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I recently got the urge of an ES-335 style guitar and began looking around at what was available. I was aware of the Eastman brand through positive reviews in Guitarist Magazine in the UK, but like many, was wary of a Chinese-made guitar at this price point. But the name kept coming up as I searched online, so I couldn't dismiss the brand completely. Where I live, there's a lack of high end guitar dealers, so I couldn't try what Gibson have to offer, and although I'm not one to bash the Big G - I have several of their guitars and love them all - I wouldn't risk buying one blind.
A couple of weeks ago I travelled across the pond to New York and tried all the Gibson 335s I could find, save for the Custom models. I have to say, I was underwhelmed with all of them. None of them were bad, they had no flaws in fit or finish, all of them played perfectly well, but none of them had that bit of soul that I expect from such a guitar. They were all ... meh. None of them felt or sounded significantly better than the Epiphone Lucille I already have.
(As an aside, the one guitar that really did it for me was a used Heritage Prospect at Guitar Center on 14th St, it really was something special, and I already regret not buying it.)
Fast forward to this weekend past, and I happened to be in Belfast for a book festival, and I had a look in the city's main guitar shop. Tucked away in one corner was a cherry Burny/Fernandes 335 copy and an Eastman T386 in sunburst. I tried them both, and the Burny was quickly dismissed. There was nothing wrong with it, it was a perfectly fine instrument at its price, but it just didn't do it for me. The Eastman, on the other hand...
The T386 was light in weight and extremely resonant. It had that lovely 335 bark when you dig into the strings that was lacking from all the others I'd tried recently. And the feel was right with that nitro finish and no new-guitar stiffness. Plugged in, it sounded more impressive than I expected, with the Kent Armstrongs giving a surprisingly good account of themselves. Then I checked the price tag and saw it had been discounted from the usual UK street price of £999 down to £699. Decision made, I took it home with me.
Now that I've lived with it for a few days, I'm still happy. There are no problems with the frets, and only a very few minor finish flaws such as I'd expect to see on a Gibson, the typical beauty spots you find on any hand-finished instrument. The only real issue was that the nut needed attention: the 1st, 2nd and 4th slots needed to be deepened, and the 3rd had to be filled and re-slotted because it was too wide. The action is now nice and easy, the guitar feels great to play, and is acoustically alive with loads of zing and dynamics. Just what I wanted from a 335. My only gripe is the string path along the flared headstock; that there isn't sufficient clearance for the 4th and 5th strings on their way to the tuners is just bad design.
So onto my questions, and they concern modifications:
The first is about hardware and wiring. Browsing the internet, lots of people discuss upgrading the bridge and tailpiece, or the switches and pots. I'm wondering why? The bridge and tailpiece are both good quality Gotoh pieces, and I see nothing wrong the tuners, other than how they're located and its effect on string path. Online specs say the switch and output jack are both Switchcraft, and from what I can see from outside the f-holes, the pots are full size and seem good quality, and certainly perform well. I don't know if they're CTS, but they don't scream "replace me". So why are people bothering with that? I can't judge the quality of the wiring itself, but if Eastman are using good quality hardware components, it would seem daft to scrimp on the wiring and caps. Has anyone taken the guts out of a T386 to see what the harness is like?
The second question is in regards to the Kent Armstrong pickups. They sound surprisingly good, but given the guitar's acoustic qualities, I think it might be a rare case of the guitar flattering the pickups. Being an inveterate tinkerer, I am of course looking at replacing them with some Gibson Custombuckers that I have in my parts box. Now, I've replaced pickups and wiring in thinline semis before, and it's always a massive pain in the arse. I see that the T386 has a cavity beside the bridge pickup which should make things a little easier. Anyway, the question for anyone who's replaced the pups in one of these: were you able to just bring the volume pots out through the f-hole to solder the pups in, or did you have to take the entire harness out to work on it? As thinline semis go, was it particularly difficult?
Any thoughts welcome!
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The Eastman Finish issue![[Image: w3UIGMu.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/w3UIGMu.jpg)
![[Image: GDUUw3c.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/GDUUw3c.jpg)
![[Image: LfsIfhx.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/LfsIfhx.jpg)
It's a Eastman AC122-1CE. 
I did have some explaining to do this morning with my wife, but I think I've got it smoothed over!
- I have to say once again, my Eastman really held its own against many of the other high end OM models I played. Tone, playability, fit and finish ... all of it. Eastman particularly has really upped its game regarding fit/finish and consistent quality in the last couple of years. It's so great to be able to own these quality Eastman guitars.