Forward-shifted Martins vs Eastman E-series

[jpricewood]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

That is obviously a value judgement, but the fact is that increases in sound quality are very expensive. Every player must decide if the increase in quality is worth the increase in price.

I paid over $3,000 more for the upgrade in wood on my Lowden. Some would find that crazy, and I would never attempt to quantify the math - but for me it made all the difference and I have never regretted a single penny.

Obviously never pay for sound improvements you can't hear, but I would suggest that if you don't think the improvement is worth the money you should keep the money in your pocket.

I’ll let you know if it’s a value statement in a couple of days. Maybe I’ll do a blind A/B video between the HD-28 Reimagined and the E8D just to see what people think.

[George Henry]

A little late to join in…. I have a newish D-18MD which I really like. It’s beautifully built, with beautiful woods, and a bunch of modern MD features. I also have an Eastman DT-30D of solid rosewood and a Doubletop (spruce/nomex) soundboard. It’s outfitted similarly to the Martin. I will say that the build quality of the two guitars is quite similar. The Eastman is heavier, but it’s rosewood, the neck is heavier, and the guitar is dimensionally slightly bigger. The Martin finish seems thinner and appears more delicate.

The Martin has the characteristic Martin tone, including the legendary bass emphasis, which kind of of irritates me, because I don’t like boom. But it’s not too much, like rosewood Martin dreads, which I avoid. The Eastman has more overall power than the Martin, by a hair, but is very balanced. Both guitars have great high ends, and tones which don’t break up.

The Martin has the legendary refined Martin tone. The Eastman doesn’t have that same quality, but its power makes it effective in a large jam. It actually gets used more often.

I like both guitars and don’t plan on letting either go.

I also own a vintage Yamaha all solid Sitka/rosewood Yamaha L-10A from the early 1980s. It sounds as good as either the Martin or Eastman, but with a unique “vintage” tonal quality. This guitar is quite lightly built, with a thin top and thin, unscalloped braces. It’s great for old time music.

I don’t Martins are the be-all and end-all of acoustic guitars, but if the Martin sound is imprinted indelibly in your internal audio circuitry, maybe only a Martin will do.

[FingahPickah]

My 2000 Martin D40 has standard position 5/16" scalloped bracing and has BIG HD28 sound - LOUD with plenty of bass and crisp trebles.

My 2022 Martin D18 (1935 Sunburst) has forward shifted 5/16" scalloped bracing and has fantastic balance and powerful projection. A flat picker's dream.

I've played quite a few nice Eastman dreads, but none that performed as well as my Martins.

[Tenn]

Originally Posted by Fireside_Guitar

.............

The Eastman's were great guitars if you like that sound. Something about the brightness of the Eastman's just didnt agree with me.
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This^^^^^

No guitar that you do not like the tone is a value. For me Eastmans represent that. I do not like their sound so it is money down the drain.I could say the same about many boutique brands as well.

[msinger]

Ditto here! An exemplary job with that song sir! Stephen stills being one of my all time favorite musicians. He would certainly approve! Nice D45 by the way!

[msinger]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have a 2018 Martin D-45 with forward-shifted, scalloped bracing. The guitar has great bass but not overwhelming so that it masks the midrange or trebles. I looked on YouTube for comparisons of Martin to Eastman, but what I found were not particularly well done from my viewpoint.

Eastman makes some very nice dreadnoughts. I have had only slight exposure to a few Eastman models, so I can't claim to be an expert on how they compare. To my ears the very best of the Martins do seem to have a little extra magic to the sound, but not everyone will consider the price differential worth the cost.

Here's my D-45:

An exemplary job with that song sir! Stephen stills being one of my all time favorite musicians. He would certainly approve! Nice D45 by the way!

[Br1ck]

Every difference you make in a guitar affects the tone. Like most things, there is the newest fashion. The newest fashion is different from the older fashion, and is skillfully sold to us as better. You think it must be, because everyone raves about their new guitar. Human Nature. But do you really want a guitar with hyped bass? Maybe yes, maybe no. Every Martin sold in 1975 was sold to someone who loved them. Many still have them. If you want more bass, you can find it. If you want straight braces, you can find that too. If you want a thousand people to tell you you need an HD 28, you're in the right place.

If you spent $3k on a good teacher and practiced an hour a day, in five years time I'd bet you'd be happier than if you bought that good guitar.

Do both.

[martingitdave]

Based on my experience with both brands, there’s really no comparison. A good example of a FSSB Martin is going to sound better than a good example of an Eastman. Eastman makes nice sounding guitars. But they are built heavier and finished with more lacquer than Martins. The bracing is not shifted as far forward.

Some people may like the Eastman sound better.

As far as Martin-like sound for less money, it’s a hard one. There really aren’t that many out there that can do it cheaper and better.

I found a used Furch Vintage 2 that is very close to what I remember my HD-28V sounding like. The feel of the Furch neck is better and it’s more stable during temperature and humidity fluctuations. It’s not as pretty as I remember the HD-28V looking.

When I compare the Furch to the D-28 Marquis, the Marquis has a bit more oomph because of the Adi top and bracing. But the tone profile is pretty similar. The uninitiated might not hear a difference. The Martin obsessed will hear a difference.

[Zissou Intern]

Eastmans have changed a lot over the last 5 or 6 years, and only in my opinion, not for the better. (No offense to those who love them. I still like the old ones from 10-15 years ago, and my wife owns two.) If I wanted more of the Martin tone for less money, I'd look for a Recording King Tonewood Reserve or a Blueridge.