Hi all First post. Longtime guitar player - recent Guild convert. A number of months ago I bought a 62 T100D with Franz pickups which started a love affair with these guitars. My recent purchase was a 66 Starfire III with Bigsby. This guitar plays beautifully and satisfies my Bigsby requirement but I gotta say I've never been a humbucker guy and I know there's much love for the HB1 around here they are just not my cup of tea. Now my question is has anyone on this forum fitted a Starfire with Dearmonds? Looking at SD or TV Jones TArmonds but am just not sure if they can be installed without modifying the guitar which I do not want to do. Any help here would be appreciated. Should I just flip the guitar and wait for the right one to come along or is this a worthwhile endeavor. You folks have a great forum here and I appreciate the info I've been able to gather from it
Anyone install Dearmonds on a Starfire III ?
- Thread starter 59slab
- Start date
Charlie Vegas
Junior Member
Mods will be required. Flip the guitar. There's a few Guild Starfires with DeArmonds listed on gbase.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
I wouldn't be surprised if you could fit a DeArmond pickup on top of the cavity for those smaller 60's Humbuckers, but it won't look very pretty, and you'd have to drill at least four tiny little holes for mounting the DeArmond. The humbucker ring would cover those up if you decided to go back to stock some day.
I'd look for a "player" early 60's SF that came with DeArmonds, minty examples tend to go for twice the price of a later 60's one with 'buckers though. I paid significantly less for my '61 with DeA's, but it was refinished.
I'd look for a "player" early 60's SF that came with DeArmonds, minty examples tend to go for twice the price of a later 60's one with 'buckers though. I paid significantly less for my '61 with DeA's, but it was refinished.
I definitely don't want to modify or drill the guitar so at some point I'll flip her. The Gbase prices are a little to high for my taste so I guess I'll keep an eye open for that Dearmond equipped Starfire unless some kind member here might have one they would part with
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Another option you do have is to have someone build a set of custom single coil pickups for you that fit the Guild humbucker surrounds, my friend Mischa from Dutch band "T-99" did just that, and he had them built by mr Biloft : http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/pickups.html
jp
Senior Member
Hey 59slab,
Just to be clear, the PUs in your guitar are most likely what are commonly called Guild's 60s mini humbuckers, and they're different from the HB-1s which came later in the early 70s. The minis are slimmer than a full size humbucker such as the HB-1. Many don't like the minis because the tend to be quite bright.
I once started rehabbing my '65 SF III, and my plan was to be able to freely swap out the minis with dynasonics without drilling extra holes into the top. In addition to the humbucker routs being a hair's width smaller than the Dearmonds, the humbuckers are mounted recessed into the top and held up by screws in the surround. The Dearmonds are surface mounts in the metal surround, often mounted on black plastic spacers. They require new holes in the top.
Although never executed <sigh>, I did devise a possible solution that involved making custom spacers for on top and plastic PU rings that would go inside each pickup cavity under the soundboard in each PU cavity. The spacers on top of the soundboard could be clamped with screws to the plastic rings underneath, holding themselves in place by clamping the edges of the rout. Chrome PU surrounds/cases would then be screwed to the custom spacers which I planned to countersink nuts into from the underside. No extra drill holes in the top. Precision in labor and parts choice is required to pull this off.
Does that make sense? An elaborate plan that really isn't too complicated. However, the expensive and necessary refret has always discouraged its execution, especially with several perfectly functioning guitars at my disposal.
Just to be clear, the PUs in your guitar are most likely what are commonly called Guild's 60s mini humbuckers, and they're different from the HB-1s which came later in the early 70s. The minis are slimmer than a full size humbucker such as the HB-1. Many don't like the minis because the tend to be quite bright.
I once started rehabbing my '65 SF III, and my plan was to be able to freely swap out the minis with dynasonics without drilling extra holes into the top. In addition to the humbucker routs being a hair's width smaller than the Dearmonds, the humbuckers are mounted recessed into the top and held up by screws in the surround. The Dearmonds are surface mounts in the metal surround, often mounted on black plastic spacers. They require new holes in the top.
Although never executed <sigh>, I did devise a possible solution that involved making custom spacers for on top and plastic PU rings that would go inside each pickup cavity under the soundboard in each PU cavity. The spacers on top of the soundboard could be clamped with screws to the plastic rings underneath, holding themselves in place by clamping the edges of the rout. Chrome PU surrounds/cases would then be screwed to the custom spacers which I planned to countersink nuts into from the underside. No extra drill holes in the top. Precision in labor and parts choice is required to pull this off.
Does that make sense? An elaborate plan that really isn't too complicated. However, the expensive and necessary refret has always discouraged its execution, especially with several perfectly functioning guitars at my disposal.
Welcome 59slab!
I did the very thing you're asking about a couple years ago to my Starfire. You can see my post about it here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7551
Granted, mine's a newer model and the pups are slightly different, but as long as you can find a way to fashion a plastic ring to fit over the top and re-use the original screwholes, you should be golden! You might have to drill new holes in the metal flanges at the base of the DeArmonds if you're willing to do that.
I say try it, I'll help if I can!
BTW, my Starfire's waiting patiently in my lap as I write this, still going strong and sounding great!
I did the very thing you're asking about a couple years ago to my Starfire. You can see my post about it here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7551
Granted, mine's a newer model and the pups are slightly different, but as long as you can find a way to fashion a plastic ring to fit over the top and re-use the original screwholes, you should be golden! You might have to drill new holes in the metal flanges at the base of the DeArmonds if you're willing to do that.
I say try it, I'll help if I can!
BTW, my Starfire's waiting patiently in my lap as I write this, still going strong and sounding great!
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
If you do, I'd go with the new TV Jones DeArmonds - the ones Gretsch currently sell are not all thàt great, and the Duncans are silly expensive.59slab said:
Well the TV Jones Dearmonds arrived and have been installed. First off The pickups had to be installed flush on the guitar . I had a couple of beautiful surrounds made by a good friend Creston Lea but we could not use them, they simply raised the pickups to the point where they would have interfered with the action. So the old holes were filled and new holes were drilled for the new pickups, None of this can be seen now with the new pickups on. The mini humbucker routes are very close to the Dearmond pickup size. There is a tiny opening on both sides of the pickup about the size of a razor blade and one would have to look very hard to notice. Anyways we have some 1/16 black plastic that will be routed and surface mounted around the pickup. I am not able to post pics but will try to do so in the future. The guitar and pickups look great.
Now for the best part These pickups simply rock. It was exactly the sound I was looking for. Full, rich, lush and articulate. TV nailed it (although I haven't heard Duncans) They are faithful repos of the original dyna's with the magnets and springs on the bottoms. The 2k and 2000 pickups I've seen had sealed bottoms. I am really pleased with the results here and don't plan on ever going back to the buckers. This guitar is full of life now. If I can offer any help to anyone thinking about doing this I would be happy to do so
Now for the best part These pickups simply rock. It was exactly the sound I was looking for. Full, rich, lush and articulate. TV nailed it (although I haven't heard Duncans) They are faithful repos of the original dyna's with the magnets and springs on the bottoms. The 2k and 2000 pickups I've seen had sealed bottoms. I am really pleased with the results here and don't plan on ever going back to the buckers. This guitar is full of life now. If I can offer any help to anyone thinking about doing this I would be happy to do so
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Very cool. replacing humbuckers with single coils (and great ones, in this case!) is a good deed in my book! 8)
Walter Broes said:
Got a late Corona production Guild Starfire 4 and it is a superb instrument however the Fender factory production Guild HB1 humbuckers are not a patch on the original superlative Guild HB1...been thinking of perhaps a "vintage rewind" and even thought of perhaps a set of TV Jones "Supertrons"
however just out from Bare Knuckle Pickups in the UK are the all new "Manhattan" P90 pickups.....they are a humbucker size P90 and so would be a straight swop for the Fender made humbucker size Guild HB1.....they are described as a very much oldschool Jazz P90 that have great warmth and clarity but also capable of vintage early roots rockabilly/jump blues type tones on the edge of break up...they are handmade scatterwound as are all
Bare Knuckle Pickups while also presenting in cool looking art deco chrome covers which would fit very well with the somewhat deco Guild housestyle.
Very interested and saving up.