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Hi all,
I am a relatively new guitarist having started older in life. At best, I am in the overlap between advanced beginner/ low intermediate and have been playing a Gretsch G5220 (Broadtron pick-ups) since I started around 4 years ago. It's a great budget guitar and has a nice sound but I am looking to add something different with a fuller darker sound.
I have a milestone birthday and am looking to treat myself to a thinline semi-hollow guitar. I love the deep mellow sound I hear (admittedly through budget computer speakers) from YouTube videos from the Gibson 335 but at £3- £3.5k in the UK, it is out of my league price-wise. My budget is about half that. I have admired the Eastman brand for a while and have looked at comparison videos of the T386, 486, 486B and T59.
To my ears (and I know from my hi-fi hobby how subjective this is) via poor PC speakers, the T386 sounds more mellow with the more budget Kent Armstrong pick-ups. I really love the Goldburst finish on the T486 and the look of the fretboard with parallelograms but sonically it sounds brighter than what I'm looking for. The T-59 sounds much warmer but I am not a fan of the worn-look varnishing or aged Lollar antiquity pick-ups and it doesn't look like Eastman make it available in the Goldburst without the worn-look.
Of course, I realise that the answer is to try all 3 back-to-back but there is nowhere in the UK that holds that kind of stock of Eastman after checking online. In any case, I think I'd be convincing myself to go with the 486 just for the appearance. I originally liked the idea of the 486B with the Bigsby versatility but, to my ears, that sounds brighter still. I have considered getting the T486 and then thinking of changing the neck pick-up (mostly where I play) to something more Gibson-esque but I've heard a variety of expert opinions as to whether it's the pick-up choice or the wood that make the most difference to sound.
Sorry for the lengthy post but I just wondered if anyone else gets where I am coming from on how the guitar sounds to me and had any advice. I'm lucky enough to live near a good guitar tech and was wondering whether adjusting the height of pick-ups might also be a fix. My head tells me to listen to all 3 "blindfolded" and go with my ears. My heart tells me that the 486 Gold burst is so beautiful that it would be worth spending some more on modifying if I can get that idefinable sound I'm looking for.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
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