Long story short; I bought an E6D, sold it, missed it, then when it became available again, bought it back.

The guitar arrived set up for and strung with mediums. Being a lights man, I re-strung it with EJ16s. Which really didn't get the top moving. I assumed I'd just get it set up for light strings, but after a couple of days realized that wouldn't do. If ever a guitar was built for medium - heavy even - strings, it was this one. It's a tank. A cannon.

While putting mediums BACK on, I remembered that the buyer-turned-seller told me he'd discovered it had an extra brace. On the top, underneath the fretboard extension (or whatever you call that area of the fretboard between the 14th and the soundhole).

Has anyone else encountered something like this? It seems like something you'd find on a 12-string guitar. I've never owned one, so can't speak to their braces.

Over on AGF. No relationship to the seller. 
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/foru...p?t=515363

Think again................

http://www.maplestreetguitars.com/show_i...%20AR905CE

Not mine this time .

I may go check this one out myself.

I’m sure this has already been addressed on the forum, (I may have even asked the question before) but I’m always looking for new strings to try. What new strings are you liking on your Eastman acoustics?

I’ve heard good things of the new Santa Cruz strings but I haven’t tried them out yet or heard any new reports on their longevity. For $18 I would need them to last 2-3 months. But I’m planning to get some of the medium tension ones next month.

To answer my own question, I had a set of D’Addario EXP medium 80/20 on my Eastman E10D-TC for several months. The tension, tone, and longevity was very good.

A couple days ago I put Martin Retro Tony Rice Bluegrass strings on the E10D-TC. The tone is true to the voice of the guitar and the tension feels good for the guage. I forgot I was using bone bridge pins so the tone was a brighter than I expected. I am kinda liking the brightness of these new strings. From experience these strings last 6-8 weeks, so not as long as the EXP’snbut good overall.

New side by side video from my long time friends at Maple St Guitars.

Nick DiSebastian demos  SB59-SB & SB59/V-Amber:

https://youtu.be/-U7ymEzzkk8

My next guitar is on its way to me....  After several months of playing and debating, I've decided to go with the Cordoba GK Studio Negra for my Nylon stringed guitar.

I've been exploring more jazz fingerstyle guitar music lately (Earl Klugh style) and wanted a guitar that had a slightly thinner nut width than traditional classical, along with a cutaway and electronics installed.  This one checked all the boxes and I liked it when I played it in person..

Curious if there are any other Cordoba owners here on EGF?



https://www.cordobaguitars.com/guitars/gk-studio-negra/

WARNING: A LONG POST!

Hello! I'm JC and this is my first post.

I just wanted to write about my wonderful new T64/v which I've recently purchased, and which I'm very happy with. My main playing style is jazz.

I already have another Eastman guitar, AR503ce sunburst, purchased 11 months ago. It looks and sounds gorgeous, and I love its light weight. However, while it's not a huge guitar (16" x 2 9/16"), I always found it a little bit cumbersome, as I'm not exactly a very big/tall person. Also, I've always been very careful not to cause any damage on it (so far so good) and I think maybe that prevents me from bonding with it on a deeper level. I don't know. I also have an Epiphone es 339, which is really a quality guitar for its price - I have to admit that it's so comfortable (14 inches) that I cannot put it down once I pick it up. It has very electric sound but in a good way. The only "issue" is that it's a bit heavier than what I'd like (it's semi-hollow and that's of course why it has some weight). I had also considered Epiphone casino coupe (which is like a hollow body version of es 339), but I just don't find it pretty at all.

Now, I've also been eyeing on this particular Eastman model as an addition to my collection for quite some time... T184mx. I found its compact size and good looks really appealing. But its rather hefty price tag was the only thing that stopped me. Then I had a chance to try it briefly at a store. It was very light and did look good, though I found the sound a bit underwelming. But at that time I was there to buy an amp so I wasn't really focusing on the guitar.

Anyway, I was still sort of fantasizing about the guitar for a while, and was checking very often if there was any 2nd handed one available, but it never showed up. I guess not many people have this guitar (if they did have it, maybe they wouldn't want to sell it because they love it so much).

Finally I decided to give it a try again and went to the same store again. The man who assisted me was really helpful, and he kindly set up the guitar and changed the strings for me without hesitation, which changed its feel and sound to the way I preferred. 

After testing it for a couple of hours, however, somehow I wasn't convinced (to spend so much money on it). I just did not have this feeling, "Yes this is it!". It was really a nice guitar (super clear and strong sound and all), but I thought it was not for me. (But who knows, maybe my taste will change in the future and if I find a good deal somewhere...)

So I was almost about to leave, but then the man suggested that maybe I try other ones, so I thought, okay, since I'm here, why not. Then I picked up a T64/v. I already heard some really positive comments about the guitar, but I wasn't really considering getting it because it was still big (16 inches), and I've already had a problem with my old Gibson es 335 - its body was constantly tipping over and I always struggled with it when sitting down, I eventually had to sell it (for a very good price luckily).

But, this T64/v was very different. In fact, it's more like es 330 as it's fully hollow. It was so light, and it felt so comfortable, both sitting down and standing up. And I just loved what I was hearing. I even compared it to Gibson es 330 (2017 or 2018 model?) which they had at the store side by side and the Eastman sounded and felt far better to me. And the man at the store agreed too. A thinline guitar, but it was acoustically very resonant, its tone was really clear and yet warm and woody and not too electric. Just what I was looking for. It's just difficult to explain with words... I guess you just feel it when it's a right one.

I did not buy the guitar, though. Why? Because I was incredibly lucky to have found the same model (except that the one at the store was a newer one, in goldburst with different pickups, while the other one was an older one, in classic finish, and a bit cheaper) which was offered as 2nd handed at an insanely good price. I visited the seller the next day (it was a long trip), and the guitar did not disappoint me. Even with its different pickups, it still sounded and felt as good. And now I'm a proud owner of 2 Eastman guitars. I still cannot believe my luck. 

I haven't used the guitar extensively yet as I only got it recently, but I'm really looking forward to using it more and more. I did have a bass player friend come over and she was amazed by the sound.

Another thing is, I've been using flatwound strings for all my guitars the last few years (after using D'ddario half wound for years), and my new guitar has round wound strings... and I do like the sound. I'm wondering if I will like it better or not if I changed them, and I'm also thinking that perhaps I should now start using round wound, for a change. I know it's something personal, but is there anyone out there who can shed some light on this?

Anyway... I would recommend this guitar to anyone who's looking for an es 330 type of guitar.

Thanks for reading, and my pleasure to join this forum! 

JC

P.S. attached is a picture of my two Eastmans!

P.S. #2 I just edited my original post a bit, as I felt that I could add more details and also clarify what it was really like with the other Eastman... (then again, it was only a couple of hours at the store, which is not enough to estimate the guitar properly.)

Last year I purchased an E10D-TC. What an amazing guitar in every aspect except, the tuning machines. My guitar came with Ping V93N. Everything about the guitar is premium from the wood selection to the custom binding. The Ping tuning machines don’t really fit the vibe of the guitar. They look somewhat bland but hold tuning stability okay. My main complaint is that they are really tough to turn. I don’t have a lot of experience with open back tuners but my Martin 00-15m’s Grover’s also feel the same. However, the Grover closes back rotomatics on my D-28 are way easier to turn and are perform much better when it comes to a string change.

So I was wondering about replacing the Eastman’s Ping’s with some Waverly tuners.
Has anyone attempted this on their Eastman? Would this be a simple conversion? Thank you for your advice in advance.

Hello all. I am interested in buying a T486B and hope I can get opinions from owners or anyone who has played one. I have no experience of Eastman nor Bigsby's so any input is welcome. Thanks in advance.