Christobella
Electromatic
Look what finally came my way - the rarely seen 5259 mahogany slab with DeArmond 2000s. I became slightly obsessed with finding one of these, and have trawled the classifieds patiently for about 18 months. They popped up fairly often in the States, but nothing this side of the pond until a few weeks ago, when an older gentleman just a few miles from me posted it on Facebook Marketplace for just £250. I was there in 15 minutes!
I've added the G tailpiece - because I prefer the look, but also to take the strain off the wrap-around bridge. I've had to file slightly deeper grooves into the bridge to stop the strings jumping out. The bigger job was the pick guard. It came with a hideous large guard, reminiscent of ones found on a Fender Strat, with a paisley pattern. In blue....
Removing this left screw holes in the body, outside the profile of the teardrop guard which you see now, so I took it to a local furniture restorer, who did an amazing job. Next task was trying to source an original pick guard - no chance. I found an approximation on Quickguards, but it would be £107 with tax and customs charges. In the end, I found a great local artist specialising in plastics, who made this one for £30. Job done.
So there you have it - depending on how the DeArmonds behave on stage, I may whip them off and wrap some elastic bands around the pole pieces. They do wallop out some brutal top end, but my old AC-30 smoothes it all out beatifully.
I've added the G tailpiece - because I prefer the look, but also to take the strain off the wrap-around bridge. I've had to file slightly deeper grooves into the bridge to stop the strings jumping out. The bigger job was the pick guard. It came with a hideous large guard, reminiscent of ones found on a Fender Strat, with a paisley pattern. In blue....
Removing this left screw holes in the body, outside the profile of the teardrop guard which you see now, so I took it to a local furniture restorer, who did an amazing job. Next task was trying to source an original pick guard - no chance. I found an approximation on Quickguards, but it would be £107 with tax and customs charges. In the end, I found a great local artist specialising in plastics, who made this one for £30. Job done.
So there you have it - depending on how the DeArmonds behave on stage, I may whip them off and wrap some elastic bands around the pole pieces. They do wallop out some brutal top end, but my old AC-30 smoothes it all out beatifully.
