deArmond Starfire

[powerwagonjohn]

There is a deArmond Starfire IV, made in Korea, available locally on craigslist. I was thinking about checking it out but I wonder if I would be disappointed with the guitar. I have a 1992 X-170. I wonder how the quality and sound of the deArmond would be compared to a real Guild Starfire IV.
Thanks John

 

[Bill Ashton]

John, the Asian-made DeArmonds are nice guitars, fit and finish is good, don't sound or play bad at all. That said, it will have a decided "Asian" feel to it...not necessarily "bad" but certainly not American. I had a beautiful one (cannot for the life of me remember the model, but essentially like George Harrison's "Hamburg-Gretsch") with the DeArmond 2000 p'ups and the faux Bigsby. Played nice, sounded pretty good, but I just did not bond with it.

Those new 5100-Series Gretsches are EXACTLY the same, I expect that they came from the same builder. Almost pulled the trigger on one and then realized "I have been here before."

Try it, you may well like it, they are nice pieces...but it is no Hoboken-Westerly-Corona Starfire, not close.

 

[GAD]

John, the Asian-made DeArmonds are nice guitars, fit and finish is good, don't sound or play bad at all. That said, it will have a decided "Asian" feel to it...not necessarily "bad" but certainly not American. I had a beautiful one (cannot for the life of me remember the model, but essentially like George Harrison's "Hamburg-Gretsch") with the DeArmond 2000 p'ups and the faux Bigsby. Played nice, sounded pretty good, but I just did not bond with it.

Those new 5100-Series Gretsches are EXACTLY the same, I expect that they came from the same builder. Almost pulled the trigger on one and then realized "I have been here before."

Try it, you may well like it, they are nice pieces...but it is no Hoboken-Westerly-Corona Starfire, not close.

Yeah I agree with this. I want to love them, but every time I play one (Gretsch Electromatics too). I can't explain why, but the guitar just seems to have no soul. There's something missing. They're built well, play well, and seem robust enough, but they're just... not inspiring.

I really wanted to like them too. I travel a lot to NC, and have a guitar stashed there. I'd love to have a lower-cost version of my Starfire or Gretsch down there, but I've never been able to actually spend the money, even when it's only a few hundred.

 

[mad dog]

I owned a DA starfire special, owned/own other dearmonds and other MIK instruments.

MIK stuff can be really good. It's tough with hollowbodys, semi-hollows, as you can usually hear and feel the quality tradeoffs more there than with solid body. The special had great 2k pickups, played well, but was too heavily built. Relatively unresponsive. Especially if you're used to quality Guilds and Gretsches, you could be disappointed in feel.

But there are gems everywhere. The early run Electromatic 5120 I had (Peerless made) was as well built and responsive as anything I've picked up. Way ahead of the Dearmond.

MD

 

[dreadnut]

I own a '98 DeArmond Starfire Special and I love it. The workmanship is impeccable and the D'A 2K single-coil pu's absolutely scream. Heavy as a dead preacher, but it's a semi-hollowbody with a center block in the body for reduced feedback. The Bigsby/DeArmondsby whammy system is highly repeatable, doesn't throw the guitar out of tune when I use it. Beautiful, smooth tuning machines. This is one of those electric guitars that sounds good not even plugged in

After about '99, manufacturing was moved to Indonesia, and the guitars were cost reduced, i.e., no more 2K pickups, cheaper tuning machines, etc. The line was discontinued shortly after that, and there were some blowout sales based on the Indonesian version. Prices of the Korean-built Starfires dropped as well, and only recently have begun to rebound.

 

[NEONMOONY]

I played a couple in the store, and I don't know if they were Korean or Indo but the necks seemed really fat. Also, I don't know what the scale was but it seemed like it was a little tougn to bend notes up by the nut. They looked very nice and I actually wanted to buy one, the price was cheap enough, but I just didn't like playin' it.

That said, there may be ones that play great.

 

[Charlie Vegas]

After about '99, manufacturing was moved to Indonesia, and the guitars were cost reduced, i.e., no more 2K pickups, cheaper tuning machines, etc. The line was discontinued shortly after that, and there were some blowout sales based on the Indonesian version. Prices of the Korean-built Starfires dropped as well, and only recently have begun to rebound.

I've never seen a seen a “DeArmond” Starfire Special without 2K pups. 2K’s and Goldtones only disappeared from the line when they were re-badged as Squier Series 24 in 2002.

 

[powerwagonjohn]

I got a chance to try out a deArmond Guild X-150 or X-175 in a guitar store this last weekend. It looked nice but had what looked like slab cut wood veneer and was quite heavy, the neck was O.K. but the guitar was kind of dead sounding. No comparison to my Guild X-170. I know there different designs but basically the same. It surely did not speak to me at all. I will keep searching for my Starfire. Thanks all for your comments and opinions, I can always learn something here.
John

 

[Charlie Vegas]

I got a chance to try out a deArmond Guild X-150 or X-175 in a guitar store this last weekend.

If it had block markers and goldtone pups it was an X155.

The problem with most budget guitars today is they tend to be over-built and a little lifeless, unlike budget guitars of old which were usually cheap construction but had unique character.