Hey everybody,
I'm thinking about selling or trading my nearly new AC320Ce.
It only has a handful of hours on it total.  I love it, but I'm wanting a smaller bodied guitar.

has the original hard shell case and cert of authenticity.

This is the spruce over mahogany version, NOT sapele.

Would really like something in koa, but am open to ideas.
On reverb these are going for between 900-1200...so I'll say 900.00 to start.

Can't get pix to work for some reason....I have them on demand.
Also can be seen here:
https://reverb.com/item/37445230-eastman-ac320ce

Attached Files

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Eastman ALL SOLID AC222CE Nitrocellulose Acoustic Electric Guitar, With Hard Case and Certificate - $600 OBO

Sorry for the HUGE images!

Top Wood - Solid Sitka Spruce
Back and Side Woods - Solid Ovangkol
Electronics - Fishman Sonitone
Any Defects - Couple VERY minor knicks, Have to catch them in the light right to see them

Ideal choice for fingerstyle, flatpicking & vocal backing, Solid spruce top, hand-carved scalloped X bracing, Balanced voice throughout the entire range with the Fishman Sonitone Pickup System to bring this masterpiece to a live audience.


Everybody knows Eastmans AMAZING quality in general, but compared to other guitars, they do it MUCH better, for MUCH MUCH LESS!!

When it comes to building a guitar, there is a big difference between assembly and artistry. If history has taught us anything, it is that there is no substitute for skilled craftsmanship. At Eastman, each instrument is given the attention to detail required to ensure that it reaches its maximum potential. Features such as hand-scalloped bracing and precision tap tuning are just two examples of the way we differentiate ourselves. Considering the outward beauty of an Eastman Guitar, it’s often easy to overlook the skill and artistry applied to the inside of such a fine instrument.



Neck Material: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Fingerboard Radius: 12"
Neck Profile: Traditional Even "C"
Nut: Bone 1 3/4"
Fretwire: 22 Jescar-FW43080
Scale Length: 25.4"
Body Dimensions: 16" x 4 1/4"
Bracings: Hand Scalloped X
Body Top: Solid Sitka Top
Body Back/Sides: Solid Ovangkol
Bridge/Saddle: Ebony/Bone, 2 5/32" Spacing
Rosette: Classic
Truss Rod: Dual Acting
Binding: Top and Back
Binding Material: Tortoise
Logo: Eastman Maple
Inlay: Pearl Dots
Side Dot Color: White
Bridge Pins: Ebony
Body Top Finish: Matte Nitrocellulose
Neck Finish: Open Pore
Hardware Color: Nickel
Tuners: Ping RM 1171-CVR 3+3
Electronics: Fishman Sonitone
Action Height: 12th fret 3/32" on the bass side and 2/32" on the treble side
Case: Hard Case
Truss Rod Wrench: 4mm

I think I've seen mention of this elsewhere; don't remember where. But I notice with my 2020 E20D, the newest Eastman I have, that when I play it, my fingertips come away stained with black (see the unfortunately out-of-focus pic below). I don't particularly care—this doesn't affect the sound and the stain washes off easily enough—but I do wonder why Eastman feels compelled to stain their fingerboard. It absolutely wouldn't bother me if my ebony fingerboard wasn't utter black but had some brown steaks in it. I'd just consider it 'character'.

Has anyone else noticed this with their Eastmans?

The last two Eastman guitars that I bought (LA Guitar Sales) both came with two good size bags of Silica Gel in the cases.
WTH? I thought the idea was to keep guitars at least somewhat humidified- not desiccated.
Anyone care to enlighten me?

I've become determined to learn to play fingerstyle blues since I got my E10P.  I am terrible at it but absolutely determined.  Over the long Holiday weekend I worked on a Merle Watson tune called Southbound.  I thought it would be fun to record my progress over the weekend.  The video is made up of short bits through to last night.  The first part was maybe 5 minutes in.

As you can see, I am not good at this at all, so I'm kinda putting myself out there.  Also, I thought it might encourage others to post videos and not be concerned about looking like a hack.  I think it would be cool if people are brave enough to post and get encouragement and feedback.

Aside from the obvious, I need to work on really assigning a finger to the strings and not randomly using whatever one is closest... hahaha.  Also, pinkie posting is probably not a great habit either.  If you make it through this video without wanting to scream then you are a trooper.  It does get a bit better as I go but even last night's is really cringeworthy.

But again, but posting me at my worst I thought might encourage others to share progress.  This is about the only forum I've been on where I think people are cool enough for people to do this.  Sorry for the long post and horrific playing.  Get ready to feel better about yourself!





Last week I worked on 'The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie' but didn't film progress.  I may post that in this thread later.  I'm better and that one and can sing so it will hopefully not be so awful.

This is a repost of this thread I made on AGF several years back (linked here with moderator permission). I'm posting it here in case you all find it interesting. There may be a few errors in formatting - if so, please let me know and I'll adjust. This is a pretty quick copy/paste job.

I've since sold both OM's, purchased an AC708CE (that's currently for sale here and various other places), and am in the process of moving on to an Eastman rosewood dread of some variety.

Who knows... perhaps there will be another comparison thread in my future!

So, without further ado, enjoy!

UPDATES AT END OF THREAD

Disclaimers:  

1)  This is likely to be quite lengthy.
2)  This is not a finished work, but will be updated as I am able.  I will update this initial post, dating each update while also bumping the thread to reflect said update.
3)  This will contain some opinion, a few facts, and lots more very subjective opinion.  It's intended to be fun, as informative as writing about sound can be, and hopefully interesting.

You have been forewarned...

Introduction

So, like many of us AGF'ers, I find myself prone to the occasional bloat and discomfort caused by the Classifieds section here. Or more accurately, caused by my periodic perusal of the Classifieds.

Over the past year or two I've bought and sold a few instruments here, never looking to turn a profit, rather because I've become curious about a given brand as I've read posts, reviews, listened to sound clips, and so forth.  A glorious old, severely worn Santa Cruz OM, one of the newer Martin OM-28's, a Larrivee OM-05, etc... have come to stay with me for varying durations of time.  

One of my curiosities for quite some time has been Eastman OM's, in particular the E8 and E20.  I've read almost exclusively glowing reviews, although some have reported QC issues and that there can be wide swings in tone/playability from instrument to instrument.  Overall though, players generally seem to put them into a similar category as higher end instruments, which is impressive given the price point.  That they seem to pop up for sale fairly infrequently led me to believe that people generally hang onto them once procured, and that only increased my desire to try one out.  

So, when I came across a used one recently I decided to jump on it - an E20OM.  Humorously enough, a few days later, I came across another used E20OM. Of course, part of the beauty of Eastman guitars is affordability, so I decided to grab both to do an informal home shootout of like specimens.

The end goal would be to post my thoughts here, and then whichever of the two I prefer I will keep, and the other will appear on the AGF GASifieds.

Basic Information

E20 #1 has a serial number of 102xxxxx.
E20 #2 has a serial number of 106xxxxx.

While I know nothing about Eastman's serial numbering system, I'll surmise that #2 is a more recent build.  From here on out, I'll refer to them by the serial first three to avoid confusion as much as possible.

Both are obviously spec'd the same.  The Adirondack top on 102 is maybe slightly wider grained, and more consistent in color.  It is more yellow (consistent with age, I would think).  I actually prefer the top on 106, aesthetically, as it is a bit "whiter" yet has a bit more contrasty streaking in the grain.  Again, this could purely be a function of the age of 102's top/finish.

Both have straight-grained, lovely EIR backs/sides, of a similar deep brown color.  Likewise, each has a similarly finished mahogany neck, with no real figuring to speak of, although they're nice pieces of wood.  

The ebony fretboard of 102 has some brown streaks to it, although slight, as does the bridge, which is even more subtle than the board.  106 is jet black of board and bridge.

The neck carve of 102 also seems to be ever so slightly deeper/fuller than that of 106.  This is really subtle - I'm definitely nitpicking.  The fret filing on 102 also seems to be slightly smoother than on 106.  I've traversed both necks, thumb wrapping as I went, and 106's frets are not bothersome by any means.  Again, nitpicking.

Both came with very nice hard cases, 102's is alligator skin-like in texture, very lightweight but sturdy, and nicely form-fitted.  106 is a TKL, also nice, with a slightly furrier interior.

102

https://soundcloud.com/user-776359573/e20-102









106

https://soundcloud.com/user-776359573/e2...0-om-demos









Preliminary Thoughts

Beginning as unscientifically as one can, I'm going to offer some tonal opinions straight out of the box(es).  While the set-up's are similar, the strings are very different.  Both lights, but 102 clearly has some standard PB, whereas 106 has a coated variety (although not Elixirs).  So, please feel free to stop reading here if you find this to be an exercise in futility due to the inconsistency of strings.

102:  It sounds a bit older, a bit more "played-in"... but, it also feels it.  What I mean is that it seems to be a bit more resonant, you can feel a bit more of the bass against your body when strummed.  The highs seem a bit higher, the lows seem a bit lower, if that makes any sense.

106:  I suppose one could call it a bit "tighter" although it's impossible to tell how much of that is the string difference.  More to come on that.  Still, as I said, it feels newer.  Interestingly though, it also sounds and feels a bit more balanced when fingerpicked and strummed, but again, how much is attributed to the perceived tightness of the top.  I was told that this one wasn't played much, so it may very well need an opening up period.  What is interesting though, is that I perceive this one to be louder/project better when I really lay into it with the pick.  

Again, we shall see... I will be playing both of these for a guitarist friend to give me some live audience feedback as well.  Overall, these are far more consistent than they are inconsistent, and the tone of both is going to come down to intricacies very few listeners who are not avid AGF, gas-afflicted guitar players would perceive.

So, hope you enjoyed the opening thoughts.  The plan is to buy two sets of D'Addario EJ16's, restring, and go again.  Then, set up the Apogee One and record them directly from the mic into Garageband for a raw mix sound.

Stay tuned, and thanks for coming along for the ride!

6.3.16 Update: String Change

Thanks, all, for the posts.  My apologies for the delay in updating.  These guys have been sitting in their cases while life required my attention.  This morning I changed out the strings on each for D'Addario EJ16's to have a base from which to compare.  A bit of a stretch for each set and about 10 minutes of playing on each one (same songs, same order) to keep it as controlled as possible.  The new strings confirmed a bit, but also brought out some different character (not surprisingly) as well.  More on that later...

So, the plan is to get pictures up a bit later today, and hopefully do some preliminary recording - clean, dry signal, through an Apogee One mic into Garageband.

6.16.16 Update: Pictures

Greetings all... thanks to all those who've waited patiently.  

So, I'm finally getting around to the images.  They aren't the best I've ever done, but they do give a good idea of the grain patterns, color, etc...  Both of these are beautiful instruments, tremendous value.

Sound clips are in process! I'm hoping to have them recorded tomorrow, and posted by the end of the weekend.  Hehe... we'll see if that actually happens.

As a mini-update, I've been playing each one a bit and I'm struck by how they're more similar than different tonally.  Okay, that sounds ridiculous given the identical specs.  But, I feel as though I've read so many reviews that talk about the vast disparity in quality depending on specimen that I was expecting a greater swing.  

Anyway, I have my thoughts, but I will reserve commenting until I have the opportunity to post some sound clips and let you all weigh in.

6.27.16 Update: Sound

Sound clips added!  Please excuse the mediocre playing and hasty recording.  No effects (pre or post), and I used the original Apogee One as a mic for these recordings.  I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks.

After buying a new E6 D from LA guitar, UPS botched the delivery- twice.
It was supposed to be here last Tuesday (six days ago) but they sorted it wrong somewhere and it was rescheduled to today.
I checked the tracking every day (after they screwed up, the tracking always said delivery was for Monday- today) Then this morning I found a note on the front door that said they tried to deliver last Saturday.
So I stayed at home instead of going in the studio to make sure I got it- good thing- if I hadn't answered the front door in about ten seconds (which I did) the guy had slapped another notice on the door and was almost back in his truck and gone again. 
Anyway, I FINALLY have it safe in my music room and am I'm patiently waiting for it to acclimate before opening because it was pretty cold this morning- 8 degrees.
I'll keep you all posted on what I think once I get to look at it.

Hi all, I did not see any comments on this model here on the forum yet. Does anyone have any comments? I briefly had the non-varnish version for a few years ago, but I ultimately moved on from it. I probably did not give it enough of a chance, since I am so used to larger guitars.

Just curious as to why there seem to be 2 pickguards for the same guitar and some with none? Some online dealers are showing a few of these guitars but with different pickguards.
Thanks
Huw

Morning everyone,

I'm probably going to pull the trigger on an E10D or E6D soon. As I understand, Sitka will be warmer, and some describe Adi as having a more complex sound. And Adi can sound more brittle or harsher before it opens up? It's also general consensus that Adi will have more headroom and volume?

Not sure if that's entirely accurate, but that's what I've gathered. I plan on using this guitar to learn more bluegrass, and to play more lead lines. I want to install a pup in this one.

I have a few questions, and I know these are are subjective, but any feedback helps.

1. Will Adi eventually sound as warm as sitka once it opens up, or will it never be as warm?

2. In your honest opinions, do you prefer the sound of a broken in Adi or Sitka top?

3. How exactly do they sound different?

Cheers,
Jordan