Dearmond m75t question....

Ok...so I just pulled the trigger on a burnt orange M75T Dearmond with the 2k pups. Decent BIN combined with the 10% coupon paypal has been offering, it only ended up costing me 371 bucks shipped. Figure if I hate it I could flip it for minimal financial loss or hang it on the wall cuz it sure is pretty.

Question is this.....exactly how horrible are the roller bridges on these, if horrible at all. I have heard good and bad, not sure which is more prevalent. Same for the pots, bad? decent? Change 'em?

Opinions appreciated. Thanks.

Dan

Link with minimal pics:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=019

Hey BluesDan,

Based on your color and comment on the roller bridge it sounds like you have a DeA M77T. In many ways I would rate them equal or better than the M75T. I've owned both and liked the M77T a bit more than the M75T. Your M77T should have a clear pickguard while the M75T had a black one. The M77T is about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thinner than the M75T (Can't remember the exact dimension) and weight near identical to the M75T. (My house scale could not discriminate a difference in weight between the two models.) It also has a smaller head more like a late 1980's Guild head. For casual playing the electronics are ok provided you don't have a solder joint problem. The pickup selector switch is the primary weak link as they readily fail. Updating the pots and caps is not required but I perfer the smoother and easier turn of a quality POT. I have not had any problems with either the adjustomatic or roller bridges. The biggest issue is "nut ping" with the Digsby and considerable string tension between the Digsby and bridge. I often by-pass the tension roller of the Digsby and run the strings right over the bridge. The Digsby operates more smoothly in this configuration. Overall I think they are a good deal for the $400 price range. My biggest complaint is the weight of the guitars. Most Dearmond models of this style are pretty heavy.

M

Blues:

Not sure on the roller bridge in this guitar. It would be easy enough to swap in another bridge to try. My M75T has what looks like a Nashville type intonatable bridge. The only issue with that setup is that there's a fairly steep drop off the bridge to the Bigsby roller. Strings touch the back of the bridge. I may try a TonePros AVRII, which is thinner.

I can tell you that pots/caps upgrades make a world of difference. In stock form, mine was rather unfocused and muddy, neck especially. The pots came on suddenly, not all that adjustable. Crappy feeling jack and p/u selector. I swapped out everything, had a treble bleed mod put in on the neck p/u. Night and day difference. The 2K pickups are the big deal here, very well worth hearing IMHO. Unusual tones, more P90 than you'd expect, but not just that. A good set up and nut, saddle lube puts the Bigsby right. It has a stiff spring, but actually works rather well.

I'm unreasonably fond of this guitar, am even considering getting it refretted. The sound is the thing. It's not my easiest player, but sounds so good I keep coming back. Doesn't hurt that it's a classy looking sunburst.

Nice guitar, Dan. I've always wanted to test run an M77-T. I do remember reading somewhere that the M75-T is solid-bodied, while the M77-T is chambered. I also recall reading that the neck angle was changed slightly on the M-77T to achieve better string tension.

Here's a discussion about M75Ts and M77Ts which has some opinions about roller vs TOM bridges on these.

FYI: From the old Dearmond site.

Oh, and here's the thing about the neck angle. ". . . the neck angle is shallower, which means a lower break-angle over the bridge, consequently the tension-bar style Bigsby has no real problem staying in tune."

They're strange little guitars, and people seem to agree they were a little heavy.

For what CTS pots cost, and a switchcraft switch, yes, replace them, I've found it worth doing on all the asian guitars I've owned.
You might want to look into a higher pot value for the neck pickup to brighten it up some compared to the lead pickup.

I don't like roller bridges, I'd just put a regular narrow-style T.O.M. on there.

Thanks guys, some really good info. in your posts. Much appreciated. I'll update when I have the guitar in hand. What lead me to this guitar was some of what I have heard with regards to the single coil pups being similar, yet different, than the P90's. I love the growl of a nice set of P90's. I have a set of Blues 90's in my Gibby Blues Hawk. From your posts, it sounds like a change of pots, switch, and possibly a nut and there is some serious potential here. I am looking forward to messin' around with this thing. 8)

M, thanks for the heads-up on it being an M77t and not the M75T as advertised, I emailed the seller and asked him about that, no response yet. It's a done deal anyway, I was just curious as to why he thought it was an M75t. To be honest here, I have been wanting a guitar to mess around with the 2k pups and this one just happened to come in at the right price, in addition to the fact that I was digging the burnt orange color. I wouldn't have known an M75 from an M77 otherwise.

JP...thanks for the links......great stuff

Mad Dog.....thanks for the input, let me know how you make out if you try that TonePro bridge.

I KNEW I could count on this place for good info..........thanks again :wink:

Edit.....Hey Walter..we were posting at the same time!.....thanks for the input also.......

Hi JP,

To the best of my experiance the M-72 is the only dearmond with chambering. In my opnion the M77 is equal in weight to a M75 and is thinner. So based on that info it is "more solid" than a M75. In the Dearmond era I bought and owned two or three of every model they made so I I got a first hand look and feel of the whole series.

My favorite is the M72. I origionally had a flame blond and flame sunburst model. I wish I neve sold them. Coasties latest acquisition of a transparent charcoal M72 has got my attention. A DeA M72 with 2K's and Digsby would have been my perfer DeA!

M

matsickma said:

Hi JP,

To the best of my experiance the M-72 is the only dearmond with chambering. In my opnion the M77 is equal in weight to a M75 and is thinner. So based on that info it is "more solid" than a M75. In the Dearmond era I bought and owned two or three of every model they made so I I got a first hand look and feel of the whole series.

My favorite is the M72. I origionally had a flame blond and flame sunburst model. I wish I neve sold them. Coasties latest acquisition of a transparent charcoal M72 has got my attention. A DeA M72 with 2K's and Digsby would have been my perfer DeA!

M

Click to expand...

It's funny how many other people who have owned both say they weigh in about the same also. Does the M-72 seem lighter to you?

Yes. The M72 is noticably lighter than a M75 or M77. Since the guitar is a flat top it is ligher simply because it does not have a carved cap. However it was light enough that I suspected it may have had some chambering. The DeA web site lists the M72 as "Chambered Mahogany with Maple Top" and the M77T as "Chambered Agathis with Maple Top". The M75 series was an earlier model that was not listed. If I recall correctly the M75 had a Mahogany body with Maple top.

The M72 is a comfortable weight. If Coastie reads this chat he may be able to provide info the the weight of his M-72. I kind of remember the M75 and M77 weighing in at over 9 pounds. The heaviest Dearmond I ever played was a M-70. That is a no frills slab guitar build of the same quality as the others but was made of solid mahogany.

http://www.dearmondguitars.com/m72.html

M

Coastie provided the weight of his M72 to be around 9 1/2 lbs. That is a lot more than I remembered so I may be mistaken on the amount of chambering on the DeA M72.

M

Another M-72 has just popped up on the 'bay.

Owner claims weight of 9 lbs.

Thanks coastie! I really want one of these, but I'd want a Digsby on it. They don't pop up too often on evilbay.