DeArmond Starfire Special

I purchased the guitar for $435.00 used on eBay including the hardshell case and shipping. When I received the guitar, both it and the case were virtually like new.

It has a rich vintage sunburst finish over lightly figured laminated maple with a DeArmond copy of a Bigsby vibrato. The body and neck are bound with a nice cream colored binding. The one-piece mahogany neck is nice and chunky and has a 20 fret rosewood fingerboard with a 24 3/4" scale.

The body of the guitar is a thin, single florentine cutaway archtop measuring about 16" across the lower bout.

This guitar has some of the best sounding pickups I have ever experienced. They can go from bright and jangly to warm and subtle with just a twist of the tone knobs.

I use Thomastic-Infeld .011 flatwounds and the tone of this guitar is to die for. It is without a doubt the most versatile guitar I have ever played and the construction is as good as it gets. You can get any sound from a Brian setzer rock-a-billy to a Barney Kessle smooth jazz tone.

I have a medium-light action set up on it and it plays effortlessly.

The only complaint I have is the weight of the guitar. It is a semi hollow body with a big block of mahogany right down the middle of the guitar like a 335. Combining that with the maple body, and you get a guitar that weighs as much as the heaviest Les Paul. If I had to stand up all night and play it, I would need a very wide, heavily padded strap.

The other issue I had with the guitar was the stiffness of the vibrato spring. It took a very health push on the lever to get a response. I replaced it with a light tension genuine Bigsby spring and it made a world of difference.

As I said before, the build quality and finish of this guitar is exceptional. I have played other DeArmonds and this seems to be the rule rather than the exception. It is a shame that Fender discontinued the brand, but I'm sure that guitars of this quality at the bargain prices they were selling for probably put a dent in the sale of higher priced, higher markup Guilds. I haven't played many guitars that equal the quality of this one at any price and I've been playing for over forty years.

If you can find one of these and love the sound of true vintage single coils, this is a guitar you will own for the rest of your life. I wouldn't part with mine at three times what I paid for it.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this translucant red thinline archtop at Rainbowmusic in Cornwall ON Canada for about $1200 CDN cash,...it has a Bigsby whammy, terrific translucant red finish and the most excellent single coil DeArmond pickups! I think they're called DeArmond 2K,...they truly take you back to an era where that "jiggle-jaggle" clear as a church bell sound! I do alot of period Rock N'Roll,...this guitar performs! Out of all my guitars,...everyone like to pick this one up and just play!! I have a hard time to get it back sometimes!

The playability is just unbelievable!! It's finish is second to none,...it LOOKS terrific,...it's solid and heavy,...BULLETPROOF!! Well put together, this set of strings turns many heads! Oh,...and the sound, I run it through a big Fender amp,...it just rings true!

If I was to pick one thing,...hmmmm, it's one HEAVY guitar!! Other then that,...I can't think of anything that I DON'T like, and I've had it for over three years now!

Like I mentioned in the above discription, it's well put together indeed! The fit & finish is very good, machine heads are of high quality!

Like I said,...when I play with other players,...they always want to give it a try and when they do,...they can't put it down!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Korean made by Fender (I think).
1 / 2 box with central beam, 2 Oues in "f" and a Bigsby vibrato type.
2 pickups DeArmond "2K" single coil Made in America (it's written on it!).
The same as some of Gretsch.
1 volume, 1 Tone micro.
1 Slecteur 3 positions.
Channel 20 frets.
It looks like an ES135 "Gretschise".

The violin and fittings are really good quality trs.
This guitar inspires confidence and seems indestructible.
Everything is neatly assembled and adjusted.
2 BMOL however: the knobs are trs toc and the small cache of the CASC trussroad on the head is even worse!
Replaced with metal buttons, it's nickel!
But hey, it's dtail given the quality of the rest.
The varnish (translucent red for mine) is superb!
The color is dense and bright, a real Russianness.

Purchased OCCAZ 2800 Francs in 2001, by chance (opportunity makes the thief).
I have no ide of the date of manufacture. If anyone has info

Come on, I put 9 because of the knobs and the small cache rot

UTILIZATION

The neck is fabulous.
Fine and super comfortable for all types of games: picking, arpges, rhythmic
A little less comfortable for the solos: 14 boxes from the box (as a folk) and 20 boxes in total,
Access in acute is trs, trs difficult!
But hey, "solo" does not mean systmatiquement "acute".
I do not have drang, a solo deal with the forces of another Manir
Standing or sitting, no problem comfort the body as little grazing.

SOUNDS

The sound?
Ben's simple, it's the sound!
This guitar sounds! Dj without the plug, the sound is! Great balance.
I plugged into a Classic 30 or MucicMan Seventy-five.
Bridge or neck pickup (There's a bit of TLC in there) or 2, it is always good.
The arpges in the clear with a trmolo? We cry it is so b!
The riffs crunch? a potato!
The solos? There's not a lot of boxes, but p'tain! What happiness!
The Bigsby is doing its job and the guitar is trs well as the agreement that
do not shoot like crazy (trs is a "vintage" even when everything)!
For the blues / rhythm 'n'blue, rock "classic" (like Stones, AC / DC) the country or even jazz, I think this guitar is perfect
For large saturation, I know, it's not my thing, but I think there are probably more suited

OVERALL OPINION

I've had prs 5 years and I do not get enough!
She is beautiful, she's a fabulous, it's characters, it is original
I love it
I also have an ES335 and a Les paul.
Well this really has nothing DeArmond Corenne envy 2 amricaines both
quality of sound that the violin!
Unfortunately, I believe that the brand no longer exists.
It is a shame because it is an instrument and trs trs attaching great quality.