The Dearmond Parade

[mad dog]

Number 3 just pulled in, the mahogany S-73 I just picked up for "research" purposes. It's got a few notable dings, biggest on the lower horn:

A lesser one on the upper horn:

Very nice mahogany everywhere:

It's in rather good condition outside of that. I'm thinking on the finish. Is there a non rich person way to ditch the poly and start again? A refinish is not warranted sonically. Unplugged, it rings like a bell. Plugged in, it's the stuff I looked for in SGs and never found. First tech stop will be new pots, caps, p/u selector. (I know from experience how big a deal that is with these.) Then B5 bigsby, perhaps even Fralin P-92 p/u swaps (in the name of science.)

DA #2, a black M-72, came back in last night after those very same electronics upgrades. (Money well spent.) It's a remarkable instrument ... for this price, for any price. The Goldtones are DIVINE, and it plays the equal of much pricier stuff. Besides being quite beautiful.

They don't need me ... they can play together. Check out the family pix:

http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t150 ... Dearmonds/

 

[Walter Broes]

You seem to have the DeArmond bug pretty bad! I wish I could say I was as happy with mine, but apparently the solidbodies are much nicer than the hollowbodies, my modded X135 never quite did it for me.

 

[danerectal]

They look beautiful. You're right about the pot/cap/switch upgrade. It is necessary and makes a huge difference. I feel myself getting sucked into the M75 track pretty hard right now. Can't afford a Bluesbird yet, but that M75T looks like a good option.

 

[coastie99]

Dog-gone it !!

Just when my S-73 GAS had abated, this comes along !

I'm thinking that one of these with retro-fitted HB size P-90's would be just the ticket. My M-72 with all the mods never ceases to amaze me as fab. value for money.

 

[matsickma]

Hi Walter,

I think acoustic and acoustic electric guitars are the standard for any critical comparison of instruments. The X135 you had was the lowest grade jazz body in the DeArmond line. Not anywhere near the league of a late 1950 X175. Hey even post 1970's era X175's arn't in the league of the early year X175's. They have a better finish but tone wise are not as good. Their is no where to hide if it doesn't have good wood tone. I have a late 1950's CE100D and a 1979 CE100D. The tone and feel of the 1950's model is superior to the 1979. One item I noticed is that the early year Guilds have a thinner top as compared to the later models. My early model CE100 has a top tickness that is around 1/2 of the 1979 model! Electric solid body and semi hollows are mostly influenced by the electronics. I would have to say that for the money DeArmonds were a great deal.

When Fender bought Guild they had a stratedgy to offer the lower grade line (DeArmond) and the higher grade Guilds. I am quite sure the plan was to hook new younger players on the less expensive Guild look-alikes with the plan to eventually have them up grade to the Guild.

Somewhere along the way the plan failed, the DeArmond line was blown out (I probably bought over 30 of them my self) and in the end the whole Guild electric line was brought down. Recall that the DeArmond Blowout was around 2001 or 2002. A year or two later the new Guild market crashed. Four years ago I was buying new Bluesbirds for $600 and Starfires 3's for $700 off of dealer inventory. Great for us but quite sad for the Guild brand.

M

 

[mad dog]

Walter: Yes, the Dearmond bug bit real hard. Not all my DA forays have not been successful, or paid off right away. The M-75T was #1. Despite poor fretwork and electronics, it had something too intriguing to pass up. Electronics upgrades revealed what the 2ks could do; a refret took it the rest of the way. Not so cheap now, but it truly was worth it. Had I started with the Starfire Special (same p/us), DA love would have ended there. It was dead in my hands, and electronics upgrades didn't help. Maybe that's what you had with the 155.

Curiosity led me to the M-72, mainly about the Goldtones. This one is the luckiest break. A minor electronics upgrade later, it's as good a guitar as I've ever played and heard. I have some sweet old stuff around here for comparison, and still the DAs do not come up short. Perhaps I've just been lucky ...

MD

 

[Walter Broes]

The X135 you had was the lowest grade jazz body in the DeArmond line. Not anywhere near the league of a late 1950 X175. Hey even post 1970's era X175's arn't in the league of the early year X175's. They have a better finish but tone wise are not as good.

You're probably hitting the nail on the head their Matsickma, I'm a little spoiled, and it's probably not fair comparing that X135 to what I'm used to.

Mad Dog, not saying the DeArmonds solids aren't great, but you do have some sweet amps of course. I know I'd have a lot more fun with a $200 squier through a great amp rig, than with Scotty Moore's own Super 400CES and a solid state squier practice amp.

 

[mad dog]

Mad Dog, not saying the DeArmonds solids aren't great, but you do have some sweet amps of course. I know I'd have a lot more fun with a $200 squier through a great amp rig, than with Scotty Moore's own Super 400CES and a solid state squier practice amp.

That is a good point. Were I trying these cheapies out on some of the amps I used to play (aka, struggle with), I might not see the potential. The effects make a difference too. I don't often think of this stuff, but everything counts when assessing an instrument.

 

[capnjuan]

Ya gotta stop it Michael; every time you start gear-yacking, I start looking. I chased a Gemini up in NY, cut a GA40 in half and got two GA20Ts, now this ... it's gotta stop. :wink: Despite the dings, that S model looks like a lot of fun to play! J