Saturday I bought an Eastman AC422 off craigslist, picked it up in Spartanburg, SC. Like new, a lady bought it 3 months ago, the sitka is so white is looks like adi. I'm thrilled with it. Playability/neck feel is great. She ordered it, it was too big, it's new, my discount is about enough for me to fly to LA to see my son. Today, I bought a wonderful Recording King ROS-647 (ROS-627 with abalone bling) from a EGF member, from whom I bought my AC822 years ago. The RK is quite a surprise, built with spec as Martin's 000R but made in China, open headstock, 12 fret, nut 1 13/16" , it feels, plays and sounds wonderful. A mellow toned voice I have been after for years as my singing buddy. Great lookers, nice guitars.
On the RK, the strings feel loose, I guess it takes a little getting used to, the short 25" scale.

Last night, an RK ROS-697 Excellent Condition, showed up on Guitar Center used for $199. I researched some, found that this model has Brazilian rosewood, eventually was something special, as ebay and several AGF threads said this model has sold for over $8,000.  I know it is probably an error but I bought it at midnight. I think the error is probably that the label inside the guitar actually says ROS-647 and somebody read it as a 697 cause the 4 maybe written sloppily by hand. The picture shows a 12 fret guitar with open head stock, so any ROS Xlent Cond for $199 should be fine for a keeper or resale.

Curious if anyone on EGF has tried (or owns) a ToneWoodAmp?  Experience?  Seems to have great reviews.

https://www.tonewoodamp.com/

For a fingerstyle soloist - this would be a very interesting tool to have in the bag.

The first one minute of this video explains a 'muddy' tone guitar, (move the slider to zero if it starts elsewhere).   The late Bill Collings always began each build with the most choice wood to be found.  Bruce Van Wart has been the wood selection guy at Collings since their startup, still handles every piece of wood going into their guitars, their wood is always grade AAA.  Not true for most major brands.

Proper stiffness along the grain line and across the grain is the first priority in selection.  A guitar with an extra warm tone does not = 'muddy' is my point.  Solid wood used in Eastman Traditional and AC series have always been of high quality in my experience. This video demonstrates to me why hands-on Eastman and Collings are comparable.... vs CFM, Taylor, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b6e0AvYjUI&t=72s

I'm thinking about upgrading the tuners on my E10 00. Has anyone done this and if so what tuners have you used or would recommend?

I find the neck width and girth of my T486 to be absolutely perfect. Eastman in its specs never identifies it, what are y’alls best guesses?

I have a number of Eastman's in my "watch list" on Reverb, not that I need another git, I'm just a sale voyeur...  and I'll be damned some that are listed are a VERY reasonable price have had a 15% off sale TWICE and have not sold. I'm stunned.

Is money that tight? Are players expecting even DEEPER discounts? Or is it something else?

I am so on the fence about this...narrowed my choices to either a E20 00 or an E20 OM. So would I be sacrificing much in the way of volume with the 00 or are they close enough for finger picking? Please help with you opinions.
Much thanks!

Does anyone know how to read the year made off an Eastman Serial Number 130520002 ? Would this have been made in 2013?
Thanks for any help...

New Member here, about 4 minutes ago. (in a dilemma, feeling loyal to the great unofficialBlueridgeGuitarForum.) I continue to feed my compulsive hobby of visiting every guitar shop I can find. We went to Nashville last week and I was in heaven. Of course, Gibsons were in all the shops. I went in to 2 of Nashville's Guitar Centers. The most fun shop was Corner Music, just south of downtown Nashville. Lots of Gibsons, lots of Eastmans, Larrivees, Art & Guthrie small guitars, Breedlove, Recording Kings, no Martins, no Taylors. It was fun to finally play small Eastmans, they had an E10P and an E10 00. The 1 13/16" nut width on these was surprisingly comfortable. Outside of the Gibsons, the best 2 guitars in the shop IMO were the Eastman AC320 (I'm a WTB AC322CE) and the Eastman E40D. The E40D is a unique model number for Eastman, a very different, very comfortable neck feel (felt like a Martin neck) and an exceptional, unique voice. Bluegrass folks may not care for the voice. The neck also was gorgeous with beautiful inlays, the voice was intoxicating, smooth, like a sexy blues singer eg Nora Jones, reminded me of a Guild D-55 that infactuated me for months. It's really a good one !!! I can't remember the price, maybe it was $1999, Eastman's site has it at $2500 suggested retail. An interesting decision by Eastman, I predict it will sell, but the price should surely slow it down, considering the names on headstocks one can get for the price. Maybe it sets a record for the highest priced guitar made in China???