In the meantime, I got to try both, a I DC and a Starfire IV Newark Street. Did a little roadtrip for that. But it was worthy as I did a few other things together and helped me lots with my guitar decision. At least now I know it's either an USA Guild or a Dearmond.
The I DC the less said about it the better. I wasn't impressed at all. Reminded me of low end stuff like Firefly and Harley Benton. Don't know what else to say.
The NS was ok. It felt not as solidly made compared to the Dearmond or a Gibson. No surprise with Gibson. I guess the DA might be the heft and the fact the DA doesn't seem to have a as thick coat of poly. Maybe it seemed that way because it was almost 30 years old. But the NS is a very shiny and plasticky thing. The deal breaker though was the neck. Too thin. Maybe for more "delicate" or "precise" hands but I just hated it. And I hate baseball bat necks. So it's not like I need a fat neck. But it was just too thin. Or just the wrong profile. The quality felt no better than good Epiphones. It's not bad. It's actually a nice guitar. But nothing special. For the price, I have held and tried Epiphones and lower end Gretsches which are cheaper and felt on the same level. It felt no better than a Hagstrom either. I also much prefer the sound of the gold tones on the DA. Like, much. A lot more. Not even close. They sound special somehow. The NS sounded good. But nothing much different than an Epiphone Dot or Ibanez or the several import humbuckers out there. For lack of a better word, it sounded plain. I was much more impressed the first time I tried a Gretsch Streamliner with broadtrons, which are humbuckers, but also with a different sound than just a PAF copy. I know, could be a million things like amp, strings and all. All I can say is, I wasn't impressed. But I was with the DA pickups. I liked the DA sound better. I liked playing the DA better. I liked the looks of the DA better. Maybe if I can't find another DA soon enough, get a NS and replace the pickups with gold tones? Would they fit or they are not standard humbucker size? But I would guess it would be easier to find a DA Starfire than gold tones for sale. Oh yes, never mind. The neck. No NS for me.
So that was a scratch off my list for the I DC and Newark Street Starfires. That leaves 2 options. Finding another Dearmond Stafire IV, as the red one sold and the blonde one is too beat up and needy and the guy won't bulge on the price. Or biting the bullet on a late 90's Guild. I will have to try my best to find a Guild to try first though. I will not just buy one online on the assumption it will be worth all the extra money over the Dearmond because it's a Guild. If it's like much, much better than a Dearmond, I might just bite the bullet. All reports of people praising the Dearmond said the quality is not really that lower than Guild and the main difference/give away is the poly coat, which as I said before, didn't bother me on the 2 Dearmonds I tested. It is not that mirror finish, plastic look as is on new guitars.
So that is where I'm standing now. Still no new guitar for me.
The I DC the less said about it the better. I wasn't impressed at all. Reminded me of low end stuff like Firefly and Harley Benton. Don't know what else to say.
The NS was ok. It felt not as solidly made compared to the Dearmond or a Gibson. No surprise with Gibson. I guess the DA might be the heft and the fact the DA doesn't seem to have a as thick coat of poly. Maybe it seemed that way because it was almost 30 years old. But the NS is a very shiny and plasticky thing. The deal breaker though was the neck. Too thin. Maybe for more "delicate" or "precise" hands but I just hated it. And I hate baseball bat necks. So it's not like I need a fat neck. But it was just too thin. Or just the wrong profile. The quality felt no better than good Epiphones. It's not bad. It's actually a nice guitar. But nothing special. For the price, I have held and tried Epiphones and lower end Gretsches which are cheaper and felt on the same level. It felt no better than a Hagstrom either. I also much prefer the sound of the gold tones on the DA. Like, much. A lot more. Not even close. They sound special somehow. The NS sounded good. But nothing much different than an Epiphone Dot or Ibanez or the several import humbuckers out there. For lack of a better word, it sounded plain. I was much more impressed the first time I tried a Gretsch Streamliner with broadtrons, which are humbuckers, but also with a different sound than just a PAF copy. I know, could be a million things like amp, strings and all. All I can say is, I wasn't impressed. But I was with the DA pickups. I liked the DA sound better. I liked playing the DA better. I liked the looks of the DA better. Maybe if I can't find another DA soon enough, get a NS and replace the pickups with gold tones? Would they fit or they are not standard humbucker size? But I would guess it would be easier to find a DA Starfire than gold tones for sale. Oh yes, never mind. The neck. No NS for me.
So that was a scratch off my list for the I DC and Newark Street Starfires. That leaves 2 options. Finding another Dearmond Stafire IV, as the red one sold and the blonde one is too beat up and needy and the guy won't bulge on the price. Or biting the bullet on a late 90's Guild. I will have to try my best to find a Guild to try first though. I will not just buy one online on the assumption it will be worth all the extra money over the Dearmond because it's a Guild. If it's like much, much better than a Dearmond, I might just bite the bullet. All reports of people praising the Dearmond said the quality is not really that lower than Guild and the main difference/give away is the poly coat, which as I said before, didn't bother me on the 2 Dearmonds I tested. It is not that mirror finish, plastic look as is on new guitars.
So that is where I'm standing now. Still no new guitar for me.
