NS Starfire II-ST Dynasonic

dbirchett

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469046.jpg
Starfire_II_ST_Dynasnoic_detail2.jpg


This uses a new DeArmond pickup that they call a Dynasonic but it lacks the undercarriage of the Gretsch Dynasonic (Gretsch invented the name). It appears similar in design to the DeArmond 2000 pickups that Fender sold to Gretsch to use in the Historic/Electromatic series and that Guild used in teh X-160 Rockabilly. These are supposed to be wound hotter than those and, indeed, even hotter than the original DeArmonds although the resistance figures don't indicate that.

This is apparently a semi-hollow as opposed to the full hollow of its ancestor and the current Starfire IIIs.

Not my cup of hot chocolate but maybe the pickup will see more use on other guitars. Anxious to hear how it compares to the Gretsch Dynasonics and similar pickups. It is certainly cheaper. You can find the pickups on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Dearmond-Dynasonic-pickup-white-with-nickel-trim/274003829486
 
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Interesting. I swapped the pickups in my X-160 Rockabilly for TV Jones T-Armonds and liked them better. The stock pickups were OK, but lacked character and power.

T-Armond-01.jpg


T-Armond-02.jpg


GX160-26.jpg


Wonder if these sound better than the Dearmond 2000s
 

GAD

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I didn't know they were available individually. Might have to buy one to add to the comparison.
 

GGJaguar

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I wish I had known about the TV Jones Dynasonics before I sold my X-160 Rockabilly (16 years ago, yikes time flies!). I have the TV Jones pickups in a Gretsch Duo Jet and they are the bomb.
 

Default

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Locking tuners, graphite nut, and a bigsby would make that a bad@$$ rockabilly machine that you could play at high volume.
 

dhdfoster

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On another forum, that focuses on Gretsches, there is a thread about these pickups. According to the info posted there, they appear to be Korean made reproductions of the DeArmond 2000.

I'm kind of surprised Guild is using the name "Dynasonic". As if there isn't enough confusion already around the various kinds of pickups that look like this.

As for the guitar, I don't even really get what they are trying to do.
 

SFIV1967

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they appear to be Korean made reproductions of the DeArmond 2000.
Same factory as the other Guild pickups.
"BHK" on the label shows who the manufacturer is.
"BH" itself stands for Booheung Precision Machinery Co., Ltd., 629-4,, Namchon-Dong, Namdong-Gu, Inchon, Incheon-Gwangyeokshi, 405-100, South Korea.
The K behind the BH means simply Korea, as they also have a factory in China where the label would show BHC.

1708591157727.png 1708591256214.png

The nickel versions:
1708591001427.png 1708591040695.png

Or the golden versions (also both white and black):

1708591088468.png 1708591815675.png

From the ebay add:

"...these appear similar to the Fender era 2000 or 2K pickups from about 20 years ago but they are not either of those. I have disassembled one to get a look at what's inside. The large polepieces are the magnets. They're plated and brazed to a small collar that is raised and lowered by the small machine screws. The collars are hidden in a molded space inside the assembly. There are no bar magnets, either Alnico or ceramic in the assembly. The cylinder poles are the magnets. The entire bobbin assembly is encased in a steel frame and is soldered to the cover, then wax potted. It's a tight, compact design."

Ralf
 
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Walter Broes

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Korean copies of the FMIC Guild era Dearmond branded pickups that nobody really loves, and they decided to call them Dynasonics, which is what (the real, original issue) DeArmond 2000's were called in......Gretsch literature. I'm liking Cordoba less with every new release.
 

Default

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Like I said on the GDP, there's no "Joe Carducci" at CMG to sweat the details. There's more effort put into social media than what makes a great guitar.
 

parker_knoll

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I do like the 2000s but I like them in their own context rather than expecting something that sounds like a Dynosonic. I also paid £50 rather than £150 for a TV Jones
 
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