My wife and I returned from our local music store today and I was talking about Eastman and how they have been killing it with their 2018 lineup and how great value their guitars are. Out of nowhere the wife said “you know, you should really buy another Eastman before the price goes up.” I tried with every fiber within me to play it cool and act like I didn’t want one. But in reality i’ve wanted another one the day I bought my last one. So not only did I marry the best woman ever, but now i’m on the hunt for a new guitar! Which model would you buy? (I already have an Eastman E10D-TC)

So I tried the Santa Cruz Medium Tension on my E8D. I put them on about 3 months ago. It really brought out the guitar and they seemed very good, but the $18/set was a little high, IMHO. It was time for a change and I wanted to try something different. I went with d'Addario EJ16s light (12-53). For some reason everything sounds muddled. There is a lot of overtones and the strings seem to be competing with each other. I honestly don't know a better way to describe it. Is this something that will play itself out as it settles down? Or? I believe Eastman recommends EXP16s and I think (?) the only difference is the EXPs are coated. Comments would be greatly appreciated.
TomC
PS - Side note - I learned a lesson about paying attention when changing out the strings. I had a couple friends over for dinner and cruise on the lake. Afterwards we were standing around talking as I explained the Eastman guitar and what I was doing. (inspection, clean, new strings etc) I inadvertently inserted the "D" string in the "G" spot and then tried to tune it. I now know you can snap a heavy wound string. Fortunately that is all the happened.

Hello
My first post here.
Today I bought an Eastman AC DR 1 as a step to upgrade from my beginner guitar which is a Fender CD60.
I'm very much a beginner guitar player, having spent a year learning notes and working through Alfred's Basic Guitar method and Hal Leonard, plus a few other beginner guitar books. After a year I got fed up with the pick and went back and started over this time using my fingers.
Now I can easily play beginner stuff, and I'm fairly happy with the basic beginner chords...
I want to move towards a finger picking /pseudo classical folksy style of playing. I can't sing, so I really want the guitar to do the singing.
I love the deep bass tones and big sound of the fender CD60, and having talked with my local guitar store, I was recommended the Eastman AC DR1.
Now. I've been playing it all evening, then switching back to the Fender (cost 200€) then to the Eastman, (600€), and I'm struggling to get the Eastman to sound as good as the fender. True, I've been playing the fender for two years, and the Eastman for three hours, lol, but.... What am I not doing right? It sounds jangly, light, weak, and the bass notes sound like wet elastic. Then I try my fender again and the sound is clean and the bass notes resonate.
I know it's me, not the guitar, so I'm looking for advice.
The strings are different, is this the issue? The fender strings are fairly thick. The Eastman strings are phosphore bronze, feel lighter, it's this why the sound is thinner?
The Eastman body is roughly the same size as the fender but the sound hole is smaller, and the guitar feels much lighter.
I want to make my new guitar sing. I want to find it's voice. I listened to this guitar played on YouTube and it sounded rich. When I play it sounds metallic jangly and light, and add I said the bass sounds like wet elastic.
Be kind to a beginner, any advice please on what this guitar wants in terms of how I should play it, and any comments welcome from those of you who know this guitar better than I do.

EDITED from orig post....

Still not quite there with EQing the El Rey 4... but, making headway:

https://soundcloud.com/bertramd-1/er4-riff-runnin

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastman-ac508m-...3125117248

Rare model... I've played one of these and they sound great, love the full hog body and top.  Not necessarily a 'deal' on the price but if anyone is looking for this model, I don't see them offered up very often.

I am planning (hoping) to start playing live at some local restaurants here in Arizona - and as part of that am in the process of purchasing equipment to begin using loopers in a live scenario.  One piece of gear I just purchased is the Digitech Trio.  While searching youtube, I came across this video of a guy using an Eastman El Rey with the Trio.  Pretty cool device and I am excited for it to come in.





For the looper - I am going with an iPad + the Quantiloop app.  I also ordered a Blueboard pedal to control the looping.  Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted on my experiment.

Curious - has anyone else used loopers for playing?

I just found a used AC822CEFF with a Fishman sound hole pickup. Has anyone seen a sound hole pickup on this model?  I thought they came with either the Fishman Matrix system or the LRBaggs Element.

I ordered a new AR603CE-15 today from Djangobooks.com.  While I didn't need yet another guitar, I've periodically been fascinated by smaller sized archtops I happen to stumble across from time to time.  Such was the case when I happened to see an AR603CE-15 at my local shop.

Specifically, I chose the AR603CE-15 for the reduced body size.  It combines the comfort that I have found in the two small body archtops I currently own, with the beautifully crafted tone that I have come to appreciate in my AR503CE.

The only wildcard for me is the mahogany back and sides.  I’ve never owned a mahogany archtop so this is new territory for me.

By the way, I chose Djangobooks.com based on their proximity to me and based on the fact that I couldn’t find a brick and mortar that had the finish I wanted.  Will post a review of the guitar and seller, once I receive the guitar.

Hi Everyone, I just took delivery of this beautiful T59V. Plays so sweetly. The Seth Lovers are a great match to this guitar. I was a little nervous as I didn't get a chance to play first but it is just superb.. The finish is perfect, just lightly aged waiting for me to add to it now! I have added some gratuitous pics for you (sorry).

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I am noticing very slight pain in my left index finger knuckle... between the medial and proximal phalange (yes, had to look that up  )  ... just started a few months ago.  I don't have any other issues with any other finger when playing.  I can play through it, but it is a bit annoying, especially on certain chords.  

Anyone dealt with anything similar?  Are there any tips out there in this area, or advice that may help?