Those were my son-in-law's first words when hearing myE10SS for the first time.

Anyone remember the days of the Camaro SS? How about E10 Super Sport?

The quality and richness of sound, clear articulation of each string, with overall deep resonance continues to impress. regardless of price.

So I pulled out my kitchen scale a couple of months ago and decided I wanted to know what all of my Eastman's weighed.  I found below that they're all in the 4-5 pound range. 

2015 E10oo-M--4 lbs 5.5 oz
2017 E6OM--4 lbs. 5.4 oz
2017 E20om--4 lbs 10.6 oz
2020 E10oo--4 lbs 7.9 oz
2021 E10SS/V--4 lbs 4.8 oz

Does anyone have an idea of what makes these heavier than something like a Martin or Collings (or something even lighter?)  I don't have solid numbers on the weights of similar instruments from other makers (maybe someone else here does?) but these guitars seem slightly heavy.  I've googled around a little and it seems like these could be 8-16 oz lighter.  Some suggestions might be thicker wood in the body, beefier necks, thicker finish, thicker bracing, or denser wood? 

My lightest Eastman is my largest, but my E10ss/V also has the slimmest neck and (probably) thinnest finish.  Those of you with E40's--do they seem lighter than the 20 series?  These aren't HEAVY, but they're not super light either.  I'm not sure how much weight matters, but hoped some of you might have an idea on the philosophy here.  Thanks!

I'll try not to delete this even tho this is not much of a jazz appreciators forum. When I first heard Clint years ago he was playing with Freddie Powers who then introduced him to Haggard and he wound up playing in Merle's band for 6or7 years. That's when I had to know more about Clint. I went on to find out he had studied with Howard Roberts when he was about 9 years old. 

Clint has some great stories of growing up around many of the multi-instrument premier players that were friends of his dad and would come to his dad's house and play and where he got to meet and learn from the true musical masters.

Here's Clint in 1982 at the old age of 17 years old playing live in a 3 piece with Fred Crane (piano) Bruce Lett (Bass). Clint has had many ups and downs in life. I was very pleased that he recently started a youtube channel.

Secret Love




When Sonny Gets Blue




All The Things You Are

Hi All, 

I clicked the wrong box when ordering online and have no use for 13's (new, unopened).
Anyone want to swap for 11's of roughly equal value?  Monels, PB's, 80-20's, Aluminum Bronze; use them all...


(Figuring honour system simultaneous mail-outs...


Cheers,

Noah

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I was seriously considering this E16SS because of the stunning bearclaw top. I noticed it finally sold on Reverb, and hope someone on here got it. Anyone get this one? It's amazing to me that Eastman would provide such a stunning all solid wood and extremely bearclaw top at only $1500. There's a guy on YT that bought this model and said that the same build spec at Martin or Taylor would've cost $5,000.

Does anyone own this model yet?? I'm really interested in it. I want another dread, and I love the aesthetics of this guitar. I just have no experience with maple b/s. I've read it has strong fundamentals like hog?

I've also never had an Adi Top. I mainly play fingerstyle or light strumming. Jazz chord structures. Rarely do I use a flat pick. So with that being said, isn't Adi really best served for someone that has a more aggressive attack? With that being said, I'm wanting to learn more bluegrass and flat-picking styles.

Thanks! And man are we blessed to have such great guitars in Eastman.


Eastman E16SS-TC-LTD, Thermo-Cured Bearclaw Adirondack, Birdseye Maple, Limited https://reverb.com/item/63624328-eastman...t=63624328

I recently bought an E6D-tc off of reverb that was advertised as mint: https://reverb.com/item/63120018-eastman...ini-pickup

It arrived Wednesday with a badly cracked bridge (see pics below--it goes all the way through from the top of the bridge to the soundboard).  After referencing the seller's reverb pics, it can be verified that the crack was there prior to shipping, and the seller agreed.  However, the seller is being defensive and refusing to take responsibility because he says the damage happened before he bought it and resold it to me.  Yes you read that correctly.  

I bent over backwards trying to be kind to the guy (even just preemptively chalking it up to an accidental overlook), but he's not reciprocating, and after refusing to pay for the repair or offer a partial refund, he's just being snarky and unhelpful.  It's such a disappointing situation.  I can't believe he's taking the attitude of "it's not my fault it's badly damaged, it was like that when i bought it from The Fret Shop" with regard to a guitar that he then advertised and resold as "mint."  When mistakes happen, you're supposed to own up to them and take responsibility; if you don't, it makes me wonder whether it was ever just an 'accidental mistake' in the first place.

So now I'm trying to do a return for a full refund.  I've already requested it, and the seller has already agreed to it, but my problem is this: where do I find the shipping label that the SELLER should be paying for?  All I see is an option for me to purchase a return shipping label through reverb.  But it's entirely the fault of the seller, so why would I purchase the shipping label?  Shouldn't he provide it?  And if so, where do I find it?  I had presumed one would be emailed to me or would be downloadable through my account.

If I'm the one being forced to pay for the return shipping label upfront, how will I be reimbursed?  I can't get that answer from reverb, because they don't have phone support and their chat support is an AI that doesn't understand what I'm asking.

Can someone here please help me out and educate me on this?

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Anyone know the the thickness at first fret on Eastman slope shoulder guitars? I have E1ssltd and no calipers. Just curious. thanks

Today I changed strings on my new to me E1SS. I changed out the old PB to some Martin Monel light (12-54), which happen to be the same as what is on my J-45.

After changing the strings I had a thought, "these two guitars would make a great comparison!" I also figured the EGF community might find my thoughts interesting.

But before we get to the actual comparison I need to lay out a few key specs.

SPECS:

My Gibson J45 is a standard from 2009 with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany b/s. It has literally thousands of hours of play time in it and is very broken in. Out of all the J45s I have played in shops this one seems to have it all. I frequently get compliments on how good it sounds.

The E1SS is an Adi top/sapele back and sides slope shoulder dread from 2019. The E1SS looks like it was barely played.

NECKS/PLAYABILITY:

Both guitars are set up with the same strings and low action. The Gibson has a 1.72in neck at the nut. The Eastman is 1.7 at the nut. The Gibson feels a little wider but a little thinner neck profile. The Eastman is slightly thinner at the nut but it has a little beefier neck profile. Both guitars are very easy to play and I like the feel of both necks.

TONE COMPARISON:

Again, since I had both guitars in front of me with the same strings I figured this would be a good opportunity to do a rect tone comparison.

After several minutes of strumming and picking I can confirm that both guitars sound very good. What surprised me was that their tones were closer than what I initially thought they might be. overall, the Gibson has a bit more clarity in the individual strings, but much to my surprise I prefer the sound of the E1SS a little better.

Here is why....

The Eastman has much more bass than the Gibson, and this J45 is exceptionally bassy. The E1SS is actually very bass heavy. When I plugged it in I had to EQ a lot of the bass out to get a balanced sound. I think the Adi top is what is adding all the bass. I am sure the open pore finish is helping all that time come through. Both guitars sound warm and dry, giving that thuddy classic gibson slope shoulder goodness to the tone.

CONCLUSION:

I am actually surprised at how much I like the tone of the Eastman in comparison to the Gibson. The Gibson is always in contention as being my favorite acoustic sound out of my whole collection, but now I might have a new winner.

I can't wait to hear how the Eastman sounds when it breaks in a few years down the road. Both are great but I am convinced that you don't need to buy a J45 to get that good slope shoulder Gibson tone.

To my ear the E1SS sounds more like my J45 than my E10D-TC sounds like my D18 standard.

The tones are not exactly the same, but they probably the closest I have seen between Eastman and the brand it was emulating. Both are great. Eastman is a better value. Pick one up if you get a chance.

Today my Eastman E1SS-CLA arrived via UPS. Right away I noticed that the cardboard box it was shipped took a little bit of damage. Also, the Reverb Seller basically just put the guitar in the gig bag and then in a cardboard box. There was essentially no packaging or padding around the guitar, which gave me lots of anxiety as I unzipped the gigbag and went in for the initial inspection.

As you guys probably already know, but if you are going to ship a guitar without a hard case, please make sure you spend extra time packing it well. I feel fortunate that the guitar arrived the way it did.

INSPECTION:

Upon inspection I didn't see any damage from shipping. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon more inspection I noticed a few small fit and finish issues where it looks like Eastman really rushed this model. My guitar had old strings, buzzing at the low E, and a lot of relief in the neck.

It looks like this guitar sat in a closet mostly unplayed for a few years. The guitar is in almost new condition with no fret or play wear.

SETUP:

Within about 20 minutes I had tightened the truss rod, put on new Martin 80-20 bronze lifespan 2.0 (12-54) and tuned her up. I put a small shim in the nut slot and got the buzz out of the low E.

I can't really fault Eastman for the setup since this is a used guitar. I think the only fault in it may be that the the first fret seems a bit high and the nut slot a little low. I can get these fixes worked out pretty easily though.

AESTHETICS:

The older I get the more I am enamored with the understated beautify of a sunburst. Something about the lines on a slope shoulder dread with a 30's fire stripe pickguard really speaks to me. I think my particular model sports a particularly beautiful burst.

Normally I would prefer a plain or sunburst top, but of the CLA that I have seen this one looks exceptionally good.

I'll let you be the judge. What do you think?


TONE:

My Initial impression of the tone is that it has a lot of strong fundamentals. The highs are bright and present, like a good Eastman should be. The mids are strong and snappy. The low mids seem a bit scooped, but the bass is very very strong and has the thuddy Gibson roundness.

The tone doesn't sound tight or muted. The guitar has an immediate attack and beautiful warmness. Overall it sounds like an enhanced J45 with more brightness and presence.

I am looking forward to hearing the guitar as the strings break in. I am also interested in trying some phosphor bronze and Martin Monel strings. I will give an update on those.

Oh, and this guitar is LOUD! The open pore and Adi top are a beautiful combination. It is louder and snapper than my J45, but the guitar still sounds pretty new.

Overall, the guitar still sounds a bit brighter, louder, and more present than my 13 year old J45. I think with time the E1SS may mellow out a bit.

NECK:

I was initially skeptical of the 1 1/16 neck because I almost always prefer 1 3/4in at the nut. However, I was surprised to find that the neck is very comfortable. Eastman uses a fairly round and deep D neck carve on these guitars. The neck feels almost identical to my J45 which is 1.72.

The neck measures 1.7 inches at the nut. This is probably why it feels a bit wider than some of my guitars with 1 11/16. Overall I am very happy with the neck shape and feel. It fits my hands well, and my hands don't cramp like they do on some 1 11/16 necks.

FIT and FINISH:

The overall fit and finish of the guitar is good, but not great. There is no glue around the joints or seams. Frets are polished and very smooth. The sunburst finish is very nice. My only complaint is there is some red wood dye/finish around the soundboard and rosette.

**Look at photo 1 to see the inconsistencies around the rosette. I have never seen this in an Eastman before. It looks like the red finish dye bled over the rosette lines.

My example kinda looks like it was finished in a hurry, but for an $800 guitar I can't really complain. All the major components are there.

HARDWARE and ELECTRONICS

Tuners are in good working order and they hold tune very well. They feel much better quality than my 2020 E2OM.

The Fishman electronics and battery add a bit of weight to the guitar. The undersaddle pickup doesn't sound great on its own, but given that I am running it through the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI (IR) technology, I am able to get a good sound through a large PA system. The LR Baggs VP DI blends a recording of your guitar with the sound of the pickup. This really eliminates the quacky piezo tone. I 100% recommend the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI. It's worth the investment.

I will most likely eventually take out the Fishman and upgrade it to an K&K Pure Mini. This will lighten up the guitar and improve the plugged in tone.

OVERALL:

Overall this guitar feels a lot like my E2OM Cedar, but with a lot more volume and clarity.

After my setup the guitar now plays well with low action. The saddle still has plenty of height so it can be lowered if need be in the future. The tone is bright, snappy, and clearly of the slope shoulder DNA. The guitar has plenty of volume, bass, clarity. Fit and Finish could be a tad better, but for a guitar that will get a lot of gig time, I could care less. The hardware works great and the pickup is useable.

The real value here is the build quality and tonewoods. This easily sounds like a $1500+ guitar, but I got this one for $600. The DNA is is basically an E10SS at half the price.

This was another home run for Eastman, and a guitar I think will get a lot play time by me.

If you can find one used and you like that Eastman slope shoulder tone then I would say go for it.

I give the guitar a score of 94 out of 100. For the price I don't think it can be beaten.

Just have to say this: my E10-SS is every bit as good as a custom shop Martin (with adi top & hog back & sides) I played. The quality is superb, the sound is rich and resonant. 

Regardless of price, the Eastman is top-of-the-line in quality, sound, and workmanship. 

Beautiful instrument!

Of course it cost WAY less than the $4K Martin, but that's just icing on the cake. Besides, I never could have afforded the Martin, but the Eastman was doable.