90's De Armond Guild M75....

[c70man]

Thinking about owning this guitar. Is this guitar worth owning? How does it compare to a "real" M75?

It is clean, has a deArmond bigsby on it.

Thanks,

 

[Walter Broes]

How does it compare to a "real" M75?

It has the same basic body outline and the same scale length. Apart from that, they're about as different as it gets - the classic 50's/early 60's spec is a featherweight mini-hollowbody, the DeArmond is a very heavy solidbody.

 

[Smitch]

Agreed with Walter Broes on the weight, its beefy. I’m used to a Bluesbird so of course it’s going to be heavier. I will say that the pickups in mine are very cool. I like full humbuckers but these have a ringing/chiming quality that’s pretty cool to my ears.

 

[Default]

Yep! Big square frets too.

 

[LeFinPepere]

I have one (non bigsby), I like it, but I can't compare, I've tried a NS Bluesbird for a few minutes,it seemed like a different beast tone-wise.Yes, it's heavy, not chambered...Also depends on which "era" M75 you refer to...And your budget...

 

[matsickma]

A DeArmond M75 will come with Gold Tone Humbuckers with a harp floating stop. A M77 has a straight hard stop and comes with Goldtone Humbuckers. Subtle differences in tuners, headstock shape, pickguard (black for M75, clear for M77).

If the guitar came with a stock Dearmond emblem bigsgy the guitars will be M75T or M77T and they will have DeArmond model 2000 single coil pickups.

If your guitar has Humbuckers it would have had the DeArmond bigsby added on somewhere after it left the factory.

The DeArmond M75 and M77 are more like the Guild solid body model of the 70's where the body is made from a slab of mahogany routed for pickups and selector switch and capped with an arched top of mahogany or plain maple. I have a blond top M75 of that era and I'm pretty sure the top is a plain maple. The guitar is pretty heavy but has a thin and narrow neck.

The neck on the DeArmond M75 and M77 is a bit chunkier in a good way.

M

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Maybe you're looking at an M-75T, @c70man? The M-75 had a harp tailpiece and the M-75T has a DeArmond-branded Bigsby (Digsby) vibrato tailpiece. I have a couple of each. They're nice well-built guitars.

 

[c70man]

Maybe you're looking at an M-75T, @c70man? The M-75 had a harp tailpiece and the M-75T has a DeArmond-branded Bigsby (Digsby) vibrato tailpiece. I have a couple of each. They're nice well-built guitars.

Here is a pic. I know, not a good one. The bridge pickup has a crack in it on the upper corner. Maybe it got hit. Guy says it plays great. Price is right, so I'm half thinking about buying it.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Yep, that's the M-75T. I really like the DeArmond 2K pickups on it. It's a relatively heavy guitar, like a Les Paul, so it's pretty durable.

 

[SFIV1967]

Agathis body with carved maple top. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fingerboard.
1999 catalog:



Ralf

 

[Default]

That is my guitar, right there.

 

[Bonneville88]

Hope the deal swings, c70man!
I'm at least two M75Ts and one M77T deep into set-neck DeArmonds -
and perhaps a bit more

 

[matsickma]

Nice! I so wish I held on to either the SB M75T and Orange M77T! I think I would vote for the M77T. The Orange looked cool and the body was a little thinner and the headstock a bit slimmer.
M

 

[Bonneville88]

Thanks mat! Also the M77T bridge pickup is a little bit further north of the bridge than on the M75T,
and the pickguard is smaller and re-contoured. The M77T is only about a pound lighter than the M75T
(which is about 10 lbs) - but it's noticeable. The difference in headstock shapes between
the earlier M75T and the later M77T is somewhat similar to the difference between
paddle-head and snake-head Guilds.

 

[matsickma]

If anyone ever see a M77T with black DeArmonds and a silver pickguard ( painted the clear pickguard silver) it may be the one I owned. If I recall I think I swapped the the tuner "buttons" from a M75/M75T to give it the Grover tuner look and feel.
M