Here you go. Video coming soon on the TAS channel.

https://www.facebook.com/100063589123334...tid=SDPelY

John

I played an E20SSv last year and after reading this review - https://www.eastmanguitarfans.com/Thread...ull-Review  I decided to pick one up. I found one in OK with a 1.744" nut and life is good. NGD  post to follow sometime down the road.

In one of the TAS videos they reference an E22 but couldn't divulge any additional information until NAMM. I just noticed the label on the shipping box for my E20 

The S/N agrees with the COA  as well as the label inside the guitar - M2200163.

So is this really the elusive E22? Is the box model number a misprint? Is this much ado about nothing? Inquiry minds want to know. Maybe one of the dealers can comment.

Flying out now. Lots of cool first looks. Follow the channel to see lots of live content starting tomorrow.

John

This has probably been discussed multiple times in the past, so forgive me for showing a rerun.

Any recommendations for tried and true replacements/upgrades of stock tuners on the AR-810?

So I recently got my Martin D-10E, and was thinking I was all in on Martin for dreads, and was saving some cash thinking I needed a D-18. I dang near sold my AC322CE-SB, but I picked it up the other day and realized there's no way I can get rid of it, or my AC222CE. I also noticed that, while I love my Martin, I really do prefer the Eastman necks.

So, while debating my next move, I peeked at the website of The Mandolin Store, about an hour north of me, and noticed that not only do they carry Eastmans, they had a couple marked as "shop worn" for noticeable discounts, and they were also 2 of the models in which I was most interested - E1SS (slight ding on the top, marked down to $449) and an E6D-TC (scratches on headstock, marked down to $799). They also had an E8D-TC with the Alpine top, and an E6SS, among some others. So, I made an appointment (they're appointment only) and headed on up this morning.

I played the E1SS, and I really liked the tone, but have discovered now that the nut width does effect me - the 1 11/16 felt too cramped. The tone was also a touch thin for my taste. Picked up the E6D-TC, strummed an open E, and very nearly just said "I'll take it". I played for several minutes, put it down, picked up the E8D, strummed a couple chords and said "nope". It sounded really nice, but not like the E6D-TC. I picked up the E6SS and it was an instant nope as well, for both tone and feel. I picked the E6D-TC back up and could not put it down - I wanted to go ahead and buy it, but I just couldn't stop playing it. Nice, big, warm, piano like sound with sustain for days. Finally managed to stop playing long enough to ask the dude to add a strap button and take my cash, and brought the E6d-TC home.

I had been curious about the new Eastman Dread sizes, but this one was apparently made before they shrunk, as when I laid it right next to my Martin they're clearly the same size. COA date is January of this year, so it's a 23, and still a full sized dread.

OK, on to the pics - and see if you can even notice the shop wear that saved me $300 - there's a slight haze over the Eastman logo on the headstock. If they hadn't told me it was there I'd have never noticed.

No affiliation, just spotted this on Facebook. Seems very cheap.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/44366967...537237127/

Hi,

I want to see if there is any interest in a straight up trade for an E10OM-TC.
I'm in Canada and would be only be interested in a trade in Canada as I don't want to deal with the border and duty/sales tax etc.
The M80 pickup is not included.
The guitar is in excellent condition, I just prefer mahogany.

Attached Files

Eastman2.jpg

File size: 2.71 MB

Downloads: 39

Eastman4.jpg

File size: 2.52 MB

Downloads: 34

(I shifted this post to start a new thread - more appropriate)
nobodeuno's excellent post above started this old curmudgeon thinking. Is Dana Bourgeois' influence on Eastman acoustic guitars a positive one? I am talking about Eastman guitars across the board, not primarily Touchstones. Maybe I am attributing too much influence to the great man when looking at the trajectory of Eastman's build philosophy such as the use of bolt-on necks, urethane vs nitrocellulose (please don't play the green card - with proper investment in production, including safety equipment and waste disposal, nitro need not be damaging to workers or the environment), a move towards Dana's preferred, narrower 1 23/32" nut, different dread dimensions/shape, and changing bracing builds. These changes will suit many but not all, maybe not even most. I own a Bourgeois OM, and ok it's just one guitar, but I have to say it is good but not great. It does have Bourgeois on the headstock and I suppose to some that will confer magical qualities.

So a friend and I were able to play these two guitars back and forth, back to back....here is our subjective thoughts. 
Here were our unanimous visual judgements
* Both guitars were built flawlessly....we beileve they were both built in 2019 or early 2020. The Eastman had a M20 serial beginning...?
* The Eastman seemed somewhat heavier, but not by much, it weighted in at 4.6 lbs. The Touchstone 4.1 lb. 
* The Eastman had a lighter colored rosewood B/S, but were very straight grained.
* The Eastmans neck felt far more comfy and a tad wider.
* The Touchstone B/S were far darker and hard to see the grain, but still matched well.
* The top on the Eastman was obviously torrified with a wide grain then widening out towards the edges and looked darker compared to the Touchstone. It also was clearer grained and had an abundance of even silking, we surmised it was a very nice example of premium Adirondack .
* The top on the Touchstone was lighter in color, was very tight grained, had darker grain streaks, with a light about 4" band up the middle and was clearly a decent Sitka example.
* Both guitar had very nice ebony boards and bridges.
* Touchstone had white plastic bridge pins, Eastman ebony with abalone accents.
* Both had nice straight grained mahogany necks with the Touchstone being much darker stained. The heel laminate and headstock scarf were barley visible on the Touchstone. Not so on the Eastman, slightly lighter stain, but just felt much more playable shape according to our opinions.  We were not sure of the fretboard radius, they seemed to be the same.
* The tuners on both were very good, smooth and precise....but the Touchstone had attractive wood like plastic buttons.  Eastman's were all nickel.
* Both has attractive herringbone purfling flawlessly executed and binding appeared to be the same.
* Looking inside both were perfect, although the top bracing designs were very obviously different.  We could not really see any differences in the bracing wood used between the two. However the bracing on the Touchstone was very different and carves were not symmetrical from bass side to treble side. The Eastman top bracing was also clean and scalloped but was symmetrical and appeared to be back shifted. The Eastman's bracing and scallop seemed to be slightly thinner. The top on the Eastman also was slightly thinner possibly due to the Adi tops less flex, but still had that thickness around the soundhole.
* We were not sure of the bridge string spacing differences either, but seemed minute. The neck blocks were very different between the two.  I'm guessing bolt on neck vs dovetail. 
* Both had nice cases, but we were not able to compare them side by side.

Now for the Sound...!

They both sounded very good, but different...The Eastman was very much louder and much more sensitive to a light touch. It had endless headroom and never seemed to hold back or capable of being over driven. When the Touchstone was played lightly, it seemed to loose some of it's overtones, richness and depth.  Definition string to string on both was excellent, with the Eastman's balance having more clarity in the mids and a dryer in both in low and mid bass. The Touchstone hit a ceiling when pushed hard with some power strumming. The Eastman was very obviously much more musical rich sounding and it's projection was better than the Touchstone's.  The Touchstone had a bit more bass overall with less midrange sparkle than the Eastman. Obviously to several of us, the Eastman sounded more balanced, (I can't stress the balance differences enough), Eastman sounded much more mature and resonant, which we attributed to the Adi vs Sitka.  The Touchstone had a glassy treble sparkle vs the Eastman's chiming trebles and midrange punch. 
Although it was hard to pinpoint the differences, we both preferred the feel of the neck on the Eastman, especially for fingerstyle with it's spacing. 
Everyone in the room with there backs turned chose the Eastman for tone when compared.  It was louder, clearer, more defined and balanced. 
As always we must keep in mind that different examples of like models can have differences in tone albeit, better or worse. But this was our take and experiences with the two...The Touchstone was about $3000.00 out the door vs the Eastman's $1700.00.
Not a hard decision of which we would choose, but some may just prefer the name on the headstock and only time will tell if the Touchstone would be a better investment than the Eastman.