DeArmond Starfire Special

This is a Korean-made, 1999 single cutaway semi-hollowbody based on the Guild Starfire III. It features two DeArmond 2K single coils with separate volume and tone knobs for each and a 3-way toggle, and a Bigsby-style tremelo. It has a maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard with 20 frets. I got mine in Crimson Red Transparent with a hardshell case for $675.

I play this through a few different amps: a Matchless Chieftain 2x12, which is my main live amp, a blackface Fender Bandmaster, and a silverface Champ at home. I also use a Fulltone Fulldrive II pedal for overdrive. It sounds great through all of them. I especially love the sparkling clean sounds I get with these pickups. It sounds nice and full when overdriven as well, and can be easily pushed to produce some great controllable musical feedback (one of the reasons I wanted a semi-hollowbody). There is definitely a little bit of noise that is inherent to the single coils when used alone, especially since I normally use guitars with humbuckers. However, it's nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, and the guitar is relatively quiet overall.

The guitar came set up very well with excellent intonation. There was a little bit of fret buzz, and the action was a little higher than I like, but once I got it set up, it was fine. The finish is flawless, and I was definitely surprised, especially for a guitar this price.
Overall, it feels very comfortable. It only has 20 frets, so it's a little shorter-scale than my other guitars, and it's a little difficult to reach the higher registers. But it wasn't a problem after getting used to it.

I would definitely play this live. I haven't had it too long, so I can't comment on it long term, but it seems very solid. I was worried that I might have problems keeping it in tune, especially with the Bigsby-style tremelo. But I took it to practice today, and it was below freezing outside. I went from hot to cold, between walking outside and the subway. When I got inside the studio, I took it out and it was perfectly in tune. And it stayed that way for two hours of practice. Definitely a nice surprise.
As with the other reviewers, I don't like the cheap knobs, and the chrome chipping off the base of the pickups. But I guess they had to cut a few corners somewhere to keep the price so low.

I haven't dealt with the company, and don't expect that I will need to. I bought it at 30th Street Guitars in NYC, and those guys are great. They're very laid back, helpful and straightforward, unlike most other stores in NYC. Plus, they offered me a good price without any haggling. I highly recommend them if you're in the area. Plus it's always fun to check out their collection of boutique and vintage guitars and amps.

I had been looking for a semi-hollow body to add some variety to my sound. My main guitars include a Gibson Les Paul Standard, SG Standard and a '74 Tele Custom (w/a humbucker in the neck). I heard a lot about what a great value DeArmonds were, so I checked it out and bought it that day.
While it certainly won't replace my other guitars, it has definitely found its place, and will see a lot of use. A great value, and I'm not sure DeArmond/Guild/Fender will be able to keep producing this level of quality at such a low price for long.

This is a single cut-away semi-hollowbody (has a solid piece of wood running through the body) with 2 single-coil p/u's and their own kind of Bigsby tremelo.

I play lead in a rockabilly band called Johnny and the Blades and normally play a Heritage 575 (essentially a gibson 175) that I had a bigsby put on. That guitar is beautiful and I wasn't even looking for another guitar but I tried the DeArmond on a whim and bought it that day! The single-coil p/u's are just awesome for that clean, sparkling sound I need for rockabilly, and they're virtually noiseless! I have a friend who has an Epiphone with real vintage DeArmond p/u's and I think these sound as good! I play through a 70's era twin with a Danelectro delay pedal and have crystal clear clean tone forever. I had been having some problems with feedback with my other guitar but that is no longer an issue thanks to that thick chunk of wood in there. The 3 pickup selections (neck,bridge, or both) all produce about the same volume which might be a drag if you like to throw the switch for leads.

For a guitar this price, the fit & finish are pretty amazing. It came with good action and intonation but I put .11's on it and had to re-set it up. Mine is in the translucent red color and I can't find any flaws in it. The thin and tall frets take some getting used to but I don't even notice them anymore; and of course -the knobs suck.

I've had this guitar 4 months and have played about 25 shows and have dragged it on a west-coast tour and can't think of one complaint with it! I use the heritage for a back-up now and have only used it when I've broken strings. We took it through all kinds of climate and altitude changes and haven't encountered any flaking, bending, chipping, or warping. It seems like a pretty tough unit.

DeArmond is really just a branch of Fender so I better hope I never have to try and use the warranty.

I'm 26 now and have been playing for 15 years. I own a strat, les paul, one of those x-tra thin Ibanez metal guitars, and a Paul Reed Smith, and right now this is all I play. Everywhere we play people ask me 'what the hell is that?' comment on how good it sounds and then are amazed when I tell them how cheap it was! I wish it were a little lighter (it almost feels like my les paul!) and that the silver wasn't chipping off my pickup covers, but if it gets stolen I'll march right back to guitar center and get another!

Korean, 98 0r 99, who knows. See previous review for specs

Sounds excellent for most part...very nice low end country twang, good rockabilly, swing, jazz.

Action is a bit high. Would've preferred the real thing...the Guild Starfire III but the price is RIGHT on the DeArmond (less than half what a similiar Guild cost) I'm not a guitar technical specialist, but here are some problems: there is a fret problem i think on the highest two notes on my guitar (they sound the same!) Anybody who knows what this could be please let me know! Hope I can get that fixed. The finish is STUNNING...the Crimson Red is beautiful, classy and rockin at the same time. This is an "impulse picker-upper" in the guitar store. Knobs look good but are disappointingly cheap. They are wrapped in black foil-like stuff (one is already peeling off). Some of the chrome (could this be "chrome paint?") is already coming off the base of the pickups (see im not very technical, I apologize ). But these pickup are SO good, very very clean. The Bigsby style tremelo (DEFINITELY NOT as smooth as the real thing, but physically and weight wise almost a replica) is SOLID and high quality....i Love It.
I really REALLY was dreaming for a Brian Setzer 6120 of course, but for my level of playing and the cost (and hey...you know that the 6120s are ALSO made in Korea, right?) I couldn't do it. The worst thing i fear is that no one will ever want to part with their 6120 so that I might get one cheap. But Im getting way off subject.
Apart from the fret problem and the cheap chromegear problems, I still think this guitar is excellent for the money, exuding TOTAL class.

I have never done live playing, but I would like to!! I seems a very solid guitar, especially for being semi-hollow. The pickup holders seem not that great as far as the finish, but the actual hardware throughout (despite the crappy aforementioned knobs) seem aircraft solid. Strap buttons are good. The semi-hollow advantage i think is that you get more of a hollowbody sound with a bit more sustain. Blues, rockabilly, jazz, country, rock-n-roll. Not metal stuff tho. Solid body needed for that of course.

N/A yet. They're made by Guild (snobbingly pointed out by my salesman as pronounced Gild, not Guiled...hey what can I say, I'm an idiot), which has been bought out by Fender. I hope to never have to deal with Fender as I've heard that they take forever to respond.

ALmost 10 years. Mostly self-taught..probably why I suck. Actually I started on bass. I am more interested in jazz-like stuff now than i was ten years ago...I prefer open sounds, as opposed to power bar chords, tho i like those too. I've been getting into surf and country twang stuff lately, so this ws the right guitar at the right time for a decent price. I play thru a crappy "Viper" amp (they tried to copy a Fender even down to the logo on the silverface) i got used for 75 bucks like 5 years ago..it totally sucks. Would like to try the 40 Watt Fender 1 x 12 Hot Rod Deville or perhaps the Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue. I have a DOD Thrashmaster that i use for distortion, also a Boss BE 5 i got used for FREE. Also an ART FXR rack unit..solid solid SOLID, with great reverbs and delays. This stuff is all budget stuff, as I dont know who has the money for the great stuff! Oh yeah, it's the record companies who have it , thats right. Long live independent music.
If this guitar was stolen, I would curse up and down the street but hey...they're relatively new so I could get another one after saving for a while. I think I would be forced to upgrade to the Guild Starfire III for the lower action and Real Bigsby tho. Damn thieves. You CAN play better on a better guitar I believe. But 650 bucks better? I dont know.
I wish this guitar had: solid metal..even solid plastic! knobs. Nothing chipping off the pickups base. Finally a bit lower action. I also wish I had caught that note problem i described way back in the store!!!
Damn, im writing a book. Wanna talk gear and guitars and music? Email me

'99 Korean made clone of Guild Starfire III. Maple body, center block & laminated top. 20 fret mahogany neck w/rosewood fingerboard. 2-volume, 2-tone. 2-DeArmond single coils. Black finish. Thinline single cutaway florentine. Bigsby w/ tune-o-matic. 24 3/4" scale.

Wonderful, fat blues tone. Using it with a Crate Blue Voodoo. A bit more single-coil noise than I like. Doesn't shred that well, but that's not what thin lines are for.

perfect

no problems here

In 30 years of playing, I have never been more excited about a guitar.