Dearmond S-73
John Henry DeArmond was a young guitar player who in 1935, at the age of 10 made a guitar pickup from the ignition coil off of an old Ford Model A car. His older brother Harold was impressed and thought they could make some money from John’s design. DeArmond imagined an add-on pickup that would avoid cutting a hole in the top of a guitar would be useful to musicians at the time. Most guitarists were playing archtops and acoustics and were just starting to think about amplifying their sound. Giving them a way to go electric without buying a whole new instrument would be really valuable. Harry teamed up with a Toledo, Ohio, company named Rowe Industries and the first DeArmond pickups were introduced in 1939.
They had great success with their “floating pickups” throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. They experienced some disruption during WWII like many companies, but came back strong in 1948. Dearmond & Rowe also manufactured pickups for Harmony, Gretsch, Guild and several other companies during the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The original company closed operations around 1984.
Fender acquired Guild Guitars in 1995 and in 1997 also purchased the Dearmond trademark. Fender then decided to leverage those assets and launch a line of affordable, import electric guitars based on Guild designs in 1998 under the Dearmond brand name. These guitars were made until 2002 when Fender stopped the Dearmond line in order avoid competing with their newly acquired Gretsch guitars. Gretsch had instruments that used similar pickups (the Dynasonic, originally the DeArmond Model 2000).
The guitar featured here is one of higher end guitars from the 90’s Dearmond line. The model is called the S-73. It’s essentially a copy of the Guild Polara S-100 from the 1970’s. These Dearmond S-73’s were made in Korea. They came with upgraded hardware, set neck construction and featured American-made Dearmond pickups. They also made a 12 string version of the S-73 and a less expensive version called the S-65 which was manufactured in Indonesia, had a bolt-on neck, cheaper hardware and electronics.
The S-73 has a solid mahogany, double cutaway SG Style body. Unlike the SG, the bass horn on the S-73 is longer than the treble horn just like the Guild S-100. The body on this guitar is also thicker than a Gibson SG. Otherwise they look pretty similar. It features a multi-piece mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, block inlays and medium sized frets. It has 2 volume and 2 tone controls along with a 3-way pickup selector switch. Guild S-100’s from the early 70’s had slim, narrow necks, however this guitar has a nice full neck profile with a 1 11/16’ wide nut.
These Korean made Dearmond S-73’s are excellent. They are lightweight and well balanced. The attention to detail and quality is very good for the price point. It feels nicer than recent “made in China” Epiphone SG’s and Les Paul copies. The U.S.A. made Gold Tone humbuckers have a distinctive sound. They are medium output pickups (resistance is around 7k ohms) and they have a clear and warm vintage tone. The tune-o-matic style bridge with stop tail piece makes it easy to intonate the guitar. The nut was cut perfectly and the smooth, close ratio tuning machines feel like they belong on a higher end guitar. It plays easily up and down the neck with low action.
Fender eventually sold Guild to Cordoba Music Group (CMG) in 2014 and in 2023 Yamaha purchased CMG. They still make Guild guitars under the new ownership. You can buy a version of the Guild Polara (S-100) today which looks very similar to this Dearmond S-73. Those guitars are made in China and Indonesia and go for about the same price as one of these Dearmonds on the used market, but in my opinion they are not as well made. The difference in quality and playability is noticeable. I love oddball guitars. Designs that stray away from the classic Stratocasters, Telecasters, Les Pauls and SG’s, but not all of the unique designs out there play as well as the classics. This one is an exception. If you want to play something with a slightly unique, but classic look at an affordable price these Dearmonds are great. They also made them with transparent cherry and green finishes. This natural mahogany look is my favorite.