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!!!

First, sorry for the mistakes but english is not my language !!!
For the features, you can see the other reviews?
Mine is beautiful red!

Before buying this starfire (in 2001), i didn't know De Armond brand. This is a secondhand guitar. When i saw it in the store, i liked immediately how it looks in his "red dress". I tried it and i fell in love immediatly!
This guitar is incredible? Even whitout plug it, it sound very well and balanced. The handle is very, very comfortable.
I play rock, blues and some reggae and this guitar is perfect for that.
I play it trough a Peavy Classic 30 or a MusicMan Seventy-five and it's great!

The colour is very beautiful! Everything is very good quality except the tone and volume selectors who are cheap (I replace them with metal knobs).
The little plastic piece for the trussroad is very ugly too.
But it's a detail?

I have a ES335 and a Les Paul 25/50 too and i think this Starfire is as good as the Gibsons.
It's very pleasant to play the starfire, the bigsby is ok if you don't shake it to hard!
This guitar seems build to became a future vintage (i'm not sur it's clear!!!).
It seems "solid as a rock".

No need?

I've been playing blues/rock in bands for 20 years?
I played lot of guitars but i think this Starfire is one of the greatest?
I love the look, i love the sound!

My Starfire has the white 2K Dearmond pickups - I've read that the white ones are older, so I'd say my guitar is 2000-2001. It's Korean-made (by Fender) with a Gibson-style knob arrangement. The guitar is semi-hollow, yet unusually heavy, and has a neck that is more Gibson (i.e., shorter) than Fender with a Florentine cutaway. It has a tune-o-matic-bridge and Bigsby-style vibrato that stays in tune well. It has an unusually nice red finish. I give it a 7 for features because none of them are unexpected, but they are well done.

Others have said this, and I agree, that this is where the guitar shines. The combination of those beautiful Dearmond 2K pickups combined with the semi-hollow body sound very rich. The sounds from this guitar are woody and warm, but detailed. Great for percussive blues (think Howling Wolf more than B.B. King), rockabilly, and cocktail-style jazz. It works well though a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (mine is modded with a Jensen blue horseshoe-magnet speaker), and I like it clean or with some overdrive. I used to put heavy strings on it, and it stood up well, but I found that 11 gauge are my favorite. They sound full, yet "open," in the way that only guitars with a open cavity can do. With 11's, the neck pickup sings and growls and sings some more! This is a beautiful sounding guitar.

I bought my guitar used about 3 years ago and it was ready to go immediately, but I don't know if that was because of the factory or the previous owner. I've messed with the pickup poles and bridge some, but that's just me messing around. The guitar has always felt very solid.

Seriously built to last. Korean luthier - I salute you! It's heavy, and I've come to like that. The knobs are cheap, but I don't care since the hardware, so far, seems solid. Some have complained that the guitar is hard to string - those people are crybabies. This is my main guitar despite owning others that are more expensive.

I suspect that Fender discontinued this line because they were priced as "entry-level" guitars that ended up cutting into their higher-end guitars (i.e., Gretsch). As a result, for customer support, I suspect you're on your own. Because I don't really know, I'll give a 3 based only on my guess.

All I can say is that I highly recommend this guitar. Overall, it sounds similar to old Gretsch's and Guild's - after all, they had the original Dearmond pickups. In my opinion, those originals often (but not always) sound better than my Starfire, but for the money, there's no better guitar within this price range.

Features have been covered here...no need to repeat. Mine is the sunburst. Very well made. I had an unwarranted queasiness about buying a Korean made instrument, but that fear was completely unfounded.

For blues and rockabilly, at this price, it is just great. The hum cancelling middle position provides a nice hollow, woody sound, with no noise at all. Depending on your attack, it can be mellow or as cutting as you want. I play this through (of all things!) a '70 Gretsch Rogue amp (there are what, six of these left on the planet?)...together, they have the Brian Setzer tone I love. Metal-heads need not apply with this guitar.

Love the action on this guitar...like 'buttah'! The low 'E' string wants to buzz sometimes, but a slight bridge adjustment took care of that.

Have only had it for a few months, but it seems solid. Input jack wants to come loose all the time....but no biggie. My 'gigs' are basically a group of other mid-40's hackers playing in someone's basement just for fun...so, not an issue.

Dearmond, as you know by now was shut down by Fender in 2002, so customer support is my local guitar shop. I would have to agree with other reviewers that this could very possibly have been because they were affecting Big Brother Guild's sales....at half the price of the U.S. made versions, these were an amazing deal. If you can find one, I would recommend it.

I have played a LOT of semi-hollow body guitars - Yamaha, Guild, Gibson, Epiphone, etc. Apart from some older (and WAY more expensive Gibsons) the Dearmond Starfire Special is a remarkable instrument for the price.

Must have been made 1999-2001, so I've read. Korean, of course. Mine's a gorgeous red, with the white pickups.

It's just great sounding! I play in the middle position mostly. Sensitive pickups that sound very warm.

Guitar looks and feels wonderful. My fave electric. Everything about the guitar seems solid and well-built--as others pointed out, the one crap thing is the damn vol/tone controls which fall apart as you touch them. So only one flaw.

Been playing live with it often, and is just a joy to play--doesn't look too bad either. Stays in tune well.

Don't think I'll be in touch with them soon.

Since I bought this one a year ago, it's been my fave. Solid, warm guitar that just is plain awesome. If you can find one (and you can on ebay), buy one and you won't be let down.

This is absolutely the best guitar I've ever owned. Single cut-away, two very versetile pickups, way retro wammy bar that adds a lot of character to your playing, four controls, 3-way pickup selector.

Two DeArmond pickups that are the best. Good for every kind of music a mature musician would ever want to play. Sorry no metal with this one.

Flawless finish and binding. Frets are finished nicely and very smooth. Super low action. The tuners have no name on them but they keep this guitar in tune as well and any others I've used.

I've used this guitar for four years and have never had a problem besides breaking a string. NOTE: String replacement is a problem if you try to do more than one at a time because they attach to the wammy and it moves under the bar.

Never needed it. I think these were made by Fender so I guess it should be ok.

Best guitar ever. Top 10 in looks and sound. I wouldn't trade it for a 335 (Well maybe if I found one with a Bigsby)

This guitar features the hottest stock pick-ups out there, the deArmond USA 2k single coil P/Us. three way selector switch, single cut away arch top body.

this, out of my collection, is the best sounding guitar i own. that includes usa made fenders and a gibson les paul special with p-90s. i run this through a 1970s kustom sidewinder amp( a single 15" speaker 100 watt amp) and for pedals i use an original marshall guv'nor, original tubescreamer,a keeley compressor, and a original cry baby wah wah. tone is everything and this axe kicks ___ !!!

i bought this item used from ebay but all i had to do was a slight intonation adjustment and i was gigging with it!

this thing is built like a tank. if i had to just rely on one guitar this one could handle the job with out thinking about it.

never had to.

i have been playing for over 20 years. if ever in the panhandle of florida check out The Fly Monkeys, or go to www.flymonkeys.com. other guitars i own are, fender cal. series fat tele USA made, 1982 USA fender strat, 1997 USA gibson les paul special w/p90s, epiphone joe pass jazz box, fender 72 tele custom RI, and a fender fr50 resonator ac/el. i also use a yamaha dx7 synth and a hammond m3 organ. i just try to keep it vintage baby!!!

i was lucky enough to catch one of these rare---transparent red starfire`s---when fender discuntinued this guild line. the guitar is awesome----although it took me about 3 years to refine everything its well worth the effort-----i use now flatwound mediums on her----and if you plug in some nice --decent sound with a little reverb and vibrato/tremolo ---this beauty goes like a time-machine ---duane eddy---link wray .... wes montgomery ---bb king---what have you---- good neck--smooth and handy clean and warm sound (de armond single coils---like the 6120 gretsch) vintage character and the looks OMG !! gorgeous -- semihollow construction-- laminated maple --tonebar from neck all through body delivers good sustain and minimizes feedback neck maple too---fingerboard with pearl dot inlay`s is of rosewood tremolo-tailpiece for retro--effects ---coool appearance 10 sound 10 playability 10 quality and reliabality 10

again----very nice and pleasant for the ears

smooth neck---vey nice

very solid guitar---nt a lightweight though

i ll keep this guitar its all the electric i need

I am not sure of the year of manufacture, but it is an early example due to the more Guild like headstock, white pickup covers (black was offered on later models), and the guild like truss rod cover. I purchased this guitar used on eBay for $435.00 including the hardshell case and shipping.

The guitar and its features have been desribed many times before in prior reviews so I won't go into that again. It has all the features I need or desire.

This sound of this guitar is absolutely remarkable. The USA 2K single coil pickups are unbelievable. This thing has tone to die for. It is without a doubt the best sounding guitar for Chicago style blues I have ever heard or played. The pickups sound like a cross between a vintage 50's Stratocaster and a vintage Gibson P-90. Take the best attributes of those two pickups and combine them and you have the DeArmond 2Ks. I can't say enough about how good this guitar sounds!

Since I bought it used, although in absolute MINT condition, I do not know about the factory setup. When I got it, I needed to adjust the neck relief a little and adjust the intonation slightly, but other than that it was excellent. I did change the spring in the Bigsby style vibrato to one with a little less tension to make it more responsive.

The quality of the workmanship and finish are up there with the best guitars made. The guitar looks and plays great.

This guitar is built like a bulldozer. I think you could bash a rowdy drunk over the head with this without knocking it out of tune. I would trust this guitar implicitly if it were the only one I had. However, I always carry a couple of backups just in case.

Don't know, don't care. I know Fender still supports these even though they discontinued the line. Too bad, the DeArmond guitars are great. Maybe too great and were hurting sales of the more expensive Guild line. I'm sure the reason to discontinue the line had something to do with dollars and cents.

I've been playing for over forty years and this is one of the finest guitars I've ever had my hands on. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the thief and wring his or her neck. I would then try to find another one ASAP. I own many guitars both electric and acoustic. Some of them are considered vintage classics and others may be some day. Nonetheless, this is my favorite guitar and the one I gig with the most. If you find one, buy it, end of story.

I think it?s a 2001 model, it was one of the last ones (blowout sale at SamAsh.com), which is why I had to take a tobacco burst model instead of the red one I wanted. Everyone else here says it?s Korean, so I?ll take their word for it. I?m not snobby about that kind of thing: if I like a guitar/amp/effect, I like it, I don?t care where it?s from, and the new-sucks-vintage-rules view is a waste of my time. We all know the rest, florentine cutaway semi-hollow, 2 single-coil p/u?s, 2-vol 2-tone knobs, binding, arch top and back (which I really like), clunky sub-Bigsby whammy, rosewood fretboard, cheap but cheerful tuners, etc. Someone else here commented that the knobs are rubbish. I?d have to agree, and I look forward to whipping the ugly things off and replacing them with better (looking) ones soon. Your intonation won?t survive more than gentle whammy bar usage, so I don?t often use the thing, but that?s okay, I?m no dive-bomber and it adds character to the instrument.
I could definitely live without the STUPID way you have to string this thing. It spoils an otherwise great guitar. Someone?s review suggests using a capo, which I?ll try next time I change the strings. Another reviewer considered this ?a cool, retro feature,? but I disagree. I can?t imagine which big idiot at DeArmond thought it would be okay to use such an asinine bit of hardware. In the ?fifties, guitar manufacturers didn?t know any better, but we do now. If it wasn?t for this annoying feature, I?d have given it an 8.

Wow. What a lovely ringing tone. This Starfire Special has lots of twangy personality, which can be a blessing and a curse (not a metal guitar, but with your amp set clean or edgy, sit back and let this thing sing). The p/u?s have a Tele-style bite, and a fair amount of output. They are not high fidelity, but they are just right for this guitar. A lot of other reviewers have said that this is pretty much a vintage rock&roll/rockabilly/blues/jazz beast, and they are right, as the p/u?s and the guitar?s vibe are perfect for those applications. I play worship music on the team at my church, but I?m a bluesman first and foremost, and this guitar is ideal for that. The semi-hollow construction gives the tone that sweet, roomy quality that solid body guitars will never have, and you can crank the bass on your amp without the tone getting muddy. The neck p/u (which I use the most) is throaty, the bridge p/u doesn?t get too screechy (of course, this all depends on how you have your amp set) and if you use both at once, the guitar sounds sweet and jangly (I used to play a lot of powerpop stuff, so that?s a tone I still enjoy).
I play the SS through the following amps:
mid ?90s Fender Twin (the ?evil? Twin);
mid ?90s Fender Blues DeVille (4x10);
?98(?) Fender Pro Jr;
MusicMan Sixty Five 212 (if anyone can help me determine its vintage, I?d be happy, as MusicMan/Ernie Ball are NOT helpful).
I use the MusicMan the most, but the Starfire Special sounds great through all my amps. If it?s not convincing when attempting hard rock, that?s okay, I?ll play one of my other guitars. Why use a handsaw to do a chainsaw?s job?

The action is super low, (too low for slide, unfortunately), but not so low that the strings buzz. The top fret is a bit high, so the high E string won?t play on the fret beneath it, but that?s a minor quibble, as I don?t often play that high. Freddie King once said, ?There ain?t no money above the 5th fret,? and who am I to argue? The neck feels comfortable and allows plenty of speedy soloing. I have a mean vibrato, and have no time for fretless wonders, so these medium frets are great for me.
It?s a good-looking guitar, especially with the binding on the front AND back AND neck. A classy touch. The burst scheme is also featured along the back of the neck and on the edge of the body. It looks a bit odd to me, but I prefer solid colour schemes anyway (I WANTED the red one, dammit!).
It was set up at the factory with a set of 10s, which were a bit stiff for me, so I slapped 9s on it. They feel floppy (is the Starfire Special?s scale a bit shorter than on other guitars?) to me, but as I like to bend the strings a lot, that?s fine.

On one horrifying occasion, the guitar slipped off its strap, onto the floor. It was plugged into the amp and landed on the jack plug, which was pushed into the body, taking some of the wood with it. Hey, what can I say, the strap was not attached properly to the button, and I learned my (expensive) lesson. A luthier friend fixed it, so there?s a little square of wood now surrounding the jack plug socket, flush with the edge of the body. It looks ugly, but I love the guitar too much to let it bother me. The instrument generally feels flimsy to me, so I?m now careful with it. It?s not solid like a Tele. So, if it doesn?t feel too durable to me, it?s mostly my own fault.
I have played the Starfire Special live on only a few occasions, as my only gig now is on the worship team, and it?s not as versatile as my Tele or Les Paul DeLuxe. I never gig without a back-up.
I must say that the thing stays in tune well. We all know how depressing it is playing a guitar that wanders out of tune when you bend a string or leave it in an air-conditioned room, or whose tuners are rubbish. Who can say how long the instrument will last? The finish is cheap but nicely done, and if it starts to fade/flake I won?t be too bothered: I bought it to play, not display in a glass case. Someone else here mentioned the possibility of sanding off the finish, and I suspect that the instrument would look even better.

Never had to call them.

I?ve been playing for over 30 years, and it?s one of the more comfortable guitars I?ve ever played, but its real strength lies in its tone (especially for the low price, what a fantastic deal). Considering I bought the guitar over the Internet, and could have been buying a lemon, it played well straight from the cardboard box.
If this guitar was stolen, I?d miss it terribly, particularly as it?s not easily replaced now that they?re no longer making it. I?d probably buy something vaguely comparable like a Gretsch (though they are ridiculously overpriced) or a Gibson ES175 (ditto).
I can?t think of any feature I wish it had, but I could live without the whammy unit. I don?t dislike it, but if you?re going to put one on a guitar, at least make sure it won?t spoil the intonation. HEL-lo!
It?s not my favourite guitar (that?s my American Standard Tele), but it?s fun to play, and has lots of enjoyable personality. I wanted the red model that hung on my local Git-ar Centre?s wall for months, but they wouldn?t let me have it for less than the $599 price tag, so when I saw much later that SamAsh.com was getting rid of them for $300, I snapped it up. Seeing so many other reviews here in which the SS was deficient in some way, I can see how God was smiling on me right then. If only they?d still had a RED one!

1999, made in Korea. Clear red finish. Rosewood fretboard. Two DeArmond pickups, two volume and tone, 3-way selector. Body similar to Guild Starfire III, single cutaway semi-hollow archtop. Bigsby style tremelo. No case.

I bought this based on the range of styles folks mentioned in the other reviews. The clincher was when I noticed the guitarist in Exene Cervenka's Original Sinners was playing one.

I play in a twangy punk band, and wanted hollow-body resonance that could also be heavy. The sound is incredibly versatile- one can move through a range of textures without any effect boxes. A block of wood runs inside the body, which helps control the feedback, but it still has snappy smooth resonance of a jazz guitar, probably because the body is huge. Between volume 8 and 10, the pickups move from a thick, mean tone to fuzzed-out glam, but turned down and in the neck posistion, you still get a warm jazz-blues feel. Took me a while to realize how loud the pickups were, and to back off. Between clean and dirty amp channels, these roaring pickups, and 11 strings, I can get rockabilly, Mick Ronson glam, thrashy punk, shoegazer fullness, dry Joy Division desolateness and grungy heaviness. Overall, it's prolly a little hot feeling for true jazz tone, and it may not do any signature sound perfectly, but this is as close to a one-size-fits-all guitar as I've ever played.

Shop set it up beautifully, was used but had no visible wear. I can only assume that this line was discontinued because the Korean craftsmen were showing up the Americans. A very pretty guitar, bound all over and a fifties feel. Low action, thick frets and open nut to accommodate heavy strings. Not a guitar for string-tappers.

Bigsby-styles are hard to change, yes, but here is a tip- use a capo. Thread the string to the bridge, then clamp it in place with the capo. Now you've got both hands free to get it in the tuner.

For a semi-hollow, this feels very sturdy. After a month of hard playing, the neck-end strap button became loose, and I shimmed the hole with a splinter of wood and glued it, and it's been solid ever since.

I've gigged this without backup, and I'm really confident about it. Even with heavy tremelo playing, this stays in tune. Wireing is silent and solid.

n/a

- Played for 17 years, sold my vintage SG to buy this, but I mostly played a strat before this guitar. Started out on Ibanezes. I'm not an import snob at all.
- I wanted a versatile hollow body which didn't feel like a museum piece. Vintage Guilds are just too expensive and I'd feel paranoid about loosing them. This is an unbelivable value, and I'd buy another in an instant. I paid more than some of the other reviewers, but this is still an undervalued guitar.

- For surf staccto, I'd stick with a solid body. For jazz, this might work with flat-wounds. This became my main guitar very quickly. I've had it for six months.

Well, where should start!?! My DeArmond is a tobacco burst Starfire Special. I'm pretty sure the entire thing is laminated maple with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. It is equipped with the reissue DeArmond 2K single coils,two volume, two tone; and a Bigsby style tremolo system. Tuners are very reminiscent of the sealed Kluson style tuners on 70's era Gibsons. Thin neck, but it still has plenty of meat on it; excellent for the psuedo jazzer, or rhythmically oriented guitarist.

The sound of this guitar is probably why they are out of production. My guess is that these guys did some serious damage to Guild sales, for the money ther isn't another guitar of this type, especially in this price range that can even begin to compete. Im typically using this guitar for Jazz and Blues, but Ive also used it for some good rock ambient tones. For those that are interested, it pulls off Brian Setzer tones beautifully. I cant even begin to consider buying a Jap made Gretsch for $1000 more. It has a nice wide spectrum of tones from very bright and spanky, to if dialed in right a really mellow Jim Hall sound. Excellent job mister Korean guitar builder.

Right out of the box, thats right, out of the box literally it played really well. The pickups were great. The action I tweaked slightly, but thats because I strung it with .012s for a meatier sound. Finish is beautifully glossy; nothing like thick polyurethane in the evening sun! Overall great finish. 'Burst was surprisingly consistent for the price and well blended. All the binding looked great except for a little snafu on the neck joint. With the exception for some of the hardware this guitar is a real looker.

I,ve played this guitar out regularly for about a year or so, and have'nt had any atypical problems (ex crackle jack). I also replaced the dinky Gibson-esque strap button with Strap Loks. Definetly a reliable primary guitar, no backup needed. The chrome is holding up well, despite my badly acidic skin pH.

I havent had to deal with fender yet, luckily.

Ive been playing for seven dedicated years, and owned 27 Guitars and basses to date; Gibsons, Fenders, Martins, Ibanez, Spectors, MusicMan, etc. THIS is the best buy yet, I definetly got more than I paid for! I'm really not all that fond of typing, but this I had to spread the word. To anyone shopping for this kind of guitar, or anyone for an electric for that matter, get your hands on a DeArmond before you spend your money, youll be glad you did. Since these are unfortunately discontinued grab them if you can. I would definetly buy another, matter of fact Im lookin for an X-155 now.

2001 laminated maple body 2 Dearmond USA pickups transparent red finish, rosewood fretboard and chrome plated tuners.

It has a sound that's great for blues, rock, dare I say metal!(I'm serious this thing sounds huge through a Mesa Boogie amp w/ a Boss Metalzone pedal). It has a great clean sound and does well with distortion too. The pickups are pretty quiet compared to a strat's single coils. The pickups really are great in this guitar!

I got this guitar brand new and the setup was decent, but the Dearmond Bigsby& cheaper obviously won't keep the guitar in tune as well as a guitar w/ a floyd rose trem and locking tuners. If you buy this guitar, you're not looking for a floyd rose shred guitar anyway...

This guitar doesnt seem as sturdy as a solid body guitar, but on the other hand you get a whole new dimension of sound from being semi hollow. This Dearmond is just as sturdy as any Gretsch or Gibson that costs 5 times as much.

I don't know about customer support, since Dearmond is no longer making guitars. They're owned by Fender so maybe Fender will honor waranties?

I've been playing guitar for 8yrs and own a PRS, Gibson les Paul Custom, G&L George Fullerton strat, Guild D30 acoustic, Fender 12 string acoustic, Fender jazz bass...If it were lost or stolen I'd look around for another Dearmond since they are a great deal for the $$.

See above, 2000, black, another fret would be nice.

I'm into blues jazz ect. so I play with less gain than most, so all I know is clean to overdriven, this thing is sweet, Like angels pissing in my ears. RESONANCE!!!

no problems

I hang my guitars on the wall of my studio, and this one fell on to the hard floor (gasp). It needed retuning but I haven't found any damage. Comforting thought as I get hit with beer bottles a lot on jam night.

Ave guitars, Edmonton, was nice to me, I doubt fender would have a clue about this thing if it ever come up as it was discontinued after they bought the company.

I find myself playing this one exclusively over my american strat.

Has a 5 ply laminated maple top and DeArmond 2k single coil pics. It is bound everywhere except the f holes. The finish is nice, and durable, not an aaa top, but not the price either. It is a big bodyed guitar and heavey as hell. paid $450.00 plus case(used)

This is where she shines. Clean sound is one of the best I've ever heard. Others who hear it are surprised when I plug it in. Distorted, will rok you any way you want. Jazz, country, metal, yo name it. Hard to beat the sound. Can't figure why fender stoped the line, unless their top of the line couldn't compare with this guild second. Many of my friends who play fender have sence bought Dearmond after hearing this thing. Stays in tune better than any thing I own. The only thing I have played that is better are vintage Gretschs , and vintage 335.

Bought it new, but always set a guitar myself. No flaws on the finish, or in the wood. These are really made well.

Never gig without a back up. I always have at least 3 diffrent guitars I play live. Diffrent ones for diffrent songs.

Never used them. Ask the stage hands.

Depends on what you compare it to. against a white falcon its a 7, against a new es-335 its a 9, for anyhting in the price range, it blows them all away. If lost or stolen I would get another to replace it and one for back up. I'll proably get another anyway. If you are looking for a simi-hollow and don't want $2000.00 worth of sound for 1/4 of the price do yourself a favor. Just find a back brace if you play it long(heavey as hell)

Same as stated above.

It sounds really nice! For the price, you can't beat the sound. Versatile also. Good for Blues, Jazz (yes, Jazz) and dirtier, grungier rock. Not cut out for the heavier stuff. Has a nice dark sound for jazz and blues. The USA 2K single coils are pretty fat...nice sustain w/ the right distortion.

The finish was VERY pretty. I was very surprised for the price and for being Korean made. Craftsmenship was defintiely up to par. Problems: The binding cracks quick! The pickup selecting toggle switch went bad and started to slip out of the neck pos. back inot the middle pos. This was very annoying while playing live! The pots for volume were AWFUL! They went from off ,then with just a little turn, to full volume with lots of turn left on the knob. Again, VERY frustrating live when trying to play dynamically. I must say that the Bigsby-style tremelos are a PAIN IN THE ASS to string! Ball end of string falling off the post while trying to wind on, etc. And I could NEVER keep the thing in tune. If I bent the string, it went sharp.....pull it, it went flat....even with DEAD strings. There must have been a problem with the saddle pieces or bridge or something. Live, this guitar was a nightmare for me.

Again, I will not take this live at all! In fact, I am trying to trade it in.

Did want to deal w/ the guitar so I never called support.

If you want a great looking guitar to hang on your wall....TAKE MINE!

Mine is a 1999 model; made... umm, "Crafted in Korea" (per the decal on the back of the headstock).

22 frets on a rosewood slab. Frets are finished very nicely and the rosewood fretboard looks better than my Gibson Es-135. Tuners are Gover-like tuners and are excellent - as good as any set of Grover
Rotomatics (which I use on all of my other guitars).

The guitar is a single cutaway, very thinline, 16" body (fits perfectly in an ES-335 case) with DeArmond's version of a Bigsby tailpiece. The yellow-cream (almost aged looking) covers the front, back, and neck of the guitar.

The body is semi-hollow with a piece of wood (I assume Balsa) running from stem-to-stern. As such, this guitar doesn't feedback due to body resonance, but it also doesn't sound that great unplugged.

The 2 pickups are DeArmond USA-made 2K single coils with a fixed height (non-adjustable ala old Gretsches) and chrome/metal pickup surrounds. The pickups have white plastic covers with screw adjusters to raise/lower the magnet poles, but not the pickups themselves. There is a standard 3-way pickup selector.

The body and neck are maple laminate. The finish on mine is vintage sunburst. The bridge is a fixed, Gibson Tune-o-matic type with saddle adjusters for perfect intonation.

All hardware is nickel plated/colored.

The neck is chunkier than a Strat but less chunky than my Gibson Es-135 LE (which supposedly has a '59 LP neck). The nut is also wider than a Strat to make us fumble-fingered players less fumble-fingered :)

Mine did not come with a case, so I used a spare ES-335 case I had and it fit like a glove.

I had read reviews here on HC on how the Starfire Special could be used for jazz, blues, and rock. I was somewhat skeptical on the jazz part. But then I tried it and you know what? It really can be used for jazz, rock, and blues.

First and foremost, the SS is a rock and blues box. The bridge single coil pup is perfect with an overdriven amp for leads, double stops and power chords. The middle position with both pups on yields some very nice rhythm and blues leads tones. The neck position could also be used for blues.

The neck position can also be used for jazz, though the pups are a bit bright for traditional jazz tone. Even so, turn down the volume a little on the guitar itself and the done darkens up nicely (or turn down the tone control even more and keep the volume max'ed).

Would I use it for jazz? Not with the Bigsby tailpiece. It just doesn't look traditional like my Epi Joe Pass or Gibson ES-135. Plus I did not buy the SS for jazz, but for rock and blues. With flatwounds, though, I'm sure the SS would be as good a jazz box as any other I've had.

Any electric I buy must pass muster as a jazz guitar and be able to fit that bill, if I so desire. As such, I have gone thru alot of guitars that seemed fine for blues or rock, but sucked for jazz. My measure of a good guitar is it's ability to not only do blues and rock, but also serve as a jazz guitar. The SS fits that bill.

The bridge pup or neck pup by itself is somewhat noisy, but it is due to being a single coil. Same thing for Gibbie P-90's which were put on the best of guitars - ES-350, ES-175, etc. With both pups on, they are silent. I don't mind the slight hum as it doesn't get in the way of the music.

I love the tone of this guitar as it easily - make that EASILY compares to my Gibson ES-135 with '57 Classic PAF humbucks. No, the tone is not the same - single vs humbuck - but that quality of the tone is as good as the Gibbie.

The SS sounds absolutely delightful with overdrive, sounding as good or better than the Es-135. Clean, the SS actually sounds better for jazz than the Es-135, but I plan to remedy that with flats on the Es-135 soon.

The bridge pickup can be bright, but not that obnoxious, razor brightness of a Strat, but more the smooth brightness and twang of a Tele.

Overall, the tone is rich and full - no thin spots like so many other Korean-made guitars. Then again, this baby has USA made pups.

I couldn't help but compare the tone of my SS to my es-1966 Harmony Rocket with authentic DeArmond Golden Tone pickups.

They both have a sweet sound about them, but the SS's Dearmond 2K single coils are beefier than the old Dearmond Golden Tone pups. I think the new 2K pups are closer to a P-90's than were vintage DeArmond pups.

Tone-wise, there is nothing I don't like!

The gutiar arrived strung with 9's or 10's. I restrung with 11's D'Addario rounds. I had to reset intonation, but did not have to adjust the neck.

Action is a loo--www 2/32" E-to-E at the 15th fret. Intonation is PERFECT. The thing tunes up perfectly - no wavering notes due to a chincy tailpiece. The SS is bottom heavy due to the Bigsby tailpiece, but that tailpiece does serve to stabilize tuning up quite nicely. The stock tuners work very well.

All binding and the finish itself was perfect. No guffaws,holes, cracks etc.

The Bigsby tailpiece is smooth and returns to pitch on it's own.

The only thing I can downgrade the SS for was that the sunburst finish color that DeArmond used was not as nice as the VSB on my Gibson Es-135. Otherwise, the SS is a joy to play and plays easier on upper frets than does my Es-135! As such, I have to give it a "10"!

I have had dozens of guitars, but enjoy mostly archtops with f-holes - single or double cut. I've had Strats and other solids, but nothing turns me on like a nice archtop jazz box. I have 4 guitars now - 3 archtops and a flattop. The SS will be my rock/blues box, while my ES-135 will become another jazz box next to my Epiphone Joe Pass.

If I were to buy again, I'd like another SS. The only thing I can really hold against it is it's weight. It doesn't really weigh any mroe than my ES-135, but the weight is more concentrated in the bottom on the SS, while my Es-135 has the weight more evenly distributed. I can't really downgrade it for that, though, as the Bigsby tailpice is massive and contributes greatly to the bottom heaviness of the guitar. And it's not liek it takes anymore than an hour of playing to become accustomed to the weight.

And when I think of "overall value", I look at build quality, price, performance, playability and tone. In all of these categories, the SS exceeds expectations.

2000 model, Crimson Red finish, maple ply single cutaway Semi-hollow guitar with Dearmond 2K pu's and Bigsby type tremolo with tune-o-matic style bridge. Bound medium profile neck with 20 medium size frets on a rosewood fingerboard.

This is where the Starfire Special shines. I was looking for a Rockabilly type sound (without the Gretsch price tag) which it nails but was surprised to get a dark jazzy sound when clean to a goth rock sound with some juice - all out of the neck pu. Mid position gives a great rhythm sound that to my ear lends itself to more of a western movie soundtrack vibe - think early Clint Eastwood movies. The bridge can go from a Tele twang to surf with a Fender amp to even an AC/DC type rhythm with a british voiced amp. Extremely versatile sounding guitar. The pickups have some noise but no more than a Fender type Single coil.

I mostly play my original Fender Blackface Twin w/Jensons or my Silverface non-master Vibrolux with Oxford speakers. At the moment effects are a Line Six Delay and a Distortion pedal (various depending on my mood) with amp reverb. The Starfire Special also sounds great with my TopHat King Royalle - everything from Brit chime to power chord raunch. At the store I plugged it into a Vibro King with incredible results.

Mine had decent set-up off the wall. Well put together although I've heard of some spotty DeArmond quality with the later made 2001 models. Good action and fit - I always get my tech to set-up my guitars right away but I had to push this guitar into service immediately with no problems. Intonation was spot on and the action was good. It will make it to the tech soon.

Fantastic Crimson Red finish. No blemishes. Very understated small dot markers and a non-flashy Headstock give the guitar a classy, non-busy look. The white pickups contrast with the red finish in a good way.

The tuners feel loose to the touch but keep the guitar in tune, which is the important thing. The Bigsby copy Tremolo is surprisingly stable.

My only big complaint is the plastic nut which has to go but then again I know of some reputable US built guitars using plastic nuts. An easy and cheap fix.

Since it didn't come with a case or a gig bag the guitar has been knocked around a bit and have yet to notice a scratch. I've put this guitar through some serious use and abuse. Sitting in the backseat of my car overnight, lugged around from rehearsal space to gigs with no protection. This guitar is built as well as any of my guitars valued at over ten times the cost of the Starfire. It has become a main live guitar sharing about equal time with my Strat.

The knobs feel frail but so far so good.

No idea.

I've been playing for about eleven years. I started off playing suburban snot punk but have always been attracted to the guitar sounds of the 50's and 60's like Rockabilly and Surf. Currently I've been writing and playing instrumental space rock to soundtrack compositions. The DeArmond fits in nicely for what I like in a guitar sound and what I'm playing.

I waited a few months before posting this review in case the new guitar rush wore off. I can honestly say I like this guitar as much as the first day I picked it up.

I also own a 1960 Blonde Jazzmaster, 1962 Epiphone Coronet (basically a SG JR.), 1956 Martin D-21 and a 1973 Mustang bass for writing and recording. My guitars currently used for live situations are a late 1999 Vintage USA model Strat (50's era with Blonde finnish/ash body) the DeArmond Starfire Special which replaced the Jazzmaster.

Amps are 1972 Marshall Super lead with greenback 4-12 Basketweave, 1965 Fender Twin (original) with Jenson Speakers, 1969 Fender Vibrolux with Oxford's (my workhorse amp), 1961 Tweed Gibson GA-1RT with 8' Jenson (Champ-ish sound) and a TopHat King Royalle. Effects are minimal, mostly the Line Six Delay modelar and a distortion pedal.

If it were lost or stolen I would thank the stars that I replaced the Jazzmaster with the DeArmond. Then I would track down another Starfire Special.

I haven't bought a guitar in a few years and am very pesimistic about new guitars. With the DeArmond I walked into a store to try one out (the hype of the blowout sale got me interested) and walked out with it within 20 minutes. I don't consider this a cheap guitar but a quality piece at an incredible deal. Very impressed with this Korean made guitar. My favorite part of the DeArmond are the 2K pickups.

It is a heavy guitar (for some reason the 2000 models are heavier than other year Starfire Specials) and around the weight of a Les Paul. I also would prefer nitro over a poly finish on the Starfire. Poly tends to restrict the sound of a guitar but not as noticable as say the Japan made Fender Reissue's of the 80/90's or the Epiphone Sheridan.

Like all of my guitars I prefer stock. Wouldn't change a thing on this guitar.

This is a transparent red laminated maple archtop semi-hollow instrument. The features are the same as all the previous reviews.

I play oldies, Rockabilly, jazz and country and this one guitar sounds great! The single coil pickups cut through the rest of the band with clarity and ease. The neck position has a sweet, jazzy tone with just a little high end sparkle, the middle position is gutsy and warm, and the neck position yields a snarly, growly twang reminiscent of the Gretsch 6120 Nashville I have lusted after for 30 years. This thing is amazing! It plays Jazz and swing, then with the flick of a switch, makes Tele sounds Carl Perkins would love.

The guitar was well set up right from the box. I drove 140 miles one way to get it, bought it, drove back and gigged with that night without even setting the intonation! The finish is perfect, with the exception of a thin, straight scratch in the lower side next to the strap button. Looks like somebody tagged it with a razor knife while opening the box. It is invisible except under close scrutiny, so I can live with it. The binding is perfectly smooth and well done, the transparent red finish is flawless and very glossy. The output jack and the neck strap button were loose, but a minute with a screwdriver and a crescent wrench before the gig (you do carry hand tools in your gig bag, don't you?) cured that in short order. The knobs are garbage. The neck position tone knob had a little ring of plastic on the top coming off. the little chrome "D" logo insert came off as I was tuning it for the first time. the knobs feel like they came off a cheap stereo from the sixties. They look appropriately vintage but feel cheesy in your hand. ( think Teisco del-Ray here).
Guitar knobs are cheap, these are cheaper. I will replace them with quality knobbage as soon as I can. Overall, fit and finish is fine.

This instrument is very gig-worthy and will handle anything I can throw at it, short of doing my el-kabong imitation. the tuners will probably get replaced within the year. the instrument seems very solid and I would not hesitate to gig with it without a backup.( I did so the very first night. bought it, drove to the gig, took it out of the cardboard box and little foam bag, tuned it, tightened some stuff and wailed!)

I have no experience with DeArmond customer service, but i have dealt with Fender before and eventually they satisfied me, but it took a bunch of phone calls.

I have been playing for 35 years and have owned everything from the aforementioned Teisco to a D'Angelico(dammit, wish I'd kept that one).
I currently gig with a heavily modified telecaster (frankencaster), an Epi dot, Casino, flamekat, wildkat and alleykat. I play through a Fender Hot rod DeVille 410, a line 6 ax2 212 and the weaseltone which is an old musicman HD130 head (130 watts of tube tone, baby!) and a pair of old bassman 2x12 cabs all covered in tweed (rockabilly stack!)
This axe is the most bang for the buck I have ever seen! I compared it directly to the Guild Starfire sitting next to it at the store and with the exception of the hardware it was identical in sound and playability. The DeArmond finish is actually a little better! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this instrument to anybody looking for a playable, gigworthy, affordable archtop semi-hollow. As a matter of fact, my friend is getting one having played mine.

I have no idea on spec stuff, I just play the damn thing

I really like the sound that I have gotten out of this guitar, using a terrible practice amp I have gotten both rich bassey sounds and a pretty good high electric standard alt. rock sound, when mixed it is really rich. Also with that same amp's distortion option, I have gotten this strange dirty sound which is wonderderful. I have found it to have some background noise and I have had some trouble getting the high E to pick up as well as I would like but I am not sure whether that is the amp or the guitar. I am still experimenting sound wise, but so far I have been pleased.

I love the way this thing plays, I am used to playing mandolin and a guitar with action that is about an inch high. It has a really soft feel and the fret placement is comfortable. I also thing the fretboard width is extremely comfortable making it extemely playable. I love the way this thing looks, the fire engine red is spectacular. I also am into the retro looking style so the old fassion whammy bar is the perfect touch for me.

I have only had it for a few months but it seems to stay in tune while playing.

It was an offer I couldnt refuse, and I could not have been happier. My main instrument is mandolin so I have been kinda holding back on getting a guitar, the fact that I could buy a guitar of better value then my mandolin and spend less money was beyond anything I could have imagined, actually, I have been playing this thing more then my mandolin lately, it is that fantastic.

This is the 1999 model of the DeArmond Starfire Special, a semihollow electric that is modeled after Guild's Starfire III. Because Fender is discontinuing the DeArmond line, these guitars are being blown out at ridiculously low prices. Although the two DeArmond single coil pickups are made in the USA, the rest of the guitar is manufactured and assembled in Korea. The tailpiece is a well-constructed replica of a Bigsby tremolo system. For a really great review of the guitar's specs etc, check www.guitarplayer.com's archives section, which also contains a great photo.

The guitar sounds great. I've run it through my Line 6 Flextone II XL mostly on the Vox amp setting, and in the neck pickup setting, it sounds very much like a Gibson semihollow--very chimey, yet bluesey and warm (think Lucille). In the bridge pickup setting, the sound is much darker, almost like a solidbody. Mixing the two pickups and tone knobs, there are a multitude of various sounds it can make. The sound/tone of this guitar is clearly its strongpoint. The Bigsby-style tremolo is fun, but more of a novelty to me, as I've been playing a Tele for years and am therefore more accustomed to playing without a tremolo of any kind. Plus those things usually have a tendency to throw guitars out of tune. To be honest, I haven't really pounded on the thing all that much, so I'm not all that qualified at this point to state an opinion with regard to its reliability in terms of intonation.

The body finish on this guitar is amazing. I've never seen a guitar look this good yet cost so little. There was, however, a small ding in the tremolo unit. When the guitar arrived, the bridge pickup didn't work all that well, as I needed to increase the volume on my amp to dangerously high levels to get a signal. The neck pickup was fine. The action upon arrival was very good (relatively low, but not too low).

I really can't testify with regard to the guitar's longevity, as I haven't had it for very long. However, I will state that it is pretty heavy and that the overall impression I get is that it's a solid, well-made instrument. Still, with a lot of these Korean- and Japanese-made copies, you get inferior hardware, so I would not be surprised if I eventually needed to replace some of it.

Well, because I was having a wiring problem, I had to call for customer support. I got this guitar from Musician's Friend, who really weren't any help. I called Fender (who owns DeArmond), and they directed me to several authorized Fender REPAIR shops who would supposedly fix the guitar free of charge. After calling a few of them (because everyone kept jerking me around, as no one wants to repair a guitar that they didn't sell in the first place), I got a guy at the local Guitar Center to fix it for me under warranty.

I have been playing for 15 years. I also play an American Standard Fender Telecaster (with some awesome DiMarzio pickups--Twang King and Chopper-T) as well as a made in America '62 reissue Fender Jaguar. I also use a Line 6 Flextone II XL 2x12 combo amp.

I wish I had asked "Are you sure this guitar works?" before I bought it, but because it was Musician's Friend (or any Internet guitar distributor for that matter), they probably wouldn't be able to answer me anyway. If the guitar was stolen, I'd definitely try to buy another one, although I don't know if that would be possible, since they've discontinued the line and the ones that are left are selling like hotcakes because the've been marked down so low.

I love the fact that the guitar sounds so good and it looks incredible. I could live without the tremolo. I like the fact that it feels very good to play, as the action was right-on.

I compared it to the Guild Starfire II and III, but because this is a VERY good copy for about $1,000 less, it seemed like a no-brainer. Still, if you're a hard-core semihollow afficionado (and you have the money), I would get the real deal and get a Gretch or a big ol' Gibson Semihollow. As I mentioned, I prefer solidbodies (if someone stole my Tele, I wouldn't know what to do with myself), but this is a great guitar for someone who wanted something a little different--to add some variety to his (albeit small) guitar collection.

I wish this guitar came with a tail piece that never EVER went out of tune, but that's just a pipe dream.

It's difficult to articulate exactly how a guitar sounds in words, so I guess I would encourage everyone to try it out for yourself. I used to be a guitar snob who would only play a made in USA model, but this guitar has shown me that there are decent alternatives, especially when you're looking for a low-cost alternative. Still, it is ultimately just a copy, so don't expect it to be as good as a "genuine" semihollow in every way because it simply isn't. Still, for the money, you will not find a better guitar anywhere--guaranteed.

Semi-Hollow body, single cutaway. Very much like an old Guild Starfire, but has a sustain block through the middle. 2 DeArmond 2K Single Coils, volume and tone for each pup and 3 way selector. Nice Bigsby-esque tremolo with roller bridge. Nice tuners. Gibson scale length. Made in Korea. The specs have been pretty well covered in other posts, so I'm not going to go into too much detail.

This is where I want to weigh in. This thing sounds fantastic. I've been looking for a good rockabilly guitar for ages, but didn't have the cash to lay out for a Gretsch or something similar. This thing nails the Brian Setzer sort of sound! The neck pup alone offers some really nice jazz tones, but is a little brighter than one might want for that. The bridge pup is very bright. Too bright to my ears, but does really slice through a mix well. Rolling the tone back about half way yields a nice blues sound though. The real magic is the in between setting. This is the perfect mix of the brightness of the bridge pup and the necks balls. Wonderull. You can dredge up the soul of Eddie Cochran without even thinking abuot it. The single coils are a tad noisy, but no more than you'd expect. I generally play it through a late 80's Fender Twin, but some of the patches in my POD also yield really nice results. A little bit of slap echo and your in Rockabilly heaven!

Out of the box, the action is a hair lower than I like. There is not a hint of buzz though. I intend to raise the bridge a little. The finish is immaculate. I've never owned so pretty an instrument. The transparent crimson finsih is just beautiful. The binding is very pretty white/black/white/black and it's on the front, the back and the neck. It really adds a touch of class. The arch on the top is very nice as is the back. The single cutaway, only yields access up to about the 15th fret, but you don't buy one of these to play metal. The neck is very comfortable, but I prefer non painted necks. This one is pretty smooth though. The frets are very well inlaid. I think they could have spent ten more minutes on it and polished them, but after a few hours of playing, they were fine. The pups are hard mounted to the top. No adjustment is possible for hieight, but individual pole pieces can be adjusted. My only real beef is with the weight. It weighs a ton. I can live with it though.

Seems to be very well contstructed. I've had other DeArmonds and never had a problem. I anticipate this thing lasting me forever. I would gig w/o a back up. I suppose a semi-hollow is more fragile than a solid body though.

Don't know and hope to never need to find out.

Guitar Center was having one of their blow out sales and I go this cheap. Best purchase I've ever made. I couldn't be happier. I have loads of other gear, but this has immediatly taken it's place very near the top. For the price, it's probably one of the best values in history. If it ever leaves me, I would hope to replace it immediately. I've compared it directly to a few Gretsches and Gibsons and while it doesn't always win out, I could own 10 of them for the price of a 6120. I am a pleased a customer as I could be. I highly recommend that anyone looking for a modern rockabilly sound (think Stray Cats) check one of these out. I'm very interested in the DeArmond T400 as well, but I've heard that they have serious feeback problems. I haven't noticed any with this yet.

A Korean made semi-hollow based on the (I believe) '63 Guild Starfire. It has the new DeArmond 2K pickups, which are alot like the old DynaSonic pickups they used to make. It has a vol. and tone knob for each pickup and the typical three-way toggle. The finish is the typical Asian heavy polyurethane finish. Mine came in red. The Bigsby knockoff vibrato is one of the best of that ilk I've experienced. The hardware is much like good late '70s era Japanese copies-it works okay, but ain't brilliant. The wood is maple ply, which is what some old Gretsch models were made from. Don't be shocked that it's heavy, as it technically is a plywood guitar with a sustain block in it. It's about as heavy as a Les Paul.

I bought this because it does a good Gretsch imitation. I tried five or so Gretsches before settling on this guitar as the quality of the new Gretsches definitely ain't within their asking price. That being said, the heavy plastic finish on this guitar does deaden it a bit. The pups cannot be adjusted for height as a whole, but the pole pieces are easily adjusted to compensate. Sonically the rear pup snaps as well as a good tele. Dropping the tone control on the well voiced if slightly cheesy pots about half way gives up a fairly Gibsonesque sound. The front pickup gives up great jazz and blues tones. The pickups really do compare favorably to my friends vintage '59 Gretsch 6120. This is a great rickabilly axe.

I had to try a few before I found one w/ good frets. The action and setup were okay but needed a little tweaking for my usual .11-.50 set of strings. Everything was tight on the guitar and the tuners, while not top drawer, are actually useful on a pro level. While not a flaw, the route through the sustain block looks like it was done by a rabid beaver than a power tool and there's some gloppy gluing on the inside as well, but you can't see it from the stage. I've already started sanding a large portion of the finish off the back of the neck so my hand doesn't bind against it. I really hate playing the thing outdoors in August. The poly finish is definitely a point hindrance here.

I've had this for about a year now and everything is holding up well. The jack came loose almost right away, but I had my fav local shop put a heavier nut on it w/ some lok-tite and everything's now fine. The finish is wearing off the vibrato a bit, but I can't say I didn't expect it to happen.

What, take it back to GC? I'd rather take it where professionals work, not that I've had to.

Been playing rockabilly around the D.C. area for a while and finally decided I wanted something Gretschy-sounding instead of my Tele (and you can't spit in this town without hitting another Telecaster ;) It's a great "bar guitar". I wouldn't be too upset if it got knocked over or had a beer spilled on it. I honestly couldn't say that about a $2000 Gretsch. I hope to just replace stuff on this as it breaks if it breaks. The guitar itself isn't exactly a high-dollar affair, but it's a good working platform for a great set of pickups. Despite how ugly it would look (and I'm not especially fond of its'looks anyway) it would probably open up nicely if I sanded the finish completely off. A good budget semihollow guitar for old country/rockabilly/blues/swing stuff.

Made in Korea, 2000. Semi-hollow body with a center block to reduce hum. Two USA-made alnico single coils. Maple top/mahogany neck. Bigsby-style vibrato tailpiece. Transparent red finish. Volume and tone controls for each pickup.

This is primarily intended for jazz use, I think, and you're not going to get much crunch out of it, but you really should know that about this type of guitar. It is used primarily with a Fender Princeton 65 amp. With the individual vol./tone controls it is easy to get a wide array of sounds out of it. It is great for country, jazz and even some southern rock/neil young-type stuff. The pickups are wonderful, USA-made; very quiet, especially for single coils.

The guitar arrived from Zzounds very well set up. It sounded great and had nice low action. No fret buzz, no clicks or pops. Aesthetically it was perfect.

This guitar is very heavy, and feels solid as a rock. I anticipate no trouble in a live setting. The finish seems very good (though I care very little about that stuff). I would use it without backup without hesitation. A solidly built instrument.

Haven't dealt with them.

One hell of a guitar! I am VERY impressed. I got it for basically nothing, but I'd pay twice as much if it were ever lost. If you play country, rockabilly, jazz or southern rock, get one of these.

Made in Korea 2000 with new DeArmond 2K alnico single coil pickups..Knock off of the Guild Starfire III; thinline, single cutaway, gloss antique sunburst finish, set neck; T-O-M bridge; 2 Vol, 2 Tone; gotoh-type tuners, 20 fret; this deal included a hard case, or I wouldn't have jumped at it

Pickups have have a wide range of sound and tone; can sound like an ES 335 or a strat; go neck pickip and it sounds like a jazz box. Only problem is the pckups cant be raised or lowered; neck pickup is a little weak; overall best played at mid toggle with both pickups

This is the interesting part. This guitar has a gorgeous finish - all the color look and style of the Guild at one-third the price. The hardware id notably cheaper (bridge is non-moveable); but the finish is practically flawless.Also, nice binding front and back.

Pickups, pretty much non-adjustable. The white color plates detract from the overall look of the guitar.I need to contact Fender to find out if there is a way to adjust from the top plate screws, but doubtful.

I own other DeArmonds, and this is common. The bridge saddles are WAY out of adjustment from factory, and they aren't real good quality. The factory strings are Guild, and I hate'em. You will spend a couple of hours trying to get the bridge into adjustment, and the strings will drive you nuts.Action too low from factory - with twenty frets, what are they thinking? Neck adjustment seems fine. The combo of too low and poorly adjusted saddles will really tick you off.

Don't know yet. The woodwork and finish seems as solid as a Guild, but the hardware is kind of cheap. Definitely new Grovers down the road.Srap buttons are good. This guitar would stand up to live playing, seems solid - but I never play out without a backup ( Gibson,Ibanez). It's still new, so staying in tune is also a question.

Limited warranty, original owner with purchase receipt. Fender is 10 miles from me, so I'm pretty confident. I Called customer service about it before I bought it.

Great guitar for the money. Overall that's my experience with DeArmonds overall. I've been playing for @ 25 years, mostly jazz/rock, have a Gibson es-335, a couple of Ibanez, Yamaha AEX 502's, I also play bass. Taught both for 15 years.

This guitar is comparable to a $1200 Guild Starfire, except for the discount hardware. I did some homework before buying, but I own other DeArmonds and sort of knew what to expect. If it were stolen or lost, I would buy another. I am also keeping my eyes open for other DeA jazz boxes ( X-135, T-400, etc.) if I can get a deal.

One last thing - the case it came with isn't bad. a Cheaper version of a guild case. Overall, If you want alot of guitar for a little money, and you're not a metal-head, this is a nice axe.

Korean made copy of a Guild Starfire except that there it is a semi-hollow body for more sustain and less feedback. If you've gone the the DeArmond site via the www.fender.com site, you can get all the technobable you want. This one is the Antique Sunburst color. It has 2 US made single coils made by Fender. Gotoh "like" tuners, tune-o-matic "like" bridge, Bigsby "like" tremolo. Get the idea? They have taken a lot of ideas from other manufacturer and stuffed them on this baby. Not the "real" thing, but more than adequate facimiles. Separate vol/tone nobs for each pickup. Medium frets. Yada, yada. Lots of features.

This is always the most subjective part of the evaluation, yet I think it is the most important followed by playability. If you were to describe it in one word, it would be "range". This guitar really has an incredible and diverse amount of range. Smooth jazzy archtop sounds to telecaster like twang. The guitar has better than average sustain with very little noise for single coil. The more I play it, the more I appreciates its versatility.

The action was a little low for my taste. I tend to pick and strum more on the harder side, so I had to raise it a touch. The trussrod needed some tweaking to help in this process as well. They were really quite minor adjustments overall. I originally wanted the red color, but I was very impressed with the antique burst. Nearly perfect. Controls were fixed in place, tremolo was perfect. The frets could be finished better, but with playing this will improve. Bending proved to be a little rough. This thing would get 9 if it weren't for the adjustments, but how do you avoid it? Even factory adjustments can't anticipate an individual's playing style.

Everything about this guitar is solid. Too hard to predict long term reliability since I've only had it about 3 weeks. But with the proper care, this thing should last for years.

Ultimately this is a Fender. I've never had to deal with them in the past, so maybe you have your own opinions.

I've been playing for almost 30 years. I own an American Standard Stratocaster, a Mexican Squire Strat, a handmade classical guitar from the Philippines, and Epiphone acoustic. My amp is a Fender Blues Jr. My tastes are simple. This was a great price, and I'm glad I bought it. I would by another if I had to. The rich varied tones and beautiful finish make this an exceptional value.

Y2k or 1999 model, Crimson red transparent, florentine cutaway, Korean made (like it matters on THIS guitar), 23 or 24 frets (don't remember off the top of my head), arch-top semi hollowbody, rosewood neck, Gibson scale, DeArmond 2K pups, 2 tone, 2 volume, bigsby trem, and a hell of a nice case. Basic standard features on this type of guitar. Since everything seems solid, I will give it a 9 (would give it a 10, but really, TONS of features on a guitar?!?!).

I baught this guitar simply for the rocka/psycho-billy-esque tone that it is capable of. I am looking to play some Rev Horton Heat and LOTS of covers of the Cramps (is there really such a thing?!?!), and since I don't have 5 or 10 grand to slap down on a Gretsch, and nor do I have the pateince to deal with crappy customer support (Gretsch again), I settled on this guitar. I plays well (best playing guitar I own...it actuall makes me better as a player). Nice twany dirty tone when distorted. I also can get a nice rock sound out of it as well. Very versatile guitar, but not for metal (yea, duh). Over all, pretty much what I expected and wanted.

Of all the other reveiws on this guitar I have read, I have not encountered any of the problems that people have mentioned- fret wire is filed down fine, finish is great. If I were to pick one thing, it would be that I had to tighten one strap button. I also changed the knobs on the guitar from the stock knobs to some dice knobs which I made with some $2 hoyle Vegas dice and a drill. Really adds to the character of the guitar. As I mentioned before, this is the best playing guitar that I own- it is SO easy for me to play. I highly highly recommend this guitar to anyone just starting (I have been playing for a year and a half, lessons for a little over a year).

I think this is a pretty solid guitar- the craftsmanship is SUPERB!! For a Korean job, I would say it is better than MOST american made guitars (save the Gibson LP Customs and the Fender's NEW line). The hardware is firm, the finish solid, strap buttons are OK, but I would have no problem gigging live with this without a backup. Will have to see how well she stands up in the small punk venues I am looking to play

Don't know about DeArmond, but Northridge Music where I purchased this guitar at is THE ABSOLUTE BEST. So the 10 is for them, not DeArmond.

Overall, I give this guitar a 10+++; everthing about it is what I want/like- the deal that Chris gave me at Northridge was great. $700 out the door, including a hell of a nice case and 2 Steely Dan concert tickets. They have really won me over as a one stop shop customer- I do all my business there now for music. Sure, someplaces I can get stuff cheaper, but their customer service level ofsets the value, and I end up saving LONG term...its the difference of shopping at Norstroms (Northridge) and WalMat (Skips).

I played a couple other guitars, Epi DOT, Gibson 335 and a Sheriton and by and large this guitar is as good as any Gibson. If it were stolen, the perp would not be dead enough. I would definatly buy this guitar again. My dream is to one day own a '57 Gretcsh Nashville 6120 and I have been looking at the re-issues...but I did choose practical and value over that for the time being. One day, it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. But for now I am in love with my Starfire Special.

New 2000 Dearmond Starfire Special with Bigsby Tremelo. Special Order Lefty. Only took 3 weeks for delivery. Aside from the Bigsby and the DeArmond single coils pickups, it just like the other Starfire models. The finish was only available in the Crimson Red with the whitish binding. This guitar is such a beauty. The quality is excellent for the price. It came stock with a Tune-O-Matic bridge and Grover type tuners. The neck is medium-fat club style and is very playable. I give the features an "8" because the nut was sky-high and the electronics hummed until I took it back to the shop where the resolved all the problems and made it into a real player.

OK...I play in a blues band that also does some swing, rockabilly,funk, and surf stuff like Duane Eddy, Link Wray and Southern Culture. I play the Starfire, a Tele, a Strat and Dano U2 reissue. The Starfire has a unique tone that none of the others have except maybe for the Dano' dual pickup tone. The DeArmond pickups add some hum but it's manageable if you play from the middle setting or or get a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor. I play through a Fender Blues Junior w/ a Weber C12Q speaker.(this amps sounds great for all these guitars and music I play) I also use a Voodoo Lab Tremelo, a Boss RV-3 reverb/delay and a Bionix Expandora for the TS-808 vibe. I just played a whole rehearsal yesterday with Starfire strapped on the whole time. The tones I can cover on this guitar are amazing. For example my band plays Freddie King's "San-Ho-Zay"....I played with the bridge p/u, volume full up and tone on "5" and man!! this tones nails those old single P-90 Les Paul tones that Freddie use to get. Open the tone all the way and get those James Brown "Cold Sweat" funky 9th chord goodness. Put the pickup switch on the middle position and adjust all the controls up and tone to taste and you can go through just about the whole spectrum of usuable Chuck Berry, Brian Setzer, Scotty Moore and Duane Eddy type tones. Very flexible. The neck pick-up is great for gutsy SRV on a semi-hollow vibe (very huge) and it's good for classic jazz voicing with the tone turned down. I do wish you could get more treble out of this p/u but you can blend the two p/u's together and add just a tad more volume to the bridge p/u than the neck. I wonder how a bright humbucker like a Gibson PAF would sound on the neck position. The tremelo can take a lot of abuse and it sounds great for the Setzer and Duane Eddy stuff. I dig it and I've only had it a month. Once it ages I know it will sound even better.

The action was jacked to the moon when I got this pup, brand new from DeArmond. The nut was sky high and unplayable as purchased. Pickups were fine but the wiring needed to be redone because of a hum. The finish and shape of all woodwork, bindings, archtop, etc. is quite acceptional for the prcing category of this guitar (Litereally blows away any Epiphone type semi-hollow electric) After having the shop fix the wiring, nut and re-adjust the neck for 11's, this axe is quiet, plays looks gwonderful.

Very solid and will put up with alot of abuse. The bigsby will only go out of tune if you get to agressive (read; IT'S NOT A FLOYD ROSE)
The finish seems very durable and I imagine will look better (worn) years from now. The strap button are huge and hold this heavy-ish beast on you. Now that the nut and wiring are cool, I know this thing is way more dependanble. Wouldn't use it on a gig by itself cause I break while playing on most any guitar...always have a back-up.

Never dealt with Fender/Guild/DeArmond but the Guys at Guitar Showcase helped me out when I didn't initially like the sky-high action and wiring difficulties.

10 years playing. I wish I could have played it before I bought it but it was a lefty special order. I really dig it now and know it will get even better over time. I hope it doesn't get stolen cause I'd have to save up all that money to buy one again. I love the finish, playability and tone and it just feels like a real quality piece.(PRIDE) Niggles, it's very heavy, the bigsby thing can be awkward sometimes and the tuner need gears that soin more string(ALL very minor though) My favorite feature is the Freddie King tone that I can get out of the bridge. I'm compared this guitar to all the Epiphone series like the Sheraton and Epi Dot. I was thinking about really getting a Heritage but the cheapest comparable model was $2500. Too much for my blood. The Epihones did play well so I took a chance and ordered the Starfire based on crossing my fingers and reading the decent rewiews on HC. This guitar chose me. I kinda of wish it had DeArmond Humbuckers and a graphite nut for the Bigsby to stay more in tune but I dig the single coil tone that sounds like no other. I'm glad that Fender has taken DeArmond under it's wing. I'm interested to see what's else DeArmond will come out with after making this Rock-n-Roll classic that's affordable to the masses.

1999. I bought this exactly two weeks after it was built. Read the other comments to get an idea of what this guitar is equpped with. Mine is an orange sunburst

The pickups on this thing can rock and they can play smooth. I use this strictly as my Jazz guitar. I don't reccommend it for Southern Rock or metal. I run it through a number of different rigs including a JCM900, Fender Powerchourus, and vintage Gibson.

Here's the catch- three months after buying it it required a fret dressing! Some of the frets were worn down and the damn thing wouldn't stay in tune. When I first bought it the craftsmanship was better than any Gibson. Then it just started to slightly loose its grip. I've been playing a long time and I take great care of my axes. I use D'adarrio 11g strings.

Good question

My guess is this is a '98 or '99 model, Korean made. It has 20 frets and is made of laminated Maple with a solid-center block to cut down on feedback at high volumes ("f" holes). It has a 3-way Gibson-style toggle with two volume controls and two tone controls (2 Dearmond 2k single-coil pickups). Mine was the Crimson Red finish. It has a single-florentine cutaway. The bridge is a tune-o-matic with stud mounts going into the center block. The body and neck also have binding. This particular guitar came with a hardshell case, strap (they even asked what color strap I wanted!!!) and picks (your choice). A plus is the stock strap buttons...nothing you need to replace (like on Gibsons, sometimes)...they'll hold the strap easily with no slipping. There's also a Bigsby-style tremolo. It's perfect for "shimmering" tremolo sounds....can't dive-bomb, but who the hell does that any more? A beautiful guitar for the money and a great value!

I play in a funk/dance band and have tastes in heavier rock and this guitar does well for both. As state before, it has single coil pickups. They are actually pretty "warm" for single-coils, unlike strat-style pickups. I'm playing through a 100-watt TubeDriver amp with a Korg G3 effects unit and a Marshall GV-2 distortion pedal. The single coils do produce some hum, but a noise gate would rememdy that problem. The only thing I didn't like was that when you'd roll the volume down, the pickups would get muddy. I'm going to be technical here, so bear with me: The muddiness can be fixed by soldering (easy job) a .001mf capacitor onto the IN and OUT legs of each volume pot. I read this in a book, so, trust me! It will allow you to maintain better treble reponse as you roll the volume down. When I checked the volume pots initially, I found they were 500K pots which are normally used for humbucker pickups. Even so, it needed the capacitors for clarity. The pickups, as stated earlier, are not super thin sounding...so they're not annoying like some single coils can be. Solos, especially with some gain, sound very crunchy and warm.

The guitar came stock with .10s and a wound 3rd string. I needed to loosen the truss rod for "relief" in the neck to make it more playable. It was tough to bend strings with the stock set up. It still has low enough action (the way I like it) for faster playability. I've had no problem with intonation (out of the box). I did not and have not notice(d) ANY flaws whatsoever with this guitar.

I've used this guitar in live situations. My band played a New Year's Eve gig and I didn't have to change guitars all night. I had every sound I needed (and wanted) right at my fingertips. I may decide to change the tuners (Sperzels?) later on and may even add a drop-d tuner (Setzer, baby!). As stated earlier, the strap buttons were almost an added bonus. Some guitars you buy these days have those tiny strap buttons which don't hold a strap. The Dearmond Starfire Special came stock with decent, bigger buttons. No problem there. A very dependable guitar.

Haven't had to deal with these guys for any reason. If I do, I'll update this section (if possible).

I've been playing for 15 years and never, ever thought I'd own a semi-hollow body. For one thing, the top-name brands are WAY too expensive/overpriced. Dearmond is to Guild what Squier is to Fender, except that the Dearmonds are a MUCH better value for the money. In fact, I checked around on the internet and found that some of the Guilds (@ $1300 to $1500) have similar features (pickups, body/neck style and material). This guitar kicks ass, period. I wouldn't trade or sell it for anything. It plays incredibly, has a great sound, looks great and is a steal for the money! I'd be quite pissed if it were stolen and would replace it right away. Aside from the volume control issue, the tuners will probably be replaced...NO BIGGIE! I've made similar modifications on other guitars. It's a matter of personal taste. The Bigsby takes a little getting used to(changing strings), but what a cool, retro feature! It stays in tune, too!

This is a Korean-made Archtop which is a copy of the Guild Starfire III or IV, with a Bigby-style tremolo. It is equiped with two Dearmond 2K single coil Pickups (wich are exactly the same as on some of the expensive Guild models). Mine is cherry red, but the guitar is also available in Antique-burst and Jetblack.

The sound is very good. I already owned a Gibson RD-custom and a Steinberg, which both are very good guitars, but cannot produce these bluesy and Jazzy tones I was looking for. The DeArmond produces these tones perfectly. It has a very nice and warm tone when using the neck-pickup, and a clear ringing sound with the bridge-pickup. It responds also very well to the overdrive of my Marshall preamp, and even responds better to my Morley WahWah then my other two Guitars. If you want to shred, though, make these Metallica or Tool kinda sounds avoid this one. But, hey what did you expect?
I play trip-hop-brit-pop-jazz (a mixture op Suede, Portishead, Lamb, Red Snapper and Jazz) and for this kind of music it is perfect. Very warm chords and for soloing you can really make it sing and wail (even holler when using the WahWah).

I ordered this guitar at the store where I usually buy my Guitar stuff (The had the Starfire, which I tried, but I wanted one with a Bigby-tremolo). So when I got at the store, it was still in it's box. The first thing the guitar-technician said after tuning the guitar was: "Wow, I'm impressed". (He is a good friend of mine, And I'm sure it was not a sales-trick). The action and playability were just great. I play for 15 years now and this is the best I've ever played (even better than my Gibson, Steinberg and my friends Fenders). I haven't been able to detect any flaws in the finish of the guitar, it even stays in tune after abusing the tremolo. The one drawback are the cheapish tone and volume knobs.

I do not own this guitar for a very long time now, but it seems like a very solid, sturdy guitar. I don't think the finish will wear off easily.

Haven't have to deal with them.

This is definitely the best guitar I ever owned, and at waht a price. This guitar is really good value for money. When trying new guitars I also tried some Epiphones, but these were not nearly as good tonewise and finish-wise (and they are more expensive). I like a warm, vintage-like sound. That's why I use a Morly Wah, a DOD Vibrothang, a Ibanez Echomachine, Songworks Spring-reverb pedal, A Marshall preamp and a Bluesbreaker. The DeArmond Starfire Special really fits this setup. And it's such a beauty.... If it got lost or stolen I would buy a new one as soon as my tears would have gone. I'm just curious how it would have sounded with humbuckkers instead of single coils.

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.