New Eastman Cabaret

[gerardo1000]

Eastman just annoucned a new interesting nylon guitar: the cabaret, with an oval sound hole, and carved back. A sort of cross between a classical and a gipsy guitar, I guess. I wonder if any member has seen a video of the guitar played? I could not find any. Thanks

[jrethorst]

First I've heard of this, but with the carved back (and oval soundhole and name) it sounds like it may be a copy of the Buscarino Cabaret, which is one of the nice guitars in the world.

John R.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by jrethorst

First I've heard of this, but with the carved back (and oval soundhole and name) it sounds like it may be a copy of the Buscarino Cabaret, which is one of the nice guitars in the world.

John R.

It is a licensed copy..... John has been working with Eastman on its development for the last few years. In fact, John will be selling these on his website soon as a dealer. He will offer pickup upgrades and his personal set up as well.

[larryb]

Very interesting. I have a custom made Buscarino Cabaret. Wonder how the Eastmans will compare. Eastman does make great guitars for a mass production company and I suspect that John Buscarino would insist on the same high quality. Not that I would ever sell my Buscarino Cabaret in a million years, but wonder how the production of the Eastman Cabaret will affect future value of my Buscarino. Not a concern for me as I will never sell, but my kids will inherit it when I leave the planet.

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

It is a licensed copy..... John has been working with Eastman on its development for the last few years. In fact, John will be selling these on his website soon as a dealer. He will offer pickup upgrades and his personal set up as well.

[iim7V7IM7]

Yes Larry, John has worked with Eastman for the last two years in helping them develop this model. He is pleased with the result. This will be a great option for a player looking for a lower priced, solid wood nylon stringed hybrid guitar. I suspect Eastman will go slowly into these to see how the market uptake looks. Many custom luthiers have established relationships with large guitar manufacturers to create their designs at a more affordable price point (e.g. Benedetto with Fender/Guild, Comins with a Korean OEM, Jimmy D’Aquisto with Fender and Ryan Thorell with Eastman). I haven’t seen any long term impact on the value of their handmade instruments. These instruments are not the same as those made by the master artisan and most educated buyers (but not all) recognize this.

Originally Posted by larryb

Very interesting. I have a custom made Buscarino Cabaret. Wonder how the Eastmans will compare. Eastman does make great guitars for a mass production company and I suspect that John Buscarino would insist on the same high quality. Not that I would ever sell my Buscarino Cabaret in a million years, but wonder how the production of the Eastman Cabaret will affect future value of my Buscarino. Not a concern for me as I will never sell, but my kids will inherit it when I leave the planet.

[iim7V7IM7]

A new video...

[tkoehler1]

With a radiused board and jumbo frets! 634mm scale. Pretty awesome specs and the video sounds great.

Doesn't say the saddle width

Has anyone had any hands on experience?

[iim7V7IM7]

1.9375” (49.2 mm) for the nut. Give John a call. He will tell you the saddle spacing.

https://www.eastmanguitars.com/cabaret_jb_new

Originally Posted by tkoehler1

With a radiused board and jumbo frets! 634mm scale. Pretty awesome specs and the video sounds great.

Doesn't say the saddle width

Has anyone had any hands on experience?

[charles Tauber]

I thought it sounded great for the first two pieces, both quicker pieces. The third, slow piece, not so much: both intonation issues and not a great sound to my ear. Still, would probably work well for a variety of music.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

I thought it sounded great for the first two pieces, both quicker pieces. The third, slow piece, not so much: both intonation issues and not a great sound to my ear. Still, would probably work well for a variety of music.

I thought the same thing, but I'm not sure it's due to the tempo of the pieces.
The quicker pieces were played unplugged, whereas the slower one (Cavatina) was through an amp.
So my conclusion is that this guitar sounds much better left unplugged.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by AndreF

The quicker pieces were played unplugged, whereas the slower one (Cavatina) was through an amp.
So my conclusion is that this guitar sounds much better left unplugged.

Didn't realize the third was amplified. Agree that is sounds better unamplified. Amplification wouldn't alter the intonation. Intonation is much more forgiving when notes are in rapid succession and of short duration. Probably easy enough to fix the intonation, but is shouldn't come that way out of the box. Of course, strings can have a huge influence on intonation, so it might be as simple as the player changing to a different set of strings that it came with.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Amplification wouldn't alter the intonation. Intonation is much more forgiving when notes are in rapid succession and of short duration. Probably easy enough to fix the intonation, but is shouldn't come that way out of the box. Of course, strings can have a huge influence on intonation, so it might be as simple as the player changing to a different set of strings that it came with.

Agree. The slower piece was also played up the neck, where intonation issues will be magnified if there is an intonation problem.
But you're right too that other factors, like strings, could be at play too.
Hard to tell for sure, but both our ears can't be completely wrong.

[jrethorst]

I play classicals with 650mm scale and am not familiar with crossover instruments, so I'm not the one to ask, but isn't 634 awfully short for nylon? On Buscarino's web site I see that his original Cabaret has a 648mm scale, although I imagine he'd give you what you asked for.

John R.

[iim7V7IM7]

John likes to set up his nylon string guitars with Oasis carbon high tension strings, so I suspect that is what it was set up with. John was involved in the recording of that demo so I suspect he set up the instrument and supplied the strings. Yes, John’s standard Cabaret’s are typically 648 mm (longer than the Eastman). John’s guitars are great and he is pleased with the result that Eastman achieved on this project particularly for the price point.

I own one of John’s Cabarets and it is a joy to play. John is best known as an archtop luthier who originally started by apprenticing with Bob Benedetto back in the early 1980s. But what people may not know is that John studied classical guitar and apprenticed for Augustino LoPrinzi prior to apprenticing with Bob.

In my experience, Cabaret’s are really slightly different beasts from a traditional classical guitar. They have great string-to-string balance, strong trebles with a bass that develops over time. The carved back interacts with the top and results in fast attack and great projection. The slightly narrower neck and cutaway make it a delight to play.

My Cabaret has a Carpathian Spruce top and the back and sides are Honduran Rosewood. John uses a 12 hole Brazilian Rosewood Bridge on his guitars (not sure on the Eastman version).





Those of you that are interested in what is going on under the hood, here is John’s lattice bracing pattern. John used to use a 7 fan pattern and moved to this pattern about 10+ years ago.



Here’s Gene Bertoncini playing his Cabaret amplified with Barbera Soloist transducer...

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

John is best known as an archtop luthier who originally started by apprenticing with Bob Benedetto back in the early 1980s.

I knew that.

But what people may not know is that John studied classical guitar and apprenticed for Augustino LoPrinzi prior to apprenticing with Bob.

I didn't know that. Thanks for mentioning it.

In my experience, Cabaret’s are really slightly different beasts from a traditional classical guitar...

Here’s Gene Bertoncini playing his Cabaret amplified with Barbera Soloist transducer...

I liked the sound of it, but, in my opinion, it sounds closer to an arch top guitar than a classical guitar. That isn't a bad thing, just worth noting.

Thanks for sharing the information on the Cabaret and its makers and players. Out of curiosity, what is the ball-park cost of an original and the Eastman version?