Happy Thanksgiving to our forum members in the U.S.  Hope you all had a nice holiday and are staying safe.  I'm thankful for this wonderful forum, and all its members throughout the world.  Cheers and keep playing!

Greetings Eastman fanatics!

I'm brand new here, courtesy of Sasquatch.  I'm a longtime Eastman owner, beginning with an E20OM I had for many years before selling because I could never quite get along with Adirondack.

For the last few years I've been playing a 2015 AC708CE which is wonderfully warm and tame compared to the boisterous Adi of the E20OM.  But, as a longtime bassist (my first instrument and musical love), I just need more low end. 

So, my question for the experts is as follows:

I know that the E8 is the way to go as I prefer Sitka to Adi by a massively wide margin.  If Eastman made a D with Engelmann it would be game over, but alas...  I digress.

Back on point... I've listened to this comparison between the E8D and the new D28, which is incredibly compelling as to the quality of the Eastman brand.  There's also this demo, which is equally compelling.

What I'm wondering is whether the TC topped version of the E8D is that much more of the cat's pajamas? It's only $170 more or so new, but I'd rather buy used to save some cash.  Just wondering what everyone's experience is in terms of direct comparison to the traditional E8D.  Deeper tone?  Warmer?  More "broken in" sounding?

Thanks!

Greetings all. I'm a long time AGF'er (same username) and found my way over here via Sasquatch.

I'm offering up my wonderful Eastman Grand Concert. The reason is simple - I want a dread.  I need more overall bass response (I'm a recovering bassist, so...) and volume for strumming live. 

This is a fantastic fingerstyle and light strumming guitar - very responsive with the sweet Engelmann note definition and surprising depth for a GC. Here is a link to a page on my photography site with more guitar detail and photos.  Full description is below in quote format.

I'd love to do a local / semi-local / regional sale, if possible.  I'm near Chattanooga, TN, so relatively close to Knoxville, Nashville, and ATL.  I'm also going to be in coastal SC for New Years, near Charleston.  I'm willing to ship and have many years of experience packing and shipping instruments of all kinds.  I'd just would prefer not to if I can avoid it, and I will adjust the price accordingly.

I should say, too, that I need a sale - no trades. Thanks!




 

Quote:2015 Eastman AC708CE grand concert. This has a solid Engelmann Spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, ebony fretboard, bone nut and saddle, high gloss finish, Fishman Matrix VT pickup, Venetian cutaway, slotted headstock, Gotoh tuners, and original hardshell case in great shape. The color in the first photos are representative of this beautiful guitar. The last five were taken the way they were to try to highlight the imperfections as much as possible in natural light, as well as a quick case and authenticity paper photo.

The condition is excellent, with a couple of small impressions in the top (pictured), some small swirl / scratches on the back (pictured), and some pick marks/lines that I could not get to show up in any images. The pick marks are very light, and I will use a touch of Martin polish before shipping. I suspect that they’ll “buff out.” None of them are through the finish.

The original owner had installed a Taylor pick guard since removed. The "tan line" where the pickguard was should fade over time. The pick marks referenced above are where a new pick guard would go, should you choose to install one.

The playability is wonderful - nice, low action, though not too low for light/medium strumming. And, there is ample saddle remaining. The neck is a comfortable C, similar to a Taylor neck.
 
The sound hole rosette is probably my favorite aesthetic feature - the rosewood-stained, quilted maple is gorgeous.Good volume and bass response for a grand concert body, with the sweetness and clarity from the Engelmann / rosewood combo. I have gigged with it plugged in and the subtle control knobs on the inside of the sound hole offer a variety of tone tweaking. It sounds wonderful acoustically or amplified.
 
Asking $1,000 plus shipping in the continental US, but PayPal fees are the buyer’s responsibility. There is also a Reverb recently sold photo as a point of reference.

Hello fellow Eastman-ers,

I owned a AR372 "175" several months ago, sold it.

I really do not care that much for that acoustic steel string jazz tone, in other words, the deep acoustic woody airy sound....so I was able to get a "335" in a trade of another guitar...

a Schecter Corsair Custom. It is a 335.

Great sound, perfect jazz tone, very direct pickup warm sound. But heavy as a mug, and 1 11/16 nut width, narrow.

I loved the neck and fretboard on the AR372 / 175, it was a C shape, 1.75 inch nut width, as well as the frets being low, and very low action, can get around pretty quick, lines and chord changes.

The Schecter Corsair 335 is all solid wood, center block, but has a Bigsby, which is totally un-needed.

I want to know if the neck / fretboard on the T484 is basically the same, if not the very same as the AR372, if so, (it seems so), I would sell the Schecter and grab a T484.

Plus, the T484 is 14" wide, 2" smaller, and lighter than any 16" thinline, smaller headstock, and a hard tail bridge...

Thoughts, experiences.... Thanks in advance

Hello all. New here. Proud owner of an AC522ce and a brand new E8OM-TC. Lovely guitar. Soon to have an E20-p as well. I hate colored pickguards. I would love to go without one or a clear one down the road on the OM.

Will I be able to remove all the glue residue with a bit of patience and have no discoloration or residue? Or will you always be able to tell it was there? The guitar is brand new so the top wood won’t be a different color underneath.

Thanks

I know, another pickup thread. It’s like oil threads on a motorcycle forum, never ending.

Anyway, electrics have been my game for decades but for many months now I have  had the Bluegrass bug. I first got it in the very early 70’s when I saw Doc Watson in a smallish venue. I gave it up after a few years having been seduced by playing lead electric guitar in a pretty mediocre band.

I’m specifically looking for a pickup that best suits a Dreadnought and Bluegrass.

My guitar is a Eastman E20D-TC and my amp is a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge.

I will be installing it myself.  I’m not really worried about the install, I do my own guitar work, other than big stuff like refretting or neck resets.   

Anybody have any suggestions?

Threads are more fun with pictures, so to that end I included one. The album (remember those things) that got me hooked many years ago 

Thanks

Rad

No affiliation to the seller or guitar. But at $900++ and includes a Schatten HFN this might just be of interest to someone.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/foru...p?t=598421

I received this about a month ago from LAG. It is always a pleasure to work with Ted and Helene - thank you both again. 

My first Eastman was an E8D that I sold. This new one reminds me a lot of that guitar but only in a more developed sense. The best way I can describe the sound is that it is very rich or full. It has an enveloping quality to it. Some additional thoughts after only one month:
1) The nut 1.75" and string spacing 1.50" is almost identical to my OMs.
2) The neck feel seems slightly skinnier than my E40OM but similar to my E10OM and E15SS.
3) The top is very tight grained with a good deal of silking. I don't think I could count the grain line/inch if I had to.
4) The torrefication is more even than my E10OM-TC. That could just be the difference between toasting the two different spruces.
5) Fit and finish is good but there are some dark marks on the white trim near the neck. 
6) The inside is not sealed as far as I can tell. 
7) It is surprisingly heavier than I expected especially compared to my E10SSv which has the antique varnish finish.
8) The jury is still out on the Ping tuners. They are a little tight but hold tuning very well. I am thinking of changing them out to Gotoh SE with ivoroid (Sp?) buttons more for aesthetics.
9) Eastman has upped the quality of the guard considerably. It does not have the polish finish or the radiused edges of a Holter guard, but I find it acceptable for now.

All in all this is a great big spruce/rosewood dread. It has a nice dry deep thump on the low strings and great volume. It is definitely not as biting as an Adirondack topped dread and probably wouldn't stand out in a crowd as much. BUT it makes for a really nice rich sounding guitar. I give it a strong A. Pictures below with an updated family photo.

OK - what is the most disappointing guitar purchase you have ever made or had hands on with a view to buy? My story is this. I had long lusted after a top notch J45. From my early teens I had fantasised about one day owning this iconic model. And so it came to pass a couple of years ago that I briefly owned a top of the range brand spanking new Gibson J45 Vintage, Vintage Sunburst with its torrefied Adirondack top, real Mahogany back and sides, plek'd etc. – Gibson’s finest from the Gibson Custom Shop - thus:-
https://www.russomusic.com/products/gibs...e-sunburst (but not this retailer). What an absolute let down. It was absolutely dead from the fourth fret up – sounded like CARDBOARD, a complete and absolute dud. And not a matter of it requiring time to ‘open up’ – DEAD. I was gutted! Furious, then really depressed. How it ever got out of Gibson's so-called ‘custom shop’ I don’t know. I suspect Gibson do produce some really good guitars but by chance rather than design. I guess the Gibson corporate/mass production mind-set is endemic across all its production processes. One final observation about the J45. The VOS (Vintage Original Specifications) finish, which is Gibson's take on artificial ageing, might be a good representation of how a genuine vintage Gibson looks, but I can’t help thinking how much more pleasing the Eastman take on this ‘vintage’ thing is. The J45 I bought would never have gotten out of Eastman, never mind Collings/Bourgeois. So, I got rid of the J45 and bought a Collings OM1 – and what a beauty it was.

I'm curious how often you all would change non-coated strings on a guitar that you play a lot daily?  My E10P gets a ton of play and I've had the strings on it for maybe 2 months (guessing).  Just wondering what a good change cadence may be?  They're not cruddy or anything.

Also, I love the strings on my new-to-me E8D that I got from Dave's.  I reached out to them and the luthier said they use D'Addario PB 13s on dreads.  That is not what is on this guitar.  They are absolutely coated strings, and have brass/gold ball ends, so I'm kind of at a loss.  I wouldn't use coated on my P because they're too slick for fingerpicking, but I actually like coated on this dread. I actually kinda like the way the pick slides over them.  Any coated recommendations would be great!