What's the deal on Maderia...DeArmond...???

dbirchett

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If I remember correctly, Guild imported some guitars under the Madiera name back in the 80s. Don't know more than that.

The guitar you point to in the ad is a DeArmond, made by Cort (or so I heard) several years ago and imported by Fender, when they owned Guild. DeArmonds tend to be very heavy. The 155 by reputation was thought to be overbuilt (too heavy) and kind of lifeless played acoustically. The Newark Street are much better guitars and can usually be found used for about the same amount or only a little more.
 

bobouz

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If I remember correctly, Guild imported some guitars under the Madiera name back in the 80s. Don't know more than that.

Actually, Guild started importing Madieras back in the '70s. They were made in Japan.

Being very much into Guilds at the time, I tried a number of them out & found them to be rather mediocre instruments.
 

fronobulax

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I see these every now and then...Maderia by Guild or similar...
Always cheaper...


Are these "seconds"....foreign made...???

Are they any good...???

Same questions on DeArmond...

Kinda interested....https://stlouis.craigslist.org/msg/d/guild-electric-guitar/6546159389.html

Feel free to search LTG.

Short answer is that Maderia was Guild's import line in the 70's. If you remember your SAT, I think

Maderia : Guild :: Sigma : Martin

Around here they are mostly a curiosity. People who need a player tend to gravitate to something else.

I don't recall the DeArmond history as well but they were also imports (as were Burnside, in case you see Burnside by Guild). For the most part people choose a Guild over the Dearmond equivalent but there are several folks who have loved and gigged with their DeArmond Starfire bass with upgraded pickups. I think there is a solid body DeArmond electric "baritone guitar" that is actually prized because there is no Guild equivalent.
 

Dondoh

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My memory is cloudy at best, but I remember going to some store in the Willowbrook Mall in NJ as a stony teen during the very early 70s and drooling over a few Madeira electrics. One was a brown SG style and the other was a clear lucite which I think was an SG style but I might be wrong. In fact, I might be entirely wrong about all of this. Does anyone here know if there was a clear, see-thru, Madeira electric?
 

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The DeArmonds are reasonable guitars. The pups are pretty good. Workmanship is good, finish is thick. The switches are cheap and mine broke right after l bought it. Not a big deal. My M75t is very heavy though.
 

adorshki

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Actually, Guild started importing Madieras back in the '70s.
Not trying to be picky but you were the closest to the correct spelling :
"Madeira", after the Portuguese archipelago which gave its name to a style of port (fortified) wine. That would have been consistent with their early practice of naming flat-tops after regions of Spain:
Navarre, Valencia, Aragon.
Now that I think about it, maybe it actually was named after the wine...which is characterized by heat-aging in order to withstand long sea voyages....see the connection?
:biggrin-new:

They were made in Japan. Being very much into Guilds at the time, I tried a number of them out & found them to be rather mediocre instruments.
Later on ('80's "IIRC") they were made in Korea.
Have seen favorable owner reviews of both types but the earlier Japan-mades were reputed to be higher-quality builds which is consistent with the historical trend of the gradual migration of those "offshore" brands from Japan's mass-production factories to Korean factories which started peaking in quality in late '80's early '90's.
 

dbirchett

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The DeArmonds that I might find interesting are the T400, the Jet Star BajoJet and the 12 string.

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These all use the DeArmond 2K pickups (not to be confused with the DeArmond 2000 pickups). These were designed for the DeArmond guitars and were constructed similar to P90 pickups. The resemblance to the classic DeArmond is purely cosmetic.

Of the others, the Starfires pale next to the Newark Street versions, the Starfire Specials are way too heavy and are semi-hollows. The M75T are also very heavy and were replaced by a slightly chambered M77T that is still heavy but a little lighter.
 
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fronobulax

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Does anyone here know if there was a clear, see-thru, Madeira electric?

I recall a see through Guild with an S100 body that was featured in an ad. Circa 70's? It was pretty clear from the ad that it was not a picture of a real guitar.
 

dreadnut

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Love my Korean-built DA Starfire Special with single coil 2K pickups, it really barks and growls. Flawless workmanship. Really fun with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. One thing that impressed me when I bought it was how good it sounded unplugged.

Heavier than a dead preacher, though.
 

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There were two DeArmond Bajo Jets on Reverb in the last month. One was pretty cheap but was in South America.
They looked pretty cool from afar.
 

beecee

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Tx and I have a brief discussion about these and older Japanese guitars in general.

Most of the parts were reputably made in RI and shipped to Japan for assembly. The flat headstock versions are the oldest with an oval label, These are considered the "best" relatively speaking.

Back in 1977/78 I had more talent than money. The opposite holds true today. I really wanted the Guild F-30 in the store but couldn't swing it. Money being no object I would have had the F-30 but the A-2 was a close second and I put it on a 4 week "lay a way to play" program.

The little Madeira A-2 in my sig came home with me about two days later!! Couldn't get it out of my mind.

I'll never sell my A-2, and a lot of folks who've have played it tend to look up and give me that knowing smile after a few seconds. Going on over 40 years now.

Madeira kind of went the way of AMC cars. I'd consider my A-2 the AMX or Javelin of the bunch while the latter versions were the Gremlins and Pacers. Later weird headstock shaped and square label versions fell off sharply. They even had the audacity to put an ugly chesterfield logo on some of them.

Mine looks exactly like this one. Adjustable saddle and all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1...433874?hash=item2a90f26fd2:g:Qu4AAOSw-9xZ3I55

I guess I was lucky enough to get the only good one they made.

Speaking of Sigmas, there is a Sigma 12 string at TGC in Syracuse that is a pretty fine sounding guitar in spite of what look and feel like original strings.
 
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Rayk

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Are the acoustics all sold Woods ?
 

beecee

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Are the acoustics all sold Woods ?

Nope they are laminated back and sides but two had a solid top, what models I don't remember. I have a few catalogues from way back when. I'll take a peek tonight if I can, got family in town for a few.

Boy wouldn't it have been fun if the internet was around back then and LTG'ers could pipe in on Madeira like they have w/GADs and the Westerly series.
 

fronobulax

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Tx and I have a brief discussion about these and older Japanese guitars in general.

Most of the parts were reputably made in RI and shipped to Japan for assembly. The flat headstock versions are the oldest with an oval label, These are considered the "best" relatively speaking.

Back in 1977/78 I had more talent than money. The opposite holds true today. I really wanted the Guild F-30 in the store but couldn't swing it. Money being no object I would have had the F-30 but the A-2 was a close second and I put it on a 4 week "lay a way to play" program.

The little Madeira A-2 in my sig came home with me about two days later!! Couldn't get it out of my mind.

I'll never sell my A-2, and a lot of folks who've have played it tend to look up and give me that knowing smile after a few seconds. Going on over 40 years now.

Madeira kind of went the way of AMC cars. I'd consider my A-2 the AMX or Javelin of the bunch while the latter versions were the Gremlins and Pacers. Later weird headstock shaped and square label versions fell off sharply. They even had the audacity to put an ugly chesterfield logo on some of them.

Mine looks exactly like this one. Adjustable saddle and all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1...433874?hash=item2a90f26fd2:g:Qu4AAOSw-9xZ3I55

I guess I was lucky enough to get the only good one they made.

Speaking of Sigmas, there is a Sigma 12 string at TGC in Syracuse that is a pretty fine sounding guitar in spite of what look and feel like original strings.

Tangentially, I like to believe there is a selection process in play and the instruments that are still in playable condition after a couple of decades are the best of their production runs. The A2 and Sigma seem to support my hypothesis :)
 

adorshki

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Tangentially, I like to believe there is a selection process in play and the instruments that are still in playable condition after a couple of decades are the best of their production runs. The A2 and Sigma seem to support my hypothesis :)
Makes sense, I like it.
Also I recall that report of Westerly-made parts sent to Japan/Korea and assembled there, as accurate.
Also the lam back/sides w/ solid top, throughout the line.
In fact I recall now we had a guy show up a few years back who actually had a Madeira website, he was so into 'em.
 
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bobouz

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Tx and I have a brief discussion about these and older Japanese guitars in general.
Most of the parts were reputably made in RI and shipped to Japan for assembly.

Have to say, I'm a bit of a doubting Thomas on this. The Japanese import boom started in earnest at the beginning of the '70s, and there were multiple factories churning out inexpensive guitars for worldwide consumption. The big three of Martin, Gibson, and Guild, all had their own arrangements for the production of Sigmas, Epiphones, and Madeiras (thanks Al for the spelling correction!). I can't imagine it would have been very cost effective to ship parts to Japan for assembly, when these factories were fully set up to crank out guitars from the get go. I typically would pay fairly close attention to some of these smaller details at the time, and can't recall ever hearing of any US-to-Japan shipping arrangements for Madeiras. Doesn't mean it might not be true, but it would be good to hear it from someone with first hand knowledge.

Not claiming to be an expert on this stuff, but my own ranking of these guitars at the time put Epiphones & Madeiras near the bottom of the pack. Sigmas were maybe a bit better, but still nothing to get too excited about. Imho, Japanese imports really started coming into their own in the mid to late '70s. By that time, you had some fine Ibanez Artwood, Alverez/Yairi, and Takamine guitars using solid woods and putting out some excellent quality instruments.

Of course, I'll qualify all of the above by saying, it was quite a few years ago!
 
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