De Armond Review: Starfire Special

History: I have been playing pro/semi pro for the last 32 years, mainly Rock'n'Roll, Rythm'n blues, jump jive and swing. Fave guitar influences - Chuck Berry, Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Danny Gatton, Billy Gibbons, S.R.V., Jeff Beck. I have quite a few guitars dating from late 40's Gibsons, and Eppiphones, Gretchs, Fenders,( A '62 Tele with a B5 Bigsby has been my most regular tool for the past 30 yrs.) Harmonys plus loads of other 'B' listers - Hofners,Vox, Guyatone, WEM etc. Most purchased when they were un-fashionable and relatively cheap.

Purchase: I have two Starfire Specials,one has a larger headstock than the other.(One had been fitted with Gretch 'Filtertrons'when i bought it). Both bought through Ebay, one from the States and one from the U.K. I paid about £450 for the pair. I was inpired to buy them after I bought(£300) a Blonde DeArmond T400 (another very nice guitar).I knew nothing about the marque at the time ,I only knew about DeArmond pup's and effects, vibrato etc.I bought these guitars to use for bar gigs as the old stuff was getting too valuable to take out, basically people know what they are worth and I have had people try to nick em!

What I Like About This De Armond Starfire Special: The finish is superb, 'aged' cream triple binding on the body and neck,which is quite slender (rosewood fretboard/ dot markers/light frets) with a colour close to 'Heritage' red in a poly laquer, this finish may be a bit 'plasticky' but it is kevlar tough, I have gigged them solid for the past two years without any real marks ( I have a 90's Gibson Chet re issue which is shedding nitro in lumps!).The build quality is much better than a couple of the '80s Gibsons I have, and make Ibanez, Eppiphone or the budget Gretches look poor in comparison. The '2K' pick ups (same as Gretch Electromatic) look like 'Dynasonics' but are very different internally and sound more like fat P90's. The bridge P.up sounds fantastick when you get it at the point when it is just at break up! They are bright and 'chime' without the brittle glassyness of some budget gear.I like single coil pups and these are versatile warm and jazzy or Rockabilly clicky and can nail most styles. The 'Bigsby' style trem seems and feels as good as the real thing, bearings and bushes all very similar, and unless you go Psyco with the whammy tuning is pretty stable. The set in neck has the headstock scarfed into the main part of the neck at the 1/2nd fret (unlike the T400)and I thought it was a 'budget' idea but it works well, given the narrowness of the neck it makes for a stronger design (in the way the grain runs) and less chance of a headstock break (a'la Gibson ) I have dropped the DeArmonds without any damage. I really am fond of these guitars - GET ONE! they are great value for money.

What I Do NOT Like About The De Armond Starfire Special: Downside, well not much really, however the wiring and pots are cheapo crap and really the wrong value (1k). there is very little in the way of vairying the tone or volume turn the knob and you are either on or off, re wire, these guitars are worth the effort. I also fitted a 'master' volume on the front bottom bout.Although the stock roller bridge is O.K.I fitted 'Wilkinson' roller bridges, these do improve tone and sustain, they are about £15/20 on Ebay and drop straight onto the existing bridge posts. Machine heads, these are definitely not top quality but function reasonably well, and can be improved. Remove the plastic ring between the button and the body of the machine head and replace with a fibre 'friction' washer, this allows you to set a reasonable tension with the cross head screw so, no slip. Weight- YES this is a heavy guitar, but that is the price you pay for a lot of style, indestructable build and no feedback problem. The set neck, solid through block and ply construction add up to a hefty lump, but it is a burden I am prepared to live with. I did replace the original bridge P.up, which I broke by being rather heavy handed when adjusting the pole pieces with a 'Dynasonic' which I had in my bits box. It has a slightly higher output with a bit more 'Twang' but made the Starfire sound identical to my mates 6120 Eddy Cochran! I wouldn't have minded a couple more frets up to the box.

De Armond Starfire Special Quality Rating: I have covered this pretty much in the ealier part of the review so- Build = 9/10 Finish = 9/10 Fittigs = 8/10 Electrics = 2/10 Sound = 10/10 Style = 10/10

Review Summary: BUY ONE!Get over the BADGE SNOBBERY. This is one of my favorites. It is better than just about anything that isn't in the 'A' list and a good many that are!

Rating of this De Armond product: 5

This De Armond Starfire Special Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: The TELEBLASTER

Review Date: 2008-07-18