DeArmond Starfire Special

Early model with white pick ups 2K , Black Beauty LEFT HANDED, Bigsby Tremolo Maple Body and Block MIK, All Original paid $449

I have hot rodded the guitar by replacing the volume tone pots with 1 Meg instead of 500K this adds more headroom,warmth at low volumes, acts as an attenuator. I replaced the ceramic tone caps with .223 oil in paper capacitors and wow did that add warmth and sweet highs. This guitar is awesome, do these mods, you will get more volume, expanded warm lows and shimmering highs, also put XL D'Addario Pure Nickels Strings for added warmth with brightness.

Very low action for a semi-hollow body guitar, elevated neck reminds me of a mild version of a Humphrey design, comfortable neck and plays smooth

Quality just as good as USA made Fender Gibson, wish it was a nitrous finish instead of poly....

na

I have been playing 30 years and owned LP custom, Fender Strats and Teles...this I had 12 guitar, now have 4 one Amercian Deluxe STRAT, 1 G&L ASAT CLassic Blues Boy, I Washburn Acoustic, and this is the LAST ONE! What a beaut.

1999 Starfire Special, antique burst, maple body and neck, rosewood fretboard, and 2 USA-made 2K Alnico single-coil pickups. Modern slim c shaped neck medium frets with nice polish.

I'm writing this review because I totally disagree with the other reviews of the sound and use. The pickups due have a unique voicing. The bridge is a little chimey neck has a sweet round mid to low response that excells with a bit of chours. Run the pickups together and you get a wonderfuly wide voicing. The D string can over push your amp speakers. The over drive can easily be fixed by rolling the neck tone control back. Now on the topic of use and styles of music. Obviously run the neck or pickups in tandem ad a little chours, delay and you will have a jazz tone I would put up against guitars costing thousands. Swithch to the bridge pickup and play blues or easily get an excellent Rush tone. This guitar can give you a very nice 60's 70's rock tone and can produce some of the best rockabilly tones I've ever heared. For heavy rock or metal I would say no. A little thin in the bridge not a enought mid-range scoop and pinch harmonics dont screem like a humbucker can produce. I would'nt play metal with a single coil anyways, but thats my opinion as is all of this. Rockabilly, punk, Southernfryed, and smooth jazz this guitar will become a favorite.

Action needed a little setup when I got my closet classic from a pawn shop. I could not find one mark on the guitar body or neck, no fret wear, mine was like new. Thick maple top, superb electronics excellent factory fret job, smooth neck and body binding. I have a hard time seeing this built in korea. The best korea build i've seen.

Stays in tune when I bang on the trem bar.

Not made any more. Get one because the more people play these professional quality guitars the faster the price and the want will increase.

Playing on and off for 21 years, I've owned about everything at one point and time. I'm always buying and selling guitars. So will call this guitars that I will die with. My 1999 DeArmondo Starfire special, 1992 Hamer Diablo and Diablo II, 1988 Ibanez Roadstar II RG 420, 80's Yamaha 170sa Clasical (Dont laugh the older this guitar gets the better the sound.) 1977 Gibson flamed maple top v.

It is supplied with a Bixby, it has 2 Dearmond made single coil pickups.
It seems to be made from Spruce, possibly even Sitka.
The color is "transparent red" with white bordering. The fret board is "Rose wood", jumbo bodied but well balanced.
Tuners seem to be of Gotoh Design. Nice Korean Built guitar for Guild to put there name on.

The sound is "jazzy" and low, it seems to be mid powered. The Dearmond
pickups are of the single coil. I need to experiment with the bridge (lower it) to see if I can get it to harmonically chime, seems dense.
Plays Blues very well when adding some gain for sustain and bending
as with any guitar of hollow body design.

Action is a little high. fir and finish is of good quality. Like all guitars you need to keep them polished. When i got this someone had neglected to clean it, after a few hours of disassmebley and lots of elbow grease it came to life.

Seems to stay in tune, reliable. Durability unknown due to keeping it in case when not played.
Judging by the condition I received it in it must have held up well for the case is shredded and well worn.
Couldn't find any spider cracks except for the jack plate on the bottom was severley cracked due to it being located at the base, solved that with a reinforced jack plate (football shaped).
Does it take away from the Value? Can't say. Should have been done that way in the beginning.

Don't know if there is any, just linked web sites. Need to find a schematic layout for values of pots and caps if any.

My wife purchased it for me on Ebay, she said I needed a Red Guitar to my collection. She apologized for the condition for it looked better online than in person.
I look beyond the condition, I spent four to six hours of disassembly, carefully cleaning all of the nooks and crannies. I then assembled it back piece by piece,I was amazed at how well constructed it was. It reminded me of my long ago Harmony "F' fret. I remember friends telling me then it was a cheap copy of a Gibson (laugh today at that comment).
The cost was $400.00 and I spent another $100.00 to bring it back to playability. Never overlook an abused instrument for the beauty always lies within. I can say that Guild needed a mid range instrument to compete with the faltering market, they have always made good quality just like Gibson's Epiphone line, I have five Korean made Epi's. They look and sound just as good as thier counter parts.

I guess you've all seen the spec's already but here goes....Korean made semi acoustic with US Dearmond single coil pickups, licensed Bigsby trem copy. Mine has a tobacco sunburst finish. Purchased in 2001, I think. The single coil pickups are unusual on a semi, but it works for me as they don't produce a high output and drive my amp too much (I like a very clean tone).

This is why I'm contributing. One of the other contributors said they used it solely as a jazz guitar. They are absolutely right, it is well suited to this type of role. I used it for a while to play all sorts of music but became disillusioned with it as it didn't really create the sound I was expecting from an electric guitar. Now I've got a little more experience as a player (and I've acquired a nice Strat) I've been able to dedicate the Starfire Special to playing jazz. With flatwound 12 gauge strings, on the neck pickup this guitar produces a beautiful jazz tone, a bit like Kenny Burrell to my ears.

Action is OK, but it's not a shredders guitar by any means. If you want to shred, get a strat or something like that.

Been playing for 20 years on and off, as a hobby mainly but playing occasional gigs. If I were to lose this guitar I'd really struggle to replace it as I think I would have a to pay a lot more for a similar tone. Have played other guitars in this price range e.g. Epiphone Emperor and they are not as good.

The finish is great, I have had mine for about 6 years now and it still looks great. It stays in tune despite the constant thrashing I give it. As a lot of these reviewers have said the pickups are great. My only complaint is that the wiring/pots have given me a lot of problems. I just had it rewired, and the pots replaced at a best buy!!!, I know I am an idiot for doing this but I needed it that weekend for a gig, and my usual repair guy wasn't going to be able to get it fixed in time, and well needles to say, after having them work on it, the problem has come back and will need to be fixed again.

The sound is great. Playing a more diverse style of psychobilly, it handles every thing I throw at it, from ska to hillbilly, even some metal, it rocks. I have not been able to find a guitar any where near its price range, that can beat it. In fact I just got rid of a gibson les paul because I don't think it could beat the sound of my dearmond.

No problems, it sounds as great as the day I brought it home.

This guitar is built like a tank. I have thrashed it, knocked it over, dropped it, and in general beat the hell out of it, and have had no major structural problems. Its only weakness would be the wiring and the pots.

N/A

This has been my main guitar since I bought it, It has gigged extensively, it has been drenched in sweat, splatered with blood, and even puked on once. I have played it constantly everyday for six years, and five long years with my current band, the Aftershocks. When I play a gig it is a part of me an extension of my being. It is an old friend, I can't say enough nice things about this guitar. If you have the chance to get one, do it you won't regret it.

Everyone else has gone into detail so I wont, mine is the beautiful transparent red with white pickups.

7 because it isn't anything exteremely different, except for the pickups. everything is done well.

Sounds incredible, real full hollow sound with lots of quirks. When I play certain jazz chords up around the 9th/10th fret, and sort of hit the bridge with my palm, i get this weird resonant synth like tone. Some wouldnt like these weird noises, but they could be straightened out with a good set up.

I play mathy indie type music (www.myspace.com/GOWTRON), and this guitar sounds incredible, really full(which is good due to the fact that it is just guitar and drums).

My current setup is my Starfire special into: Boss DD-6 digital delay, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Boss TU-2 Tuner into a 2-12 Fender Deville. It gets noisy sometimes, but i embrace it fully with outstretched arms. It sounds full and deep and great with a capo on the 4th fret. I can get any sound i need out of this setup.

9 because i absolutely love it. i'm sure with a proper setup, i would give it a 10.

i bought this second hand a year ago, and it is in need of a decent setup. the only issues it has are the noisy controls/output jack, the front strap peg coming undone once, and my high e string slipping off the bridge (especially when tuned to dadgad).

nothing a setup wont fix.

lovely finish, and action isnt too bad at all. i have come to love the weight of this guitar, it kind of feels like i'm brandishing a weapon when i'm playing shows. it is heavy!

VERY RELIABLE! i use this constantly without a backup. hardware is solid. finish is still nice, even though i have removed the pickguard. front strap button cam out once, but i've gotten it to stay in. i depend on this guitar with my life. This guitar is rock solid. quite hard to string, however.

dearmond has long since been demolished by fender, because people were foregoing the more expensive gretches and guilds to buy equal quality guitars (dearmonds) for a third of the price. fender has the wiring diagrams up on the net somewhere.

i've been playing in bands for about 4 years. i've had this guitar for about a year, and have had minimal trouble with it. i gig with it constantly and it has never failed me. i love the fullness and weight it has. if lost or stolen, i would buy another if i could find one. otherwise, i would look for a nice semi hollow tele (which would cost me at least 700 dollars, almost 4 times what i paid for the starfire)

sounds amazing, sticks out from the crowd of strat and les paul that my friends/peers are playing. i honestly dont believe a better guitar can be found for the price AT ALL. i cannot believe guitar center sold me this for 200 dollars!

A Semi-hollow body guitar, with single cutaway and Bigsby Licensed tremelo unit. 2 DeArmond pu, 2 tone, 2 volume, 3 way pu selector.
Made in Korea, june 1998, 20 frets, 24 3/4 scale.

Blues is my main style and this guitar sounds great. I use it with a Laney LC15 and a Fender Blues Junior.
The DeArmond pu are little noisy whet near the amp. But not more than Fender.
Great tone range. This guitar is good for a great range of styles, from blues to Jazz, from rockabilly to fusion.

Incredible finish for a korean made (I've read that the guitars was checked by Guild people before put them on the market). I've bought mine use so nothing about factory setting.
Fantastic transparent Crimson Red Finish, with black headstock and pickguard.

Heavy construction, it appears solid as a rock.

DeArmond Guitar is dead, sono only few web pages from Fender support.

Playin from 1970 I've a Fender Stratocaster '79, a G&L Asat Classic Leo Fender Signature '90 e Fender Telecaster 62 Reissue (Japan) '83. If stolen or lost, I'll buy it again (if I found another)

I love all of this guitar. The sound, the finish, the style. Only the weight is bad. Too heavy.
The best of this guitar is the tone versatility.

Read other reviews for specs.

This Guitar is Rock n Roll. The secret behind this guitar are the 2 DeArmond (Made in Usa) 2K pickups.

Factory set up not great, but if you know anything about guitars you can fix that in about 15min. Beautiful black finish.

Had a problem with my top strap button comming unscrewed, Other than that the guitar is rock solid.

Fender still offers info on the web, but never talked to them, However I have a problem with Fender in general see my rant below!

I've been playing a number of years, and have a ton of guitars. Guitars are my passion. How anyone can rate the over rating less than a 10 is beyond me, they must not have played any other guitar in this genre/price range, or they are Helen Keller!!!I have to say that this is the best guitar in its price range period! This guitar ranks as high as a new Gretsh at 3 times its price. It's no wonder they stopped production. It's the same thing Gibson did to the Epiphone line. Epiphones were as good as gibsons, the cost a little less, the beatles played them...people started buying them and there own guitars were their biggest competition. Well Gibson didnt stop making Epiphone but they did ship them to Asia to have the price/quality cut in half, or more. So Fender buys Gretsch and kills the DeArmond line. (notice the similar guitars that now have the Squire logos, are not as good and have different pick ups all together)Here is another little rant againt Fender: FENDER BUYS SUNN AMPS...NO MORE SUNN. FENDER BUYS GUILD...NEW LINE OF GUILD MADE IN ASIA. ARE THERE ANY MORE GRETSCH MADE IN USA??? FENDER BUYS JACKSON...???

A white dearmond pickup sunburst model. From the last century made in Korea. 2 volume, 2 tone, maple laminate body, rosewood fretboard, dot inlays, maple? neck. Thinline semihollow sigle cutaway. Tune-omatic copy bridge, dearmond bigsby-style vibrato, grover tuner copies. Neck feels short (compared to tele) and fingerboard is narrow(I wish it were just a bit wider!). Mediocre fret wire. Only 20 frets (Really silly, that extra fret or two is usefull once you ahave a cutaway). Came with TKL case.

For Rockabilly, Blues, Soul, Country, Hillbilly, it does all that stuff, neck pickup alone is powerful, can get that old overdriven western swing guitar sound. Middle position bucks the hum, and unless the amp is pretty juicy it can almost have an acoustic guitar sound. These pups really have the sound of the rowe dearmonds. Lead pickup is pretty thin and trebelly, but you can fake a tele sound. I tend to stick between middle and neck position. Even through a mediocre tube driven amp(70's peavey classic) great sounds can be achieved. This guitar is all about the p-ups, the center block of maple is something Chet Atkins would have appreciated, but to get a little whammy bar feedback
amp must be loud, still it feedsback in a hollowbody fashion.
I wish this guitar had better pots and fewer of them, the tone and volume controls are either on or off, and they are scratchy, no volume or tone swell possible here. Otherwise sounds great.

I bought it used, and it was a bit hammered. The frets do seem to be mediocre, I had to raise the action due to buzzing. Pickups are adjustable, when I got the guitar I immediately put 12's with a wound third, guitar sounds better this way, however, I had to raise almost every polepice, now it sounds balanced.
So as I said the controls are not great, and the output jack buzzes, but I would blame the original owner for that, however the wiring does seem shotty, the fixed brige is brilliant by the way, bisby works pretty well with it. I replaced the bigsby spring with a real old spring, stock one was too stiff.

Guitar is built like a tank. Hardware is OK, finish is great, no problem with the strap buttons (they are in the right place unlike the 335)
It is dependable, I gig with it all the time. I always have a backup.

There are still wiring diagrams availible from fender.com

I have been playing for 18 years, I have a peavey reactor, peavey classic amp, old small tube amps (premier, gibson) ancient gretsch archtop with floating dearmond, gibson LGO and a Yamaki acoustic. This guitar suited my rockabilly/country/lounge stuff perfectly. I really like the fact that this guitar fells circa 1965(one of the greatest years in recorded music!) If I needed to replace it, I might get a fully hollow version, but I have considered buying another for backup or an X155. The M77T also seems like a good option. Even now they are still cheap, I don't think you can get a better hollowbody for so little money. I still wish the fingerboard were wider.

No idea of the year though I think they were only available in the mid to late 90s.
22 fret semi, one cutaway, 2 singlecoil P/Us, 2 volumes, 2 tones a 3-way selector, made out of wood.
A Bigsby-style trem bridge.
The tone & volume controls are pretty much generic....ie not much of a smmoth taper, basically on or off.

Good for country, rockabilly, blues. "Guitarist" magazine rated it infinitely superior to the Japanese Gretsches at a third of the price and I agree. An awesome clean to overdriven sound.
You won't be buying this as a heavymetal axe I guess!
I sold my Gibson 335 & kept this one as it had more character.

Well I got it second hand so sent it to Machinehead for a set-up & now it plays superbly!
No visible faulis, the hardware is generic but functional.

It seems fine & I'd certainly gig with it.I have a DeArmond M75T that I'd use as a backup, since it's not that easy or quick to restring with a Bigsby style tailpiece.

Apparently it was a Fender/Guild offshore brand & they discontinued it pretty quickly. If you buy one, talk to your local repairman rather than trying to get any sense from Fender ( who bought & discontinued the brand). But then most of us deal with our local guitar shop or repairman rather than trying to get sense from the multi-nationals. No???

Fender discontinued this range pretty quickly.......I agree with other reviewers here that this may welll have been because the quality was so high it detracted from genuine Guilds & Gretschs. Make no mistake this is a high quality instrument, if you can find a DeArmond on EBay jump at it.....it's Guild or Gretsch quality (or bettter) for a third of the price!!
I like the sounds, I might change the tone & volume controls for more expensive units, but it's an awesomely goood guitar if you can find one .......for 30% of the cost of a Japanese Gretsch!!!