Short answer as already said by a few others is the E10SS.
I was recently on a similar hunt and was looking for a Gibon J series-looking slope shoulders. Note that I said looking and not sounding. As much as I love J-45s and J-50s on recordings, everything new one I've tried sounded compressed and muffled. At that price point, it's a hard, hard pass. Eastman sound nothing like Gibson slope shoulders. They are lusher, way more tonally balanced, and have much greater string separation and sustain. More akin to Taylors than Gibson by a wide margin IMO. That said, I am not a fan of Taylors (used to own one).
I wanted to keep the price down, and didn't mind a plain top vs the E10SS's burst, so I tried an E6SS. Great, great guitar. I actually like the plain top more than the J-45/E10SS burst. Because they are more balanced, Eastmans might not have the strong tonal identity that Gibsons do, but they are great guitars AND a fantastic value. I ended up scoring a like-new E6SS for $800 with hardcase (not sure if they come with one?) and couldn't be happier.
That said, note that I've upgraded the tuners. The factory Pings kept the tune, but were pretty tight. I'm also planning non replacing the pickguard with a Holter Batwing I have on the way, but that's a purely cosmetic choice.
Hope that helps.
Cheers.
I was recently on a similar hunt and was looking for a Gibon J series-looking slope shoulders. Note that I said looking and not sounding. As much as I love J-45s and J-50s on recordings, everything new one I've tried sounded compressed and muffled. At that price point, it's a hard, hard pass. Eastman sound nothing like Gibson slope shoulders. They are lusher, way more tonally balanced, and have much greater string separation and sustain. More akin to Taylors than Gibson by a wide margin IMO. That said, I am not a fan of Taylors (used to own one).
I wanted to keep the price down, and didn't mind a plain top vs the E10SS's burst, so I tried an E6SS. Great, great guitar. I actually like the plain top more than the J-45/E10SS burst. Because they are more balanced, Eastmans might not have the strong tonal identity that Gibsons do, but they are great guitars AND a fantastic value. I ended up scoring a like-new E6SS for $800 with hardcase (not sure if they come with one?) and couldn't be happier.
That said, note that I've upgraded the tuners. The factory Pings kept the tune, but were pretty tight. I'm also planning non replacing the pickguard with a Holter Batwing I have on the way, but that's a purely cosmetic choice.
Hope that helps.
Cheers.