MartyGrass Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 I got this from a friend who got this from the famous Patrick, who was the Heritage New York representative until he died unexpectedly a little more than five years ago. This is one of the first ghost built D'Angelicos that Heritage made. JP Moats, Marv Lamb and likely Aaron Cowles built this. Aaron built the two Gibson ghost built D'Angelicos a few years earlier. The all worked to copy the D'Angelico originals as best they could and had Johnny Smith's D'Angelico to examine for this purpose. D'Angelico did not make every guitar in a model the same. They were custom built. But here are the specs on this guitar. Depth 3 3/8", width 17", nut 1 11/16", scale 25.5". It is cross braced. You can see how the braces are tapered and how thin the top is. The plates are also tuned. I'd call it a medium neck. The pickup is a Kent Armstrong. This guitar has been well taken care of. It must be thirty years old now. It plays very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Just stunning! Congratulations on a significant acquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkKitty Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Beautiful. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElChoad Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 It never ceases to amaze me when I see the guitars you guys (and girls) seem to unearth. I am pretty new to the world of Heritage, and am constantly learning more about the history. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Only the best for Mark. Congratulations on that Special Beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanschoyck Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 It's wondrous. And I wondrous just how many D'Angelicos were made by Heritage. Maybe it's my imagination but it seems one can see that it's a Heritage build even before consulting the label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hinesarchtop Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Aye yai yai. Superb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 That's wild!! Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myoldfriend Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 Superb - congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deytookerjaabs Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 There was one of these at Gruhn's a few years back, decent price too but even at a decent price it was out of my league. I got to play it, hell of a guitar, congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavern23 Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Wow, that’s a beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 That is one elegant guitar, congrats to you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted March 27, 2022 Author Share Posted March 27, 2022 It's in the process of getting a Dearmond 1100 pickup installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Wasn't Patrick that controversial fellow who sometimes rubbed elbows with fellow HOC'ers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenK Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Damn that is nice. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted April 13, 2022 Author Share Posted April 13, 2022 18 hours ago, ElNumero said: Wasn't Patrick that controversial fellow who sometimes rubbed elbows with fellow HOC'ers? The pickup on the Excel is an old George Benson. The Dearmond 1100 was recently placed on the Excel's big brother, the New Yorker. Patrick was mostly misunderstood. He was blunt, for sure. But he nearly always was right on the facts. He felt strongly about opinions yet knew the difference between facts and opinions. He helped many people behind the scenes. Back when he was a member the Heritage factory organization was primitive. Orders were lost and mixed up. Patrick would help dozens of guys get their orders through. One guy he helped was a close friend of John Sebastian, a Heritage endorsing artist. This guy is a professional guitarist in Germany who waited over a year only to get the wrong guitar. Another six months later another guitar arrived in the wrong finish and with a set pickup, which he didn't want. Patrick fast tracked the Golden Eagle he specified and salvaged a customer for Heritage. There are lots of these stories from HOC and the Jazz Guitar Forum members, although they are not as extreme. Patrick would help almost anyone behind the scenes. OTOH, he was opinionated and didn't mince words. He did clash. That wasn't his usual MO though. The original Heritage owners all saw him as a friend. The day he died I called Vince Margol, Ren Wall, and Billy Paige to let them know. He was due to pick up some guitars the next day in Kalamazoo. The emotion in their voices was blatant. He was a character. But he knew guitars thoroughly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 On 4/13/2022 at 8:47 AM, MartyGrass said: The pickup on the Excel is an old George Benson. The Dearmond 1100 was recently placed on the Excel's big brother, the New Yorker. Patrick was mostly misunderstood. He was blunt, for sure. But he nearly always was right on the facts. He felt strongly about opinions yet knew the difference between facts and opinions. He helped many people behind the scenes. Back when he was a member the Heritage factory organization was primitive. Orders were lost and mixed up. Patrick would help dozens of guys get their orders through. One guy he helped was a close friend of John Sebastian, a Heritage endorsing artist. This guy is a professional guitarist in Germany who waited over a year only to get the wrong guitar. Another six months later another guitar arrived in the wrong finish and with a set pickup, which he didn't want. Patrick fast tracked the Golden Eagle he specified and salvaged a customer for Heritage. There are lots of these stories from HOC and the Jazz Guitar Forum members, although they are not as extreme. Patrick would help almost anyone behind the scenes. OTOH, he was opinionated and didn't mince words. He did clash. That wasn't his usual MO though. The original Heritage owners all saw him as a friend. The day he died I called Vince Margol, Ren Wall, and Billy Paige to let them know. He was due to pick up some guitars the next day in Kalamazoo. The emotion in their voices was blatant. He was a character. But he knew guitars thoroughly. You sure summed that up accurately. RIP Patrick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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