim profile to find this "kind of" guitar. Pleasantly pleased that I really didn't have to. OMG, it's pretty. I didn't even really notice the fleck until I took a picture of it. I have the same paint issues in the same areas. No biggie. Speaking of no biggie. I've seen a few reviews for this guitar, and maybe it's not special and I'm lame but. The fretboard is pinstriped around the outer edges. I had not seen this on a guitar before. Maybe it's so common now that people don't mention it, but it's a nice extra touch that really makes this guitar "pop" at the upper end. I thought that the binding was messed up on mine until I gave a good look and saw that the "extra material" I thought I was seeing as a possible issue with the binding until I noticed that it was pinstriping. Such an unnecessary, but so appreciated touch. It just makes me want to molest it even more. That's what she get's for dressing that way. (That's a joke in bad taste. It's okay to talk about guitars like that, but if you treat human beings that way, you are trash.) I did have one issue though. I had to take it in because I did not get the chance to play it and when I plugged it in the humbucker didn't work when I got it home to test it proper. (I know, I know. But this may be a rare thing, but a couple of the peeps at my local GC are solid and knowledgeable dudes. I knew if I had any issues they'd take care of me. They always have. Much Love GCTOH) When I took it back into GC, one of their guys took a look at it. We saw the wiring was pushing against the switch and the pups all started working right. I took it home to do a deeper dive and the 4 and 5 positions are scratchy. So if I can't get it to stop scratching, we're going back this weekend to get it fixed. The wiring by all other regards was fantastic. Zip ties and everything. It's been about 4 years since I've bought an electric guitar and this is the first I've owned that looked "high quality" in the 'tronics bin. And I've had only minor issues with some of my other guitars, mostly due to my neglect so I can't fault the instrument. So Mid Tier wiring is more than adequate. Kind of a bummer that, in an effort to make it HQ, they kind of messed it up a little. Their heart was in the right place. The tuners are the most precise tuners I've ever owned. If you're not used to it, it is almost scary when it feels like you're cranking the peg and the pitch barely moves. That's not a defect. That quality detailed tuning. It took some getting used to, but now I dread tuning my other guitars knowing how smooth a better quality tuner feels. I also got a good deal. These are now (05/22) $899 and I got mine for $549. I suspect with this being CG exclusives and not coming with a bag or anything, that these go on sale often. (That's not necessarily a bad thing. Keep reading.) 9. I keep saying I own(ed). The current stable of 9, in order of acquisition: BC Rich Platinum Warlock. It's a deep China/Blood Red. Purchased on 10/13/92. This is one of the only guitars I remember the DOP. I traded my first guitar (Series 10) in as a down payment for it at the only shop (small local) that would let a 17 year old rent to own a guitar. I had a FR Licensed Kahler floating trem added to it a month or so later. (Which involved routing.) I also swapped the factory bridge pickup out a couple months after that, for what ever DiMarzio that George Lynch was whoring out in the guitar mags at that time, but I had a coil tap added to it. (If you're from my day, you remember the ad.) At the age of 17 I really didn't think about the idea of owning a collection of guitars, so it was a, 6 strings to rule them all theory, to get the most tones out to one instrument that I could so we could grow together and explore each other for the rest of our lives. (Ahh young love. So innocent. So ignorant. So naive.) And the icing on the cake, I have the "warning, may spontaneously combust" sticker from a Bic lighter in the center. (You'll see a trend here.) BC Rich Bronze Mockingbird. It's black. This was a Christmas present in 2003. I swapped out the knobs for chrome skulls and have the neck sticker from a Heineken bottle in between the pickups. This has a tune-o-matic so it became my all arounder so I could set the Warlock up and not have to deal with the stress of being a young player trying to fight with a floating trem. Remember that the internet was still fairy small back then. I worked for an internet advertising company at the time and it was considered "ground breaking and innovative." We call them newsletters and subscription emails now. You know, the spam you sign up for. I helped pioneer that concept in my local area. (Sorry, but I was a computer nerd with the skills and they had the cashflow.) So the vast warehouse of info wasn't out there like it is now. But, that's it. Bronze MB with chrome skull knobs and a Heineken sticker. Squire Affinity Start from 2000. I didn't buy this. It was, um, inherited. I was jamming with a guy who just dropped off the face of the Earth. I've always been easy to find and have had the same phone number since then. No one I know who knows him has heard from him either. It's been close to 15 years now so I guess it's my guitar now? He loved it. I hate it. I'm actually going to give it it's first proper setup this weekend. Maybe that will improve it, but IDK. The 1st string jumps off the board like it was made of lava. The pups sound more like drowning kittens. And it stays in tune, for long periods of time, at rest, but once you start playing it, you might get through a song before you've gotta retune. Maybe a setup will do it some justice. Research shows that Squire has upped their game quite a bit since 2000. Just so nobody thinks all Squire Affinity line instruments are crap. I have a Squire Affinity Jaguar bass I purchased at the beginning of 2022 and I'm digging it. Ibanez RG4EX1 - Trans Blue. You can look up the model, I haven't done anything to this one. I had always wanted an Ibanez and was in the position to have an extra $500. It's pretty. Nice white binding. It was my daily driver for a long time. Ibanez RG5SP2 - Silver. The cup runneth over. Once again, you can google this. This was a birthday gift and a special run with it's own sku in 2009. There wouldn't be anything special about this except the story. I had been drooling over this guitar for a few months. A room mate at the time was also a guitar player and we often talked about the items that catch our eye. I had been checking this guitar out every couple of days for about 3 or 4 weeks when the week of my birthday rolled around. I said f*ck it and went to buy it and it had been sold since the last couple of days I went to visit it. I went after work that day and told my peeps I was going to go pull the trigger on it before I came home. This is relevant, because those f*ckers let me drive across town to buy a guitar they knew wasn't there. So, I go home disheartened, telling my roomies how the guitar was gone and how I should have just bought it a month ago. My roomie said "Yeah I was there yesterday when they sold it. Hold on a sec." Then he came in with it and was like Happy Birthday. It had poor action and intonation so I just tuned it to half step down and didn't really play it much. I recently/currently am going through my stable, restringing and setting up all of my guitars. (Cause I can now ;) ) and after spending an hour dialing everything in, it has found it's way into my hands pretty often. Having a solid locked trem at -1/2 makes me more inclined to play songs that are down tuned to that. I previously would just play in standard, compensating and just dealing with any open string notes that were out of reach due to the tuning. Now that I have a dependable guitar locked in at that tuning, it's very easy to just pick it up and play. I honestly like playing it more than the Trans Blue now and look forward to playing some classic pumpkins tunes on it whenever I feel the need. (Yeah i'm at the age where I can say Classic Pumpkins lol. Recently played a Reverend Billy C Signature V2 model and it had sticky neck syndrome. V3 just came out a week or so ago. I hope they "fixed" that.) But, yeah, the pulling of the heart strings makes this one just a little special and if I ever sell any off for space or upgrade credit, this will be the 1 of 3 Ibanez guitars I'd keep. Cont...
LTD M-302. Trans Burgundy. This is my only neck thru and also a home coming/going away present when I moved out of the place I was sharing with my roomies and moved in with my Mrs. My roommate actually got this guitar for $50. I can't say that it's stolen, but we may be suspicious that the car whos trunk the instrument was purchased from, might have been. That same roomie won an EMG 803 set from a Guitar World contest (Real people do win them. Just not us. LOL) and put them into this guitar. The blade currently has some issues and I have a guy who I trust and is well recommended who will fix it for free/cost of parts, our schedules have just not lined up yet. (It was actually his offer to fix this one that set me off to servicing my entire fleet. WIP. Did I mention I have a small collection?) Ibanez Jem Jr. IP-02. The white one. With the exception of some minor paint over/under spray in the monkey grip that most will never see, this guitar is beautiful. I had always been attracted to the guitar and Steve Via's "The Audience is Listening" video came out, and that was the nail in the coffin. That was the year I saved up and bough my first guitar and amp that Christmas. So owning that iconic shape and Tree of Life inlay was a grail of mine. And while it's the Jr version, after some slight adjustments it quickly became the daily driver. (Until I setup the Silver one. Now these 2 are my regular go betweens. Double Locking Trem owners know what I mean. It's easier to set a few up at intervals than it is to retune them.) Squire Affinity Jaguar Bass. IU don't have much to say about this. I had owned every instrument a band would need except for a bass so I finally bought one. A buddy and I were gonna both put $100 toward one but I wasn't happy with anything in that range. He was in between jobs and couldn't go up any higher so I ate the whole cost just to have a playable instrument. I basically bought it for others to play while visiting but I've learned a couple songs on it. I'm not a bass expert and it's getting the job done. So far it has slightly exceeded what I expected from a $300 bass. As stated earlier, Squire has really upped their game in the past few years. Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9. You get it. You've heard the "song." The D'angelico in the video is 9 all 9. I already covered most of this. This is my first "non-metal" guitar. I've been looking for something in the Pro to almost Pro level and something versatile when I discovered this guitar. D'angelico doesn't have a budget brand and the Premier is their entry level. (Think Made in Mexico Fender. A'ng seems to use Korea for their Deluxe and Indo for the Premier lines. Just proving that country of origin is not always a benchmark. If a company pays for better parts and materials from an Indo plant, the instruments get better parts and mats. QC in Indo doesn't seem to be as much of a factor anymore. ) I had actually played the Black Flake version without the trem at another shop but couldn't afford $900 at the moment. Luckily this was on sale and with a trem. According to D'angelico's website, the only difference between the other models and the GC exclusives are the paint color and trem. (Only the light blue version of the non GCEx's comes with a trem.) So at $550 I was sold. It sucks that it had it's issues but it does everything I wanted and needed at a great price. As of right now, there are not a lot of these floating around anymore, in this color at least. If your a fan of shoot yourself in the face red, then you may have better luck. I know this because we looked at replacing mine if it couldn't be fixed. Not that there aren't ever incidents, but the reality is that, unless you're getting into Custom Shop territory, all guitars are basically, reverse 3d printed. Reverse 3d printed? WTF? I'll explain. With the exception of Custom Shop type guitars (and this varies as some CS guitars may contain some production run parts.) most guitars are manufactured using a CNC Machine. These use the same G-Code as 3d printing but with opposite logic. 3DP code says, deposit material at these coordinates. CNC says remove material from these coordinates. The onboard processor and machine do all of the work, creating almost identical copies every time. ( Research manufacturing tolerances if you don't understand how this could happen.) Even the Top Shelf Fender and Gibson, Made in the USA plants are using CNC. Quality of finishing and QA is much better in a made in the US guitar (or at least it's supposed to be.) but as far as the basic math of the instrument, BASIC MATH of the instrument, the only difference between Mid-Affordable-Pro grades is materials and QA. All of the wood is cut to the same specs. This is an over-simplification to a degree but it get's the general idea across. I appreciate that the author of this vid understands that they have a great Gibson and that just because it says Gibson, that doesn't mean it's great. I hope someone finds this informative, educational or entertaining.
You really threw me back when you mentioned the LTD, I used to love the H300 and for years you could get them for about 100 bucks used all day... so much guitar for that money and I really enjoyed that one. Thanks for leaving such thought out comments they were a good read
@@antonharmacinski276 I agree with most of everything you said, this is the best guitar I have ever owned, even my old Premium RG and I love my Fiesta Red one, it is more to my liking because reasons. And being a CNC machinist, you're fairly correct on the concept of how a CNC works. I appreciate you taking the time to give your take on yours, it definitely said everything there is to know.
I have a light blue with gold trim SS175 ..it is a sweet sounding box..about 2000.00.love the DAngelico history.. mine has the tremolo bar and it was a limit run of 50 ..it is discontinued
I definitely need to check one out! And I hear you on that Guitar Center comment. I have tried several "brand new" guitars from there that just are horrible. A Fender Player Plus Strat with terrible fret ends, and a PRS SE Custom Semi-hollow with a twisted neck. Also I played a Player Tele that just sounded dull.
Thanks for your input. Have had my eye on the Bob Weir model of this same guitar. And it doesn't hurt that they were originally a N.Y.C. made instrument. Peace
I own one the same color. I set it up and it plays ok. I had to block the tremelo to keep it in tune. Its useless. I like it. I would like a hardtail deluxe version. Love the sound of it.
I really loved your look on this guitar :) I am really enjoying mine these days ... BUT I can't take it to jam everywhere because of the tuning stability. Do you think that if I swap the current tuners (roto super rotomatics 109) with their locking tuners counterpart (roto 509) it would improve it ? I never made such a change but I was really thinking about it because I love this guitar :) My version is without the tremolo system so it's not a tremolo problem !
if it's not stable without a trem, the tuners likely aren't the culprit - it's the nut. Replace the nut and I'll bet everything is perfectly fine with it after
1-It's the "d'angelico premier bedford SH" good at keeping the tune after using the Whammy bar? 2- what the difference between a normal Hambucker and a mini Hambucker (like the one in this guitar)? PS: The Ice Blue looks so beautiful , and good video
Funny I just helped a friend with picking out a guitar for his son for Christmas. This is what we picked. We went to a local GC to pick it up. The $499 deals are great. I had a Brighton which I loved but sold it. The neck was vey thin. It was a great looking and sounding guitar though.
It's just such a unique instrument, I feel if more people would get their hands on one in person to try it would be a much more popular guitar. It's really hard to top what it has to offer, it doesn't really have a direct competitor and is constantly for sale at a good price.
Great review man, thanks a lot for this. I own a premier Atlantic and out of my 4 guitars its easily the best value for money and probably the most versitile aswell, its so good it makes me wanna grab the Bedford despite having an Ibanez with the exact same pickup configuration haha. D'Angelico really make killer guitars
Thanks for taking the time to leave a positive comment, and man you're dead on about the value but to me it's even more than that. The fact they really make such a unique design to everyone else at the prices they do with the build quality really is something worth noting and I respect their boldness of trying new things instead of just LP, Tele, Strat style instruments everyone else does.
Just found your channel and like your detailed review style. However, unless I missed it, would have like to have heard you go thru the different pick up sounds and identify them for the viewer. Thanks!
Hey Adam I did miss doing it on this one and normally I do try to put that on the screen, i'll have to go back and see if there's a way I can edit that in if not I will just put a note in the comments section with the time stamps for people like yourself who are curious
You said ‘etcetera’ way too many times. But seriously, a great review of this guitar! And I like your playing style. A week ago, I bought a used D’Angelico at GC. So immaculate, I thought it was new. I’m old. I usually gravitate towards Fenders, and I have one Gretsch. This time I tried a D’Angelico for the first time. It looked cool, a little bit like a Jazzmaster. I plugged it in to a Supro. Sounded fantastic. I left it there, did a little research, and came back the next day to buy it. A beautiful Deluxe Bedford (discontinued) with hard case, locking tuners, strap locks, no blemishes. Solid body, not semi-hollow. Both pickups have coil splitting, without any loss of volume. I’m adjusting to the flat fingerboard
That's amazing to hear you found the unexpected. Kudos to you for giving something unfamiliar a try. The necks definitely take a bit to get used to, I just wish they offered a model or two with a chunkier neck profile.
They are pretty cool, wish they had american models for sale! I was checking out their more expensive guitars and was surprised to see they were neither Japanese made or American but still 2 grand.
@@pedroeguren7112 I prefer Boca to River plate!!!! So we are in good standing!!! This milan kit I've had for decades and yes, Maldini was still playing for the club. What an absolute legend he was.
The $499 version is not the same as the $799 one. They are a different SKU number. I don’t know what’s going on exactly but the pickups on the more expensive one is labeled as alnico where as the $499 model are label as proprietary set
It is, they just made it very confusing. The 799 is this one that has proprietary pickups, the one for 849 has duncan designed pickups in them. 799 www.guitarcenter.com/DAngelico/Premier-Series-Bedford-SH-Limited-Edition-Electric-Guitar-with-Tremolo.gc?pdpSearchTerm=d%27angelico&tNtt=d%27angelico&tAt=item&tAv=D%27Angelico%20Premier%20Series%20Bedford%20SH%20Limited-Edition%20Electric%20Guitar%20with%20Tremolo 849 www.guitarcenter.com/DAngelico/Premier-Series-Bedford-SH-Electric-Guitar-With-Tremolo.gc?rNtt=premier%20bedford&index=4
Jim I feel lied to, but in a good way. Glad you bought it. 1 huge thing I noticed on mine since you have one now. The Bridge picup sounded oddly more noisy than the other pickups. Noticed the Bridge Was Soldered as a split coil.
I wanted to say something yesterday but figured youd appreciate the surprise haha… funny about the wiring. Maybe its deliberate but no idea why theyd do that
@@AudiomoMusic hahaha I wasn't sure if I was half awake still until I clicked on the video. Took off the control plate and noticed and saw the extra wire grounded. Assume it was a mistake.
It would be so helpful to have weights in kgs - not everyone is the US and can understand old imperial weights. Also, would be helpful to have the neck width measurement at the first and 12th fret as well as the neck depth/thickness.
No, just something I came up with one the spot. There's this weird ongoing joke with some people that watch this viewer that I am his doppleganger and I get a kick out of it
@@AudiomoMusic Did you feel like the semi-hollow body sound came through at all or it sounded like a solid body. You may have said but I watched this a few weeks ago. Also, does it neck dive? Thank you so much for your content!
Mine is just like yours, but has a lot of hum and interference on the humbucker position. Any idea what could be causing this? I've been told this is normal by a tech. But, I have many other guitars that have various pickup configurations that don't have this issue. Aside from this annoyance, the guitar is great sounding and playing.
@@AudiomoMusic Did you find this was the case on your Bedford? If not, what do you think could be the difference? More importantly - how would you go about fixing it?
Not necessarily, I actually had a long talk about this a builder about a year ago assuming the same thing. He said so long as the binding is made of a decent material it's really not a big deal at all.
Hi, cool playing and video. Do you think the resonance or overall sound of the guitar is that of a semihollow? Does that chamber really make it different in sound from a solid body guitar? Some thinlines aren't much different from their solid body versions. Thanks!
Not even close to a true semi hollow if I’m being honest. This is a nice guitar but its just slightly more airy than a solid body, in the context of a mix you would never be able to tell it apart from a solid body.
The nice thing about these is that you can get this model pretty much year round for the $500 price which I feel is fair considering squiers are up to $600 at this point and nowhere near as good as this
If you like paper thin necks its fine, I’ve had wrist issues and play a lot of thumb over with my chord voicing so its a deal breaker for me. I just cant do necks this thin, rest of the guitar was extremely impressive.
@@AudiomoMusic So I ended up buying the guitar last night and it is a beauty! I didn't find the neck over top thin at all so I suppose it is all about what you are used to. I have a good mix of necks in my collection and this one reminded me of my PRS. I highly reccomend someone to play one in person or pull the trigger. This guitar is awesome!
John D'Angelico would never have designed such a monstrosity. Guitar companies try too hard to be all things to all people. Not only that they go out of their way to "offer something different" namely weird body shapes and the most horrible finish options ever seen. Guitars used to be works of art...now alot of them are works of ugly.
![D'Angelico's Most Affordable Guitars - Everything you need to know [Premier Solid Body Guitars]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MBHifilyPRI/mqdefault.jpg)
I've always loved the headstock normally I love simple design but for some reason this is one of those exceptions it gives of feeling that it's still made by a small shop and you have something special
it's 100% it's own thing and I love that about it. I was trying to think of a similar guitar and I was at a loss. They did a great job with it.
D''Angelicos have been a revelation for me this year - I really like the art deco style of the headstock.
I'm trying to get a hold of them to see if they make a guitar with a neck that isn't wizard thin in this body style. I played it for a while tonight and it's simply too thin for me to get along with long term. Everything else is fantastic too, it's a shame.
It's not Art Deco. Prior to that was Victorian, prior to that was Georgian. Revolutionary War era; it's called a Finial, to be exact.
Just bought one of these in champagne/antique white from MF and I’m diggin’ it. Neck is a little thinner than a like but it feels solid, plays fast, and it sounds great. Love the retro/Art Deco styling and the tremolo. A blast to play. Came ready to play out of the box. Just tuned it up and put some better matching knobs it. Will put some D’Addario 10’s on it. Very ergonomic and comfortable to play. Nice review.
Thanks for the video. Helped me to decide to go ahead and order. This will be my first new lower/mid level guitar.
I hope you love it, it really is a fun guitar to play
I've stumbled across your videos a few times in the past. You do a great job
Hi Jim, thank you for the excellent review. Based partly on your positive review and the current Guitar Center sale price I ordered the guitar. Nice playing and a very comprehensive overview. Keep up the great work!
I bought one of these a couple of days ago. It's the first guitar I've owned at at that scale and I really love it. The neck is a little thinner than the standard C but not quite a D. It also feels like it may get just the slightest bit thicker the further down you go, which makes it more comfortable for me personally. I own mostly Ibanez and BC Rich guitars so I was looking at getting something a little more, IDK, organic??? And the thinner neck was very familiar to me. It isn't an Ibanez Wizard neck but it isn't Strat fat and definitely not Gibson chunky. Unlike the reviewer I am a fan of thin necks and I was prepared to have to sacrifice the slim profile to find this "kind of" guitar. Pleasantly pleased that I really didn't have to.
OMG, it's pretty. I didn't even really notice the fleck until I took a picture of it. I have the same paint issues in the same areas. No biggie.
Speaking of no biggie. I've seen a few reviews for this guitar, and maybe it's not special and I'm lame but. The fretboard is pinstriped around the outer edges. I had not seen this on a guitar before. Maybe it's so common now that people don't mention it, but it's a nice extra touch that really makes this guitar "pop" at the upper end. I thought that the binding was messed up on mine until I gave a good look and saw that the "extra material" I thought I was seeing as a possible issue with the binding until I noticed that it was pinstriping. Such an unnecessary, but so appreciated touch. It just makes me want to molest it even more. That's what she get's for dressing that way. (That's a joke in bad taste. It's okay to talk about guitars like that, but if you treat human beings that way, you are trash.)
I did have one issue though. I had to take it in because I did not get the chance to play it and when I plugged it in the humbucker didn't work when I got it home to test it proper. (I know, I know. But this may be a rare thing, but a couple of the peeps at my local GC are solid and knowledgeable dudes. I knew if I had any issues they'd take care of me. They always have. Much Love GCTOH) When I took it back into GC, one of their guys took a look at it. We saw the wiring was pushing against the switch and the pups all started working right. I took it home to do a deeper dive and the 4 and 5 positions are scratchy. So if I can't get it to stop scratching, we're going back this weekend to get it fixed.
The wiring by all other regards was fantastic. Zip ties and everything. It's been about 4 years since I've bought an electric guitar and this is the first I've owned that looked "high quality" in the 'tronics bin. And I've had only minor issues with some of my other guitars, mostly due to my neglect so I can't fault the instrument. So Mid Tier wiring is more than adequate. Kind of a bummer that, in an effort to make it HQ, they kind of messed it up a little. Their heart was in the right place.
The tuners are the most precise tuners I've ever owned. If you're not used to it, it is almost scary when it feels like you're cranking the peg and the pitch barely moves. That's not a defect. That quality detailed tuning. It took some getting used to, but now I dread tuning my other guitars knowing how smooth a better quality tuner feels.
I also got a good deal. These are now (05/22) $899 and I got mine for $549. I suspect with this being CG exclusives and not coming with a bag or anything, that these go on sale often. (That's not necessarily a bad thing. Keep reading.)
9. I keep saying I own(ed). The current stable of 9, in order of acquisition:
BC Rich Platinum Warlock. It's a deep China/Blood Red. Purchased on 10/13/92. This is one of the only guitars I remember the DOP. I traded my first guitar (Series 10) in as a down payment for it at the only shop (small local) that would let a 17 year old rent to own a guitar. I had a FR Licensed Kahler floating trem added to it a month or so later. (Which involved routing.) I also swapped the factory bridge pickup out a couple months after that, for what ever DiMarzio that George Lynch was whoring out in the guitar mags at that time, but I had a coil tap added to it. (If you're from my day, you remember the ad.) At the age of 17 I really didn't think about the idea of owning a collection of guitars, so it was a, 6 strings to rule them all theory, to get the most tones out to one instrument that I could so we could grow together and explore each other for the rest of our lives. (Ahh young love. So innocent. So ignorant. So naive.) And the icing on the cake, I have the "warning, may spontaneously combust" sticker from a Bic lighter in the center. (You'll see a trend here.)
BC Rich Bronze Mockingbird. It's black. This was a Christmas present in 2003. I swapped out the knobs for chrome skulls and have the neck sticker from a Heineken bottle in between the pickups. This has a tune-o-matic so it became my all arounder so I could set the Warlock up and not have to deal with the stress of being a young player trying to fight with a floating trem. Remember that the internet was still fairy small back then. I worked for an internet advertising company at the time and it was considered "ground breaking and innovative." We call them newsletters and subscription emails now. You know, the spam you sign up for. I helped pioneer that concept in my local area. (Sorry, but I was a computer nerd with the skills and they had the cashflow.) So the vast warehouse of info wasn't out there like it is now. But, that's it. Bronze MB with chrome skull knobs and a Heineken sticker.
Squire Affinity Start from 2000. I didn't buy this. It was, um, inherited. I was jamming with a guy who just dropped off the face of the Earth. I've always been easy to find and have had the same phone number since then. No one I know who knows him has heard from him either. It's been close to 15 years now so I guess it's my guitar now? He loved it. I hate it. I'm actually going to give it it's first proper setup this weekend. Maybe that will improve it, but IDK. The 1st string jumps off the board like it was made of lava. The pups sound more like drowning kittens. And it stays in tune, for long periods of time, at rest, but once you start playing it, you might get through a song before you've gotta retune. Maybe a setup will do it some justice. Research shows that Squire has upped their game quite a bit since 2000. Just so nobody thinks all Squire Affinity line instruments are crap. I have a Squire Affinity Jaguar bass I purchased at the beginning of 2022 and I'm digging it.
Ibanez RG4EX1 - Trans Blue. You can look up the model, I haven't done anything to this one. I had always wanted an Ibanez and was in the position to have an extra $500. It's pretty. Nice white binding. It was my daily driver for a long time.
Ibanez RG5SP2 - Silver. The cup runneth over. Once again, you can google this. This was a birthday gift and a special run with it's own sku in 2009. There wouldn't be anything special about this except the story. I had been drooling over this guitar for a few months. A room mate at the time was also a guitar player and we often talked about the items that catch our eye. I had been checking this guitar out every couple of days for about 3 or 4 weeks when the week of my birthday rolled around. I said f*ck it and went to buy it and it had been sold since the last couple of days I went to visit it. I went after work that day and told my peeps I was going to go pull the trigger on it before I came home. This is relevant, because those f*ckers let me drive across town to buy a guitar they knew wasn't there. So, I go home disheartened, telling my roomies how the guitar was gone and how I should have just bought it a month ago. My roomie said "Yeah I was there yesterday when they sold it. Hold on a sec." Then he came in with it and was like Happy Birthday. It had poor action and intonation so I just tuned it to half step down and didn't really play it much. I recently/currently am going through my stable, restringing and setting up all of my guitars. (Cause I can now ;) ) and after spending an hour dialing everything in, it has found it's way into my hands pretty often. Having a solid locked trem at -1/2 makes me more inclined to play songs that are down tuned to that. I previously would just play in standard, compensating and just dealing with any open string notes that were out of reach due to the tuning. Now that I have a dependable guitar locked in at that tuning, it's very easy to just pick it up and play. I honestly like playing it more than the Trans Blue now and look forward to playing some classic pumpkins tunes on it whenever I feel the need. (Yeah i'm at the age where I can say Classic Pumpkins lol. Recently played a Reverend Billy C Signature V2 model and it had sticky neck syndrome. V3 just came out a week or so ago. I hope they "fixed" that.) But, yeah, the pulling of the heart strings makes this one just a little special and if I ever sell any off for space or upgrade credit, this will be the 1 of 3 Ibanez guitars I'd keep.
Cont...
LTD M-302. Trans Burgundy. This is my only neck thru and also a home coming/going away present when I moved out of the place I was sharing with my roomies and moved in with my Mrs. My roommate actually got this guitar for $50. I can't say that it's stolen, but we may be suspicious that the car whos trunk the instrument was purchased from, might have been. That same roomie won an EMG 803 set from a Guitar World contest (Real people do win them. Just not us. LOL) and put them into this guitar. The blade currently has some issues and I have a guy who I trust and is well recommended who will fix it for free/cost of parts, our schedules have just not lined up yet. (It was actually his offer to fix this one that set me off to servicing my entire fleet. WIP. Did I mention I have a small collection?)
Ibanez Jem Jr. IP-02. The white one. With the exception of some minor paint over/under spray in the monkey grip that most will never see, this guitar is beautiful. I had always been attracted to the guitar and Steve Via's "The Audience is Listening" video came out, and that was the nail in the coffin. That was the year I saved up and bough my first guitar and amp that Christmas. So owning that iconic shape and Tree of Life inlay was a grail of mine. And while it's the Jr version, after some slight adjustments it quickly became the daily driver. (Until I setup the Silver one. Now these 2 are my regular go betweens. Double Locking Trem owners know what I mean. It's easier to set a few up at intervals than it is to retune them.)
Squire Affinity Jaguar Bass. IU don't have much to say about this. I had owned every instrument a band would need except for a bass so I finally bought one. A buddy and I were gonna both put $100 toward one but I wasn't happy with anything in that range. He was in between jobs and couldn't go up any higher so I ate the whole cost just to have a playable instrument. I basically bought it for others to play while visiting but I've learned a couple songs on it. I'm not a bass expert and it's getting the job done. So far it has slightly exceeded what I expected from a $300 bass. As stated earlier, Squire has really upped their game in the past few years.
Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9. You get it. You've heard the "song." The D'angelico in the video is 9 all 9. I already covered most of this. This is my first "non-metal" guitar. I've been looking for something in the Pro to almost Pro level and something versatile when I discovered this guitar. D'angelico doesn't have a budget brand and the Premier is their entry level. (Think Made in Mexico Fender. A'ng seems to use Korea for their Deluxe and Indo for the Premier lines. Just proving that country of origin is not always a benchmark. If a company pays for better parts and materials from an Indo plant, the instruments get better parts and mats. QC in Indo doesn't seem to be as much of a factor anymore. ) I had actually played the Black Flake version without the trem at another shop but couldn't afford $900 at the moment. Luckily this was on sale and with a trem. According to D'angelico's website, the only difference between the other models and the GC exclusives are the paint color and trem. (Only the light blue version of the non GCEx's comes with a trem.) So at $550 I was sold. It sucks that it had it's issues but it does everything I wanted and needed at a great price. As of right now, there are not a lot of these floating around anymore, in this color at least. If your a fan of shoot yourself in the face red, then you may have better luck. I know this because we looked at replacing mine if it couldn't be fixed. Not that there aren't ever incidents, but the reality is that, unless you're getting into Custom Shop territory, all guitars are basically, reverse 3d printed.
Reverse 3d printed? WTF? I'll explain. With the exception of Custom Shop type guitars (and this varies as some CS guitars may contain some production run parts.) most guitars are manufactured using a CNC Machine. These use the same G-Code as 3d printing but with opposite logic. 3DP code says, deposit material at these coordinates. CNC says remove material from these coordinates. The onboard processor and machine do all of the work, creating almost identical copies every time. ( Research manufacturing tolerances if you don't understand how this could happen.) Even the Top Shelf Fender and Gibson, Made in the USA plants are using CNC. Quality of finishing and QA is much better in a made in the US guitar (or at least it's supposed to be.) but as far as the basic math of the instrument, BASIC MATH of the instrument, the only difference between Mid-Affordable-Pro grades is materials and QA. All of the wood is cut to the same specs. This is an over-simplification to a degree but it get's the general idea across.
I appreciate that the author of this vid understands that they have a great Gibson and that just because it says Gibson, that doesn't mean it's great.
I hope someone finds this informative, educational or entertaining.
You really threw me back when you mentioned the LTD, I used to love the H300 and for years you could get them for about 100 bucks used all day... so much guitar for that money and I really enjoyed that one. Thanks for leaving such thought out comments they were a good read
@@antonharmacinski276 I agree with most of everything you said, this is the best guitar I have ever owned, even my old Premium RG and I love my Fiesta Red one, it is more to my liking because reasons. And being a CNC machinist, you're fairly correct on the concept of how a CNC works. I appreciate you taking the time to give your take on yours, it definitely said everything there is to know.
Bro wrote us an esssay… LOL! Great comment tho man
Breathe…
I have a light blue with gold trim SS175 ..it is a sweet sounding box..about 2000.00.love the DAngelico history.. mine has the tremolo bar and it was a limit run of 50 ..it is discontinued
I definitely need to check one out! And I hear you on that Guitar Center comment. I have tried several "brand new" guitars from there that just are horrible. A Fender Player Plus Strat with terrible fret ends, and a PRS SE Custom Semi-hollow with a twisted neck. Also I played a Player Tele that just sounded dull.
Thanks for your input. Have had my eye on the Bob Weir model of this same guitar. And it doesn't hurt that they were originally a N.Y.C. made instrument. Peace
Originally in NYC, a shame even their more expensive models are MIK instead.
Great demo ! I liked the chord sequences you played very much 🎸👍😁
Thank you very much Rene I really appreciate that!
I own one the same color. I set it up and it plays ok. I had to block the tremelo to keep it in tune. Its useless. I like it. I would like a hardtail deluxe version. Love the sound of it.
I have the Bob Weir Premier version .Try that one ,thanks bro. 😊👍🏿👍🏿
Just found your channel. I like the way you review. I am starting to get in to funk..heck of a lot of fun to play.
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I really loved your look on this guitar :)
I am really enjoying mine these days ... BUT I can't take it to jam everywhere because of the tuning stability.
Do you think that if I swap the current tuners (roto super rotomatics 109) with their locking tuners counterpart (roto 509) it would improve it ?
I never made such a change but I was really thinking about it because I love this guitar :)
My version is without the tremolo system so it's not a tremolo problem !
if it's not stable without a trem, the tuners likely aren't the culprit - it's the nut. Replace the nut and I'll bet everything is perfectly fine with it after
Wow @@AudiomoMusic... that's a very cool answer :)
I'll take her to a luthier then, maybe he will change the nut and set the intonation straight
1-It's the "d'angelico premier bedford SH" good at keeping the tune after using the Whammy bar?
2- what the difference between a normal Hambucker and a mini Hambucker (like the one in this guitar)?
PS: The Ice Blue looks so beautiful , and good video
tried the fixed bridge version at a store, it taught me what a mini humbucker feels like, definitely stunning
It's definitely interesting, it's not a pickup many people ever get to try... but it's definitely worth taking note of and trying out
Funny I just helped a friend with picking out a guitar for his son for Christmas. This is what we picked. We went to a local GC to pick it up. The $499 deals are great. I had a Brighton which I loved but sold it. The neck was vey thin. It was a great looking and sounding guitar though.
The neck thickness or lack there of is the one thing i dont know if I can get past honestly, the rest is fantastic.
@@AudiomoMusic Absolutely agree. At those sale prices they really punch above their weight.
Thanks for a great demo!!!
Glad you liked it!
I'm considering adding one of these or the Bob Weir model to my collection. Amazing guitars for the price and I love the satin 14"radius necks
love the vintage acm jersey!
Hell yeah man, what a rough decade followed that era haha
Excellent review. I picked up a hard tail version in Oxblood a while back and it's definitely a keeper.
It's just such a unique instrument, I feel if more people would get their hands on one in person to try it would be a much more popular guitar. It's really hard to top what it has to offer, it doesn't really have a direct competitor and is constantly for sale at a good price.
Yea man, I just walked out of guitar center with one. I feel like I got a good deal.
Thats because I think you did! Its extremely well done for the sale price hard to pass up on! Enjoy it
Nice demo love that color reminds me of an old motorcycle I painted
I didn't know you were into bikes, that's awesome
Great review man, thanks a lot for this. I own a premier Atlantic and out of my 4 guitars its easily the best value for money and probably the most versitile aswell, its so good it makes me wanna grab the Bedford despite having an Ibanez with the exact same pickup configuration haha. D'Angelico really make killer guitars
Thanks for taking the time to leave a positive comment, and man you're dead on about the value but to me it's even more than that. The fact they really make such a unique design to everyone else at the prices they do with the build quality really is something worth noting and I respect their boldness of trying new things instead of just LP, Tele, Strat style instruments everyone else does.
Great review and demo.
Subscribed
Thank you, glad you really enjoyed it enough to comment and do that!
Just found your channel and like your detailed review style. However, unless I missed it, would have like to have heard you go thru the different pick up sounds and identify them for the viewer. Thanks!
Hey Adam I did miss doing it on this one and normally I do try to put that on the screen, i'll have to go back and see if there's a way I can edit that in if not I will just put a note in the comments section with the time stamps for people like yourself who are curious
@@AudiomoMusic - Thanks.
You said ‘etcetera’ way too many times. But seriously, a great review of this guitar! And I like your playing style. A week ago, I bought a used D’Angelico at GC. So immaculate, I thought it was new. I’m old. I usually gravitate towards Fenders, and I have one Gretsch. This time I tried a D’Angelico for the first time. It looked cool, a little bit like a Jazzmaster. I plugged it in to a Supro. Sounded fantastic. I left it there, did a little research, and came back the next day to buy it. A beautiful Deluxe Bedford (discontinued) with hard case, locking tuners, strap locks, no blemishes. Solid body, not semi-hollow. Both pickups have coil splitting, without any loss of volume. I’m adjusting to the flat fingerboard
$915 out the door
That's amazing to hear you found the unexpected. Kudos to you for giving something unfamiliar a try. The necks definitely take a bit to get used to, I just wish they offered a model or two with a chunkier neck profile.
Great video, Jim! You've changed my perception of D'angelicos
They are pretty cool, wish they had american models for sale! I was checking out their more expensive guitars and was surprised to see they were neither Japanese made or American but still 2 grand.
@@AudiomoMusic Ufff...that's a decent coin.
Is that a Maldini-Era Milan's jersey? What about Boca Juniors? Best club in the world
@@pedroeguren7112 I prefer Boca to River plate!!!! So we are in good standing!!! This milan kit I've had for decades and yes, Maldini was still playing for the club. What an absolute legend he was.
@@AudiomoMusic I think he's son is also playing for Milan. Three generations at the club!
What's the price of that beauty?
They go on sale for almost half price multiple times a year at musicians friend for 500 or less
That neck joint is next level
They got a lot of really cool little details like that right, super nice guitars.
The $499 version is not the same as the $799 one. They are a different SKU number. I don’t know what’s going on exactly but the pickups on the more expensive one is labeled as alnico where as the $499 model are label as proprietary set
It is, they just made it very confusing. The 799 is this one that has proprietary pickups, the one for 849 has duncan designed pickups in them.
799
www.guitarcenter.com/DAngelico/Premier-Series-Bedford-SH-Limited-Edition-Electric-Guitar-with-Tremolo.gc?pdpSearchTerm=d%27angelico&tNtt=d%27angelico&tAt=item&tAv=D%27Angelico%20Premier%20Series%20Bedford%20SH%20Limited-Edition%20Electric%20Guitar%20with%20Tremolo
849
www.guitarcenter.com/DAngelico/Premier-Series-Bedford-SH-Electric-Guitar-With-Tremolo.gc?rNtt=premier%20bedford&index=4
It appears the biggest difference is the wood choices in both after further inspection between the two models mentioned, the 799 and the 849
dino.JR fan or what?.... great demo regardless!
Actually not particularly haha
Jim I feel lied to, but in a good way. Glad you bought it. 1 huge thing I noticed on mine since you have one now. The Bridge picup sounded oddly more noisy than the other pickups. Noticed the Bridge Was Soldered as a split coil.
I wanted to say something yesterday but figured youd appreciate the surprise haha… funny about the wiring. Maybe its deliberate but no idea why theyd do that
@@AudiomoMusic hahaha I wasn't sure if I was half awake still until I clicked on the video. Took off the control plate and noticed and saw the extra wire grounded. Assume it was a mistake.
Excellent review
Thank you! Cheers!
That's a nice guitar, it seems like a steal at that price.
Shockingly good, if only the neck weren't absolutely paper thin.
It would be so helpful to have weights in kgs - not everyone is the US and can understand old imperial weights. Also, would be helpful to have the neck width measurement at the first and 12th fret as well as the neck depth/thickness.
You got it Paul, im always open for adding in any info people want next guitar will have it
thanks
glad you enjoyed it anytime
7:25 is sick!!!
Thank you for appreciating the aggressive funk, it's my favorite to play!
@@AudiomoMusic I love all of that too. Is that any particular song? I want to learn it. It has a Cory Wong vibe.
No, just something I came up with one the spot. There's this weird ongoing joke with some people that watch this viewer that I am his doppleganger and I get a kick out of it
@@AudiomoMusic Did you feel like the semi-hollow body sound came through at all or it sounded like a solid body. You may have said but I watched this a few weeks ago. Also, does it neck dive? Thank you so much for your content!
Mine is just like yours, but has a lot of hum and interference on the humbucker position. Any idea what could be causing this? I've been told this is normal by a tech. But, I have many other guitars that have various pickup configurations that don't have this issue. Aside from this annoyance, the guitar is great sounding and playing.
I've had this happen with other similar pickup layouts in the same position - it's not ideal but it is fairly common.
@@AudiomoMusic Did you find this was the case on your Bedford? If not, what do you think could be the difference? More importantly - how would you go about fixing it?
I got me one! I love it!
That's awesome!!! Which finish did you pick??
@@AudiomoMusic I got the ice blue finish.
Hey Jimmy. Does this guitar “neck dive” when using a strap?
I know this is very late but no it doesn’t, it’s very very balanced
I like it!
I do too, it's really a great value if you don't mind the skinny neck!
I’ll take level frets over a rolled fretboard any day…
I'd like to think most people would agree with this for sure
Wouldn’t it be difficult to roll a bound fretboard?
Not necessarily, I actually had a long talk about this a builder about a year ago assuming the same thing. He said so long as the binding is made of a decent material it's really not a big deal at all.
Is there t true it suffers from a lot of neck dive when playing with a strap?
Not as much as people say, it's there but it's nowhere near as awful as a guitar like a SG in that sense.
Hi, cool playing and video. Do you think the resonance or overall sound of the guitar is that of a semihollow? Does that chamber really make it different in sound from a solid body guitar? Some thinlines aren't much different from their solid body versions. Thanks!
Not even close to a true semi hollow if I’m being honest. This is a nice guitar but its just slightly more airy than a solid body, in the context of a mix you would never be able to tell it apart from a solid body.
Does it have SG neck dive?
Nope, thankfully it does not. I can’t stand SGs and thats one of the reasons why.
@@AudiomoMusic SG is the one guitar I've never connected with....the neck position and neck dive is a big reason.
Is the Bedford completely hollow or is only the top half hollow?
Its a semi hollow not fully hollow, think of it like a Thinline telecaster
Sounds a Natural for Brit Pop or Joe Pass.😊
Definitely fully capable of that stuff
Bit pricey for an unknown brand,plays virtually as good as the best guitars thouigh
The nice thing about these is that you can get this model pretty much year round for the $500 price which I feel is fair considering squiers are up to $600 at this point and nowhere near as good as this
Unknown brand…?
i played one of these i was really disappointed
I've played two since, one was also pretty good one was a total dud. I guess that's part of the territory with these super mass produced guitars.
@@AudiomoMusic yeah you’re right
Is the neck really that bad?
If you like paper thin necks its fine, I’ve had wrist issues and play a lot of thumb over with my chord voicing so its a deal breaker for me. I just cant do necks this thin, rest of the guitar was extremely impressive.
@@AudiomoMusic So I ended up buying the guitar last night and it is a beauty! I didn't find the neck over top thin at all so I suppose it is all about what you are used to. I have a good mix of necks in my collection and this one reminded me of my PRS. I highly reccomend someone to play one in person or pull the trigger. This guitar is awesome!
Forza Inter
never
Looks like a Jazzmaster body..
John D'Angelico would never have designed such a monstrosity. Guitar companies try too hard to be all things to all people. Not only that they go out of their way to "offer something different" namely weird body shapes and the most horrible finish options ever seen.
Guitars used to be works of art...now alot of them are works of ugly.