Just received this one from Sound Pure.




I am amazed at the resonance and balance of the sound. Obviously the workmanship and attention to detail are superior and well known. I was attracted to the carved maple top and mahogany back, sides and neck. A perfect combo! After owning two 339s and a 335 LC, I am very pleased that this 185 is what I've been looking for all along.
Any suggestions for caring for the nitro finish?
I am mildly concerned that since I anchor my pinky on the top I will harm the finish.
Thanks. Glad to be an Eastman owner and player.

I bought this Tortis dark guard D28 from Guitar Gallery a couple years ago, and it never made its way onto a guitar top. The price is $30 including PayPay and shipping in the US.

You can see pictures of it here. (Sorry, I can't post pictures.)

Thanks!

Just a couple great blues players playing off each other. Stumbled upon this when I found the album TajMo on Spotify. Interesting discussion between the songs as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_7s6eGgYPM

About two and a half years ago years ago I mothballed my classical nylon stringed guitar to explore the possibilities of steel string acoustics. This vid features one style, flatpicking, which I aspire to become proficient in (the Maybelle Carter style is another, and blues and … ha ha). The flatpicking in this vid is not '150 notes/minute' virtuosic, but is very effective for that - quintessential dread IMO. The guitar isn't too bad either (and no ZI you can not take it home with you - its been sold ha ha).
https://youtu.be/MwMSO_7a0w0?t=65

No affiliation with the seller: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/foru...p?t=558054

I have a heritage prospect , I got it on a trade . I had to do a fret job on it and clean it up and rewire . I upgraded all the hardware including the tuners . Luckily it had Seymour Duncan pickups in it already alnico neck and Jeff Beck , little savings there . Also added a LP pickguard , it just came out great , It's a 1988 , just not sure what to do with it , I really don't like the neck , just to thin .

I paid for another Eastman, a new t486 thru Reverb, and after 4 days there was no shipping notice. I contacted the well know store and they fell all over themselves apologizing because they sold the guitar off the floor.

They said they could drop ship me the same model from Eastman or do a full refund. I opted for the refund and they did that almost immediately.

Fast forward a few days, my family tells me there is a guitar box from Eastman on the porch. Sure enough, a guitar I did not pay for is on my porch.

I open the box and a beautiful sun burst T486 is there. I played it and loved everything except 3 or 4 fret edges where they meet the binding on e high E side were raised just enough to create a sharp edge....My other Eastman had perfect fret ends. This is not something that can be just filed away like a poorly dressed fret end.

I called the shop, they were embarrassed again and thanked me for being honest and notifying them about my “free” guitar and they sent me a return label.

Crazy

I’ve authorized the judicious removal of bracing mass from a couple of guitars in the past. Based on research about such modifications at various guitar fora and practitioners’ websites, and throwing in a little common sense (there is a learning curve among builders, afterall), it just makes sense. Not trying to declare the following as gospel. This is just my experience. I’d never undertaken anything like the scope of work done by Bryan Kimsey on a 1981 D-18 that I fostered for part of a year. That one had (among other things) a full brace scallop, popsicle brace removed, all 4 back braces lowered and the large rosewood bridge plate was replaced. I bought it after the work was done, so don’t know how it sounded before. But afterwards, wow. Light, responsive, warm… In any case, the probable result of his reshaping work, really justified my faith in the process.

I recently re-acquired a rosewood OM that all along had been on my “one that got away” list. But when I played it, it felt and sounded heavy and inarticulate. To the point where I was having buyer’s remorse and thinking, “so THAT’S why I sold it." Still, I guessed it had more to say…with nothing to lose, I brought it in to a local wizard and talked him into doing a little branch work on the top braces. It came back a new guitar. And when I finally put it down after a few weeks, I picked up the E6D and it sounded like it had caught a cold while it was on the shelf. Just muffled and compressed. It could be that what I was hearing was in comparison to the OM and its rosewood, but with my faith in the process, I brought it back to Stewart (the aforementioned local wizard) and asked him to look at the bottom braces.

He remarked that the back two were not only higher than what Martin does, but “even higher than Gibson.” Take a minute and look into your flattop Eastman at the back two bottom braces. Getting back to the information available online about such matters, specifically Bryan Kimsey’s; "Shaving the two rear back braces down to pre-90's heights will give your guitar a richer, warmer, and more complex sound.” And that’s exactly how I’d describe the transformation of the E6D. BTW, that thing is built like a dreadnought - the ship. When I first bought it, I thought maybe its body was intended for a 12 string, but they’d goofed at the Eastman factory. Though still heavy, it plays lighter and is much more articulate. It’s “balanced” in the sense that the bass notes blend with the mids instead of sort of colliding with them as they had done. It hasn’t transformed into a Martin or Gibson. It’s still very much an Eastman, but to my ears anyway, an improved one.

There you have it, the story of my Eastman E6D’s surgery. Like the man says, YMMV.

-- I'll take pictures of the braces the next time I change strings.

I bought the E40D-SB back in January, but since I already have a Dred, I have decided to sell this to buy an E20 OM-TC.  It is yours for $1,599 plus shipping - 7 day return no questions asked.  It is on Reverb here:  https://reverb.com/item/26535566-eastman...9-sunburst

You can contact me directly at filtermetoday@gmail.com and I can shave off another $40

Tom

Hi guys, I have several issues here that I am hoping you can clear up, and my issues are many:

1. I have this probably weird bias that as a newbie I should be learning on a 25.5” standard scale guitar. Because wouldn’t it be easier to learn to stretch more, press harder, etc on a higher tension string and adapt to a shorter scale later on? It would like perhaps being like a guy who can only play taylors with a thin neck. When I play other guitars in the future would I be unable to adapt? I have average to slightly above average size hands. Can you list other famous guitars that use a 25” scale length? Is this missing 1/2” entirely overblown since it’s spread across 24 frets?
2. Wood choice, does it correlate with build quality: I think I am a rosewood person. But without being able to try the various models, how would I choose? Are the more expensive models built better or if what I care most about is solid wood, would you recommend that I just buy the cheapest AC122CE or E1OM model if back and sides don’t make a big difference. I am also intrigued about Ovangkol wood since it’s an AC222ce but reportedly as the properties of rosewood? Is this true? I also heard an urban legend that the ac322 and above are the special ones but the lower ones are subcontracted out?
3. My sonic preferences: I want it all but I very much value tons of shimmer, sparkle, overtones, endless sustain. You know, the kind where you do a hammer on and you hear the note clearly and it rings and you are like wow this guitar is so nice and responsive even though I didn’t pluck the string or pick it. That said, when strumming a chord I don’t want everything to be one jangly sparkly mess—in other words, I would want chord clarity despite it being so sparkly. In the past I have felt mahogany was very clear and separated but it always felt too dry for me. Basically which wood and do I need anything more than the basic sapele? I like brighter sounds than warm and mellow.
4. Size: how much louder and bassier is the grand auditorium? Or is the OM plenty loud and wouldn’t disappoint me? I am looking for a number, like is it 10% louder only? Any size comparisons for the body?
5. Taylor: I have always wanted to own a Taylor. It’s irrational love and loyalty despite never having bought one, but the neck always seemed to be so easy to play and it seemed to make a difference. I like the way they sound plugged in although I might plug in once every few years only. But I was able to get my hands on some Taylor’s lower end models, and I was totally happy. But then I tried an ac322ce and was like holy cow this is at least as good as a Taylor, and I think better than their 114 for certain. So much so that I am in this forum. What should I do?
I really can only have one guitar and I plan to do chords, finger style, and picking but I am just a chord guy right now. I can’t get another one until the children are grown up and that a long long long time away. It has to be a buy once get it right type of deal.

I am sure I have more issues but this is a start, haha!