Hello,
Thought Id share this...
I had a Martin demo against my current E20 OO more if anything to see where the apparent bar is as the E20 OO is pretty much a replica of this instrument..with a view to maybe keeping an eye on the used market or looking at a 28vs
An hour later..
Asethetics
Eastman - Very very similar, oddly the sound hole is slightly different being smaller on the Eastman , the bridge also is much beefier, the bridge on the Martin is very slight hardly pyramid at all...
The Martin had a nice mellow hue to it compared to my paler Adirondack Spruce top
The biggest difference being the neck...the Eastman has a much much rounder and substantial neck, the Martin although the nuts are similar has what I would call a very typical Modern shape and feel to it...to be honest this is the biggest downside to me...The Eastman neck profile has really grown on me and find it quite difficult to revert to such slender offerings now
My take on the sound differences
The Eastman is louder no doubt....
Th differences are no where near as wide as expected and very subtle....the Eastman is more forward in the mids and top end (Maybe the top and sound hole?) where the Martin is a bit more balanced across the spectrum but its no where near as far apart as expected
In some ways I actually prefer the Eastman its more bell like if that's your thing
Wrap-up
There's no getting away that at £4750 the Eastman is a third if not less of the price...
The fit and finish is actually very comparable. To play I much prefer the Eastman mainly due to the neck profile...Oddly the strings I use tend to be elixir nanoweb, the Martin's own brand looked brand new and a bit grabby..
Course I love the Martin name on the headstock being a bit of a brand snob in general but I'm every glad to have had had the opportunity to try these back to back in the same environment which can play trick on you as even rooms make more difference than guitars sometimes
I think that's a Martin Modern Deluxe off the list even used...I'd like to hear of anyone who's tried a vintage series 28VS and the neck on those
I'm sticking with the Eastman certainly for now ... Huss and Dalton, Collings still on the list of 'must have a look' but this type of guitar isn't I assume hugely popular so hardly huge amount try...In the interim the Eastmans is a keeper...
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