Eastman E1SS-CLA-LTD 1 week update
 

I have had my new Eastman dread for about a week now and I am so happy with it I had to give my thoughts.

I tried numerous string and pick combinations to find the tone that I liked best and settled in on Elixir 80/20 bronze nanowebs with a nylon .73 pick. It is remarkable how different this guitar sounds with different strings and picks, more so than any other acoustic I have owned.

I have been playing it many hours daily and it appears to sound better every day. LOL!! It is so warm and sweet sounding when strumming G,C and F you just have to smile. There must be better sounding dreads out there but man it cant be by much. :)

This is such a steel for $799.00, that anyone even considering one of these should jump on it before they are no longer available.

You're killing me! I was looking at yet another E1SS but in natural last night. I always want to pull the trigger but haven't yet. I keep wanting to buy one but my HD28 really starts to hurt my shoulder after a while so I'm unsure if this would be any better.

Width is slimmer than a Martin-size dread and feels a lot less bulky. Yamaha FGs have that going on as well.
Mine is natural. Looks nice with the firestripe pickguard.

Glad you're still enjoying it. I agree how different it can sound with different strings. It took getting used to the 80/20s from PBs. I still have to try retros, maybe next.

I really thought, at first, I stumbled on an exceptional one and that they all can't be that great considering the price. Sounds like this model is one you can order online and be happy with it.

I'm not sure about that but if it did hurt your shoulder your not in it too deep cash wise and I'm sure you could sell it fairly quick.

[QUOTE=TNO;6195199]Width is slimmer than a Martin-size dread and feels a lot less bulky. Yamaha FGs have that going on as well.

I was not aware of that, good to know. It feels less bulky than I anticipated never owning a dread. I play it sitting down on my left knee classical style with no problems.

I have Ernie Ball 80/20 non coated on order to see how they sound compared to the Elixir. I want to find a more affordable 80/20 that I like.

I order guitars online a lot since my area is so limited in guitar selection. Worst case is I send it back and I am out shipping cost.

This is a fantastic guitar. I briefly played a $3500 D35 at Tobias Music. I felt that my Eastman is in the same league of robust, beautiful sound quality, different sound signature, of course. I have no issues with the Eastman tuners, but the Martin tuning machines felt like cream when I turned them.

I was very happy with the Retros. The Elixir 80/20's sounded amazing at first, but I lost that new string sound pretty quickly. Still sounds great.

I've gotten lots of compliments on the looks of this guitar, and with the LR Baggs Anthem SL installed, the sound.

However, with an Anthem SL installed in my E1OOSS-LTD, I had a musician tell me that my guitar had the best plugged in sound that he had ever heard on a guitar. Several other compliments as well - at the open mic.

Unplugged, the dreadnought is my go-to guitar.

Regarding the E1SS-LTD, I had been playing a Yamaha LL-TA, basically an LL16 with electronics. I could immediately see on the first strum, that the Eastman had much more depth and aliveness to the sound. No comparison, really. I mention this because they are similarly priced.

Thanks, that's good to know. I may pull the trigger on it.

[QUOTE=Beakybird;6195251]
I was very happy with the Retros. The Elixir 80/20's sounded amazing at first, but I lost that new string sound pretty quickly. Still sounds great.

I will have to give those a try.

[QUOTE=Ncbandit;6195317]I'm sorry! I meant Monels. I want to try Retros.

I have a set of Dazzo 60s on the way to stick in mine.

Nc, I’ve had my new-to-me Eastman E1SS-LTD-CLA for about a week longer than you have, and agree that these are marvelous guitars. I’ve pulled out the factory stock Fishman Sonitone preamp and pickup and replaced it with a K&K Pure Mini, and made some other changes, as well. I’m still figuring out how to dial in this guitar to its best combination of saddle, strings and so forth, and will post about what I’ve discovered here soon.


Wade Hampton Miller

As I posted before, there is a CLA model about an hour's drive from me and I hope to get up to the store next week to try it out ... although I have no money to buy one. Yet.

Btw, can anybody give me a guess-timate on how much louder that guitar, and others like it, with an Adirondack top is louder than a similar guitar in a sitka spruce top. Let's say in percentages? All I know is what I've read online that Adirondacks are louder than sitkas ... but how much louder?

Ralph, with the factory stock Sonitone pickup installed, these are not terribly loud guitars - in fact, they’re pretty quiet. When I pulled out the Sonitone undersaddle pickup element, the guitar became noticeably louder.

But the J-45 guitar design that the Eastman E1SS-LTD models are based on is not an especially loud design, not compared to the Gibson Advanced Jumbo (AJ) or the Gibson Songwriter models.

So you can’t really reduce this fairly complex matter of acoustic guitar loudness and projection to the species of spruce used for the top - you just can’t. For one thing, Adirondack tops themselves vary from one example to another. For another, the bracing pattern and placement has at least as much impact on loudness and projection as the top does. Theoretically, yes, an Adirondack top should be a tiny bit louder than a Sitka spruce top will be, but that can vary a great deal from one guitar top to the next.

The last issue has to do with projection. Many players assume that loudness and the ability of the guitar to be heard in a loud acoustic environment is the same thing.

But it’s not. Both the Gibson J-45 and the Martin D-35 are quite loud when you’re playing one, but they both have what’s called an enveloping presentation. Which means that the sound surrounds the player, but doesn’t project out as well as designs like the AJ and the Songwriter.

Which in practical terms means it can seem really loud to the player and anyone seated next to him, but won’t be heard nearly so clearly in front, especially if other instruments are being played at the same time.

Short version: when it comes to volume and projection, the species of spruce used for the top matters less than the guitar’s design and bracing pattern.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller