2bornot2bop
Junior Member
Hi All!
I acquired my first DeArmond X-155 last week at Seattle's 20th annual guitar show. Price was on the high side @ $600 but the guitar was mint, like it had been untouched in the decade since it was produced, and it came with a new Martin style tweed case to boot. So I took the plunge not knowing anything about the guitar or its history...like I needed another guitar to go w/ the 8 others I already owned.
First thing I did was bring it home, head for google and search for black knobs to remove the clear stock knobs that came w/ the guitar. The stock clear knobs really cheapened the guitars appearance. I lucked out and found NOS DeArmond knobs in black on eBay. Placed an order and 3 days later they arrived. Checked google again for knob removal tips and sure enough a thread appeared on a jazz forum instructing how to properly remove the 4 knobs by hand.
20 minutes and 6 sore fingers and 2 sore thumbs later I had the lame clear knobs replaced...what a difference the black knobs made to the appearance of the guitar. I've also ordered a Guild style pick guard that will arrive in a few days,
These guitars, however inexpensive, are quality builds. They've much in common with another Korean build, a former D'Angelico EXL-1DP that I owned.
Highly recommended for a tone king of a guitar on a budget!
I acquired my first DeArmond X-155 last week at Seattle's 20th annual guitar show. Price was on the high side @ $600 but the guitar was mint, like it had been untouched in the decade since it was produced, and it came with a new Martin style tweed case to boot. So I took the plunge not knowing anything about the guitar or its history...like I needed another guitar to go w/ the 8 others I already owned.
First thing I did was bring it home, head for google and search for black knobs to remove the clear stock knobs that came w/ the guitar. The stock clear knobs really cheapened the guitars appearance. I lucked out and found NOS DeArmond knobs in black on eBay. Placed an order and 3 days later they arrived. Checked google again for knob removal tips and sure enough a thread appeared on a jazz forum instructing how to properly remove the 4 knobs by hand.
20 minutes and 6 sore fingers and 2 sore thumbs later I had the lame clear knobs replaced...what a difference the black knobs made to the appearance of the guitar. I've also ordered a Guild style pick guard that will arrive in a few days,
These guitars, however inexpensive, are quality builds. They've much in common with another Korean build, a former D'Angelico EXL-1DP that I owned.
Highly recommended for a tone king of a guitar on a budget!