Pick up manufacturer DeArmond sold amps from 1959-1963. Effects also.
De Armond amps were made by Rowe Industries, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Excellent reference resources on DeArmond published by Guido Roth
[Source and images of 1960 De Armond R15TV eBay
Images DeArmond Wa Wa pedal from eBay: Note the date is stamped inside the pedal.
DeArmond brand originally used on pickups, effects and amps built by Rowe Industries. Brand used for Korean guitars by Guild/ Fender.
Guild introduced DeArmond guitars in 1998. Fender had purchased the DeArmond brand of musical instrument pickups in 1997, and then combined the company with Guild to produce an alternative line of high quality, affordable guitars and basses based on Guild designs. The guitars are built and assembled in Korea before being sent back to Corona, where they are fitted with American-made DeArmond pickups. Following their successful test runs in European and Asian markets. [Source: Adirondack Guitars]
Images reverb.com
DeArmond guitar Made in Korea – US pickups
they are great guitars , I have the m70 , m75 , m77t , m72 , 67 7string and the s73- 12 string. I also have the squire m70
Oh, there is so much more to the DeArmond Guitar story. Since I have several, as well as a couple vintage DeArmond pedals, allow me to weigh in.
Back in the 70’s I built some PAIA synth and mixer modules and got one of their “Volume” pedals. The idea was to build it into a wah, but I was having so much fun with just volume, I never modified it. Since then I discovered DeArmond volume pedals that look exactly like my PAIA pedal – coincidence? (I think not)
I have since purchased a DeArmond 1630 opto-electronic volume pedal. Hands down – the best ever volume pedal ever… on the planet – with the exception that it has to be plugged into a 110VAC wall outlet. It seems that all mechanical potentiometer based pedals only have 90-95% travel or the pots get dirty or worn and have scratchy sound. You can adjust to 0% if you want complete silence, but then your max volume is not all there, or 100% volume and if you use the pedal to turn-down your signal to tune, you hear a weak signal from the guitar even when the pedal is set all the way back (voice of experience). The opto-electronic circuit allows complete 0% signal to 100% full volume. Also since it has no moving electronic parts, it is noise free, mine is also hum free and works perfectly. As long as you have an extension cord to plug it in – you’re in business.
As far as guitars, not all guitars were built in Korea. Maybe the first ones were, or only the high end set-neck guitars were built first in Korea. But then, in an attempt to overcome even lower prices, DeArmond included bolt-on neck guitars produced in Indonesia. The M-series (bluesbird or single cut-away solid bodies) is the best example, with models ranging from M-50 to M-77. The M-50 through M-68 were all thinner bodied, bolt-on neck guitars built in Indonesia with various pick-up models and configurations. I need to look closer at my M-65 and M-65C to see if there are any manufacturer marks on the PUs, but my guess is on the lower end models, these are Asian PUs and definitely not American DeArmond PUs. Most bodies did not have binding, but the M-66 and M-68 did, and they may have had DeArmond (style) PUs – but they were still bolt-on necks. Starting with the M-70, the necks were glued and set, and they all seemed to have either Gold Foil “DeArmond” engraved or 2K PUs. Some models had solid bodies, but the M-72 and M-77 (possibly the M-75) had chambered bodies, similar to Guild’s BluesBird. The S series (Guild JetStar or S-100 copies) followed the same rules, where under 70, they were bolt-on built in Indonesia, over 70 set neck Korean made. There was even a 7 and 12 string in this body shape. The hollow and semi-hollowbody guitars seem to have all been built in Korea.
Several basses were also made, mostly in Korea, with the exception of the Specl JetStar and some of the Pilot IV 4 string basses. They even resurrected the strange Guild Ashbory bass with the (originally) silicone rubber strings, mine currently has polyurethane strings that are lasting much better.
In all, there were MANY Guild electrics resurrected under the DeArmond name – at least 7 different body styles and countless (OK if I really tried, I might be able to count them all) trim and PU variations, but all following a very definite rule for production in Korea or Indonesia. (I am currently up to 6 myself, not including pedals)