Sometimes you end up in the right place at the right time. Such was my case many years ago on an early fall evening. 
Eastman had begun to build their dealer network in Missouri. They had selected a location that would later be known as The Acoustic Shoppe to host a road show event and introduce their guitars and mandolins to the Springfield, Missouri market. Our proximity to Branson does not go unnoticed. 
The Eastman rep arrived with just about every model of guitar and mandolin in their line up. Which was a smaller selection than today, but still a sizable volume for one person to demonstrate. To his credit he enlisted the help of a couple of phenomenal bluegrass players, John Chapman on guitar and Jeremy Chapman on mandolin. 
The Eastman rep began by introducing the company, explaining the hand crafted build process, selection of tone woods to a curious crowd of about 30 people. Then the magic happened.
The Eastman rep handed a mandolin and guitar to the Chapman's. They started with a medium tempo bluegrass tune. Giving us all a chance to hear the wonderful tone of these Eastman instruments. Soon the pace increased. The rep was trading out guitars and mandolins explaining the different models and construction of each.
Then BAM! Lighting in a bottle. These fellows started playing the fire out of these Eastmans. So fast and clean, not missing a single lick, as the poor Eastman rep had to stop talking and trade out instruments as quickly as possible. While this fellow had a hard time trading out guitars and mandolins, John and Jeremy just quickened the pace, smiling and laughing the whole time. 
If you get a chance to checkout an Eastman event, do it. You might get lucky and hear magic right before your very eyes.

Look at this thing!  Sadly I don't remember where I found this, but saved it to my collection several months ago.  I don't know if this is a custom shop or what it is... but wow... flamed KOA and arm bevel.  I didn't even know they offered those options.  Maybe a mainland China option only?

Earlier this year, my local Eastman store relocated and held a grand re-opening event.  Steve Bernstein from Eastman visited for the day and brought a lot of cool gear with him, including a Mandocello and some guitars that the local store normally didn't carry in their store.  Aside from asking 100 questions about Eastman guitars, I entered a contest to win an Eastman ACTG1 travel guitar.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they selected my name at the end of the day.
https://www.facebook.com/wmm95616/videos...850516622/

The guitar sounds louder, deeper, and richer than I expected.  I'd say that it compares nicely to a Taylor Mini with a solid Sitka Spruce top and laminate Sapele body. The size and scale are definitely too small for me, so I considered selling it or passing it down to my kids.  But my wife came up with the idea of storing it in our rental house in Costa Rica, where we have a locked room for personal items.  We get down there 2-3x / year, so I'll be sure to give it some TLC along with playing it on vacation.

Here's the guitar.  Love the bearclaw top on this little guy!

Sorry, long post, but hopefully an entertaining story...

Earlier this year, I came awfully close to purchasing an E15-SS, which is a custom "00" Rosewood/Adi guitar, inspired by the classic Gibson LG2.  Although I was assured that the guitar was extremely responsive and carried a bigger sound than its smaller body suggested, until recently, I played mostly dreads, so I was getting cold feet about the smaller body.  I had just purchased an E40OM, so I decided to compare measurements between the OM and E-15 models.  Since the E15 was a burst, I subconsciously selected the E20OM-SB to get the specs.

I quickly forgot what I was doing and began clicking on the photos.  The burst was gorgeous, and I am aesthetically partial to ebony boards (the E15 has a rosewood bridge and board).  It just looked so sharp and elegant.  I continued clicking and got to the Rosewood back, and it didn't look like typical EIR.  So, I called back to Ted at LA Guitar Sales, who was already incredibly patient and helpful on previous purchases and my indecisiveness about the E15-SS.  He inspected the E20OM-SB, confirmed that the EIR back was a dark and extremely narrow grain that closely resembled Madagascar Rosewood.  When he played it, he noted that the sound was deeper, but slightly less responsive than the E15-SS (neither surprised me).  So long E15-SS... hello E20OM-SB!

When the guitar arrived, it was as stunning as the photos described, and the Rosewood body was even prettier in person.  My only remaining concern was whether it would sound just like my E40OM, as I didn't want to spend this kind of money on redundancy.  But that's one of the beautiful things about Eastman and hand-crafted guitars --- every one is different!

The tone is much darker, but in a good Martin-esque way, so it really didn't sound like the E40OM at all.  And I noticed that this one has a little more volume, but I have to work harder to get it (back to those responsiveness comments).  But that tight, compressed sound/feeling is loosening ever-so-slowly, which is perfectly fine, since it's only a few months old (and Adi tops can take 1-3 years to hit their stride).  I remind myself of the story I read online about a player who had a similarly tight Rosewood/Adi guitar, and after about three years, it turned into the best guitar they owned.... so, I'm being optimistic and patient!

Obligatory photos:















I "borrowed" this photo from LA Guitar sales b/c I can't get a decent photo of the back w/o a bunch of glare:

In April 2017, I was so enamored with my E40D that I ordered an E40OM, so I'd have a pair.  This guitar is inspired by Martin's classic 000-42 (Eric Clapton played a 1939 000-42 on his famous "Unplugged" performance in the 90s), but it really has a sound all its own.  It's perhaps the most well balanced guitar I've ever played, and it just shimmers when I strum a chord.  And it's also incredibly comfortable with the slightly smaller body (vs. a dread) and shorter scale.  The rest of the guitar was perfectly crafted, and the hand-carved mahogany neck is accented with an ebony stripe, which is both elegant and provides additional structural support (Lowden does the same with their guitars).

Side note: I am fairly new to Adirondack, and I am finding it to be such a fascinating tonewood.  For the first month, the guitar actually sounded really tight, and seemingly overnight, it just popped open, and it's now the most responsive guitar I own.  I was never sure if "tap tuning" the tops was for real, but after owning two "40" series Eastman guitars, I am a believer!

Here are photos from when this beauty arrived.  At the time of purchase, according to an Eastman rep, this was only one of two E40OM guitars in the country, but I've seen a few more appear online.  I cannot recommend this guitar enough and would welcome any questions, discussions, or finding out if anyone else has had the opportunity to play or purchase this wonderful guitar.

About seven months ago, I purchased my first Eastman acoustic guitar.  After researching online, playing through several guitars at a local store, and finally calling a handful of online dealers, I ordered an E40D natural from Ted at LA Guitar Sales.  Both aesthetically and sonically, this guitar exceeded my expectations from the moment it arrived, and it's only gotten better over time.  It's definitely a keeper!

These photos are from February 2017, so the top is getting a little more color.  I'll post some updated photos in the photos thread shortly.  The top has this cool bearclaw, which would be obscured by a pick guard, so I decided not to add one (I don't tend to scratch my tops).  The other materials, fit, and finish are superb with no flaws (and over time, I tend to micro-inspect everything).

If you have this model, please share your experience (and photos!).  And if you have any questions, please ask.

As I'm sure many of you know, Jack played accompaniment for Doc Watson for many years.  Follow the link below to post#10 and read what Jack has to say about his E20D.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theunoff...87300.html

Eastman guitars are made with a tremendous amount of care and labor.  This can be a good place to discuss what we know (or think we know!), as well as post some questions here.  Perhaps we can convince someone from Eastman to join our new group and provide some insight here.

Eastman makes some beautiful instruments, so let's post some acoustic guitar photos here!

I am begging you, Eastman, begging! Please build an Eastman version of Gibson Smeck, short scale, 12 fret, wide neck (like the 12 fret OO neck), deep body. We need a Smeckman! And if you can't build that, then build a traditional 12 fret dreadnought, big body, long scale, slothead, wide neck (like the 12 fret OO neck). Those of us who like dreads and slope shoulders need some 12 fret love, too.

Thank you. 

ZI