The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 05-22-2011, 11:58 AM
meelypops meelypops is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 35
Default Eastman E20OM vs Larrivee OM-03r

Settled on one of these - not sure which though...

any opinions welcome!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 05-22-2011, 12:23 PM
Neil K Walk Neil K Walk is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Pittsburgh suburbs
Posts: 8,309
Default

You can't go wrong with a Larrivee.

To be fair though I've never played and Eastman and own an OM-03R and can't see anything else at or below its price range ever replacing it.
__________________
(2006) Larrivee OM-03R, (2009) Martin D-16GT, (1998) Fender Am Std Ash Stratocaster, (2013) McKnight McUke, (1989) Kramer Striker ST600, a couple of DIY builds (2013, 2023)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-22-2011, 12:48 PM
lmacmil lmacmil is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Indiana
Posts: 2,763
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by meelypops View Post
Settled on one of these - not sure which though...

any opinions welcome!
Buy the one made in North America!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-22-2011, 12:53 PM
Eldergreene Eldergreene is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 324
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by meelypops View Post
Settled on one of these - not sure which though...

any opinions welcome!
I have owned a Larrivee OM 03R, & currently own an Eastman E 20 OM, & MUCH prefer the Eastman - it has a richer, more complex tone than the Larry, with a lovely, grunty low-midrange that goes right through you; I also prefer the shorter scale-length of the Eastman - altho Larrivee build-quality is excellent, probably better than the Eastman, ultimately it comes down to sound & playability, & for me the Eastman wins on both these.. hope this helps..
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 05-22-2011, 03:02 PM
Matters Matters is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Bozeman, MT
Posts: 257
Default

I've played both. I preferred the sound of the Eastman just a little bit, but the Larrivee had a little better build quality and it played better for me. I would probably buy the Larrivee if I was making the same decision as you. It just bonded better with me. Just my opinion of course.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 05-22-2011, 03:10 PM
skatalite skatalite is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,120
Default

Larrivee. Without a doubt.
__________________
Larrivee OM-03 Italian Spruce, L-03R
Yamaha FG3, FS3, LL16, FG730S
Martin Custom D Mahogany
Blueridge BR-140A
Ibanez Talman
Harmony Sovereign circa 1970s
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 05-22-2011, 03:29 PM
gitnoob gitnoob is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Emerald City
Posts: 4,327
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by meelypops View Post
Settled on one of these - not sure which though...

any opinions welcome!
Have you tried them both? Personally, I love Larrivees but I found the Eastman OM is be significantly louder and more complex than Larrivee's OM. Probably a closer comparison would be an Eastman OM and a Larrivee L-body.
__________________

gits: good and plenty
chops: snickers
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 05-22-2011, 03:38 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Arizona
Posts: 7,908
Default

Larrivee. No contest
__________________
Larrivee OM-03RE; O-01
Martin D-35; Guild F-212; Tacoma Roadking
Breedlove American Series C20/SR
Rainsong SFTA-FLE; WS3000; CH-PA
Taylor GA3-12, Guild F-212

https://markhorning.bandcamp.com/music
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 05-22-2011, 07:15 PM
Big.Al Big.Al is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere Else
Posts: 687
Default

Larrivee for sure.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 05-22-2011, 07:18 PM
hank hank is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 319
Default

I've never played a Larivee that I'd own. The tone runs way too thin for me.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 05-22-2011, 07:23 PM
sumokids sumokids is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 105
Default

Both have a lot to offer -- just make sure to factor scale length into your decision. As mentioned above, the Eastman is a shorter scale length -- 20 inches to the Larrivee's standard 25.5.

Oops -- typo, thanks for the correction below. Meant to say 25 inches for the Eastman -- 20 sure would be short!

Last edited by sumokids; 05-23-2011 at 07:35 AM. Reason: typo
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 05-22-2011, 07:38 PM
edman edman is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,394
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kwakatak View Post
You can't go wrong with a Larrivee.

To be fair though I've never played and Eastman and own an OM-03R and can't see anything else at or below its price range ever replacing it.
I owned an Eastman AC308 and 3 different Larrivee guitars (L-03, OM-03 and OM-03R).

The Eastman was nice, but it did not compare to the quality of the Larrivee guitars I owned. The finish on the Eastman was VERY delicate. It chipped really easy.

With that said, I never played the Eastman dreads or the Larrivee dreads.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 05-23-2011, 02:52 AM
earwighoney earwighoney is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 396
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumokids View Post
Both have a lot to offer -- just make sure to factor scale length into your decision. As mentioned above, the Eastman is a shorter scale length -- 20 inches to the Larrivee's standard 25.5.
No that is wrong, the Eastman EOM20 has a 25" scale while the Larrivee OM03R has a 25.5" scale...

I have tried and compared both guitars in the same shop a few months back. The Eastman for it was worth sounded better to my ears, but the Larrivee was more robustly built. Even though I thought the Larrivee didn't sound as good as the Eastman I'd go for the Larrivee; it's probably more likely to endure gigging and practise, it's also more likely to hold on to value if you so choose to upgrade at sometime.

Scale is a important thing, if you play in Open Tunings such as Open C then the Larry may be more tempting.

Ultimately it's a win win situation whichever instrument you'd go for, both cracking guitars.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 05-23-2011, 06:51 AM
Neil K Walk Neil K Walk is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Pittsburgh suburbs
Posts: 8,309
Default

Not to hijack this thread but it sounds to me like the Eastman guitars sound good out of the box. OTOH I know from experience that Larrivees take a little time and a set up to one's personal tastes for them to truly shine. When auditioning an instrument fit and finish should come into play but bear in mind that solid wood guitars' voices do change over time.

In my OM-03R's case I switched out the stock strings (not sure if they were using Cleartones yet at the time) to a medium gauge non-coated PB set and I swapped the tusq saddle for bone. They made an immediate improvement in sustain and clarity but what really improved the tone was a good solid 6-9 months of being played every day.
__________________
(2006) Larrivee OM-03R, (2009) Martin D-16GT, (1998) Fender Am Std Ash Stratocaster, (2013) McKnight McUke, (1989) Kramer Striker ST600, a couple of DIY builds (2013, 2023)
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:13 AM
Fret-O'File Fret-O'File is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Marshall, NC
Posts: 1,152
Default

Eastman E20OM is an amazing guitar and that is coming from someone who only liked dreads before I played the E20OM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=