Identifying dearmond pickups

[Smeigel_12000]

Hi all,

min recent posts I already asked some questions about old dearmond pickups. I found someone in Holland selling a set of these. He says there from a Duane eddy but I can’t find anything about these on the web.


At first I thought they were Martins but they look slightly different. Can anybody tell me something about this pickup?

 

[nmiller]

That cover was produced exclusively for the Kustom K-200 series:

They're otherwise identical to the standard DeArmond 2000 as found on the Duane Eddy and some other Guild models, but these covers were never used by Guild.

 

[Smeigel_12000]

Ah cool, are they any good? I see 60’s dearmond 2000’s on reverb for 1000,- and I can get those for 150,- each.

 

[nmiller]

They're as good as any other 2000/Dynasonic from the '60s. Rowe/DeArmond was rather inconsistent in how they wound these, so the exact output and tone are always something of a gamble, but I've never heard any that sounded truly bad.

 

[Walter Broes]

150 apiece is a really good deal for a set of original DeArmonds these days. Get them!

 

[teleharmonium]

I have 4 pair of those, 2 installed 2 spare. They sound great.

 

[LeFinPepere]

That cover was produced exclusively for the Kustom K-200 series:

They're otherwise identical to the standard DeArmond 2000 as found on the Duane Eddy and some other Guild models, but these covers were never used by Guild.

Lovely guitar! Steely Dan's guitarist had one, I believe!

 

[matsickma]

Those Kustom guitars were cool and a bargan at one time. I had a few over the yesrs. The biggest issue is the very narrow and thin neck. I was used to narrow neck from the Guilds of the 60's but the Kustom's take it to another level.
Interestingly the Kustom guitar model guitars without the Bigsby used different DeArmond pickups. Instead of the bright chimmy 2000 they are a "dirtier" sounding pickup more like a brighter version of a Guild chrome "soapbar" or P90. I liked both but I just couldn't play those necks for any extended time. If I was a long term guitar collector I would have kept them because they were cool guitars very few people knew about.
M

 

[nmiller]

The Kustoms have slightly wider necks than many guitars of their era at around 1 11/16". But they are indeed thin front to back, and you can get quite a vibrato out of them just by applying a little pressure.

 

[teleharmonium]

I have two k200 guitars and one bass.
One guitar has a 1.57" neck at the zero fret with a very thin profile and the early headstock, the other 1.62" with a typical profile and the more batwing headstock, so both narrow. I've played 3 others, all about the same.

The strange thing is that I can play them both despite being narrow. Must be due to the radius of the board.

 

[nmiller]

Strange... all of mine were in the 11/16 to 3/4 range except the bass. I gave up on them because I had trouble reaching my hand around.

 

[teleharmonium]

Strange... all of mine were in the 11/16 to 3/4 range except the bass. I gave up on them because I had trouble reaching my hand around.

Did they all have the later headstock shape like this ?

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAT2VJIlH5wX_d2W3TuXIo-q--y6QZUeTQXJRpMWeqJjvEkqLf&usqp=CAc

It's a longshot, but do you know their serial numbers ?

 

[nmiller]

Did they all have the later headstock shape like this ?

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAT2VJIlH5wX_d2W3TuXIo-q--y6QZUeTQXJRpMWeqJjvEkqLf&usqp=CAc

It's a longshot, but do you know their serial numbers ?

I don't know the serials, but yes, they all had the flared headstock.

 

[matsickma]

I had one of the early sunburst ones with the smaller headstock, no Bigsby, and a red and a natural with "zebra" wood with the Bigsby. Never measured them but to my memory the earlier non Bigsby model did feel a little different. I had just assumed the headstock weight difference was the difference. I wasn't as inquisitive about the physical difference in parts at that time.
Those guitars did come in interesting colors and finishes.
M

 

[Shakeylee]

Ah cool, are they any good? I see 60’s dearmond 2000’s on reverb for 1000,- and I can get those for 150,- each.

that's a steal!! i wish i lucked into some here in the states.

 

[parker_knoll]

similar but different to the ones used by Martin.

I always wondered about the Kustoms - available pretty cheaply but I heard they were badly made.

 

[matsickma]

I never felt the Kustom guitars were made cheaply. I might have thought that had I played one in the 60's as compared to my Guild Jetstar. That was my perception of Fender guitars as compared to the Guild that I played.

Kustom amps were also made of good quality material. You may have found the tuck-n-roll fabrics of various colors a bit gaudy or the transistor tone not with the tube warmth. However the amps used premium parts, speakers, etc., and the amp speaker cabinets were some of the best built and sounding around. I have to admit to owning a wide range of kustom tuck-n-roll cabinets that I run various heads through even today.

M

 

[teleharmonium]

The Kustom K200 series finishes didn't hold up that well over time, they often have chipping. The same is true of the Wurlitzer branded guitars that plant built previously. Other than that, they seem good to me.
Their bridges are not my favorite design, but they are a quality part imported from Germany. Really it's the height adjusting mounting posts going right into the wood that I don't like.
The Dynasonic/2000 pickups they used are definitely the same as the other versions other than the cover shape. I've seen one without the cover or the glue.

 

[Smeigel_12000]

Ok so I managed to get the Kustom Dearmond yesterday. Together with a NOS Bigsby B6, a NOS Bigsby bridge and base and a set of NOS Schaller tuners for just over 300,-.

Now the next challenge is to find a matching pickup. It measures 11.9k on my multimeter so it seems pretty hot. Do you think this is a Neck or a Bridge pup?

Also if anybody wants to get rid of his dearmond kustom pup, I would love to buy it from you.

 

[parker_knoll]

The metal cover just slides off, so perhaps you can get a modern one and use the cover from that to "normalise" it - not that this cover isn't cool, only that it would help you match it