I'm a real fan of that cool patina and natural wear that gives a guitar its “mojo”. I understand that it tends to develop best on certain types of finishes—especially those that are thinner and more organic. Which makes me question if this will happen with the true tone gloss eastman is using. 

How is your Eastman true tone gloss aging? is it developing some patina?

Interested to see pictures.

I played a Martin acoustic-electric SC13e a couple of years ago and was mighty impressed with it. For Martin, a company revered as a bastion of tradition to come up with this asymetric cutaway shape and innovative adjusible neck design - bolt-on but still wood to wood - is astonishing. It is the most playable guitar I've ever picked up. And despite its laminated back and sides sounds good acoustically and plugged in its under saddle pickup sounds ok, par for the course. Had I been into home/studio recording or a gigging musician plugging into PA systems, rather than an old folky, I suspect I would have been even more taken with it. I wondered if they would ever produce all solid wood pure acoustic dread versions. Well they haven't done that but I just noticed (better late than never lol) that they are making all solid mahogany SC18E and rosewood SC28E versions with more sophisticated electronics incorporating an on-board microphone. They are very expensive and realistically beyond what most of us could/would be prepared to pay, especially those of us like me who would rarely plug them in. Nevertheless WOW! Question - has anyone played either the SC18e or SC28e? Good reviews from Peghead Nation here:-
SC18E:  https://www.pegheadnation.com/instrument...in-sc-18e/
SC28E: https://www.pegheadnation.com/instrument...in-sc-28e/
These reviews cover some of the same ground regarding the SC physical design and electronics.  
One last thought - I am still intrigued with the notion of all solid wood pure acoustic SCs in Hog and IRW with the greater (by 0.6”) body depth of the D18 and D28, or even 0.25” greater still to compensate for the loss of body volume due to the cutaway.

All - we are having some site caching issues which is leading to some unexpected behavior.

I'm working to fix it - ETA not yet known. I'm on it!

_______

Update - The issues should be fixed now. My apologies as my host made a caching change without telling me that impacted the site. 

Please send me a note at meathead40@gmail.com in the future if you ever have issues with EGF.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I need some feedback on my new-to-me SB59/v. I’ve been following Eastman for a few years and dreaming about owning one of these bad boys. I’ve owned several Gibson LP studios over the years and wanted to take a step up in quality without having to support “the big G” and their ever increasing prices. Spec-wise the SB59 tics all my boxes: ebony fretboard,bone nut, boutique PAF style pickups, hand wired electronics, premium hardware, etc. I like the Eastman company’s design choices and ethos; I like that they use sustainable woods like okume and that they use environmentally friendly finishes. I’m especially fond of the French polish varnish finish. I think that’s a classy touch no one else is doing. I also love supporting an underdog company and don’t really care about what name is on the headstock of my guitar. I finally pulled the trigger on a 2021 SB59/v in the “redburst” finish after finding a good deal on Reverb.

Well the guitar came today and I gotta say, I’m ambivalent. The finish is indeed beautiful. I don’t mind any of the simulated wear. I think all the scratches and dings look pretty tasteful. Here come the “but.”

But…There seems to be some areas that just have some poor QC. Maybe I’m crazy or maybe it’s just part of the reliced look but I’m not sure. The main areas of concern are around the neck binding at the upper frets. (I’ve attempted to attach photos from my phone). It just looks like the scraping of the binding was sloppy and heavy-handed. On the bass side, the finish line is uneven and the binding has small gouges where it meets the body. On the treble side, the finish looks goopy and uneven and the wood has what looks like tiny gouges in it. It also looks like there’s dark greenish-black residue in the corner where the neck binding meets the body that seems left behind from sanding or something. There’s a little gap between the neck pickup ring and the base of the fretboard which on its own is no concern but the finish in that area has white gunk in it and doesn’t have clear coat.

What’s confusing to me is that by all accounts, Eastman has excellent QC-better than Gibson USA even. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about the SB59/v in terms of quality, craftsmanship, and value. My understanding was that these were custom shop level instruments at a killer price point. This is the most I’ve spent on a guitar so my expectations were pretty high. I want to love this guitar but I can’t help but fixating on these areas especially since some of them are right under my nose when I’m playing.

To owners of the SB59/v (or other Eastman electrics with the varnish finish): do these “imperfections” seem par for the course, part of the relic look, or did I get just get a bad apple? Does anyone have similar observations? What do you think of these areas? Are my expectations too high?

Thanks!

Greetings! Newbie to the forum here. I’ve been playing Eastman archtops for more than 10 years. Love ‘em. So I looked at Eastman when I began my flattop search. I just bought an E5 and like it a lot.
My understanding is that they were a custom shop order for LA Guitar Sales about 10 years ago. If any members here have additional information I’d appreciate learning. As an aside, the last E5 I can find listed for sale anywhere was 10 years ago.
Dave

Looking for thoughts on either of these. I have played the parlor but haven’t found the LGSS out in the wild yet. Looking for the proverbial “couch guitar”, something to keep out on the stand in the living room.

The neck on the E10P suited me fine. My upstairs guitar is a Yairi FYM-70. Its neck is a little less full. Looking for something to compliment that.

Thanks for any insight.

New member here. I’ve got a loose endpin jack in my 2008 810 that has got me stumped. None of the online videos I’ve found address this problem on this specific design, though it must be a common problem. The StewMac tools aren’t likely to be useful in this case, as far as I can tell. Did a quick scan of this forum but came up empty. Any advice or redirection? Thanks!

Any thoughts on the effect on Eastman of the tariff on China?

Hi Eastman Folks,

Wondering if I can ask anyone here to weigh in:  I am playing a Romeo LA (a 2022 model, if that matters), and I love the sound but am having issues with tuning stability and having to retune a lot during sets. I don't really use the Goldo Trem at all.

Does anyone have experience with refitting this guitar with a new fixed/hardtail bridge (without the trem system)?

Apart from affecting the resale value (which isn't a concern right now), is there any reason not to pursue this?

Anyone have recommendations for what bridge to replace it with?

I'm in Nashville and am confident I could find someone willing to do the work; I just wondered what the experts in this group would think/recommend here.

Thanks for any ideas,

I can't be the only one who thinks that Eastman uses the coolest guitar cases in the business...