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Old 04-06-2019, 05:26 PM
paddybrumson paddybrumson is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Decatur, GA
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The solid wood Eastmans are hard to beat. But, keep in mind that they are a modern take on the traditional Gibson L-5 type acoustic archtops. Mainly due to using X-bracing instead of ladder bracing. So, they have a somewhat more balanced tonal range compared to a more mid-forward vintage design. Today you can get something closer to that vintage design with The Loars. The LH-600 and LH-700 are more traditional in sound and construction than the Eastmans. I have both Eastmans and Loars and like them both for their different voices. The only down side to the Loars is they can be inconsistent in the execution. Typically it's the neck angle that can vary. But, if you buy from a good dealer who will check it for you or provides a good return policy, they can be a decent choice. Expect to have a luthied who knows their way around archtops go over it to get it playing and sounding right. Won't be quite like David Rawlings Olympic, but you'll be in the ball park with a good Loar.
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