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MGR/John Bryce « DeArmond M75T »
Published on 12/29/01 at 15:00Ive owned many guitars over the years and Ive never been completely happy with any of them. Having thought of the Strat as THE electric guitar ever since seeing Buddy Holly on TV and finally able to afford a really good one I was totally disappointed. I loved that Strat but it just never felt right in my hands. For the first time ever I decided to approach this methodically and make a list of all the features I wanted and didnt want in a guitar and I set out on the Internet to find one that fit all those specs. Almost immediately I discovered the DeArmond M75T and added it to my list. This is a model that Guitar Player Magazine awarded Guitar of the Month when it was first released. I kept on searching for a while but nothing else matched my wish list the way the 75 did so off I went to one of our top music shops to see if they had any in stock.
Purchase: Steves Music, Queen Street West, Toronto. I paid about $850 Canadian ($535US) plus another $150 ($94US) or so for the custom designed case.
Availability: This guitar is no longer made. It has now been replaced by the outwardly identical M77T (distinguished visually only by a different set of available finishes). A review of the M75T is a frog's hair away from being a review of the M77T (It's all in the weight!... read on). But the 75 has two great rock and roll finishes no longer to be found on the 77. They were Blue Sparkle and Champagne Sparkle. I got the Blue Sparkle. I mention these because there are still many available new on music shop walls, in the second-hand market and notably on e-Bay. These guitars appear regularly in online auctions although the prices are creeping up as their reputation still spreads. You can now expect to pay close to new prices and the great deals at second hand prices are growing fewer. The reason Im writing this review is because I think this guitar is going to be one for the collectors and if you should have a chance to get your hands on one, jump at it!
The look, the feel, the sound and the price. The feel of a guitar is totally personal it has nothing to do with the quality of the guitar but is simply a matter of compatibility and how everything falls to hand and whether or not it just feels right for you. Look at my old Strat by far the most expensive guitar Ive ever owned and a treasure by every definition. I could only fault it in one area feel. It didnt feel right for me. The DeArmond felt perfect for me from the second I picked it up. The bridge is perfectly placed. The knobs are exactly where I want them to be (theyre not in my way when I play but theyre still in easy reach). The curvature of the archtop, the neck, its radius and width everything just feels right. That all makes this an easy guitar for me to play. As for the sound. I feel like Im playing a Gretsch that was born on the wrong side of the blankets. It gives me an irresistible urge to play Duane Eddy tunes! It has that big sort of meaty, almost baritone sound about it produced by two vintage 50's style DeArmond single coils same as used on Duanes early Gretsch guitars and also on the now classic Bluesbirds. I also love that Bigsby tailpiece-style tremelo something you can really hang on to and wring out compared to the oh-so delicate Strat whammy bar. For my taste, that tailpiece design also makes it much easier to rest the heel of my hand and roll it over the bridge in varying degrees when I want to dampen it. Despite the sense of bigness this is actually quite a compact little guitar. Where else would I get an instrument like this at such a price? Its value for money factor is outstanding.
Dislikes: Only one. This guitar is SO heavy! It plays like Mohamed Ali but it weighs in like Sonny Liston. This is where the chambered body of the the M77T does its stuff.
It is one of the most beautiful guitars Ive ever seen. The deep blue immaculate mirror-like metallic finish, cream binding and block inlaid rosewood fingerboard, simple black pickguard and steel & chrome hardware are nicely shown off against the dark brown, almost black agathis wood back, sides and neck. (Does anyone in the western hemisphere have the faintest idea of what an agathis tree is? I doubt it). I love the appearance of that great big black jazzy looking headstock (which no doubt accounts for a lot of the never-ending sustain of this model). This is a beautifully finished piece of art. It looks great and closer inspection reveals meticulous detailing. There are no gaps, no rough edges no two surfaces that aren't properly flush. There is no glue or overspray to be seen anywhere. There are no rough spots and nothing else that makes you want to take it down to the basement to work on it a little. It is as solid and well made as it is good looking and is the equal of many much more expensive units. The construction quality simply cannot be faulted.
The Case: Note that you will need to buy the fitted DeArmond hardshell case made specifically for this guitar. At first I took the guitar home in a gig bag that came with the purchase but I came back the following week to buy a hardshell. We grabbed a sunburst M75T off the wall, tried it in a Les Paul case and voila despite the 75's thicker waist it was a nice fit! I got home and no voila. I couldnt close the lid on my own guitar. Now there was a puzzlement indeed. Back to the store, this time with my guitar in tow, to discover that someone had swiped the tremelo spring from the wall model and this had caused its Bigsby to lie about an inch lower. This had allowed me to close the Les Paul case. We discovered that a standard LP case will not hold this instrument and that the only case that will fit the M75T is the specific case made for it by DeArmond. I had to put one on special order. More expensive than an off the floor case and a mild nuisance but easily overcome. Does anybody out there know of another case that will fit it? I dont imagine this is a problem with the M75 (Non-Bigsby) model. That springless sunburst M75T got into a generic Les Paul case so I would think an M75 should fit too.
Summary: I love it. Ive been playing since 1957 and at long last this is everything I want in a guitar. Ive seen several reviews complaining that the guitar doesnt stay in tune. I simply havent run into this problem. Its the last guitar Ill ever buy (unless they bring out a hybrid that crosses the 75s drop-dead gorgeous sparkle blue finish with the 77s wouldn't-it-be-luvverly chambered (lighter?) body. Do you suppose thats what the missing 76 was?) I may even buy another one just in case. In the meantime, he ain't heavy - he's my DeArmond.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
Purchase: Steves Music, Queen Street West, Toronto. I paid about $850 Canadian ($535US) plus another $150 ($94US) or so for the custom designed case.
Availability: This guitar is no longer made. It has now been replaced by the outwardly identical M77T (distinguished visually only by a different set of available finishes). A review of the M75T is a frog's hair away from being a review of the M77T (It's all in the weight!... read on). But the 75 has two great rock and roll finishes no longer to be found on the 77. They were Blue Sparkle and Champagne Sparkle. I got the Blue Sparkle. I mention these because there are still many available new on music shop walls, in the second-hand market and notably on e-Bay. These guitars appear regularly in online auctions although the prices are creeping up as their reputation still spreads. You can now expect to pay close to new prices and the great deals at second hand prices are growing fewer. The reason Im writing this review is because I think this guitar is going to be one for the collectors and if you should have a chance to get your hands on one, jump at it!
The look, the feel, the sound and the price. The feel of a guitar is totally personal it has nothing to do with the quality of the guitar but is simply a matter of compatibility and how everything falls to hand and whether or not it just feels right for you. Look at my old Strat by far the most expensive guitar Ive ever owned and a treasure by every definition. I could only fault it in one area feel. It didnt feel right for me. The DeArmond felt perfect for me from the second I picked it up. The bridge is perfectly placed. The knobs are exactly where I want them to be (theyre not in my way when I play but theyre still in easy reach). The curvature of the archtop, the neck, its radius and width everything just feels right. That all makes this an easy guitar for me to play. As for the sound. I feel like Im playing a Gretsch that was born on the wrong side of the blankets. It gives me an irresistible urge to play Duane Eddy tunes! It has that big sort of meaty, almost baritone sound about it produced by two vintage 50's style DeArmond single coils same as used on Duanes early Gretsch guitars and also on the now classic Bluesbirds. I also love that Bigsby tailpiece-style tremelo something you can really hang on to and wring out compared to the oh-so delicate Strat whammy bar. For my taste, that tailpiece design also makes it much easier to rest the heel of my hand and roll it over the bridge in varying degrees when I want to dampen it. Despite the sense of bigness this is actually quite a compact little guitar. Where else would I get an instrument like this at such a price? Its value for money factor is outstanding.
Dislikes: Only one. This guitar is SO heavy! It plays like Mohamed Ali but it weighs in like Sonny Liston. This is where the chambered body of the the M77T does its stuff.
It is one of the most beautiful guitars Ive ever seen. The deep blue immaculate mirror-like metallic finish, cream binding and block inlaid rosewood fingerboard, simple black pickguard and steel & chrome hardware are nicely shown off against the dark brown, almost black agathis wood back, sides and neck. (Does anyone in the western hemisphere have the faintest idea of what an agathis tree is? I doubt it). I love the appearance of that great big black jazzy looking headstock (which no doubt accounts for a lot of the never-ending sustain of this model). This is a beautifully finished piece of art. It looks great and closer inspection reveals meticulous detailing. There are no gaps, no rough edges no two surfaces that aren't properly flush. There is no glue or overspray to be seen anywhere. There are no rough spots and nothing else that makes you want to take it down to the basement to work on it a little. It is as solid and well made as it is good looking and is the equal of many much more expensive units. The construction quality simply cannot be faulted.
The Case: Note that you will need to buy the fitted DeArmond hardshell case made specifically for this guitar. At first I took the guitar home in a gig bag that came with the purchase but I came back the following week to buy a hardshell. We grabbed a sunburst M75T off the wall, tried it in a Les Paul case and voila despite the 75's thicker waist it was a nice fit! I got home and no voila. I couldnt close the lid on my own guitar. Now there was a puzzlement indeed. Back to the store, this time with my guitar in tow, to discover that someone had swiped the tremelo spring from the wall model and this had caused its Bigsby to lie about an inch lower. This had allowed me to close the Les Paul case. We discovered that a standard LP case will not hold this instrument and that the only case that will fit the M75T is the specific case made for it by DeArmond. I had to put one on special order. More expensive than an off the floor case and a mild nuisance but easily overcome. Does anybody out there know of another case that will fit it? I dont imagine this is a problem with the M75 (Non-Bigsby) model. That springless sunburst M75T got into a generic Les Paul case so I would think an M75 should fit too.
Summary: I love it. Ive been playing since 1957 and at long last this is everything I want in a guitar. Ive seen several reviews complaining that the guitar doesnt stay in tune. I simply havent run into this problem. Its the last guitar Ill ever buy (unless they bring out a hybrid that crosses the 75s drop-dead gorgeous sparkle blue finish with the 77s wouldn't-it-be-luvverly chambered (lighter?) body. Do you suppose thats what the missing 76 was?) I may even buy another one just in case. In the meantime, he ain't heavy - he's my DeArmond.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com