DeArmond Starfire

This guitar is a semi-hollow guild copy, made in korea. It features 2 Dearmond humbuckers. Mine is finished in transparent crimson red. Volume and tone controls for each pickup and a 3 way selector. Binding on the outer body. Case was included.

I play this guitar through a Fender Deluxe 112. I have played other guitars through this amp (Tele, Strat)and never cared for the sound of them. I thought maybe it was just the amp. The Starfire set me straight on that! This guitar sounds great. It has a real nice blues tone to it. The semi-hollow body and the Dearmond pickups really make this a keeper.

Guitar was set up fine. No adjustments were needed. Fit and finish are exelent. Everything was put together well. This guitar is beautiful.

Guitar is only a few weeks old, so I can only say it feels rock solid so far.

Have'nt had a need for them yet.

I've been playing for about 8 years now. I've owned 8 different guitars. All types and brands. I now have 2 guitars. This Dearmond and a Guild F4ce. I would'nt trade either of them. Ever! The Starfire is the best sounding electric guitar I've ever owned.

This is an update on my previous post.
Well I did it ! I bought a DeArmond bigsby from the importer and I'm happy to say that it screwed straight on. It needed an extra two screws on the top of the body but that was it.
I am so chuffed with this modification that I have to increase the score for this category to a 9.

I'm still playing the same mix of 1960's pop through to electric blues but I also bought a new amp.
The amp is a Tech 21 Trademark 60 combo which for a solid state amp sounds great. There is also a Marshall Vibrotrem in the loop as well which satisfies my 'jangly' guitar cravings too. I've got into REM recently and this set up works for me in emulating some of Peter Bucks sounds.
The bigsby is as subtle as you might expect but I was pleasantly surprised by the range, both up and down, of this great device. It doesn't affect me when I'm strumming merrily away either so I'm happy with the best of both worlds.

With the bigsby fitted the guitar just looks complete. The action hasn't changed as far as I can tell, at least it still feels the same to my fretting hand.
I think my only gripe would be that re-stringing is a little more fiddly trying to get the string ends over the little pins on the bigsby but that's it.

Since the mod I've been playing this guitar an awful lot and am very happy with it's tuning stability. Okay the bigsby is only subtle but has caused me no problems at all.

Still no need to contact them.

My guitar is just great. It sounds great, it looks great and it plays great. I'm very happy with the new bigsby and would recommend this modification to anyone.

I bought it around Easter this year so I suppose it was made 98 or 99. It is a Korean made semi-acoustic guitar, a modern take on the classic Guild Starfire. They are apparently set up and inspected by Fender in California but mine had a set up at the shop where I bought it from.
The set maple neck has 22 medium frets on a rosewood fretboard. Mine is a vintage honey colour topped off with a laminated top.
Two DeArmond humbuckers are controlled via indvidual tone and volume pots and a 3 way switch. The strings are held in a "D" shaped harp tailpiece, going over a tunamatic style bridge and anchored by some unbranded tuners.
I didn't get any extra's with this guitar but I got it for what I consider a good price and a fair trade in on a Regal RD-45 resonator.

When I play electric guitar I tend to play a mixture of 1960's pop through to some electric blues.
I put it through a solid state Vox Lead 60 amp with no effects at all. I just add a little reverb from the amp then try and use the amp for my sounds. I tend to stick to a bright clean rythmn and a crunchy lead and that does me for most of my playing.
I used to play a Gibson SG and although I liked the guitar it didn't really suit my style. This DeArmond sounded perfect for me right from the start. The neck pickup has some beautiful lead sounds for my slow blues numbers and the bridge gives me some sparkling arpeggio's. I get a great rythmn sound with both pickups on together. Noise from the pickups has not been a problem though my amp is on it's last legs, a Laney LC30 is on the cards for Christmas time.
It won't do metal or hard rock but then again I don't play those styles.

The finish of the bodywork and neck was a superb gloss straight from the box. The dot markers on the fingerboard show a little filler but this blends nicely into the rosewood anyway. All the frets ends are smooth and tidy.
One gripe is the body edging inside the cutaways close to the neck where there is a bit of bleed. There are also a few wires which are hanging loose which can be seen through the lower f-hole. I wouldn't be too concerned about this but I can see that other wiring is neatly cable tied away.
The action when I played it in the shop was a bit too low for me though that was remedied in the set-up.
I also admit that in the first few weeks of ownership I knocked it off it's stand and it landed on the G-string tuner which rewarded me with a nasty buzz all along the string. I sorted this by removing the tuner on the next change of strings and re-attaching it. Since then I have had no problems.

Till now the guitar has only been played at home and for a few jams with like minded friends. I'm looking for a band in the New Year where I intend to use the Starfire in a more appropriate setting.
It's a strong guitar but I'm not overly keen on the harp tailpiece. I'm intending to install a bigsby in the next few months for that vintage vibe, hopefully without losing it's tuning stability.
I also play a lot of acoustic guitar so I guess my Takamine will be a likely back up for gigs.

I haven't had any problems needing to involve DeArmond...I mean Fender.

I've just turned 30 and I've been playing for about 5 years now. I've been in a folk rock band and now I'm playing acoustic guitar and looking after the vocals in a duo with my wife on flute - very ballady don't you know !
Strings wise I also own a Takamine EG-332C, an old beat up Hohner 12-string and a Gremlin A-style mandolin. I'm also beating up on an Irish bhodran and shaking a tambourine when the mood takes me.
Ampwise I play through a Vox Lead 60 and a little 5-watt JHS practice amp.
I've always wanted a semi and I love the look of this guitar. The Starfire shape is more appealing to me than the more common Epiphones (can you believe the size of their headstocks ?). The best feature is the excellent DeArmond pickups and the worst feature is that harp tailpiece.
If you want anymore info then feel free to e-mail me. If you live in the Cambridgeshire are and want to jam then get in touch.