An interesting video by an English store owner comparing a Taylor 314CE V class vs. three Eastmans from cheapest to just a few hundred pounds cheaper than the Taylor (which he tells us runs £1900) -- and to my ear, anyway, every one of the Eastmans sounded richer than the Taylor (not that I'm biased or anything...)

But be forewarned, this guy goes on forever before making his point, he's not much of a guitarist, and I wish he'd shut up and just play. And he should tune the Taylor before he plays it... It's eight minutes in before he actually starts comparing guitars, so you might want to forward to there if you're not interested in all his blathering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep1AloImC3g

10/21/2019 Edit: updated with my full review.  Original comments remain below.  

This is a brand new Eastman AC630-BD.  It's a Jumbo (BD is for Blonde) with a beautiful, straight grain Engelmann Spruce top and an absolutely stunning flame Maple body.  I've never seen a guitar that's so 3-D (the photos below can't capture it), and the "depth" of the ridges change with the angle and lighting --- it's almost like looking at a hologram.

The guitar is appointed with hand-set, color matched abalone on the headstock, fret markers, and rosette, and the Ebony board is set with Ivoroid binding.  The neck is super comfortable with the center strip added for additional stability.  The Gotoh tuners are smooth and precise, and the fit, finish, and setup are perfect out of the box (even the pickguard is good quality and beveled).  Eastman makes these with their same master luthiers that produce their top of the line E40D/E40OM guitars -- individually voiced tops and handcrafted end-to-end.

This is my first Jumbo guitar, and I'm pleased to say that it sounds as good as it looks.  Engelmann and Maple combo are a really nice combo for this body size.  It has incredible clarity and great volume (no Sleeping Giant here!).  It's voiced beautifully for light playing, but completely responds when I drop it into overdrive.  It's remarkable how the Maple Jumbo provides both a bright sharpness and depth at the same time, and it has a really fast attack, so it makes me re-think my playing approach on this guitar vs. a Rosewood/Adi dread.  I replaced the stock D'Add EXP with GHS PB lights, and it brought out this guitar's beautiful voice.

I ordered this guitar in July, and Eastman produces so few of these that they're basically MTO, so it took three months from order placement to arrival.  It was definitely worth the wait, as Eastman knocked this one out of the park (and it arrived in time for my b-day, which is later this week).

Eastman guitars continue to excel, and this AC630-BD is the best looking and **one of the best sounding guitars I've ever owned.  I purchased this through LA Guitar Sales, who are always a pleasure to work with.  We kept in touch on the timing, and everything was delivered perfectly, as usual.  I highly recommend Ted and Helene for Eastman or any other guitar purchases.

** this guitar is so new, and guitars take time to find their voice.  But this one is already singing beautifully.  Can't wait to hear it a year from now!

____


After nearly three months on order, my blonde bombshell will arrive tomorrow.  I'll update this original post with a proper NGD review and my own photos.

But in the meantime, I "borrowed" some photos from LA Guitar Sales.  In our email exchange, Ted said:  "the back is so three dimensional it looks like it's alive."  Also, he says it sounds even better than it looks, and if that's true, I will be an extremely happy human.  

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Greetings everyone!
Thank you for the community and the conversation. Reading through some of the threads there is a great source of knowledge and experience here. I appreciate each one of you and over time we'll get to know one another a bit.
Some days I prefer to listen (I learn more that way).

I tried singing in public one day. An audience member asked if I had been to prison, I said no
I had not. Why? She said, I sounded like a prison singer. I asked how's that? She replied,
you're behind three bars lookin' for the right key!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Scott/Fretwire

$20 shipped continental US.

Brand new, unused RIGHT HANDED self-adhesive pickguard from Luthiers Mercantile International. I emphasize right handed because the link is to a lefty, which is all they seem to have in stock now. No scratches, just dust and reflections.

https://www.lmii.com/pickguards-pre-shap...anded.html

Eastman E10OM-TC 

• torrefied red spruce top 
  
• mahogany back and sides
  
• ebony peghead, fretboard, and bridge
  
• 25" scale
  
• 1 3/4" bone nut
  
• bone saddle
  
• ebony pins
  
• Tor-tis pickguard
  
• original hardshell case
  

So I have been kind of looking to add a 00 size slope shoulder. I had an E10 00ss/v but the nut and neck were a little too narrow and thin respectively. It is my understanding that prior to 2014 Eastman E10 00 SS had a 1.75" nut with a short 24.75" scale, rosewood bridge and fingerboard. I thought I had found one in MN, but it had a significant split on the top that the seller had not disclosed in the pics or the description. If anyone has one that they are willing to move along or sees one in the wild, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
TomC
PS - I might be wrong about the spec change but the new ones are 1 11/16", 24.75" scale and ebony board and bridge and I think it was 2014 that they made the change. 
PSS - I understand that Ted has the E15SS that looks very intriguing. It's just a little above my budget.

Brand new Eastman AC330E-12 12 string with pickup. These are one of the best kept secrets out there wonderful guitar





$850 shipped in the US

BODY STYLE Jumbo 12-string
Lower bout: 17"
Depth: 5"
TOP WOOD Solid Spruce
BRACING Hand Carved, Scalloped X
ROSETTE three ring
BACK/SIDES WOOD Mahogany
BODY BINDING Ivoroid
HEADSTOCK VENEER Ebony
NECK WOODS Mahogany
CONSTRUCTIOn Dovetail Neckjoint
SCALE LENGTH 25 1/2"
NUT WIDTH 1 7/8"
FINGERBOARD Ebony
FRETS 20 Nickel - Silver
PICKGUARD Tortois
INLAYS MOP Micro dots
CONTROLS 1 Volume, 1 Tone
OUTPUT JACK Endpin
BRIDGES/SADDLE Ebony bridge with nominal bone saddle
TUNERS Chrome
ELECTRONICS Fishman Sonotone
STRINGS D'Addario EJ16
CASE Hardshell

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Hi everyone,
I will try not to make this too long. Basically comparing the Martin 000-28 Modern Deluxe my co music teacher purchased in August for I would guess 4000 including tax, to any of the E40om's I played or a e20om-tc which I have not played, but many of you have, is not even close. The Eastman sound is so much clearer, closer to a Collings or Santa Cruz. And more enjoyable to play. I played the Martin quite a bit, this one is so just "machine like" no character and he has had it a couple months, I think he is trying to convince himself that it sounds better than my E1SS, it does sound better, but the Eastman is a fun guitar to play and I enjoy playing it. And it is appropriate for me to bring to music classes. Actually if and when I get a E40om or maybe a used boutique guitar, I would not bring it to teach or accompany music classes.
I urged this guy to give Eastman a shot, or just use the cash and buy a boutique guitar or an older Martin. I actually gave him the Acoustic Shoppe phone number.
For the record I just played a Bigsby/Martin, Merle Travis guitar, I loved it. I also played a D18cw from around 2003 fantastic, both of these guitars highly enjoyable. So I am not bashing Martin, I like Martin guitars, just the money for the 000-28 Modern Deluxe seems too high.
I hope this helps someone doing a search.
Duke

Just couldn't resist. Make note of the 3rd and 4th pics of the neck. But it is a steal and just discounted $500. 

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Eastma...5147277.gc

Very interesting....
https://bourgeoisguitars.net/our-news/an...bourgeois/

I guess we're not the only ones impressed with Eastmans.