Any one tried the Seymour Duncan Vintage Blues '59 Humbucker, in an T386?
Seems the Seth Lover s are very popular.

Thanks
RwP

Anyone have an idea approximately how many members the AGF has? I've just had a look at their site and I get the impression it is quite highly populated. Although the design doesn't seem a patch on this forum. (don't mention this to Tim - he'll be getting a big head).

(6.1.19 Update: added sound clip below)

(I posted this over on the AGF, so forgive me if you've seen it already. Glad to be back in the Eastman fold!)

It’s been a while since I had a NGD post. I honestly wasn’t planning on buying another guitar for quite a while. Life has changed (a lot) and I no longer play as often as I used to. But I still love the acoustic, and I’ve missed having an OM, which over the past few years become my favorite body style by far.

Last week, I dropped by a local music store just to kick tires. They were unboxing a brand new Eastman E1OM as I walked in. The clerk messed up and told me it was an E10OM, which I realized was wrong as soon as I got it in my hands. But I wasn’t upset. I had been hoping to run across one of these new "bargain" models.

Quite honestly, I've never played an Eastman with mahogany or sapele that did anything for me, so I wasn't expecting much. I decided to give it a try.

Boy, I’m glad I did.

I tuned her up and gave a strum...oh my! What came out was what I consider the quintessential Mahogany and spruce OM/000 tone: balanced, punchy, clear...and rich. Ahhhh...how I had missed the sound of this perfect wood combo and body shape. It truly hits the sweet-spot, for me, at least.

I sat in a little side nook and put her through her paces. Flatpicking, the notes rang clear and true. Not a lot of overtones...just nice, dry mahogany clarity. But rich...full...round. Not thin at all. Fingerpicking, sweet and clear. Up the neck and cowboy chords just put a smile on my face. Strumming, I've learned to control my right hand a lot over the years, but as I dug in, it kept giving.

Several times, customers walked by to ask what brand of guitar I was playing. They weren't asking because of my playing...they were asking because it sounded so right, even with my hacking.

I asked them to hold it for me, so I could ask my wife about it and not put her on the spot by calling from the store. I actually chickened out the next day, and called and told them I couldn't do it. Then I had a change of heart. I told my bride that, if it was still there on Monday, I was going to pull the trigger. It was simply too dang good to pass up at $459. I called them, and to my suprise, it was still there. Turns out they forgot to put it back on the floor on Saturday! Bully for me!

On to the guitar itself, the top is actually quite tight-grained sitka, with a bit of bear-claw going on, and some nice silking. Some waviness in the grain, but not much. Gloss finish on top, and it really makes the silking stand out. Nice tortoise-style binding on the top AND back (many makers cut corners and only bind the top now at this price point and even above). The sapele back and sides are actually quite even and beautiful. They're finished in an open-pore (i.e. no filler) finish, which isn't as nice as satin, but doesn't bother me. Heck, maybe that's one of the reasons it sounds so dang good!







The neck is one of the things I always loved about the Eastmans I had before. Nice, full c-shaped neck. Not too big, not too thin. Felt like home from the get-go. No issues with intonation up and down the neck...seriously, it was spot-on. The ebony fretboard and bridge are beautiful. Can I say thank you CITIES for this one? Becase you know we wouldn't be seeing ebony on this price point were it not for RW restrictions. The headplate is simply gorgeous to me, with a bit of lighter brown striping mixed in with the dark black of the ebony. AND it's a gloss headstock, which makes it look fantastic to me.



I had not seen Eastman's new pickguard design in person, and I am more than thrilled. Their old, pixelated pickguards were thin and ugly, IMHO, but the new ones are quite Greven-esque and attractive. Not beveled, but still a big upgrade.



The neck has a stacked heel and a scarf-joint for the headstock. The neck acutally has some wild figuring on it, but not uniform enough to make it truly "figuring" and get placed on a nicer guitar.



It's quite clean, as well. Nice fit and finish. Looking forward to taking a gander at the bracing when I change strings down the road. All in all, it is a phenomenal spruce/sapele 000 and I'm thrilled to be able to take care of it for a while.

I've downsized my collection quite a bit, and I'm not playing as much as I used to, but this little git may change that. I have a joy when I pick it up, and I don't want to put it down. I haven't really had that in a really long time. It felt good to experience it again. And not caring about the name or the price tag felt good, too. I can't justify having really nice guitars at this season of life, and have moved quite a few for monetary needs. Just being happy that I am able to play an incredible sounding and feeling instrument makes me smile. This one makes me feel like I have a top-tier OM at an incredible price.

https://soundcloud.com/treenewt74/eastma...sound-test

Hello fellow Eastman owners. My most recent Eastman is an E1P parlor with slotted headstock. It came with Ping V93N 3+3 tuners. I wanted to upgrade to Waverly tuners. Does anyone know if they are compatible?

While Seventy Seven gits are not very well known, they are held in very high regards in the jazz world. They are made in Japan of the best materials, no neck joints just high quality stuff.

This hollow body is a prime example of an under priced Buy it NOW that deserves to be sold. In trans white, it's from what I've seen a one off. So many times I've come close to pulling the trigger on this one but I have too many gits as it is.

https://reverb.com/item/6261083-seventy-...w-case-mij

It's currently available at $800 + shipping with two days remaining on the auction. Could be a nice score for someone interested in this model. Usual "no affiliation with seller" comments apply.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastman-T186MX-..._Auction=1

According to FedEx, the used E6OM I purchased last week will be delivered TODAY! I’m hoping the anticipation doesn’t kill me before I get it.

It’s been a bit of a journey getting here.

I have been playing a little over a year, and earlier this year I bought a used Taylor 114 — an entry level Grand Auditorium guitar. I was thrilled with it, and played it everyday for at least an hour. After a couple of months, my right shoulder was killing me — apparently the 16” lower bout didn’t agree with me.

I bought a GS Mini Mahogany, which is much more comfortable. But honestly, I’ve never been blown away by the sound. I’ve been trying out other guitars, and I’d almost convinced myself to get a Martin 00-15m. But I wasn’t entirely blown away by it either.

I tried some spruce topped guitars, and I think I prefer that tone over mahogany tops. I was pretty happy with a Martin 000-18, but that’s a lot of money to spend when you’re first starting out on guitar. I tried similar sized spruce topped guitars, but nothing really spoke to me.

So I decided to wait.

I saw a used E6om come up for sale. Did some research, listened to some sound clips, and decided to put my good money down. I know it’s a bit of a risk, but I’m pretty sure I can sell it for close to what I paid for it if necessary. Last weekend, I found an Eastman dealer by me and played an OM. Very nice — liked the neck, the body size felt comfortable, and it sounded terrific! I felt much more reassured about my Eastman impulse buy!

Today I get to have my actual guitar in my hands! I can’t wait to hear how this particular one sounds and plays.

Over the last couple of years, I got myself into a place where I no longer owned any Mahogany guitars. Earlier this year, I picked up a 2016 E10D, and on Friday, I added a new E10SS/v.

I'm not usually one who prefers the relic'd look, but Eastman really did an amazing job with this series. The guitar totally has the appearance of a well played, but completely maintained vintage guitar. The color is faded exactly where you'd expect to find it: on the lower bout at the strummer's arm, a little on the sides, and in the center of the back. There's even a subtle buckle rash on the back, which I can only see at certain angles, but really can't feel it.

It's amazing how well they integrated this into their finishing process. They use a multi-step process, beginning with a base coat, then the color application, and ending with the french polish. Each coat is sanded extremely thin, so the end result is much thinner than nitro, so it sounds as authentically vintage as it looks.

The original models came with Rosewood bridge and boards, but due to the CITES complexities, they switched to ebony, which I prefer anyway. The tuners are open gear Pings, which work fine and match nicely to the guitar's antique style. Also, it's probably worth mentioning the other basic specs: solid Adi top, solid Mahogany b/s and neck, bone nut and saddle, 24.75" scale, and 1 11/16" nut width.

This guitar has growly low end, strong mids, and shimmery highs, and it's sound is more complex than my 2016 E10D. It's loud and projects as well as my Rosewood/Adi guitars. It's very light and extremely responsive, and despite only having it for two days, it already sounds played in. I can only imagine how it will sound after spending more time with it, as well as pairing it with different strings (I left the stock D'Add EXP 16 on, for now).

I wasn't sure if this Antique Varnish series was the real deal, but I've never bonded immediately with a Mahogany guitar like I have with this one. For those of you who've wanted a TC model, but can't find one, I'd encourage you to check out the E10SS/v.

Finally, like my other Eastman guitars, I purchased this from Ted and Helene at LA Guitar Sales. The purchasing experience was perfect, as usual, and Ted took time to exchange some emails with my questions. He also played the two he had in stock and helped me select the right one with confidence (although he said both sounded nearly identical, in case anyone is looking to get the other one). The certificate date is 9/14/2018, so this guitar only left the shop in Pomona a few weeks ago.

Obligatory NGD photos to follow in the next post.

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Electri...ephyr.aspx

Isn't that just wonderful! I love the sound he had on the recordings with that guitar, very biting but clearly in between electric and acoustic. Roy Rogers plays it here and he gets the same sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9asS3docZU

Comes out tomorrow, I'd say it's a fitting tribute. Although only 1,000 on top of the like 57 that were made originally seems like very little.

ok - let me be controversial for a change. Are we buying into a myth in holding it to be automatically the case that, all things being equal, solid wood constructed acoustic guitars are superior to laminate wood constructions? Are the best laminate constructions often better (they are certainly mostly cheaper) than many solid wood constructions? Is the purchase and valorisation of sold wood guitars often the triumph of status over objectivity, by those who can afford the more expensive guitars? An economist called Veblen coined the phrase 'conspicuous consumption' in describing what he identified to be just such a syndrome (but enough of that!). Anyone want to share with us the best laminate wood acoustics you have played - and how highly you rate them? What about Eastmans - the PCH line, and others. I spotted a scientific test which addressed this issue - if you copy this - https://youtu.be/zw1iUqSSeqU - and run it from your command line you might be interested in the comparison between a laminate and solid top acoustic. It is clearly a limited experiment and not too much should be read into it, but it is certainly food for thought.
On a slightly different tack, did you spot the 'double top' guitars which featured in the pictures (on this site) taken at the recent Eastman guitar fair in China? Double top guitars have a top constructed as a sandwich of a kind of Kevlar placed between two solid layers of wood. A technique employed mostly in the manufacture of classical guitars, but also used currently in a few steel string acoustics. The resulting top is lighter and stronger than conventional builds, and the sound is reputed to be very impressive - although I haven't got a link for you. The sandwiched material might be too expensive to introduce in a standard line, but would seem well suited to hand built guitars.