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View Poll Results: Blueridge or Eastman or Recording King
Blueridge 81 23.55%
Eastman 211 61.34%
Recording King 52 15.12%
Voters: 344. You may not vote on this poll

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  #61  
Old 01-29-2015, 12:00 PM
momanbilly momanbilly is offline
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I am a hard core Eastman fan as indicated in my signature. "All" the Eastman solid body guitars are great guitars. Blueridge sells a lot of laminate body guitars, which IMO are a very good value, especially if bought used. Each manufacturer has their unique sound.

If I could select 4 or 5 of Blueridge's most expensive guitars, and all of Eastman's many solid body guitars, I'd claim that their tonal qualities are super, being 0 to 8% inferior to the big headstock names, only to the highly discriminating listener/player. Like different spices, I can really love guitars from RK, BR, Eastman, Guild and Gibson, but, just for me, while I can appreciate and really "like" some Martins and Taylors, well, I just haven't played one of these that I strongly wanted to own. I played a Gibson Hummingbird rosewood last week that was extremely beautifulicious. Final comment, my inexpensive Blueridge BR-01 (laminate body Sitka/rosewood $110 on craigslist) is getting a lot of playtime, tone is unbelievable, but, construction quality is manifesting in some issues, however, it's fun to work on it as a practice guitar for me to learn guitar surgical procedures.
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Last edited by momanbilly; 01-29-2015 at 12:11 PM.
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  #62  
Old 01-29-2015, 12:32 PM
roylor4 roylor4 is offline
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I have 2 Eastmans and 1 RK.

The RK is far better than most other comparably priced guitars I have played. I love the chunky neck too.

My Eastmans are better though. More punch, more feedback to the player amongst other things. None of my 3 wooden acoustics sound at all alike. The RK is the most straightforward with an extremely fundamental tone. The AC522 has a HUGE sound with tons of overtones and sustain. The OM is in between these two and with better string to string balance.

They all get played a lot. My "favorite" changes from night to night too.

FWIW - I have never played a bad sounding Blueridge.
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  #63  
Old 01-29-2015, 07:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4 View Post
I have 2 Eastmans and 1 RK.

The RK is far better than most other comparably priced guitars I have played. I love the chunky neck too.

My Eastmans are better though. More punch, more feedback to the player amongst other things. None of my 3 wooden acoustics sound at all alike. The RK is the most straightforward with an extremely fundamental tone. The AC522 has a HUGE sound with tons of overtones and sustain. The OM is in between these two and with better string to string balance.

They all get played a lot. My "favorite" changes from night to night too.

FWIW - I have never played a bad sounding Blueridge.
I'm an Eastman fan too, more and more these days. I bought a used E-10SS in December and it will be in the barn a LONG time.

Today, at a local shop here in SoCal, I played my first Eastman OM model, an E-10 OM. Wow wow wow. I couldn't believe the tonal balance and excellent bass out of such a small box. Terrific guitar. It is now officially on my radar.
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  #64  
Old 01-29-2015, 08:21 PM
dcisive dcisive is offline
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Before I ordered my E20D Eastman last summer, I did quite a bit of research. Virtually every (of the 5 contacted) dealer that dealt with carrying Blueridge either carried a minimal number of them or none and only special ordered them with a NO return policy. Seems several of the dealers got a bad taste in their mouths regarding the longevity of or the reliability of the Blueridge's. I thought they looked great in videos let alone sounded excellent. But long term manufacture quality was apparently in question. The Recording King has a great reputation but I didn't feel after 8 Martin's it would be quite up to the task. I saw a lot of excellent videos on Eastman guitars of all models and it seems the more recent product had a virtually flawless reputation, even with some dealers I contacted but didn't even carry it. I was quite surprised to hear from several reputed dealers that didn't carry them, that they knew quite a bit about them and only had good things to say about them. So with a highly respected dealer in town ordered a E20D sight unseen new. The last several guitars I did this with I ended up disappointed as they didn't sound wonderful out of the box (which frankly is common). I lovingly opened the box and the case, tuned the guitar up and low and behold right out of the box it blew away a D42 I had sold in the process of ordering the E20D. I am convinced the Adirondack top made most of the difference. The finish was flawless (better than the Martin) and it was highly playable action right out of the box. The wood choices were super in color matching and it stays in tune. Better fret end finishing as well compared to the Martins or Taylor's I've owned. All in all Eastman is a real shocker when it comes to what you get for the $$, and it was 1/4th the price of the D42.
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  #65  
Old 01-29-2015, 08:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcisive View Post
Before I ordered my E20D Eastman last summer, I did quite a bit of research. Virtually every (of the 5 contacted) dealer that dealt with carrying Blueridge either carried a minimal number of them or none and only special ordered them with a NO return policy. Seems several of the dealers got a bad taste in their mouths regarding the longevity of or the reliability of the Blueridge's. I thought they looked great in videos let alone sounded excellent. But long term manufacture quality was apparently in question. The Recording King has a great reputation but I didn't feel after 8 Martin's it would be quite up to the task. I saw a lot of excellent videos on Eastman guitars of all models and it seems the more recent product had a virtually flawless reputation, even with some dealers I contacted but didn't even carry it. I was quite surprised to hear from several reputed dealers that didn't carry them, that they knew quite a bit about them and only had good things to say about them. So with a highly respected dealer in town ordered a E20D sight unseen new. The last several guitars I did this with I ended up disappointed as they didn't sound wonderful out of the box (which frankly is common). I lovingly opened the box and the case, tuned the guitar up and low and behold right out of the box it blew away a D42 I had sold in the process of ordering the E20D. I am convinced the Adirondack top made most of the difference. The finish was flawless (better than the Martin) and it was highly playable action right out of the box. The wood choices were super in color matching and it stays in tune. Better fret end finishing as well compared to the Martins or Taylor's I've owned. All in all Eastman is a real shocker when it comes to what you get for the $$, and it was 1/4th the price of the D42.
What a COOL Post! This gives me hope based on your comparison and positive experience! Congrats and keep us posted as you get to know the Eastman E20D better.
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  #66  
Old 01-29-2015, 11:00 PM
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Eastman, Blueridge, Recording King - in that order.
Eastman tone is not my cup of tea but I have played a lot of good ones.
I am on my second Blueridge now, before I used to own a BR-162 12fret sitka/rosewood 000. My good friend and local guitar store owner carries Saga instruments, all of the Blueridge guitars that I have played at his store over the years have been good, no quality issues, intonation was spot on, action is something of a personal preference for each of us, I like action on my guitars electric guitar low as I am not a heavy strummer and am mostly into fingerpicking/finger style music.
Played a bunch of RK guitars and they always felt unpolished compared to the other two brands. Just felt like something is missing, also have seen a number of them with bridge lifting, brand new in store instruments. Not afraid about buying an Eastman or Blueridge sight unseen, not so much with Recording King.
My $0.02
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  #67  
Old 01-30-2015, 12:51 AM
mushin mushin is offline
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Originally Posted by Zissou Intern View Post
I have owned all three. In my opinion, they would rank as follows:
Tone
1. BR
2. Eastman
3. RK

Fit/Finish/Construction
1. Eastman (far and away better)
2. BR and RK (tied)
You nailed it. I couldn't agree more.
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  #68  
Old 01-30-2015, 12:52 AM
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I just played my first Eastman acoustic a couple days ago, it was their $1000 street price parlor. Had a nice sound. Pretty cool guitar, big neck.

I've got a Recording King RP1-626-C, bought it new when they were released. I've gigged a lot with it. I've played USA built guitars that didn't sound as good, it's a nice guitar. Just noticed the bridge coming up a bit so I decided to do the job myself, in a former life I did repair for some years and still have my clamps. I was disappointed to find they squirted on some epoxy, nothing water soluble and didn't cover the whole area. If they had, I don't think the bridge would have come up.

I'd rate the overall look of the Eastman's fit and finish a little higher than the RK but a ways from perfect. The Eastman had a neck angle issue, caused it to have a very high saddle and some small but visible finish issues like my Recording King. The store told me they reject some guitars, the saddles are too high because the neck angle is funky. Neither brand is perfect.

Contrast with the two 15 series Martins I've bought from LA Guitar sales in the last couple years w/ the imports. The Martins are modestly priced guitars, both under $1500, so in the same general price range as the RK i have and the Eastman i played, and I'd say the quality of build of the Martins is nicer and the long term satisfaction is greater than with the imports I've owned.

I'm glad there's a competitive market, it's great when you can buy a $400-$500 entry level Blueridge, Eastman, Recording King and use it professionally, they all build some nice guitars.

Last edited by stephenT; 01-30-2015 at 12:58 AM.
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  #69  
Old 01-30-2015, 04:29 AM
Ltjazz Ltjazz is offline
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I've tried all three. And played about 7 E10Ds and a couple E20s.

The Eastman Guitars are far and away the best of the three in tone, fit, and finish. The best way I can describe it is my E10D FEELS like a high quality, premium instrument and a serious investment.

I never got that feeling with any of the Blueridge guitars I played. Or even some Martins.

However, I have to note each Eastman has its own personality. I the first 4 E10s I played were actually flawed. Finish cracks, two had flex in the neck (one was a 2010 that has been sitting in the shop for a while.) others were fine; some had fatter necks, some sang and some did not... Although all had a premium timbre compared to the BR and recording king guitars.

One in particular stuck out to me. The neck was perfect and the instruments voice spoke to me.

I'm sure some shops really set up their Eastman's well (I'm not sure I would trust this shop again) but the Eastman guitars really are unique handmade instruments and you need to play them to find the right fit for you.

In summary, I think all of them are pretty great and a good handful of them are true standouts. There is no doubt in my mind I am playing a custom shop quality handmade instrument. It reminds me of a few high end Martins I've played that really resonated with me..... These guitars just have that special vibe about them and I don't think you can find that with a blue ridge or RK.
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  #70  
Old 01-30-2015, 05:07 AM
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I used to own a Recording King ROS 627.. Great Sounding guitar, i had to sell it because of the vintage v neck shape. Too chunky for me.
I own an Eastman now (AC412CE). Have to say that the sound is incredibly balanced and loud for a relatively small body. A keeper. I wanted to add that she's not inferior to my Martin and Gibson. Love to play her.

So i'd say Eastman! RK sounds great but i believe Eastman is superior to my ears. Never played a Blueridge ..

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  #71  
Old 01-30-2015, 09:33 AM
Gypsyblue Gypsyblue is offline
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I own two Blueridge guitars. Both OM's.

I sold my Martin OM28 and my Collings after acquiring my first Blueridge.

My second Blueridge is even better.

Eastmans are nice but kind of stiff, IMO.
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  #72  
Old 01-30-2015, 09:38 AM
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Yowser! Eastman has some real respect
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  #73  
Old 01-30-2015, 09:48 AM
JasonA JasonA is offline
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Well, I don't know about what I've read, but I've owned more than one guitar from all three makers. The Eastman finishes can be finicky, but I'd rate their tone the best to my ear.
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  #74  
Old 01-30-2015, 10:00 AM
Diamond Dave Diamond Dave is offline
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Recording King had a documented problem with lifting bridges on instruments made prior to around 2011 or 2012. I forget the details, but the RK people went to the plant in China and trained the workers, and I believe the problem is resolved. They do use super glue and not wood glue to hold the bridge down.

My bridge didn't lift but I did notice the corners weren't down, so I had the dealer fix it under warranty. Great tone and no other problems. I can't ask for much more for the $549 I paid for it. I would have paid four times as much for a Martin D-18, and that was, is, and will not be an option for me until the kids leave home.
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  #75  
Old 01-30-2015, 01:28 PM
Siddhartha Siddhartha is offline
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Blueridge is a great choice.

Not overly impressed with the RK/Eastmans I've tried, but still thought they were solid guitars.

I just am more impressed with the Blueridges I've tried. So much so, I bought one. Was nervous because the actual guitar I bought was sight unseen, but it was similarly excellent to those I've held in hand.

I'd purchase again, no question.
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