D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT Review
Verdict and Review Summary
Out of the box the Premier Mini DC XT is warm and smooth, just as you would expect from an upper-middle class semi-hollow. What struck me most was playability. Chords are easy on the hands and note bends/vibrato felt easier than my PRS. It could be that I'm just used to a higher gauge string, but either way my experience with this guitar was incredibly positive.

I'm used to Mahogany electric guitars, so the all Maple semi-hollow body is a bit new to me. But, I spent quite a few hours with this guitar for my review, and I didn't find the tone too far from the Mahogany bodies I'm used to. It's still warm and full with some thud on the low end.
In this case, I suspect some of the warmth comes from the natural resonance of the semi-hollowbody design. But a lot of it stems from the two Seymour Duncan pickups, especially the SH-2 at the neck position. Having these included significantly increases the tonal flexibility of this guitar.
There's a lot of sustain, even on clean tones, while leads have a very pleasing and sweet ring.
To test gain levels, I tried everything from low and slow breakup to heavily saturated distortion. It's not a metal guitar, but nothing sounded bad.
To test, I used a simple setup with a Boss Katana 50 combo amp, to make sure the Premier Mini was doing the bulk of the work.
Read the full review: Boss Katana 50
For distortion, I used the Katana's amp models and an Amptweaker TightMetal pedal.
For this review I tested the D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT with my own gear. If you have questions about our review process, please feel free to ask. Also note that we use partner links with Sweetwater and other retailers we trust. If you click through our orange buttons and make a purchase, we might receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks to all for the generous support over the years! - Bobby, Danielle, and friends
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Compare to Other Electric Guitars
We've listed the DC XT alongside some other similar electric guitars to give you some context and the ability to do basic comparison. You can add more guitars to the table if you'd like (see below the table).
Guitar | Name | Rate | Shop |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT | 90.8 | |
![]() | PRS SE Hollowbody Standard | n/a | |
![]() | PRS SE Hollowbody II | n/a | |
![]() | Epiphone Casino Coupe | n/a |
Compare More Guitars
We have a database of gear with a ton of electric guitars that you can compare. If you want to look at other options and compare them, launch the search window here.
For most of our product reviews we take our own photos, in-house. Thank goodness for portrait mode. For those interested in using these photos, that is completely fine with us as long as you give us credit and don't claim the work as your own. Simply linking to guitarchalk.com near the photo is totally fine.


Looks great and plays smooth. No complaints for the price.
D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT Price Guide
This section gives you some pricing resources that update automatically. Though it does not include used, demos, or b-stock items.
Prices updated on Wed, June 07th, 2023.
Pricing from Sweetwater
Price Alert Tool
Price History
Price History for D'Angelico Premier Mini DC Electric Guitar - Sky Blue with Stopbar Tailpiece
Statistics
Current Price | $899.99 | June 2, 2023 |
Highest Price | $899.99 | March 27, 2023 |
Lowest Price | $899.99 | March 27, 2023 |
Last price changes
$899.99 | March 27, 2023 |
IDEAL FOR: Clean tones, open chords, versatile list of genres, intermediate players, worship, blues, and rock.
TONE
90
CONTROL
91
VERSATILITY
92
PRICE/VALUE
90
THE PROS
THE CONS
Cover song with the Premier Mini DC XT
Yes, I know this obscures some of the guitar's natural tone and sound, and that it's not a pure/proper demo, but listen with headphones and take it for what it's worth. If nothing else, you can actually see me playing the thing.
I probably overdid the distortion on the chorus, but you can at least hear the capability of this guitar to handle the saturation. I thought the tone of the clean sound was extremely similar to the "I Alone", which is what got me playing this song to begin with.
You get some cleans, distortion, and delay (in the bridge), all in this video. Enjoy.
Tone profile and natural sound
As I mentioned, this guitar comes standard with two Seymour Duncan humbuckers.
- Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan SH-2n Jazz Humbucker
- Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker
I'll admit that this surprised me, given the price, because we usually don't see third party humbuckers until slightly higher price ranges.
At any rate, they're in, and it explains the quality of tone we're getting. The SH-4, in particular, is one of Seymour Duncan's most popular and versatile pickups, able to handle a little bit of everything.
The presence of these two humbuckers dramatically ups the value of the DC XT.
Combined with the resonant and wide response of the semi-hollowbody design, everything is just smooth. That's the best way I know to describe it.
Cleans
Cleans are tube-esque, even without a tube amp, and not very brisk. Open chords, simple soloing patterns, and ambient delay tones are right in this guitar's wheelhouse.
Light gain/distortion
Most semi-hollows do great with subtle overdrive. This one sounded a little more like a fuzz tone than I would have liked, but you can pretty much EQ in or out whatever you want with small amounts of overdrive.
Heavy gain/distortion
I almost liked the heavier gain and distortion more than the bluesy overdrive. It's a matter of taste, but it seemed to handle a little better, like it was actually more comfortable with the intensity. I suppose it's a matter of preference. Maybe I'm just a metal head.

Seymour Duncan humbuckers are a huge plus.
How does it play?
The playability of this guitar is its best selling point.
First, it was set up extremely well, with minimal space between the strings and fretboard, yet with zero buzzing. The space between the strings and pickups also looked good.
I noticed that bends and slides were very easy. Now, this could be partially due to the fact that I'm used to heavier gauge strings. The set that ships with this guitar is .046 and I'm used to .050 or higher.
But I don't want to overcomplicate a guitar that played really well for me. Power chords and open chords went down easy, and even barring was a breeze.
It's going to give you a good feel on the lead or rhythm side.
So no complaints concerning playability.

It plays well on lead and rhythm styles. Chords seemed easier to me than many of the other guitars I've played.
Controls
The controls are a standard 2x volume and 2x tone, one for each humbucker with the selector switch. All four work fine, as one would expect.
But I did notice that the knobs were loose, meaning I could wind them past zero or 10 without them stopping fully.
It just felt like they needed tightened.
This surprised me, given that the rest of the guitar was set up incredibly well. My guess is this is the exception and not the rule, so I didn't take any points off for it, and it didn't negatively impact my experience with the guitar at all.
Best fit for the D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT
This guitar is particularly good for Christian worship groups because of how well it handles clean tones and ambient effects.
My plan is to try it in church a few times.
But really, any musical style can work with this guitar. The Seymour Duncan pickups are a big part of that, which make for a very happy combination of aggression and mellow simplicity.
The price range puts it at an upper-intermediate level guitar, but it's great for just about any skill level.
Review Conclusion
D'Angelico is a brand that has flown under my radar, but getting to play this guitar has been an entirely positive experience for me.
I probably should have known better, given they've been around since 1932.
Particularly if you're looking for a semi-hollowbody, they've got a ton to pick from.
If you have questions about my D'Angelico Premier Mini DC XT review or our review process/policies, feel free to reach out via the comments section below and I'll help out as much as I can.
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