Hi all - thought it might be a good to have a thread detailing places where forum members have had a good experience purchasing Eastman (either online or local dealers).

For me personally, I have purchased from Guitars Plus USA (http://www.guitarsplususa.com/) in the past, with good success.  I also purchased from Penny Lane Emporium (via ebay) and had a good experience too.

Curious, where have others purchased from?  I know PV has mentioned LA guitar sales as a good spot.

Hey, gang!

Is there a place you go to get away from it all?  It can be somewhere around the world, just down the road, or maybe just a quiet spot in the backyard.

Less than five years ago, our family took a vacation to Costa Rica.  We had never visited before, but the mix of warm beaches and tropical rain forest mountains sounded amazing. But the best surprise was the people, who were incredibly positive and friendly.  Over the last four years, we have returned as often as possible, making lasting friendships and creating incredible memories.

And now, we have two rental properties, so we've been able to share our corner of paradise with family, friends, and others.  Once our kids are grown, maybe we will divide our time between CR and the States.  Like many others, I've worked demanding jobs all my life, and I'm facing some health issues at a relatively early age, so CR has also taught me to slow down and enjoy life more.  That's why I chose "Pura Vida" as my user name --- it translates to "pure life," and it's their national saying down there.

So, I'd be happy to answer any questions about Costa Rica (here or privately).  And I want to hear about your place to get away from it all.

Pura Vida!

Brian

Curious - how many of you actually play mandolin?  I personally would love to own one, but haven't done much beyond noodling on then when in an instrument store.  I know which brand I will be buying when the day comes to acquire one 

Howdy folks - created an area for any other non-music related discussions.  Please keep in mind (of course) the family friendly nature of EGF, and please refrain from political discussion.  Thank you and enjoy!

NGD today --- just in time for this wonderful new Eastman site!

If you haven't noticed by now, I've gone "all in" on Eastman in 2017.  I started with an E40D and then bought two OM guitars, all of which I love.  Along the way, I discovered two things: (1.)  I'm really partial to Rosewood, so I sold off a few Mahogany body guitars, all of which were dreads and (2.) I've always been - and continue to be a dread player (see #1 for my dilemma).  I have a Rosewood/Sitka dread (2008 Seagull Artist Studio), but it's a totally different creature and not getting any attention since the Easties showed up.

I called Ted at LA Guitar Sales, who had two E20D guitars in stock.  Based on the photos, I had a preference, but didn't say, so I could get his live feedback.  They were very comparable, but he agreed with my preference.  Next, I asked him to play both guitars, as well as an E40D that he has in stock.  When he called me back, he confirmed that all three were in the same tonal family with a bias towards the E40D (no surprise).  However, he was surprised to discover that the same E20D was  more responsive and 20% louder than either of the other two guitars.

So, it delivered today, and wow is he right.  This thing is a cannon!  I can't really make a direct comparison b/c my E40D currently has Nickel Bronze strings on it, but it's as loud as my E40D --- and right out of the gate (with the stock D'Addario strings), the tone and sustain are superb, as is the build quality.  I am very pleased with the top, which is mostly blonde with just a bit of red grain mixed in (and a few markings, which may or may not be small, faint bearclaws).  Likewise, the Rosewood body is fairly straight,  but the back has this really interesting dark streak that runs perpendicular along the back.  Can Rosewood have a bearclaw too, LOL??!!!

So, ***this is likely my last Eastman purchase for quite a while.  I am consistently amazed at these beautiful guitars --- everything from the wood selection, build quality, bracing, sound.  I feel so fortunate to own these fine instruments and will be hanging onto to them for many years.

*** Famous Last Words


Obligatory NGD photos:

Hi EGF board - 

I have added a new feature to the forum that should be incredibly useful for sharing guitar photos here on the board!

To add a photo, all you have to do is click on the "imgur" button on the left side - then select your photo and upload.

After 5-6 seconds, an imgur URL to your image will automatically be added to your post!

Simple one click!

This will work on both New message posts, and 'New Reply' but is not an option in the quick reply section

I have performed some limited testing and seems to work - but give it a shot and let me know if you have any issues. Enjoy!

Cheers!
Tim (Meathead)

Sometimes you end up in the right place at the right time. Such was my case many years ago on an early fall evening. 
Eastman had begun to build their dealer network in Missouri. They had selected a location that would later be known as The Acoustic Shoppe to host a road show event and introduce their guitars and mandolins to the Springfield, Missouri market. Our proximity to Branson does not go unnoticed. 
The Eastman rep arrived with just about every model of guitar and mandolin in their line up. Which was a smaller selection than today, but still a sizable volume for one person to demonstrate. To his credit he enlisted the help of a couple of phenomenal bluegrass players, John Chapman on guitar and Jeremy Chapman on mandolin. 
The Eastman rep began by introducing the company, explaining the hand crafted build process, selection of tone woods to a curious crowd of about 30 people. Then the magic happened.
The Eastman rep handed a mandolin and guitar to the Chapman's. They started with a medium tempo bluegrass tune. Giving us all a chance to hear the wonderful tone of these Eastman instruments. Soon the pace increased. The rep was trading out guitars and mandolins explaining the different models and construction of each.
Then BAM! Lighting in a bottle. These fellows started playing the fire out of these Eastmans. So fast and clean, not missing a single lick, as the poor Eastman rep had to stop talking and trade out instruments as quickly as possible. While this fellow had a hard time trading out guitars and mandolins, John and Jeremy just quickened the pace, smiling and laughing the whole time. 
If you get a chance to checkout an Eastman event, do it. You might get lucky and hear magic right before your very eyes.

Look at this thing!  Sadly I don't remember where I found this, but saved it to my collection several months ago.  I don't know if this is a custom shop or what it is... but wow... flamed KOA and arm bevel.  I didn't even know they offered those options.  Maybe a mainland China option only?

Earlier this year, my local Eastman store relocated and held a grand re-opening event.  Steve Bernstein from Eastman visited for the day and brought a lot of cool gear with him, including a Mandocello and some guitars that the local store normally didn't carry in their store.  Aside from asking 100 questions about Eastman guitars, I entered a contest to win an Eastman ACTG1 travel guitar.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they selected my name at the end of the day.
https://www.facebook.com/wmm95616/videos...850516622/

The guitar sounds louder, deeper, and richer than I expected.  I'd say that it compares nicely to a Taylor Mini with a solid Sitka Spruce top and laminate Sapele body. The size and scale are definitely too small for me, so I considered selling it or passing it down to my kids.  But my wife came up with the idea of storing it in our rental house in Costa Rica, where we have a locked room for personal items.  We get down there 2-3x / year, so I'll be sure to give it some TLC along with playing it on vacation.

Here's the guitar.  Love the bearclaw top on this little guy!

Sorry, long post, but hopefully an entertaining story...

Earlier this year, I came awfully close to purchasing an E15-SS, which is a custom "00" Rosewood/Adi guitar, inspired by the classic Gibson LG2.  Although I was assured that the guitar was extremely responsive and carried a bigger sound than its smaller body suggested, until recently, I played mostly dreads, so I was getting cold feet about the smaller body.  I had just purchased an E40OM, so I decided to compare measurements between the OM and E-15 models.  Since the E15 was a burst, I subconsciously selected the E20OM-SB to get the specs.

I quickly forgot what I was doing and began clicking on the photos.  The burst was gorgeous, and I am aesthetically partial to ebony boards (the E15 has a rosewood bridge and board).  It just looked so sharp and elegant.  I continued clicking and got to the Rosewood back, and it didn't look like typical EIR.  So, I called back to Ted at LA Guitar Sales, who was already incredibly patient and helpful on previous purchases and my indecisiveness about the E15-SS.  He inspected the E20OM-SB, confirmed that the EIR back was a dark and extremely narrow grain that closely resembled Madagascar Rosewood.  When he played it, he noted that the sound was deeper, but slightly less responsive than the E15-SS (neither surprised me).  So long E15-SS... hello E20OM-SB!

When the guitar arrived, it was as stunning as the photos described, and the Rosewood body was even prettier in person.  My only remaining concern was whether it would sound just like my E40OM, as I didn't want to spend this kind of money on redundancy.  But that's one of the beautiful things about Eastman and hand-crafted guitars --- every one is different!

The tone is much darker, but in a good Martin-esque way, so it really didn't sound like the E40OM at all.  And I noticed that this one has a little more volume, but I have to work harder to get it (back to those responsiveness comments).  But that tight, compressed sound/feeling is loosening ever-so-slowly, which is perfectly fine, since it's only a few months old (and Adi tops can take 1-3 years to hit their stride).  I remind myself of the story I read online about a player who had a similarly tight Rosewood/Adi guitar, and after about three years, it turned into the best guitar they owned.... so, I'm being optimistic and patient!

Obligatory photos:















I "borrowed" this photo from LA Guitar sales b/c I can't get a decent photo of the back w/o a bunch of glare: