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!

May have an opportunity to trade into one.  Any thoughts or opinions on this model?

https://www.laguitarsales.com/index.php/...ncert.html
(this is not the specific one fyi)

Don't know if this is older news, but CNN Business has an article today about Guitar Center filing for bankruptcy: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/22/investing...McKx5Fk1Ac

I have been watching a lot of videos on Youtube comparing various Eastman guitars to other much more expensive instruments, quite often Martins. 
 After a while it struck me how silly it all was.
 What I mean is this- as a person who has had, literally, hundreds of instruments go through his hands, I know for an indisputable fact that every guitar is different from all others. I've played many Martins of the exact same model (not picking on Martin- just my example) and most were excellent- but some were not.
 So, to make a comparison between say, a D18 and an Eastman that is similar in construction is kind of pointless...all you're doing is comparing that particular guitar to another particular guitar. If one compared a mediocre D18 to an exceptional Eastman and the Eastman sounded clearly better shall we come to the conclusion that "Eastmans are better than Martins"?
 I know, I know- it's fun to watch the videos and it's not like you can't glean some useful information from them...I'm just sayin'

I'd like to know how they came up with this price, but not enough to contact them:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Eastma...-Guitar.gc

I have come to respect the amount of knowledge possessed by our members, and hope a question on violins is ok in the General Chatter section (after all Eastman makes lots of violins ha ha). I wonder if anyone knows whether torrefied wood is ever used in making violins?