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Old 11-12-2019, 12:06 AM
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warfrat73 warfrat73 is offline
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Default NGLW (Eastman E1om)

Last Wednesday my Eastman E1om showed up. I'd been thinking about picking up a more expensive OM, but thought maybe I'd give one of these a shot first.

Hadn't had a ton of time to play it until today.

Here's my mini review:

First thing I noticed was how heavy it is. It surprised me, probably the heaviest acoustic I own.

Second thing I noticed was it was a bit tough to play in 1st position, the nut was cut a bit higher than I'd have preferred.

But it sounded pretty good, and plenty loud.

Had the chance today to address the nut, filed it down a bit, and spent some time playing it.

Despite the heavy body (which I did not take as a good sign), it's pretty responsive. And it's really quite loud on single note picking. Very direct and punchy tone, a lively sympathetic vibration on decay is reflective of the responsiveness. There's a bit of a quack in the mid-range. And there's a harshness in the treble with a harder attack. Both characteristics would likely help it "cut through" in an ensemble, but comes off as a bit brash on its own. Interesting to see if these will fade as the wood matures and "opens up." I'm also curious how it will respond to monel/retro strings, which I quite like on my mahogany B&S Martins. With a more delicate attack, the brashness fades to a nice woody tone.

For an OM, strumming is good, but perhaps a bit "stringy" sounding. To be fair, though, I'm used to playing dreads with medium strings.

Tuners are better feeling than the ones on my 000-17. It doesn't feel like a cheap guitar, except maybe the open pore finish, which I personally don't mind. Fretwork is good.

I am getting a buzzing/rattling on the d-string on a strong attack, doesn't seem to be coming from the tuning machine or a high fret. I noticed that there are very small grooves/slots on the saddle under each string, and the saddle is a bit rounded over. When I have a chance I'll reprofile and smooth the saddle a bit... hopefully that will resolve the issue.

Nice ribboning figure and good color in the sapele. The top seems to have a tiny bit of run-out, and a couple of dark lines way at the edge. But it also has good silking (thought it doesn't come out in the picture), which indicates it's well quartered.

I know that doesn't come off as a glowing review. But for under $500, it really is very impressive. It's already punching well above it's price point, and I'm hoping that with the right strings and a bit of playing in it will really stand tall.

Even a couple of nice extras like a polishing cloth and a trussrod wrench that's actually long enough in both directions to do the job.
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Last edited by warfrat73; 11-12-2019 at 12:16 AM.
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Old 11-12-2019, 12:31 AM
Mobile1 Mobile1 is offline
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Under $500?

Looks pretty good.

Congrats!

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Old 11-12-2019, 02:51 AM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
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Looks like a steal for under $500! Congratulations.
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Old 11-12-2019, 03:09 AM
Cool555 Cool555 is offline
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Congratulations! Nice! Good buy!

Nice internal picture of the guitar too! Shows good workmanship on Eastman’s part. All my guitars go through a “colonoscopy” (video recording of their insides) during their first string change.

May be trying an Eastman E20-OM very soon. So far like the tone of the Youtube videos I’ve seen but I tend to favour Mahogany over Rosewood b/s.
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Old 11-12-2019, 04:57 AM
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Should add, for those not familiar, that this is all solid wood, Sitka over sapele.
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Old 11-12-2019, 05:15 AM
Jaden Jaden is offline
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Looks good, impeccably clean inside. The open gear tuners would clinch it for me (huge plus). The weight is probably due to the sapele - the guitar should open up with layers of rich tone between the coupling of the spruce and the African hardwood. There’s almost not enough spare time in a human life to work these new guitars into full bloom. Nice instrument, congratulations.
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Old 11-12-2019, 05:26 AM
Penrith Pete Penrith Pete is offline
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Hi there and thanks for a very well written and balanced review.
I have an Eastman E2D (cedar top) on the way this week and will try to do a review for folk when I am able.
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Old 11-12-2019, 06:14 AM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
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Congrats on your new Eastman. I picked up one of these when they first hit last year. I was quite impressed with it, as you said, it’s a heck of a lot of guitar for under $500. Your review pretty much mirrors what I found in mine (although setup was perfect on the one I had). Really a great guitar for the price.

The neck on mine, though I loved it at first, ended up being too thick in first position for me, and was causing my wrist and elbow grief when I’d play for long periods of time. She had to move on.
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Old 11-12-2019, 07:21 AM
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UncleJesse UncleJesse is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool555 View Post
Congratulations! Nice! Good buy!

Nice internal picture of the guitar too! Shows good workmanship on Eastman’s part. All my guitars go through a “colonoscopy” (video recording of their insides) during their first string change.

May be trying an Eastman E20-OM very soon. So far like the tone of the Youtube videos I’ve seen but I tend to favour Mahogany over Rosewood b/s.
These are great guitars. I have an E20OM-TC and it's my most played guitar. Ahead of my HD28 and CEO7. I love their necks and it's the perfect size for my t-rex arms.
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Old 11-12-2019, 07:54 AM
Cool555 Cool555 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by warfrat73 View Post
Should add, for those not familiar, that this is all solid wood, Sitka over sapele.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought E1OM was a typo for E10-OM. Sapele and Mahogany look so alike that many times I get them mixed up too.

I’m very new to Eastman guitars and came to be interested in them because they get so much love here on AGF!
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Old 11-12-2019, 07:59 AM
Beakybird Beakybird is offline
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With some of the negatives, I would be asking, "Do I get a professional setup, or do I get rid of it?"
I'd compare it to some of the competition, being open to a laminated body.
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:14 AM
Cool555 Cool555 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UncleJesse View Post
These are great guitars. I have an E20OM-TC and it's my most played guitar. Ahead of my HD28 and CEO7. I love their necks and it's the perfect size for my t-rex arms.

Thanks for the input on the E20OM-TC. Is this an updated torrefied version of the E20OM?

Sorry OP, don’t mean to hijack this thread.
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:22 AM
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Many congrats - these deliver excellent performance at an unbelievable price - in my mind, the best values out there. I love my E1D - it yields very little to my Martins.
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:49 AM
jklotz jklotz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool555 View Post
Congratulations! Nice!
May be trying an Eastman E20-OM very soon. So far like the tone of the Youtube videos I’ve seen but I tend to favour Mahogany over Rosewood b/s.
Then try the e10-OM - same guitar but with mahogany b&s.
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:14 AM
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warfrat73 warfrat73 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool555 View Post
Thanks for the clarification. I thought E1OM was a typo for E10-OM. Sapele and Mahogany look so alike that many times I get them mixed up too.

I’m very new to Eastman guitars and came to be interested in them because they get so much love here on AGF!
Yeah, it is confusing, that's why I left the "OM" lower case... it seems less likely that it would be read as a zero.

This is my first first-hand Eastman experience.
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"What have I learned but the proper use for several tools" -Gary Snyder

Bourgeois DR-A / Bowerman "Working Man's" OM / Martin Custom D-18 (adi & flame) / Martin OM-21 / Northwood M70 MJ / 1970s Sigma DR-7 / Eastman E6D / Flatiron Signature A5 / Silverangel Econo A
(Call me Dan)
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