Howdy, y'all - I am thinking about buying a "premium" case but can't bring myself to shell out a grand for a Calton - any suggestions / advice ? Are there any Calton knockoffs out there ?? Thanks in advance - I have always gotten great advice on this site......

It's been an unpredictable playoff season.  The Sharks are in the Western Conference final against St. Louis (Game 1 is today; 5pm PT / 8pm ET).  And Boston has taken an early lead in the Eastern Conference final, but Carolina has a chance to even things up tomorrow (Game 2 is 3pm PT / 6pm ET).

Are there any other hockey fans here?  Zissou Intern already mentioned he's a Chicago and Colorado fan, but both of those teams are golfing with my Penguins.

I'm a hands on guy. I've built a lot of things in my life (airplane, motorcycles, houses, guitars...you get the idea) and I've always do my own set-ups on my electric guitars. But one item that for one reason or another I have never taken on is the set-up of an acoustic (other than adjusting the neck relief or installing USP's).

My new AC422ce requires some nut work. The low E is sitting high in the nut and as a result the string goes sharp when I put a capo on the neck. Only about 1/3 of the string sits in the nut, where the desired position is to have 2/3 of the string sitting in the nut (or 0.025 above 1st fret / 0.075 above fret board).

Is this as simple as it looks? Do I just need to order a file kit (link below) and deepen the nut, allowing some tapper towards the tuner? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?

For $85 I can own the tools and be able to do this type of work in the future (maybe once every 5-10 years I may need some type of nut work). Or, I could spend about the same money and send it off to my local trusted luthier and know that it will be done to my satisfaction. To be honest, my luthier has reworked all of my acoustics and they all come back playing fantastic. But I think his magic is that he gets the strings nice and low in the nut (flush with the top). He's taken guitars that were practically unplayable and made them enjoyable. That's not from a relief adjustment. He rarely touches the saddle. So it must be the way he dresses the nut.

Here's the file kit I was looking at. I use custom-light (0.011-0.052) strings but I think this kit should work (within a couple thou). Is there a better kit (meaning less expensive)?

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/To...uitar.html

Hi,

I am Tom from Berlin, Germany. Here in Germany Eastman is still very overlooked and not many discussions can be found about these guitars online. Hopefully you nice guys from this forum can help me.

Is anyone aware of the introduction of the smaller headstock to any other model than the TX184 and T59/v-RD?

I have seen a photo on a local shop's website that is showing a T486 with the smaller headstock design. While the shop itself is a 4,5 hour drive away I just wanted to check I am not hunting for a Chinese fake of a Chinese guitar ;-)

The photos are not very detailed as I just took screenshots to compare it with a T386 from the same shop. I inserted some lines to get a better idea of the dimensions.

The only other hint I was able to found is from a guitar store in California that seems to sell a T486-BK with that smaller headstock design (https://www.laguitarsales.com/index.php/...50087.html).

I have to admit I like the smaller headstock design much more. What are your thoughts?

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Not sure if anyone else watches the videos from Norman's Rare Guitars, but the original host, Mark Agnesi, has moved on to work for Gibson.  He's been replaced with Michael Lemmo to show off their vintage guitars.  While he doesn't explain the guitar's history as well as Mark, Lemmo's playing is off the chart good!  Fridays are "Flattop Friday," so a different acoustic guitar is featured each week.

Here's last week's video of a late 1930s Gibson J-35:

Hi guys. My e20-om has been getting a ton of play time, and so the fretboard is getting a little gunked up. I'm not sure what kind of finish they put on the ebony fretboard, but it is shiny. Typically I just use some 0000 steel wool to clean a dirty fretboard. Is this something I can do with my Eastman, or will it take off the fretboard finish? What do you guys use?

I posted this review on a different forum, earlier this morning.  Thought I would post it here too, on the outside chance, someone here has an interest in the Gibson ES-339 Studio guitar.  Truth be told, I really wanted to check out (and buy) the T484 launched earlier this year at the NAMM show, but it's just a smidge out of my price range...at least for now.  I stumbled across a Gibson ES-339 Studio which was on my bucket list and I believe Gibson stopped making them recently so I decided to purchase the ES-339 because the price and condition was right.

Prologue:

I purchased this guitar a little over a month ago now, and have had some time to play and get-to-know it a little better. Here are some subsequent if not random thoughts about the Gibson ES-339 Studio guitar.

My guitar was built in late 2016. I'll call this Gibson's "budget" version; made in the USA but at an affordable price with some nice, functional features. As best I can tell, this guitar was NOS but could have been (very slightly) used and therefore may negate some of my less positive criticisms.

Here (by the way) is a link to Gibson's archived spec page:  2016 Gibson ES-339 Studio

What I like:

1. Neck is slimmer, soft C shape. Nice if you like a slim neck; not nice if you like the classic Gibson baseball bat neck (I think that is what "they" call it). I like the slim neck.  

2. 57 Classic (neck) and Super 57 Humbucker (bridge) Pickups! Tone-wise, they do not disappoint. Neck and bridge are nicely balanced. Neck p/u has a warm clarity giving the guitar a beautiful, full, but articulate single note (dare I say jazz) tone. Sounds great when you add a touch of overdrive from a pedal. Bridge pickup is bright but controlled (not chimey or shrill); sounds great for all kinds of rhythm styles, from straight-ahead rock chords to funky ninths and most things in between. Very versatile range of tones.

3. Torrified Maple Fretboard - So I guess I should have read the specs carefully before buying this (or any) guitar. From appearances in photos as well as my own assumption, I thought this guitar had a rosewood fretboard. When I first played it, the tone seemed brighter and with more sustain then other 335-style guitars that I've played. While my ears aren't the best at hearing the nuances of various fretboard materials, I became curious why this guitar sounded a little different. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the fretboard appeared to be maple but with a dark finish. Spec's call out Torrified Maple which I guess is the same as roasted, baked or caramelized maple. Sounds more like cooking technique than a type of fretboard. Anyway, love the effect this fretboard has on the tone and sustain.

4. Finish - I love the nitrocellulose lacquer finish. While not as durable as a lesser expensive polyurethane finish, I like the look and feel of lacquer. I also like the color scheme which is a dark orange to very dark cherry to black finish. Gibson calls this color scheme, Ginger Burst.

What I Don't Like (or what could have been better):

1. This guitar needed a setup...badly. I guess most guitars do, but for sure my ES-339 desperately needed a setup. In fact, after replacing the strings with the brand and gauge I prefer and then adjusting the neck relief, string height and intonation, it is apparent that this guitar will need a (minor) fret level...which I will do when time permits.

2. Finish - While l love the Ginger Burst color scheme and nitrocellulose lacquer finish, the overall quality of the finish seems a little lacking; I'll call it rough. Not a deal breaker but upon close inspection you'll see small spots where the base color faintly shows through what should be solid black. Very subtle, but some finish flaws are apparent. Also, it looks like they applied the finish over some very minor flaws in the woodwork. Nothing major...but definitely a C+ or B- grade compared to other manufacturers.

3. Grover Rotomatic Tuners - Usually Grover Rotomatics are I would consider a very tried and true brand and model, but a couple of my tuners had severe tight spots. Even after adjusting the tuner screws and hex nuts, there was some serious binding. I ordered a new set of Grover Rotomatics (14:1) with Keystone tuners and replaced the originals. Now, no issues...just initially disappointed with the original Grover tuners.

4. Nut - There was significant binding (string ping) with the stock nut. Admittedly, I replaced old strings with a heavier gauge string. So, realizing that the nut was probably cut for lighter gauge strings, I used nut files to enlarge the string slots appropriately. Big improvement on all strings except the unwound G. I think the nut material that is used on this guitar seems too soft. I've ordered a new nut from StewMac and plan to replace as soon as the new nut arrives.

5. Pickup Rings - Pickup ring for the neck pickup is a slanted style pickup ring; the type usually used to offset (i.e. level) the pickup angle on archtop style guitars. In this case, the slanted pickup ring is not needed and it basically acutely cants the neck pickup in a non-parallel plane with the strings. I've ordered a new set of pickup rings and expect that this will correct the problem.

6. Hardshell Case - The included hardshell case is not great. Honestly, I think the Epiphone ES-339 hardshell case is much, much better although not included in the price of the Epi 339. I guess the price of the Gibson ES-339 Studio is pretty affordable and one of the ways they probably kept costs low was with a lower quality case. I guess the included case is functional...and I'm probably being nitpicky.

In Summary:

Love the guitar, love the tone, love the playability, love the fit. Love the color and the nitrocellulose finish, just wish Gibson did a little better job with the woodwork and applying the color coats. Love the pickups, but some room for improvement on the rest of the hardware/setup including the nut, fret leveling, pickup rings, and tuners. Wish the quality of the included case was at least as nice as the Epi version but then the price probably would have been higher.

Overall, this is a definite keeper and I'm very happy with this guitar...but would have much preferred the Eastman T484!  But someday..."It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine." ~Wayne Campbell

Happy Friday all...

Here are two recent fingerstyle players I have stumbled across ... like them both!  I wanted to share these two videos, check it out:

Andrea Valeri:





Clive Carroll:

I purchased an AC422ce this week. It will be added to the guitar family seen in the photo attached.

I'm a gigging musician. I've been gigging with the same guitarist for the last 20 years mostly as a duo, but we recently expanded to include a bass and drummer. We do 80's/90's covers, and with the full band we are shooting for an MTV Unplugged vibe (back when it was good). We start gigging together next month.

For the last 10 years I've been gigging with a Blueridge BG-160 (Gibson slope shoulder AJ copy) with an LR Baggs Element USP and M1 soundhole, mixed onboard with an LR Baggs iMix. I absolutely love this guitar and it has served me well...but we all know how new guitar syndrome works...once I had it in my head that I wanted a new guitar I had feed the beast.

I really wanted a Taylor 414ce-R, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend $2,600 on a guitar. For that kind of money it should have 2 wheels and a throttle. I played a lot of Grand Auditorium alternatives to the Taylor but there was something about all that kept me from dropping the coin. After playing a number of guitars I happened upon the AC422ce. I honestly think that this guitar has great tone and articulation and stands above the Taylor. The construction and craftsmanship is outstanding, I'm loving the nitro finish. A great deal ($850) sealed the deal. You will see in the photo an Orangewood Mason Live. I did give that a try and thought it was OK, but after playing it at a gig I send it back to Orangewood. It really sounds great plugged in, but because it has laminated back and sides, it doesn't communicate through it's body to my body. I felt completely disconnected from it during the performance and I found myself overplaying as a result.

I'm really looking forward to playing the AC422ce out. I'm installing a heal strap button and then heading out to an open mic tonight to give it a live performance test drive.

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Maple St Guitars introduced me to Eastman 8-9yrs ago, got this in their newsletter today.

Crank er UP:

https://youtu.be/o-ksa8JS4VE