Hi, folks, happy Saturday!!

Well, I just sold my much-loved RK Shoenburg 00. Mint, with case, etc.  Great little guitar, dry enough to bang some blues, gospel, and fingerstyle, and with plenty of projection, but the truth is I play the E6 om - like all the time, and the RK wasn't getting any time. I am sure you folks are sick of hearing me drone on about the E6.....

Anyway, I have been all set to pick up an E8 om (or an E20 om TC if one is ever seen in captivity again), but I have been contacted by an aquaintance who has his Larrivee L40R for sale. I know the Larry's are pretty well-regarded, and I am looking for a complimentary rosewood, so I am curious about this Larrivee as compared to an E20 (or E8) om.  Conversely, how close are the E6 om and E8 om to each other?

My point (and I do have one...) is, if the E8 and E6 om's are pretty close in tone as far as range, balance, etc (mahogany /rosewood differences notwithstanding), I wonder how the L40R compares?  I've read the Larrivee neck is a touch beefier, and with a different fretboard radius, and I am one of those folks who cares about neck feel.  

But teh Larrivee L series is touted as a great step between a dread body and an om, comfortable but with substantial lower end (and the well-known Larrivee balance).

Does anyone have any experience with this guitar?  I would sincerely appreciate any insight from anyone.  Meanwhile, there's a little shop who I think has a Larrivee or two, I will check 'em out today.

Thanks!!!

cf

Hi,

Folks, if anyone is interested, I have a couple of items I will mail to you if you are interested - free of charge, and free of postage.  Just payin' it forward...

1.  Fred Kelly Delrin Freedom fingerpicks, size LARGE.  They are the clear ones.  If you do a search, you'll see many steallar reviews on these.  I picked 'em up and never got used to them at all (sticking with my Alaskapiks).  I have a set of three fingerpicks.

2.   Fred Kelly Delrin Freedom fingerpicks size MEDIUM. Set of three. These are the white ones.  Same same, brand new, just didn't click with me.

3.  Tortise-colored pick guard.  Self stick, and I don't know who it is made by, but it's been hanging around my sound room for awhile and I need to either do something with it or give it away. The shape is sort of a cross between a Taylor and a teardrop -- fits easily on an OM or dread, but it's not a full-sized, huge teardrop.  I will try to post a picture of it later today.

Anyway, I dont' really know how this should work, so I will say if you are interested, I'll make it a first-come, first-served thing. If you are looking for some Fred Kelly's or an unusual pick guard, let me know and we'll work it out.  (MH, PV, if you guys think this should be via PM, please weigh in).

Thanks!! 

cf

Hi there, 
I'm a new member here, thank you for the membership.
I've been saving up for a T486 and, finally, I'm ready to pull the trigger. Even though I've never had the chance to actually play an Eastman, there's no doubt in my mind. As I can tell from this forum, I will probably not be the first to buy an Eastman on faith and the extremely good reviews alone.

But since I haven't played an Eastman, I haven't seen one either and I'm totally conflicted about which colour to choose. I would love some input from actual Eastman owners. I'm leaning towards a red T486 with the classic as a very close second. The red one has all the iconic ES335 bluesy vibe, but when you look at online photos, the red colour varies from a screaming red to an almost burgundy/brownish colour. I guess it's a hard colour to reproduce photographically. The classic just seems very nice and perhaps even unique to Eastman guitars, but maybe somewhat more conservative (which isn't necessarily a drawback). 

It's a highly subjective matter of course and I know I'll be happy with whichever colour I choose, but nevertheless I'd love to hear your take on the available colours. What are your thoughts, experiences, any regrets...? 

Thanks

I have been eyeballing an E8d for 2 years now and there were always 2 or 3 shops I could see on internet selling them.
Now I'm finally willing to pull the trigger, but I can't seem to find them anywhere anymore?! Are E series no longer being produced?

Does anyone have experience with importing or buying an Eastman from a major webshop and having it shipped?

What American or Chinese shops should I be looking at?

Thanks guys.

Hi there,


Got one that's puzzling me. I was cleaning my AR 372 and when I flipped the guitar over without any strings on it, a couple of small metal parts fell from my guitar. I really have no idea where these things go. I have only found three so far and don't know how many of these things there are on my guitar in the first place. Does anyone know what this part is and where I need to place them?




Thanks,

Polecat Jones

OK! What would be your dream but commercially plausible (e.g. no platinum inlays please) guitar for Eastman to introduce to their line? Mine would be a Rosewood Eastman OM with a varnish finish as per the two current varnish models - the E10OOSS/v and E10ss/v. Rosewood back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top, more E8OM than E20OM. Minimal bling as with the two antique varnish models. Pearl dots and ebony fingerboard please. I would like a subtle cherry burst effect - but ideally not 'antiqued' - i.e. not artificially aged. I will live with the ageing process - indeed welcome it. During an extended dialogue with Eastman Europe about a mandatory pickguard (I didn't want it) it emerged that the adoption of an 'antiqued' varnish finish was largely down to a fear that without it the rapid wearing of the varnish would stand out like a saw thumb and be viewed as a fault. Same rational for the mandatory pickguard. OK, If a pick guard was obligatory, then a tor-tis D45 with mottled medium and dark reds please. And finally, If push came to a shove, an antiqued varnish would do. One final thought, not a prerequisite - what if this guitar had a thermo-cured top? mmmmmmmmm!

I finally added the other guitar I was considering. I received a lot of great suggestions on an E10D, ACs or E10SS but I decided I wanted to add something “tonally” different. The E10 00SS/v is definitely all of that.
I will dispose of the negatives right away as they are not significant but are present
1) The Ping tuners were very tight especially on the G and B strings. If I hadn’t already planned on replacing them with Gotohs with white buttons I may have returned the guitar.
2) There is some definite manufacturing debris on the inside. Mostly just some areas of errant glue. I do not know if this was for affect considering the model and intent or just a little more attention to detail required. My E40OM and E8D are very well finished on the inside. I don’t believe it affects tone and I don’t see it when I play it, so it isn’t that big of an issue.

The positives
1) Finish - I would assume this is a personal deal as some may not like it, but I find it very unique and attractive.
2) Weight - this guitar is surprisingly light. I did not weigh it, but I would estimate it is no more than 2/3 the weight of my E40 and maybe 1/2 of my E8D.
3) Nut/string spacing - I was little concerned with the smaller nut, but the string spacing is identical to my E40OM and my E8D. 1.5” at the nut, 1.83” at the 12th fret and 2.2” at the bridge.
4) Volume - surprisingly loud for such a small guitar. Additionally the notes seem to maintain their individuality even when you drive it hard. I am not sure how best to explain that.
5) Tone - this guitar reminds me of an old guitar. I can’t think of any better way of explaining it. I am working on Sweet Virginia, Hesitation Blues and Nobody Knows You and the guitar seems to be have the perfect tone for these songs.
6) I had the guitar set up by the same tech that did my other guitars. The slots at the nut were very high especially the E & A strings and the intonation of the bridge was a little off. He adjusted both and the action is very low and fast. It fits me.
7) Neck - besides the 1 11/16” nut the neck is very thin. Anyone who likes a chunky neck would probably not like this guitar. Anyone migrating over from electric would probably find it an easy transition. It is noticeably different than all of my other guitars and will take some practice and getting use to.
8) a little personalization- I had a set of Gotoh SEs that I was going to install on a Martin 000-18 but the screw holes did not line up. I switched out the buttons to white because I thought this guitar just begged for it. The screw holes are a perfect fit, but the shafts on the Gotoh are .65 mm vs .6 mm on the Pings, so some reaming was required on the headstock. I also felt a set of white bridge pins was appropriate, so I changed out the ebony ones with white Blisstime bone pins.

My goal was to add something “tonally” different - mission accomplished!!. I would be remiss in not thanking Ted and Helene at LA Guitars for their assistance - and pricing. Once again they were a pleasure with whom to do business and very patient in their responses. Pictures attached.
TomC

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Just got thru trying a new song on my E10SS/V.
It plays & sounds like a guitar that is "broken in", looks like a vintage guitar.
Since Eastman put the effort into recreating a 60-70 year-old guitar, I'm curious if the top got the same treatment (TC'd)?

So, the other day I opened a topic about cutaways, and while I was diving deeper into that I ran into the age-old question: Am I getting an E8-OM or E20-OM? Right now a dread is a bit too massive for me to play and I feel an OM would give me a lot more comfort when I sit down and practice. Personally, I'm leaning towards an E8, simply because I already own 2 guitars with an Adirondack top (E20D and the prototype of what would be the E10-SS). The E8OM has solid sitka spruce, which no guitar I own at the moment has. Well, the DM1 has sitka, but that guitar has such a harsh and distinctive sound that I don't see myself play soft, non-percussive fingerstyle material on there.

Another reason I'm thinking about the E8-OM is that it has the same woods (rosewood and sitka spruce) as the one in this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sZp0XzHNJ8, and I love the way it sounds. Now, I know that's a Martin, but at the moment I simply don't have the cash for that, and the Martins I have played over here have sort of left me underwhelmed. One dreadnaught from the 70s was particularly bad, holy moly. I took down a D20 from the wall to verify I wasn't losing my hearing. It was messy, muddled, directionless and all-over. Never really found out what happened there. Also, Josh seems really comfortable playing it.

The DM1 (1250,-) definitely feels a bit cheaper than the D20 (1650,-), and I wonder if it's the same story when comparing the E20-OM (1650,-) to the E8-OM (1299,-). Would anyone know more about this? I'd go to my local store but it's closed for another week and I kind of want to do my pre-research before I go in next week and potentially buy either of them. Also, those who picked the E8-OM over the E20-OM (or the other way around): WHY?

Reverb/Guitar Guys Ohio.

Spoke with Brandon on Reverb about the guitar.
He said its new old stock on display said he'll accept $849 plus free shipping.
Brandon said ok to post the price.
Seems like a good deal.

I don't know Brandon or Guitar Guys Ohio.
Have only messaged him thru Reverb.