I'll state right away this isn't a totally apples-to-apples type comparison.
I've owned a few Starfire III's in the past, a black '97 Westerly and a '13 red Korean. After some time just down to one electric, a couple weeks ago there was a black DeArmond Starfire III at a local shop and I fell in love right away, so I bought it.
Yesterday, I took it amp shopping to a different store (probably going to go with a Princeton Reverb, fyi). After playing for a while, I turned around and there was a 90's Westerly Starfire II in natural hanging on the wall in the amp room. That natural flame has always been my dream color. So, I decided to shoot them out.
Of course, the Guild had the harp tailpiece and the wood bridge, where my DeArmond has the Bigsby and tune-o-matic bridge. The DeArmond has the DeArmond 2k pickups, where the Guild had the typical Guild humbuckers (HB-1's?). The DeArmond has a center block and I believe the Guild is fully hollow. I'm not positive, but I think there may be some mahogany on the DeArmond, where the Guild was maple-bodied.
That out of the way, in my experience, neither guitar was better than the other, just different. The Guild was waaaay lighter and much more airy. Much sweeter sounding and more chimey. I had to turn the treble down on the amp for the Guild as it was pretty bright. The DeArmond has quite a bit of chime as well, but not to the degree of the Guild. Where the DeArmond shined was in the midrange, and to me seemed to be more versatile for my tastes. It still has clarity though maybe again not quite the same as the Guild, but the extra midrange push and girth to the tone helped the amp break up in a very pleasing way.
I much prefer the neck of the DeArmond, which I wasn't expecting. The DeArmond has more chunk to it, and felt more comfortable for me to play. The Guild felt more like a vintage Guild neck I had played previously which was quite thin. I've had Bigsbys on a few guitars and never really used them, but I really messed around with it on my DeArmond when playing through that Princeton Reverb and it sounded fantastic and stayed in tune. In this case, I felt the Bigsby was a feature I wanted to have. I actually felt the DeArmond stayed in tune better than that Guild, too.
When I first saw the Guild hanging on the wall, my heart dropped and I thought I was going to trade in the DeArmond right then and there and walk out with that Guild. But after playing the two back-to-back, there was enough to like for my tastes to keep the DeArmond. Tastes will vary, but I'll use the difference in cash and take home the amp instead.
I've owned a few Starfire III's in the past, a black '97 Westerly and a '13 red Korean. After some time just down to one electric, a couple weeks ago there was a black DeArmond Starfire III at a local shop and I fell in love right away, so I bought it.
Yesterday, I took it amp shopping to a different store (probably going to go with a Princeton Reverb, fyi). After playing for a while, I turned around and there was a 90's Westerly Starfire II in natural hanging on the wall in the amp room. That natural flame has always been my dream color. So, I decided to shoot them out.
Of course, the Guild had the harp tailpiece and the wood bridge, where my DeArmond has the Bigsby and tune-o-matic bridge. The DeArmond has the DeArmond 2k pickups, where the Guild had the typical Guild humbuckers (HB-1's?). The DeArmond has a center block and I believe the Guild is fully hollow. I'm not positive, but I think there may be some mahogany on the DeArmond, where the Guild was maple-bodied.
That out of the way, in my experience, neither guitar was better than the other, just different. The Guild was waaaay lighter and much more airy. Much sweeter sounding and more chimey. I had to turn the treble down on the amp for the Guild as it was pretty bright. The DeArmond has quite a bit of chime as well, but not to the degree of the Guild. Where the DeArmond shined was in the midrange, and to me seemed to be more versatile for my tastes. It still has clarity though maybe again not quite the same as the Guild, but the extra midrange push and girth to the tone helped the amp break up in a very pleasing way.
I much prefer the neck of the DeArmond, which I wasn't expecting. The DeArmond has more chunk to it, and felt more comfortable for me to play. The Guild felt more like a vintage Guild neck I had played previously which was quite thin. I've had Bigsbys on a few guitars and never really used them, but I really messed around with it on my DeArmond when playing through that Princeton Reverb and it sounded fantastic and stayed in tune. In this case, I felt the Bigsby was a feature I wanted to have. I actually felt the DeArmond stayed in tune better than that Guild, too.
When I first saw the Guild hanging on the wall, my heart dropped and I thought I was going to trade in the DeArmond right then and there and walk out with that Guild. But after playing the two back-to-back, there was enough to like for my tastes to keep the DeArmond. Tastes will vary, but I'll use the difference in cash and take home the amp instead.