Guild starfire6/16/2023 ‘Character’ is the word with snap, twang and growl. The relationship with both on and subtle adjustments of the volume reap considerable rewards as ever, and listening through both clean Vox- and Fender-style combos we seem to have dropped right back into the 60s or before. The pickups, of course, are single coils, so they will pick up hum, but at least they’re hum-cancelling with both on – and that’s a good place to start.Ĭompared with an LB-1 equipped Starfire II, it’s certainly not chalk and cheese, but these Dynasonics have more percussion to the attack, they are less smooth and have a more hollowed, midlight voice. The sounds we hear plugged in are way less contemporary. They are slightly hotter with measured DCRs of 8.49kohms at the bridge and 7.19k at the neck. The individually adjustable Alnico V poles have less adjustment range than the originals. These DeArmond Dynasonic single coils are a “faithful reproduction of the original design, the first to feature adjustable polepieces originating in the 1940s”. Obviously, the ‘modern’ tune-o-matic means intonation can be precisely set, while the stud tailpiece allows a little flexibility, particularly if you want to raise it a little to ‘soften’ the feel of heavier strings. The acoustic response is roomy and with a relatively slim depth’d, quite mass-market neck and tidy fretting from a generous size for the style, there’s nothing to worry about. With its lightweight, thin and mainly hollow design, the Starfire II ST Dynasonic sits nicely between a true hollowbody and a centre-blocked semi. Yes, it looks like the real deal, but where that original design used fully height-adjustable magnetic polepieces, this current design has a very different and simplified architecture with rather limited height adjustment of the individual magnetic poles. It was the same pickup that Gretsch had famously used for nearly a decade before the arrival of the Filter’Tron, but where Guild used a white-topped version, Gretsch used a black top.īack to the present, then, and this contemporary version plays a bit hard and fast with the design. Guild also used the Model 2000 from 1961, according to Guild historian Hans Moust. Listening through both clean Vox- and Fender-style combos we seem to have dropped right back into the 60s or before The DeArmond brand is now owned by Cordoba, and this is the first new electric design – the Tone Boss acoustic soundhole pickup has been with us for a couple of years.Īs we documented recently in our Pickup Lines column (see issue 448), the Dynasonic started life in the 1940s, originally called the Model 2000 and used by Epiphone, Martin and most famously Gretsch, who originally called it the Fidelatone and later the Dynasonic. It really is only the pickups that have changed as far as the electric side is concerned. Like the standard II ST, this Dynasonic version goes for a classic two-volume/two-control setup with shoulder-placed toggle. Incidentally, these pickups are also available nickel-plated with white or black tops. However, the bridge pickup is taller than the neck pickup (14mm versus 11mm), which certainly helps. The Dynasonics mount on top of the guitar with only a spacer to provide any overall height adjustment.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |