Never heard of Delbert McCLinton before Bert mentioned him. I checked him out and found this - which I REALLY like. Good honest, unpretentious rock and roll! https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=+De...&FORM=VIRE

I am confused about which Eastman guitars have a center block and are fully vs. semi hollow. From the Eastman website: "Every one of our laminated thinlines has a center block that runs the length of the body right down the center." Both the T64/v and the T486 are listed under "Thinline > Laminate" on the Eastman website. They should both have center blocks. But every review of these guitars the internet contains describes the T64/v as fully hollow. Guitarist writes that "the T64/v is built without a center block" (https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/2...64v-review). And every review of the T486 describes it as a semi-hollow with a center block. Clearly, either the Eastman website is incorrect, or many internet reviews are incorrect (Premier Guitar ain't the only one to say something like this).

I hypothesize that part of what is going on is that Eastman laminated thinlines fall somewhere between traditional fully hollow and a fully divided two completely separate chambered semi-hollow. And the terms "semi-hollow" and "center block" aren't clearly defined and different companies use them differently. But that does not fully explain things. What I really want to know is what the differences are, center-block / fully vs. semi hollow wise, between the various models in the Eastman laminated thinlines. Particularly the T64/v vs. the T486. Does the T64/v have a center block? A smaller/thinner center block than the T486?

More information: I love semi-hollows, but I'm more of a heavy blues rock guy than a jazz player. I need to be able play with a fuzz pedal at stage volume without feedback problems. I played a T64/v in the shop the other day. Loved it. I love P90s, I like bigsbys. The other option would be the T486B. But that does not come in the violin varnish (which I love!), and I like the Lollar P90s in the T64/v more than the humbucker-sized Phat Cats in the T486.

Any information on the center block situation in any of these guitars, or experiences with gain at stage volume with them, would be greatly appreciated. I play in lousy bars and in basement practice spaces with a loud drummer, and while I *prefer* lower stage volume and realize that it is better for your ears and your tone, the reality is that things usually get loud, and I need earplugs.

New to Eastman. Was a little hesitant to say the least about dropping the $$$ on a MIC instrument. I’m glad my G.A.S. overtook my rational mind. Bought used in near mint shape. I liked the Duncan ‘59s but I LOVE the Antiquities I dropped in. I would tell any potential buyers to overlook the MIC thing IF you want more tone than you can get from any guitar in this price point. FIRST quality instrument. Cheers.

First Impressions were that it was considerably heavier than my Martins.  Wow, this thing is really balanced from top to bottom.  Doesn't have the thumping Martin bass but does not lack in bass as cheap guitars do.  It really resonates forever and has tons of overtones and a sparkly top end.  The neck feels thicker than my ceo7's V neck.  I prefer the string spacing on this Eastman at 2 5/32 vs the ceo at 2 5/16.  

I am thinking about possibly replacing the OM style pickguard with a 000 style pickguard.  Any recommendations or warnings? 

I think I'll keep it and maybe sell my ceo7.  We'll see...

This thing has a really nice tight-grained top that doesn't have as much of the runout that I see on a lot of these models.

Hi Guys,

Doing researches on the internet, i've landed on this video from a Chinese Shop comparing the Gibson J-45 to Eastman's E10SS and E20SS.

It's all in chinese and watching it is a pain (1 minute of ads ans slow loading), but the results are pretty amazing, micing is good and that's very relevant, very interesting to watch ! First half of the vid is describing in chinese, next is all about tone

https://v.qq.com/x/page/h01570tkieo.html

This is only for conversation, no critique is wrong or invalid.  If you don't agree with this layout, no offense taken ! 

Applies to righty/lefty, pick/fingerstyle, any genre', acoustic primarily.. but archtop & elec work the same, although a little different.  Just describe how you see things... move between the regions as it works for you.  (an example would be, I play between 2-3 with my hand in a fixed position)  Point is, where the string is plucked makes a difference.

The 'regions' (pictured) are a general description and are from my personal 'picking' method.  I use them all to some extent as my floating pick hand moves towards the fretboard for warmth and down towards the bridge for bright/volume,  pinky finger touching on the pickguard is the compass, wrist stays loose.  General description:

1 - loud & pingy, go there for effect
2 - the place to generate loudest volume with a good level of balance
3 - good volume with maybe best balance between treble/bass
4- the sweet spot for warmth but less volume
5 - great warmth but pick click on the fretboard

It's been awhile since we've had a Tommy Emmanuel post.  So here is one!





Magical.

Been playing my new E6OM quite a bit and it seems even with the shorter scale that the string tension is stiffer than my D-18. Exact same strings on both guitars. Light Martin Authentic SP’s. Is this just an illusion or just the difference in feel between two very different guitars. They are also both set with low action for finger style type playing.

[font]Hey y’all - I'm happy to report that this is not Eastman related, but do you think guitar manufacturers care to know about customer experiences at their dealers?  I’ve been extremely fortunate with the dealers I’ve dealt with in the past 30+ years (only recently with guitars) - they have ranged from very good to exceptional- yet I haven’t taken the time to acknowledge them with Eastman and the rest of my guitar's manufacturers.  Do you think they are interested?  The question popped in my head after my cousin bought her kid an Ibanez Guitar as a gift and the kid didn’t like the tone of the guitar- he had been playing a Yamaha FS before for a couple years and he is a pretty good player no longer than he has been playing. His teacher told my cousin that it did tend to have a thinner tone and it is all about preference.  Rather than offering a return or exchange, the dealer told my cousin that her kid obviously wasn’t good because if he was any good he would love the guitar and they had countless other players that loved it.  What stuck in my mind was they told her that the guitar is better than he will ever be and that he should let the guitar teach him how to get better.  I found such attitude appalling- my cousin posted her experience on Yelp online but do you think the manufacturer would want to know?  To me this is conduct unbecoming of a music retailer.  When you see the countless videos of many of the good stores trying to encourage players (it also makes good business sense!), this is the complete opposite.  But I honestly don't have a sense of whether reporting them to the manufacturer would make any difference at all.  Suggestions?[/font]

Hey Guys - just joined this forum, and I am looking forward to being a part of the discussion.  

A bit about me - as my username suggests, I used to be an avid brass player (tromBONE, EUPHonium, bariTONE) and started playing guitar when my kid was given a classical 1970s era Ibanez stencil.  When we were waiting to get it restrung, we walked through our store's acoustic room that were filled with Gibsons, Martins, and Taylors.  I had never played a steel string before, but I was hooked!  Not wanting to dive in too deep, my first steel string was a Yamaha FG800.  I decided that I did want a USA made guitar, and I gravitated towards Taylor - at the time they had the lowest prices of the big 3 for an all solid wood guitar made in the US, plus I love what they are doing to promote sustainability of the tonewoods we all love.  I soon bought and played a mahogany 324ce for nearly 18 months, and I traded it away for one of Taylor's new slope shouldered dreadnoughts, the 317 grand pacific.  I really love this guitar.  Around the same time, I read more and more about Eastman.  I had heard about Eastman guitars but almost none of my local shops kept them in stock to try.  When I read about the all solid wood E1D and its extraordinary low price point, I took a chance and ordered one sight unseen.  It is fantastic, and is just about the equal to my beloved Taylor 317 (also in sitka/sapele) with a slightly different sound.  Then last weekend I saw another one of my local dealers post an ad on reverb for a PCH1-GACE.  I went to the store last weekend, and traded away my Yamaha FG800 for it.  I'm so impressed with Eastman's craftsman ship and playability, and am proud to be a Taylor/Eastman guitar fan.