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MGR/Anonymous « DeArmond Starfire Special »
Published on 07/07/03 at 15:00I 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
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