D’Angelico Premier DC XT Semi-Hollowbody Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
It's a warm guitar that reverberates nicely. The tone is very versatile with a lot of sustain, and doesn't really have any weaknesses. With cleans, and even heavy distortion, it sounded great. Get one if you're looking for high quality cleans and a lot of versatility.
The DC XT's body is all Maple, which gives it a lot of sustain and some brightness. All of this is balanced out by the natural warmth of a hollowbody electric, so you get flexibility with cleans and distorted tones, both of which I tested for this review. It sounded good at high gain levels, which surprised me a bit.
It's definitely a bluesier and more subdued type of guitar.
Chet Atkins is mentioned in the product description, so yeah.
But at a wide range of gain levels, it sounded great. The sustain was really noticeable, which made high register lead runs sound great. Even notes above the 12th fret seemed to hold and ring for a long time.
We'll get into the details below.
Comparison Table
We'll compare the Premier DC XT to some similar guitars in our database, including the MINI DC XT. Use the comparison button to see them side by side and view live pricing.
Guitar | Model | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| D'Angelico Premier DC XT | 92.3 | |
 | D'Angelico Premier MINI DC XT | 90.8 | |
 | PRS SE Hollowbody II | n/a | |
 | Epiphone Casino Coupe | n/a |
Compare More Electric Guitars
You can search for more electric guitars here and add them to the comparison bar at the bottom of this page. We're regularly expanding our database.
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Lots of great clean tones, lots of versatility, and sounds quite nice with reverb.
Review Card
IDEAL FOR: Clean tones, versatile playing styles, lead, rhythm, sustain, church, blues, rock.
TONE
93
CONTROL
84
VERSATILITY
95
PRICE/VALUE
97
- Tons of sustain
- Handles well on high and low gain settings
- Aesthetics
- Plays easy
- All Maple sounds great
- Grover tuners
- Seymour Duncan pickups
- Would be nice to have tone and volume for each pickup
- Did not come with gig bag
D'Angelico Premier DC XT Price Guide
Prices updated Mon, September 25th, 2023.
Sweetwater Pricing
Price Alert
Price History
Price History for D'Angelico Premier DC XT Semi-hollowbody Electric Guitar - Iced Tea Burst, Sweetwater Exclusive
Statistics
| Current Price | $599.99 | September 22, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $599.99 | June 9, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $599.99 | June 9, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $599.99 | June 9, 2023 |
Tone Quality and Style
Here's a summary of the tone qualities I would use to describe the Premier DC XT:
- Warm
- Bright
- Lots of sustain
- Somewhat heavy
- Smooth cleans
Larger bodies always give off a bigger tone, just like a dreadnought body shape in an acoustic guitar. The same is true of electric guitars. So with the MINI DC XT, you have a smaller design that's somewhat brighter and more brisk.
But with both guitars, especially the Premier DC XT, there's a lot of balance.
And surprisingly, it's not just a vintage/subtle kind of guitar. It can handle that tone, certainly, but it's a lot more flexible than that.
With a thicker set of strings, it would sound even more percussive and modern.
Below is my fairly imperfect demo. I use some reverb, delay, and heavy distortion at times. Take it with a grain of salt.
Note that this demo was recorded through a Boss Katana 50 and a Focusrite audio interface.
Just a quick note: The effects I used included a Line 6 DL4, TC Electronic Hall of Fame, and an Amptweaker distortion pedal.
I thought the reverb melded well with the natural boom and resonance of the body. Overall it handled effects like a champ and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. The pickups are actually a Seymour Duncan outfit, which I didn't realize.
For the price, you're getting a ton of value, and I'm honestly surprised it's not more expensive. At the time of writing this review it was about $600.
Again, it's billed as a vintage, Chet Atkins- style twangy kind of guitar, but I found it to have a wide range of applications, kind of like the PRS electrics.
It's very warm and subtle, but can also get surprisingly aggressive.
Playing Feel and Build
The neck plays fast, though I should mention that the strings it comes with are a lighter gauge than what I'm used to. They're a D'Angelico branded string that I don't know anything about.
The larger body size might take some getting used to, if you haven't played one before. But particularly when playing standing up, which I did through the entire testing process, the adjustment isn't too distracting.
It might take a day or two.
The body is all Maple, which is part of why you get that brighter sparkle with the hollowbody warmth.
Note that it's a semi-hollowbody so you'll have some added weight on the right side (strumming side of the guitar). This also helps get you more bass in the EQ.
No complaints here.
Price and Value
Check the price guide I put near the comparison table for updated numbers, but at the time of writing this review, the price point was incredibly generous.
Given that you have Seymour Duncan pickups, Grover tuners, and a solid/great-sounding guitar overall, it could cost a couple hundred dollars more and still be a great deal.
It's absolutely a high-value electric that will fit well for intermediate players and even advanced guitarists.
An absolutely fantastic value for what you pay.
Wrap Up and Questions
The D'Angelico brand sort of flies under the radar, but they're very similar to Epiphone, both in price range and the types of guitars they produce. So I think they're a great Epiphone alternative, if you're looking for something with more of a boutique vibe.
I would say they're also some of the more aesthetically compelling guitars, and give you a lot of perks for the asking price.
For the Premier DC XT, it's a good fit if you're looking for Seymour Duncan pickups, the larger body design, and high-quality clean tones with a lot of flexibility.
Pair it with a Fender tube amp and you should be good to go.
If you have questions, drop them in the comments section and I'll help out as much as I can.
Thanks for reading and trusting our content.
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