DeArmond 2000

single coil pick up, exactly like the ones in the 1950's gretsches and 60's guilds! passive of course (active pickups suck!) i dont know the impedence, but they're good enough for rock n roll!

they came stock in my gretsch 5129 elecromatic, and i never felt the need to change them out of it! they are in both the neck and bridge position. artists using this exact geetar? none! artists whos sound i can get with these pick ups: george harrison, duane eddy, chet atkins, eddie cochran, almost any rockabilly/rock n roll/surf/garage, old school country, pop, swing band's sound! they are very different from p90's (my other favorite pick up) and tele pick ups, even though they are still in a similar ball park!

output level is much lower than that of p90's, but still loud enough for rock n roll! im currently using these pickups with my vox ac15 and my fender deluxe reverb 65 reissue. the tone is more or less balanced with a slight emphasis on the upper mid frequencies! very useable, and they pretty much stay cleaner than my p90 geetars (both Seymour Duncan antiquities) in my les paul jr., and my epiphone casino. i play rock n roll! im in 3 bands, the arkhams (80's style psychobilly with a heavy does of beat, instrumental, and punk rock), the black market band (country/punk) and mike mok and the em tones (traditional rockabilly/instrumental/roots music) and i use these pickups in mike mok and the em-tones and sometimes in the arkhams (in our less menacing numbers) they can't compete with humbuckers that the other geetar player uses in the black market band, so in that band, im using the les paul jr. with p90's and the casino, and on the more menacing numbers with the arkhams i bring one or the other to the gigs, and favor p90's for them. in mike mok and the em-tones, i bring 3 geetars to the shows--- my gretsch (with the dearmond 2000's), tokai telecaster copy, and my danelectro 6 string bass, and that seems to work out just super! the dearmond 2000 pickups work in every position! no complaints here!

if the pickup was ever destroyed or stolen, i would try to get the same thing, since they are perfect for what im doing with the geetar! i once thought i would switch the pickups to p90's when i was only in the black market band, but i'm glad i didn't because they work so perfectly in my other projects! i have been playing for almost 2 decades, and i have tons of gear; geetars: epiphone les paul jr. with bigsby and Seymour Duncan antiquity p90, an epiphone casino with 2 Seymour Duncan antiquity p90s, a Rickenbacker 330 with an added 3rd pickup and a bigsby, a danelectro six string bass, tokai breezy sound tele, too many effects to mention (of which we rarely use any!) fender deluxe reverb, vox ac15, and many many more. there is nothing i wish it had to it..... theres nothing that you can add, anyway, its a pickup! i am satisfied with this pickup, as it is the sound of cleaner rock n roll (as opposed to a p90, which is raunch all the way!)

Pickup features: passive single coil, V cutout, same as on the Fender telesonic
Impedence or other specs: 7.5

Model of guitar or bass: Gretsch Pro jet
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gretsch by TV Jones mini humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Medium output, about the same as a texas special/duncan broadcaster and slightly less than a gibson P90
Tone: Tone is pretty even and warm, no midhump like the overwound strats, not trebly as a tellie, very much like a P94 that were on my Gibson ES 135
Sonic evaluation: They replaced the org Gretsch by TV Jones mini humbuckers wich were pretty good, sounded a lot like my old firebird but I had these lying around, just curious what they would do in the pro jet. Not sure if the bridge sounds better now but in the neck position the sound improved, tighter and more focused, not so bassy anymore, middle position has a pretty authentic Gretsch -old duo jet- vibe. The minihumbuckers had a more open sound, more ragedy when overdriven where the 2K's stay smooth and even. It has not the brutal big r&r attitude like the P90 on my LP junior (well, thats a very different guitar of course) but more balanced and politer.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: These pickups are not bad but a little bit more character wouldn't hurt either, I know Fender launched the 2000's now (more highs)and SD makes a dynasonic that duplicates the Rowe version but these are very pricy so until the Fender CS releases a very accurate version of these wonderfull pickups, the 2K's stay on this guitar

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: varies

Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: The DeArmond 2K and 2000 are two distinct pickups; they are not synonymous. The 2000 is meant to emulate the sound of the vintage Rowe DeArmond 2000 pickup, as used on fifties Gretsches and sixties guilds. The 2k is a fatter sounding pickup with less "grit," sort of a P90-light. They are both very nice pickups, but often confused. The way to tell them apart is as follows: the 2ks have squared-off polepieces, rounded just a little, while the 2000 polepieces are beveled on top. From the bottom, the polepieces of the 2ks show through the pickup, while the 2000s have three pairs of small nuts, which anchor the polepiece adjustment screws. The 2000s sound best in the neck position; the 2ks sound best in the bridge position.

Pickup features: Single Coil Passive
Impedence or other specs: n/a

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Lefthanded
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Epiphone stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Epiphone stock humbucker (bridge)
Artists using this pickup: Jesse van Ruller
You musical style(s): Jazz, funk, latin
Reason for pickup change: The epiphone humbucker sounded annoying when I listened to a recording of my band's concert... Too much middle tones and not much frequency range. So I wanted something else.

Perceived output level: slightly more than P-90
Tone: Clear, balanced
Sonic evaluation: Using: Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II lefthanded through Marshall Valvestate 100
Sound: Great! Big improvement in tone because of the 2K. You get a nice punch when you pick hard, and chords sound very natural, almost piano-like. No ugly middle frequencies.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Because of the dynamic range and pure tone it's great for jazz

Comments: I'd buy this again... love it. I play for about 10 years, but now i've found my sound. The 2K is very direct, I hear everything very clear now... picking nuances but also technical playing mistakes ;)
-pros: balance, dynamics, tone
-cons: of course it hums (single coil) when i get close to an electrical device... but the wiring diagram says that when both neck and bridge 2k's are used, they will 'buck hum'. Other problem was the size: the 2K is not as big as a humbucker, but it is longer, so I had to do some violent things to my guitar to get the 2K in position (which is very close to the fretboard, with 4 mm between the poles and strings).

Pickup features: single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Blonde lefty DeArmond X-155 and stock in Starfire Special
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: First the DeArmond Goldtones
Other pickups on guitar: then Gibson PAF/Kent Armstrong P-90
Artists using this pickup: Los High Tops, Johnny & The Blades, the Chop Tops
You musical style(s): Rock-n-roll-surf-n-blues-a-billy
Reason for pickup change: I knew I wanted single coils for the X-155. The Goldtones were not bad. The neck pick was pretty nice but too bassy and kinda of acoustic sounding. The btidge was too thin so was the middle position.
The Gibson PAF humbucker was put temporarily in the bridge and sound punchy but slightly thin. The Kent Armstrong was put it the neck. It's a humbucker sized P-90 type pick-up. It sounded punchy and much better that the neck Goldtone. More clear but too midrange and very, very bassy. The middle position tone was out of phase because of using a single coil and a humbucker together. So I ordered the DeArmond 2k's.

Perceived output level: Warm to almost hot, somewhere between a good strat p/u and a P-90
Tone: very balanced, great clarity, good punch, a true combo of strat and P-90
Sonic evaluation: I've had 2k's with my Starfire Special for 2 years and always liked them a lot. Really usable tones from Duane Eddy,Chuck Berry, Link Wray and Freddie King...very versatile, so much so that it became my mine main axe. Then I was playing lots of blues through two Fender Blues Juniors. Then the rockabilly, surf and r-n-r bug bit me and I got more into big reverb, slapback echo and tremelo. Got a Echoplex and an awesome Fender 75 tube amp a few months ago and I got the bug for the X-155. The 2k's on the 155 are it. This is my new main axe. The 2k's are a unique sound...definitely my favorite characteristics from Fender single coils and P-90'S. The clarity and bell like tone of strat but warmer. The punch and balance of a P-90 without all the mid range quack. They can get gritty when cranked through a tube amp. Nice overdrive on the bridge especially.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The bridge pick-up is great for r-n-r stuff and blues especially Link Wray, Chuck Berry and Freddie King. The middle position is perfect for rock-a-billy, swing, jump blues and Duane Eddy type stuff. The neck pick gets a nice fat tone for any leads and fat texas blues rhythms.

Comments: I'd buy the 2k's again. DeArmond has gone bye bye so get them quick. I have no complaints for the most part...single coils hum but have the tone that inspires me. I was considering trying out TV Jones Tv Tron filtertron humbuckers, Harmonic Design Z-90's, Rio Grande bastards, etc...but I figured I loved the 2K'S in the Starfire so much that I probably couldn't go wrong in the x-155...I was right...they sound even better.
BTW. I couldn't have done this with the some custom conversion spacers that fit between the body and the pickup. No cutting, no alterations. These are made by a fella in KC named T-Bone Williams. Like me he altered his X-155 w/ a Bigsby and the 2k's....aka the poorman's Guild X500T Paladin...cool but expensive, especially for a lefty like me. T-Bone does the conversion plates for the 2K and the dogear style P-90. I got some for both in case I ever want to change my mind.

Pickup features: Single coils not sure if passive or active.
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: DeArmond M-75T
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): any style except rap and heavy rock.
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: just normal.
Tone: pretty well balanced with alittle more output on the treble side. They sound more like P-90's than "Strat" single coils.
Sonic evaluation: Using a Fender Deluxe 90 amp, Solid-state but gets the job done. They really sound good. My brother played a $800 guitar in a marshall tube amp and then played my guitar in a little solid-state practice amp and liked my guitars sound a whole lot better. It really sounds good.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This guitar can play any style. The bridge pickup is too bright for my taste unless I was playing Daytripper.

Comments: It's an awesome sound and guitar. If you're thinking about getting a DeArmond get one with these pickups. You won't be disappointed.

Pickup features: passive single coils
Impedence or other specs: er, um, sorry!

Model of guitar or bass: Guild S-100.
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz.
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Just me!!
You musical style(s): 50's influenced dark sleazabilly - pigeonhole that!!
Reason for pickup change: Hate the muddiness of humbuckers on a solid mahoghany body. DeArmonds work with this style of guitar so well.

Perceived output level: Punchy but clear like a tele with balls. great note separation even with fuzz.
Tone: well balanced with a clear top and bottom end.
Sonic evaluation: i'm using a Fender Prosonic in lizard green. i use a vox fuzz, carl martin trem/vibe and loads of reverb.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: dark 50's rock. elvis, chris issacks, david lynch.

Comments: i love these pickups. i am about to purchase a Guild starfire 3 which has humbuckers, but it has a maple body so it should be alright, if not i will again buy dearmonds. i have found my sound.