DeArmond X-145

As many of you already know, Dearmonds were made in the late 90s and finally blown out in 2001 where people could get really sick deals on these guitars.

Mine is a Dearmond X-145 (though I have owned two X-155s as well) antique burst. It's a laminated top, blah, blah, blah. I originally mistakened the guitar as an X-155 (I bought it online), but upon receiving the guitar I first noticed the lack of neck binding, and then realized the pickups were actually dearmatrons and not the goldtones. Needless to say, I prefer this guitar so much more than the X-155. Maybe it's the simpler design coupled w/ the pickups. These pickups sound really great to me. The stock goldtones in the X-155s sound a little too bright to me, while the dearmatrons sound punchier and more pronounced.

I immediately made a couple of quick modifications to the guitar. I glued some fine sand paper underneath the bridge to keep it from moving. I also stuffed the body w/ some foam to reduce/control the feedback. IMPORTANT to note, I am not a jazz or blues player -- I play more rock/experimental rock/indie stuff a la: radiohead, death cab for cutie, mogwai, flaming lips, the shins, the cure, etc. I love the feel of hollow bodies.

The neck feels perfect for my hand and the medium sized frets feel great. I will eventually replace the strap buttons w/ schallers and I'm also thinking about replacing the tuners as well.

Again because I don't play jazz or blues, I can only judge the guitar by what kind of music I play. Because of how big the body of the guitar is, it has such a huge, full rhythm sound that has such a beautiful woody ambience to it. My playing is really more texture oriented and I like to fiddle w/ a bunch of different effects like fuzz, delays, reverbs, etc.

Here is my current rig:

Guitars: Dearmond X-145, 1963 Jazzmaster (original), Ibanez Artstar (330)

Effects chain in order from guitar:
Guitar --> Boss TU-2 --> Proco Turbo Rat --> EH Big Muff (Green Russian) --> EH Holy Grail --> Danelectro Hashbrown (flange) --> EH Microsynth --> EH Deluxe Memory Man --> Boss RC-20 (loop station) -->

Amp:
Fender Hotrod Deluxe

One important thing about full hollowbodies is the feedback. Controlling feedback is about a few things: 1) volume 2) Position of Guitar relative to the position of your amp and PA 3) Insullation like foam or tube socks...

You can play anything on any guitar, it's just some guitars are made for more particular styles of music. I just happen to be really comfortable w/ Hollowbodies, so I make it work w/ the type of music I play.

I bought the guitar used, so I can't speak in terms of the original factory setup. The pickups are my favorite thing about the guitar, and I have not had to make any adjustments.

There are a few finish flaws around the top f-hole, and a few scratches all around (again, used guitar) but overall it is just an amazing player guitar.

I will definitely be playing this guitar LIVE, but I always have a few guitars on hand for different songs, and/or in case a string pops or something. I have heard some complaints about the knobs on these guitars, but they are just fine as far as I'm concerned. I like the fact that this guitar is a more stripped down version of the x-155 because I am not a fan of cheesy decorations.

Haven't had to deal w/ Customer support. Since these aren't made anymore, you would probably need to deal w/ the person/store you bought it from.

Overall, in terms of value, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING beats Dearmond Guitars. I have owned 2 x-155s (I sold/traded them for gear) and loved everyone I have ever had. If I ever found a great deal on a t-400, m-75t, or the starfire special I would jump on it.

In this day and age when people are spending small fortunes on "vintage" guitars, use your head and go out there and play a bunch of guitars and not worry about what year it is, who made it, and where it was made... Granted I have had my share of vintage guitars: '63 jazzmaster, 73 and 77 telecaster deluxe, 73 telecaster thinline, Guild X-170, as well as epiphones, dearmonds, etc. But for overall value, I would highly recommend dearmonds.

I bought this one in the blowout of '01. Features are as described by other reviewers. My guitar is natural blonde. So, far the whole package is stock...no complaints, but a bit plain-Jane next to the X-155. One thing, my neck pup mount is slightly canted so that the pickup leans toward the neck rather than lies perfectly horizontal beneath the strings.

I use this for jazz and roots-rock. The Dearmatrons make a beautiful sound come out of this box! Most of the time, I am on the neck pup. The guitar truly has a "voice", and is capable of remarkable nuances. It has many possible applications: Joe Pass/Wes Montgomery jazz, rhythm for 50's and 60's rock, lead for rock-a-billy and country, and played clean it serves as an excellent acoustic-electric. It does everything from smoky to almost twangy to sparkling clean.

Action was a tad high, but playable. The frets could stand a little dressing, but again, they are quite playable. The nut is mother of toilet seat, and should be upgraded. The tuners are so-so and will be upgraded when I change out the nut. Intonation is tough to get spot-on with the rosewood archtop bridge. The neck pickup mounting ring is canted towards the neck somewhat, as described above. This does not effect playing; in fact I love the tone of this pickup just as it is!

It seems solid enough. It's not a Tele that doubles as a battle axe in bar fights! The X-145 is a full-hollow archtop (and back) jazzbox, people! Treat it with care and respect.

FMIC has a decent reputation. However, I have no firsthand experience with Customer Service and the (defunct?) DeArmond line.

I've played for about 30 years, I guess. I always wanted a jazzbox, and the price on the X-155's was irresistable. By the time I ordered mine, backorders were until Armageddon. So, when they shipped the natural X-145 instead of the sunburst X-155 I actually had ordered, I didn't beef much. I did politely ask for the difference in advertized price (fifty bucks) which they gladly creditied to my account. This guitar has garnered numerous comments on its appearance and most importantly on its TONE. As a rhythm instrument for jazz comping or old time rock and roll, it is a head-turner!

2001 Sunburst X-145. I love this guitar. Great sound plugged in and acoustic. Finish is tough, so far I can't put a ding in this thing! Not a perfect finish, but really nice overall. Rosewood bridge, cheap nut, two dearmotron humbuckers, chrome hardwarem 2 vol and 2 tone controls.

While there aren't many reviews of this guitar, almost everything said about the x-155 is identical and last time I looked there were 20+ reviews.

Differences between the 145 and the 155:

145 binding looks simpler (looks like double bound instead of triple...no biggy. Both are bound body front and back and f-holes. 155 has a bound neck, no bound neck on 145. Minor advantage for the 155

155 has two tone hardware, 145 has all chrome. IMHO chrome looks better, and I know it wears better. Advantage 145.

155 has DeArmond Goldtone humbuckers, 145 has DeArmotrons. Dearmotrons are more like the Gretsch filtertrons. More bite than the goldtones. Strictly a matter of opinion as to which you'll like better. I slightly prefer the dearmotrons on the 145 for twangy rock, the goldtones for big rhythym and jazz.

Rockabilly, rock and roll greatness from this guitar, plus the acoustic tone is great for playing at nnight when the kids are asleep...more tone than you get from a slab, but not as loud as my accoustics.

Action had to be lowered a bit. A new nut would be nice. A finger smudge in the burst finish on the back. Pretty nice for a low priced guitar, but not perfect.

Seems about as solid as a big box can be.

I've never dealt with them, but Fender does have good support and a lifetime warranty.

I love this guitar. It is worth considerably more than the blow out price it was sold for when Fender dropped the DeArmond line. If you can find one for under $400, it's a good deal.

Big body archtop, two rich-sounding Dearmotron humbuckers, just the classic features you'd expect on an archtop. I'm always suprised how heavy most archtops are, this one is lightweight. Features? Well, anything else but a Bigsby would just be trendy, so I'll give it a "9"

The acoustic sound is really suprising, bright and rich, with good sustain for a hollowbody. It amazes me that this thing has better tone than lots of expensive american archtops. The Dearmotrons are very rich, classic-sounding humbuckers but with more clarity. Perfect for jazz and some rock styles. Not too mushy when overdriven. I bought this guitar planning to switch these for Dearmond 2k single-coils, making it into more of a rockabilly/r@b type guitar. For jazz or classic rock it would be a waste of money IMO to upgrade the pickups.

There is not a single flaw anywhere on this guitar. Well, the bridge posts stick up a little above the saddle and are uncomfortable. I'll have to file those down a little. Medium frets are level, crowned and smoothed on the ends. Showed up with low action and no fret buzz. The neck is slim and fast. The rosewood bridge base is tightly fit to the top. Nut looks a bit cheap but it is well cut and doesn't bind the strings. Tuners are very, very smooth. The harp tailpiece seems to add a little extra "zing" to the acoustic sound. It's not hinged like a lot of other tailpieces and that makes restringing easier. I am changing mine out for a bigsby, which I can't seem to do without.

I've owned lots of other Dearmonds and the quality is just great if you get a good one. I'm glad this one doesn't have gold hardware, which would just corrode and wear off. The finish is pretty thick, good for durability. It's not a telecaster, but for an archtop I don't see how it could be much more durable.

Even though the Dearmond line has been discontinued Fender will stand behind their product. I hang out over at the Fender Discussion Page, which has a Guild/Dearmond forum, and there have been several cases where Fender responded on the forum concerning owner complaints. I think that's pretty dang good for a multi-national corporation. I haven't had any problems with any of my Dearmonds and don't really expect to.

If it's not obvious by now, I'm very pleased with this guitar. The only thing I would change is I wish it was 1/2" thinner, but the extra-deep sound is probably worth it. I bought mine planning to modify it, only because full-depth hollowbodies with fat single-coils and bigsbys are thin on the ground and very, very expensive. For the under-$1000 price range nothing can touch these X-145's and X-155's.