Hi guys, I really hope someone can help me. I’ve tried logging into the ‘acoustic guitar forum’ (wanted to post my NGD there also and comment on some Sigma threads) but it says I’ve been banned as my account has been ‘hacked’ and the ban will ‘never’ be lifted.

I tried to setup another account but it will not work, I’m also unable to contact the administrator to setup a new account as you need an existing account!

I was given no notification of my account being hacked just found out when trying to log in. Any advice is much appreciated.

Hello everyone!

Sorry if this subject has already been done to death.

So I just bought a new e20d tc from Sweetwater.
I seen this batch comes with the Gotoh SE780-06M tuners per Eastmans website and Sweetwater also said gotoh in the description.

When I received the guitar it has non branded tuners that look otherwise the same.No markings.
Does gotoh always have markings?
After looking around they appear to be the ping tuners they used previously and on other models.

Now I wouldn't normally sweat that much.Its likely a decent tuner, but it's not what was described.
So I reached out to my sales engineer, who went on to say that they are in fact gotoh, and the description is accurate, but gotoh will remove their logo and/or model number at the manufacturers request.

I don't think that's accurate, and I'm pretty surprised they would fabricate such a story.
I went on their site and checked the other available e20d tc they have still, and this time I got out the reading glasses and zoomed in and that guitar has gotoh stamped on the tuners.(They both just came into stock last week)
So mine being from the same shipment, I'd assume mine was just from trying to finish a run and ran out of gotohs for the day.

I think he might have been taking out his back side.

I get that Eastman flips hardware without much notice, but I can't understand why a retailer would make up a story.
They have to be aware Eastman switches stuff randomly.I can't be the first to point it out.

Anyway just a little rant.
Wanted to get some experienced eyeballs on it just to see if they look like pings.
Because according to Sweetwater they're unmarked gotohs.He really wanted me to feel ensured about it.

And I get that if it plays good then who cares, but the retailer should be trusted.
They went dark when I responded saying I think they're pings.
I think they don't know how to back track that story they made up.
Wouldn't have even sent it back... just an honest explanation would have done.
What do you guys think?

Pings or unmarked Gotoh SE780-06M?

Thanks for letting me vent

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I have a 2021 E10-SS that I love, and it's in perfect condition. But the handle on my hard case just broke. 

Any ideas? Time for a new case?

I’ve added another slope shouldered guitar to keep my Huss and Dalton and Gibson J-45 JT Banner reissue company and am starting to think they may be my ideal body shape. I wanted 14 fret rosewood this time and I was looking at Gibson initially but the rosewood ones I played sounded a bit too mellow and ‘springy’ for what I wanted this time around and not as different from the Mahogany standard models as I would have expected given the different back/side woods used. The necks also tended to be quite thin. I’d love a banner SJ to go with my J-45 but I can’t really justify the expense at present. 

I then started looking at the cheaper Eastman E20SS of course, but the 1-11/16 nut is a deal breaker these days. I couldn’t see any of these style models with a 1-3/4 nut width even the maple version (which may have been interesting) is 1-11/16. I then had a quick Look at Sigma. I have three of their all solid Martin inspired models and I’ve not certainly been disappointed with any of them. I spotted an all solid model called the SJR-SG45, a solid slope shouldered jumbo/dreadnought with Adirondack top and Rosewood back and sides , ebony board and bridge, bone nut and saddle and most importantly a 1-3/4 nut width. There were no vids on YouTube or anywhere else for this matter that i could find but there were a few videos demonstrating the mahogany version (SJM-SG45) which sounded nice. These models even online are very thin on the ground especially the rosewood one. I managed to locate one at a good price and pulled the trigger sight unseen.

It arrived late and a bit grubby with a small dent above the second fret. I was not particularly happy with the supplier given the delay but given the spec, the scarcity of the model and my experience with AMI Sigma’s as a whole I decided to clean it up and restring it with my favourite strings (Thomastik 12-59). Setup wise it’s not bad at all although I will get it tweaked a little since adding the extra string tension has changed the feel. It sounds really good and it’s the different type of tone I was looking for. I have removed the pickguard as it looked cheap and I replaced it with a JP hand cut 30’s vintage tortoise style guard one as the one it came with was very dull and boring. The only thing I don’t like is the logo. Obviously the old style Martin script logo would not be appropriate for this Gibson inspired model but I’d have hoped they would have come up with something more attractive. Overall though I really like the look and it is distinctive enough from other j-45/SJ inspired models to set itself apart. Also, price wise its cheaper than a lot of the competition.

In the uk the Eastman E20SS runs £1350-£1590, whereas the sigma is £1100-£1230. I managed to get the sigma at £1044 in a Black Friday sale and they reduced the price by another £100 for the small indentation/grubby appearance/late arrival etc so £944 in total. Comparing it with my higher calibre Huss and Dalton and Gibson is really interesting. You can immediately hear the influence of the rosewood on the tone. It has plenty of sustain, deep bass response and a good mid-range despite the rosewood B/S. It is not as woody or warm as either the J-45 or H&D (which are also vastly different from one another) but it has a commanding tone and a ton of power. I’ll report back once the strings have mellowed a bit and the guitar is fully setup to my liking but I’m impressed by this guitar thus far. A few quick pics of the guitar along with my other two slopes:


H&D DS-12 Custom

J-45 1942 "JT Banner" reissue

I'm new to archtops. I just bought an Eastman 503ce. I've noticed that the headstock is quite large, much bigger than the SB59 headstock, and bigger than the 603ced headstock. The tuning pegs are laid out such that the strings kind of touch each other on the headstock. I'm curious if this is normal in jazz guitars. On electrics, the strings never touch on the headstocks, even when they're angled like on Gibsons (or the SB59). Would this negatively affect the tuning pegs to have the strings touching them? Why are the headstocks so big?

I own a lot of the solidbody SB56 and SB59 models.  The specs and articles I've read have always claimed Mahogany as the wood used for the bodies and necks on these guitars.  The SB55 models have always claimed Okoume instead of Mahogany.  The source of Eastman's Mahogany has come up often with very little specifics ever divulged.  But, they've always claimed that they use Mahogany for the bodies and necks.

I just recently noticed on the Eastman website that they have updated the specs on the remaining SB line to say they are made of Okoume.  My question is "Were these models ALWAYS Okoume or were they actually Mahogany and now they will be transitioning to Okoume?"  It doesn't look like any of the pictures on the website changed of the instruments, just the specs on the wood being used for construction.

Thanks for any insight that can be provided here,

jster804

Just got in, it’s a 2024. I must say the build quality is excellent and the top is a great piece of spruce..I have had many pricey guitars and I got tired of pricey!
Just a great guitar
Thanks
Charlie

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I purchased a hygrometer for my guitar case. Yesterday I checked the reading and it was 39RH. I removed it from case and it immediately shot to a nice 45. Does this seem right? I live in the rainy. cold Northwest and that reading seems wrong. Any thoughts on why it changed so fast?  Can being in case make that difference?

Hey there,
ive just bought a 2019 [Nov/Dec] built E20 OM.Adi / Rosewood.
Does anyone know when Eastman began thermo curing top tonewoods for this model?

How does the thumb wheels of the bridge work?  When I lower too far the bridge using the thumb screws, do the screws touch the body of the guitar thru the base if lowering too much….for example, lowering the thumb wheels all the way and touch the base of the bridge?

I realize that if i open all the strings and look at the bottom of the base then i would know, but…i just bought it (used), and not going to do that at the moment unless I’ll change strings in the future.  Thanks.