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1936 D'Angelico 'Special'

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Serial number: #1188, May 18th, 1936, recorded by hand in the builder's ledger.

Body size at lower bout: 17" Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut width: 1 11/16" Body Depth: 3" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .94/1.06"

Materials: Solid hand graduated Adirondack spruce soundboard; solid handcarved flame maple back, sides, and neck; mother of pearl dot fingerboard inlays; engraved pearl peghead inlay; triple bound body, bound fingerboard and headstock.

Hardware: Original hardware includes engraved nickel Grover DeLuxe trapeze tailpiece, compensated adjustable ebony bridge, bound tortoise pickguard. Vintage correct nickel Waverly 16:1 open-back tuners,

Notes: It's not often we let go one of our own personal instruments, but we sold this remarkable guitar over 15 years ago, and were delighted to see it finally return to the fold, if only for a fleeting visit.

Of one Walter Boehm we know but little. He was born in 1876 in Brooklyn to German immigrants, and taught music in Buffalo, New York from around 1900 to his death in 1960. He is reputed to have developed Gibson's tuning for their harp guitar. Over the years, many D'Angelico guitars were sold by private guitar teachers to their students. And so, on May 18th of 1936, Mr. Boehm took delivery of not one but two of them from the little shop on Kenmare Street in New York's Little Italy. (Special thanks to fret detective Alan Cross for the biographical sleuthing).

D'Angelico's first guitars had no model name, and were modeled closely after Lloyd Loar's 20's era Gibson L-5s. By the Fall of 1933, the maestro had recorded the first Style 'B' guitar in his ledger, probably around the same time he debuted his iconic 'Excel' (or 'Exel') model. Those two models constituted the breadth of D'Angelico's production, until Mr. Boehm ordered the first two instruments designated as 'Special' in 1936, predating the first Style 'A' in the builder's ledger by several months.

Indeed, the Special may well have been the prototype for the Style 'A', with its dot inlay fingerboard and bright nickel hardware. With the same body size and shape, scale length and bracing as the later Style A and B models, the Special differs only in cosmetic details.

With its 17" body built just months after Gibson upsized their own L-series archtops, this guitar shows how closely the maker followed trends in the marketplace. But while Gibson experimented with the less powerful X bracing on its archtops of the mid-to-late 30's, D'Angelico stuck with tone bar (or 'parallel') bracing on this instrument, to maximize its volume and projection, in what the big band players knew as 'cutting power'. And with its fine high soundboard arch, excellent neck angle and bridge height, this guitar is simply an acoustic powerhouse, fully capable of holding its own amid the most raucous horn section.

Carefully maintained over the decades, the guitar is largely free of pick, thumb, or buckle wear, showing only scattered nicks and some normal checking in its original dark Cremona sunburst finish. The original hardware includes the engraved Grover trapeze tailpiece, adjustable ebony bridge, and a remarkably well preserved original bound tortoise pickguard, quite a rarity in itself. Best of all, the instrument shows no apparent cracks or structural repairs, with all original binding still tight to the body.

The neck has a full 'C' profile, solid in the hand, with fine pro fretwork on its nicely arched 10' radius ebony fingerboard, and smooth, low action over a fresh high-precision setup. The voice is exceptionally strong and open, with a deep, throaty bark most lesser archtops could only dream of. A final plus, a copy of the original ledger entry for the instrument, in D'Angelico's own hand, is included in the original, if somewhat worn, brown plush lined hardshell case.

This remarkable instrument is a classic example of D'Angelico's working guitars: light on the bling, and strong on the volume, tone and playability. How refreshing indeed, to find a fine original prewar example with no issues to speak of, just a lot of great stories to tell. One only, call now.

Setup: Bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected; bridge foot contour inspected; bridge radius inspected; bridgewheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge phosphor bronze strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with light relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.