I recently got the urge of an ES-335 style guitar and began looking around at what was available. I was aware of the Eastman brand through positive reviews in Guitarist Magazine in the UK, but like many, was wary of a Chinese-made guitar at this price point. But the name kept coming up as I searched online, so I couldn't dismiss the brand completely. Where I live, there's a lack of high end guitar dealers, so I couldn't try what Gibson have to offer, and although I'm not one to bash the Big G - I have several of their guitars and love them all - I wouldn't risk buying one blind.

A couple of weeks ago I travelled across the pond to New York and tried all the Gibson 335s I could find, save for the Custom models. I have to say, I was underwhelmed with all of them. None of them were bad, they had no flaws in fit or finish, all of them played perfectly well, but none of them had that bit of soul that I expect from such a guitar. They were all ... meh. None of them felt or sounded significantly better than the Epiphone Lucille I already have.

(As an aside, the one guitar that really did it for me was a used Heritage Prospect at Guitar Center on 14th St, it really was something special, and I already regret not buying it.)

Fast forward to this weekend past, and I happened to be in Belfast for a book festival, and I had a look in the city's main guitar shop. Tucked away in one corner was a cherry Burny/Fernandes 335 copy and an Eastman T386 in sunburst. I tried them both, and the Burny was quickly dismissed. There was nothing wrong with it, it was a perfectly fine instrument at its price, but it just didn't do it for me. The Eastman, on the other hand...

The T386 was light in weight and extremely resonant. It had that lovely 335 bark when you dig into the strings that was lacking from all the others I'd tried recently. And the feel was right with that nitro finish and no new-guitar stiffness. Plugged in, it sounded more impressive than I expected, with the Kent Armstrongs giving a surprisingly good account of themselves. Then I checked the price tag and saw it had been discounted from the usual UK street price of £999 down to £699. Decision made, I took it home with me.

Now that I've lived with it for a few days, I'm still happy. There are no problems with the frets, and only a very few minor finish flaws such as I'd expect to see on a Gibson, the typical beauty spots you find on any hand-finished instrument. The only real issue was that the nut needed attention: the 1st, 2nd and 4th slots needed to be deepened, and the 3rd had to be filled and re-slotted because it was too wide. The action is now nice and easy, the guitar feels great to play, and is acoustically alive with loads of zing and dynamics. Just what I wanted from a 335. My only gripe is the string path along the flared headstock; that there isn't sufficient clearance for the 4th and 5th strings on their way to the tuners is just bad design.

So onto my questions, and they concern modifications:

The first is about hardware and wiring. Browsing the internet, lots of people discuss upgrading the bridge and tailpiece, or the switches and pots. I'm wondering why? The bridge and tailpiece are both good quality Gotoh pieces, and I see nothing wrong the tuners, other than how they're located and its effect on string path. Online specs say the switch and output jack are both Switchcraft, and from what I can see from outside the f-holes, the pots are full size and seem good quality, and certainly perform well. I don't know if they're CTS, but they don't scream "replace me". So why are people bothering with that? I can't judge the quality of the wiring itself, but if Eastman are using good quality hardware components, it would seem daft to scrimp on the wiring and caps. Has anyone taken the guts out of a T386 to see what the harness is like?

The second question is in regards to the Kent Armstrong pickups. They sound surprisingly good, but given the guitar's acoustic qualities, I think it might be a rare case of the guitar flattering the pickups. Being an inveterate tinkerer, I am of course looking at replacing them with some Gibson Custombuckers that I have in my parts box. Now, I've replaced pickups and wiring in thinline semis before, and it's always a massive pain in the arse. I see that the T386 has a cavity beside the bridge pickup which should make things a little easier. Anyway, the question for anyone who's replaced the pups in one of these: were you able to just bring the volume pots out through the f-hole to solder the pups in, or did you have to take the entire harness out to work on it? As thinline semis go, was it particularly difficult?

Any thoughts welcome!

Looking for a specific model of a car...

A very nice salesperson gets you in a golf car and keeps showing you various storage lots with  some of your model, but keep on bringing you to models you have absolutely no interest in while wasting your time.

What do you do? Keep going back to the same dealer until they stumble on the ones you really want to see or, do you go to another dealer that shows you what you ask for?

"I" say any sane person who values their time will go to other dealers...

This brings me to reverb.com

The vast number of items listed there they continually show again and again page after page on their ridiculously inflexible pages limited to 24 items that you CANNOT filter out! Their bump and sponsored listings are worse, they MAY be sort of what you're looking for but I only want to see them ONCE! Are they hoping to wear you down and get you to buy something you do not want?

Ask for anything with the word custom, you get "SHOP" continually thrown at you. Dozens and dozens of repeated items not requested.

The VAST majority of items on there are also on Ebay.

So on Ebay I can search...

Gibson Les Paul custom -epiphone -plate -V -sg -style -fender -replica -special -lite -junior -standard -classic -studio -pro -class -reissue -shop -color -traditional -left

And get most of what I'm looking for with 98 items displayed without repeats. 

Add to that Ebay is a vigorous defender of buyer's rights where in my experience Reverb has a laissez faire attitude preferring sellers and buyers hammer out their issues.

Even if I happened to see something on Reverb and it's listed on Ebay, where do I go to buy? Ebay!

PS. The worst part of marketing types is they are ignorant of the sales they miss and think only about the ones they make. Their loss.

Hello Eastman family,
I just purchased this beauty used but in mint condition not too long ago. From Eastman, I found out that my guitar was built in 2013. Currently, I have Elixir on it. I would like to try different strings in the next few months. What are your favorite strings to put on your E6OM?

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I brought my Eastman E10 OM-TC to Acoustic Vibes in Tempe AZ last week.  The primary reason for bringing my guitar to the store was to have the action lowered a bit, however while I was there, I decided to A/B my Eastman TC model against the very best of the best acoustic brands (Collings, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois, Lowden, etc).

Although it could easily be argued I have inherent bias   - I have to say once again, my Eastman really held its own against many of the other high end OM models I played.  Tone, playability, fit and finish ... all of it.  Eastman particularly has really upped its game regarding fit/finish and consistent quality in the last couple of years.  It's so great to be able to own these quality Eastman guitars. 

I guess I'm not sharing anything new on this forum... except to say that Eastman continues to amaze and satisfy this acoustic guitar lover!

(03-10-2019, 07:30 AM)Charlieb Wrote: Wow, I've always loved and wanted a cello, like to know how that goes if you ever get one. I need to spend more time listening to classical. Awhile back I heard this great movement in a Debussy tune that I worked and worked on that one movement, done forgot what it was now. Guitarist Roxane Elfasci amazes me and her live version of Debussy's Claire de lune is simply amazing...and oops didn't mean to derail the thread so much, my bad...I just love so many genre's of music so much from classical to Captain Beefheart ha

I don't know whether any of you have heard of a Jacques Loussier, a jazz musician who died a few days ago. If not I must recommend you listen to some of his improvisations of Bach's music (Bach always did write the best bass lines by the way). I saw Jacques twice in Liverpool in the 1970s and will never forget those concerts! In his day Bach himself was a famous improviser at the keyboard - a fact ignored by many of the stuffier music critics. This is perhaps JL's best know adaption - but many others are at least as good.
  
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jac...&FORM=VDRE

and more Bach on guitar (recognise the guitar?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8GaE55VnbQ

If I wanted to record a tune solo with a modest bass line, and rhythm line and lead line, what would be the simplest, and ideally free, software to use to record and amalgamate these three elements? Anyone have any ideas/suggestions? I am not intent on hijacking this forum for purposes other than the appreciation of Eastman guitars, but with the awesome amount of knowledge possessed by forum members, I would be foolish not to ask.

I know its soon to ask but....Favorite strings for the Eastman E10 OM TC?

I think mine came new with D Addario from Acoustic Shoppe but I need to call and check.   I had it setup locally to get a little lower and decide to put Monels on it since I liked them on the E10SS I had.   Had them on a few days and they have gotten better but were extremely harsh at first .... but will at least give them two weeks so hopefully they break in.  

I have been playing with electric and lately and purchased a Squire CV Tele in Butterscotch on top of the Strat and man its hard coming back from 9s to even a light 12 on acoustic everything feels so tight.   Night and Day!

Hello Everyone, been following this site for awhile now, and thought I’d let you know of my recent purchase of the new act2g-ov from the nice folks at Blues Angel Music in Florida.it was part of the Eastman booth at the NAMM show and decided to pull the trigger. knowing the quality of Eastman since I own the following: e8om, e6om Ltd., ac710,and an md605 Mando, I’ve been interested in their new all solid wood travel model. Just received it today, and like all my other Easties, I’m very impressed. I had previously owned a Taylor GS mini that I had trouble adapting to the different neck shape and large sound hole made it difficult to play fingestyle, so I sold it. The Eastman sounds so much nicer both plugged in and unplugged. Their using a Fishman Sonic system in these and it sounds awesome. Will make a great gigging guitar. I also like the open pore finish. I was concerned the Solid Ovangkol back and sides with the Sitka top would be quite brite, but it nicely balanced. There’s not much info out there on these new models,and I haven’t even seen another one for sale anywhere, so it looks like I have the only one for now. The Reverb listing is still up if anyone interested in the pictures!.....Jimmy

Hey Friends! The good people over at AGF mentioned EGF to me, and while I've already been a very grateful visitor for knowledge for a while, I figured It was time for a membership and give ya'll some NGD love. I grew up in AK, classically trained by day, gigged in a heavy metal band by night Haha. After a decade hiatus from playing (life...) its fantastic to be playing again, albeit with less headbanging these days... Story time and photos for those interested! 

16' E20D: Found at my local Buckdancer's Choice here in Portland, Maine. Fantastic shop. Half a dozen trips comparing it to different dreads new and used. My ears loved this box, and my fingers loved the playability. Towards the end, I was comparing it with a re-imagined D35 and HD-28. Really impressed with the build quality. I’ve got Martin Pb 13s on atm and she’s a total beast. Didn’t think I’d go for the sunburst, but I think it looks great with the herringbone binding. 

08' AC822: Craigslist find here in Maine. Genuine dude who loved this guitar. Replaced with Grovers a few years ago when the A and Low E weren't holding tune. John Pearse rosewood armrest. Dual source Baggs, but isn’t installed atm. The Engelmann top is really impressive. Love the Mini-Jumboness! Martin 11's on it and an effortless fingerstyle guitar. Gotta say I love that abalone rosette and maple binding... My jury wasn't sold on the Armrest, but it is pretty dang comfy and I feel like I can tell the top rings better without my forearm resting on it. 

I am stoked to be joining this community, and I have no doubt that these aren't the last Eastmans i'll fall in love with...

*notes and questions:

• The legit Grovers look and feel quite a bit more robust than the 'oem' ones on the E20D. 
• There's a few tiny flakes of Nitro missing off the 822. Any advise to seal these spots? Should I? Only for the sake of preservation really. 
• The nitro is much thicker on the New E20D. It's so delicate on the 822, the wood grain is clearly seen and felt under finger in places.
• High E 12th fret on the 822 is kinda dead. Neck relief and action are perfect tho. No twists or raised/flat frets. I don't really want to change the playability while I bring that note back to life...any advise is appreciated.