Show me your Eastman AR503
 

Hi guys, I am seriously considering purchasing this model. Came up for a really good price and they are hard to come by here in Czech republic. I`d appreciate if any happy owner of this model could show me what tone they get from this pretty axe. I don`t trust those youtube vids too much.

Regards,
Tim

I owned the Eastman AR503CE in sunburst finish for a few years, but sold it recently to help pay for another acquisition (an Eastman AR603CE-15).

I thought the Eastman AR503CE was a very nice guitar at a very reasonable price. Sounded beautifully through my Acoustic Image Clarus 2R amp and Raezer's Edge Twin 8 speaker cab.

The following YouTube video is an accurate depiction of the AR503CE, in my opinion.

Hi, can't show you an AR503, but I can show you my first Eastman archtop



Which I traded two years ago and instantly regretted it, so I'd been looking for another ever since, even though I'm not much of an archtop player, but one emerged on ebay in August, so I met up with the seller and a deal was done, so I got this one:

Some nice picking Silly. Love those Eastman archtops!

I own an Eastman AR605Ce. During the time I was considering purchasing that guitar (early 2017), I was fortunate to visit a retail store that had several Eastman arch top models in stock, ranging from the AR372 through various configurations of the 400, 500, 600, and 800 series. I don't recall them having a 900 series. So, I A,B'd for almost 90 minutes.
My impressions were that they were all good instruments. The 400 series was the least impressive. The 800 was noticeably the best (but also considerably higher). The two I ended up comparing the most were the AR372 and the 600 series. The 372 and the 600 were significantly different and I ultimately settled on the 600 series as the sound I wanted to pursue. Again, both were good, but they were, not surprisingly, going for different sounds.
While the 372 series was going in its specific tonal direction, I personally treated the 400, 500, 600, and 800 series as all going for a similar sound or feel. The 500 series peaked my interest considerably, but I noticed enough difference between it and the 600 series that I set it aside in favor of the 600. Honestly, if I had only the 800 series to compare to the 500 series, I don't think I would have determined that the sound difference justified the price jump for me at that time. While the 600 series was enough of a sound difference (and I stress difference) with a much smaller price jump. I do believe the solid back and sides vs. the laminated back and sides made a tonal difference for me that day.
Hope this helps. I am not that well-versed in great arch tops, but I think Eastman makes good instruments and are generally good enough that we don't need to add the "for the money" moniker. They are just good instruments.

"but I think Eastman makes good instruments and are generally good enough that we don't need to add the "for the money" moniker. They are just good instruments".

Totally agree!