NGD Eastman E20-00 Rosewood/Adirondack + Fun Story

sprucedup · #1 12-20-2014, 09:27 PM

NGD...kind of. Have to wait till Christmas till I get to really enjoy this bad boy. But it comes with a nice story.

I'd been searching high and low for a 00 slothead with a wider nut for awhile. I had tried many high-end makes and some low-end ones too. I was hearing some great things about the Eastman parlors and noticed that they had come out with a 00 version with pretty much the same specs (some a little nicer). The only place that sold them locally was LA Guitar sales. About a week ago, I saw that they had 4 in stock...well, today they were down to one, so I took my first trek over to check it out.

So I got there, picked up the Eastman, and started jammin'. After a long period of being impressed, I started testing out comparable higher end models from all of the usual suspects. No matter what, I kept coming back to the Eastman. I texted my gf to tell her how excited I was of my find. After about an hour and half, I turned to the shopkeepers and said this is the one, but needed to check with my better half before adding to the guitar family. The woman goes, "Oh, you mean Natalie (my gf)? Yeah, she just called and bought the guitar for you. Merry Christmas!"

Now, onto the guitar. Wow, everything about this guitar is impressive. It has a very deep resonant bass response and sustain for days...weeks even. However, it also responds very quickly and clearly to my meaty fingers. The adirondack top and light build is fantastic. The neck is thick with a relatively flat fingerboard which makes fingerstyle a breeze. This is my first 12 fret to body, and it definitely won't be my last.

Note: Ted wasn't present today at LA Guitar Sales, but Pierre and Tevis were fantastic and great at investigating all of my ridiculous questions. Very sweet people. The showroom itself is guitar heaven, and all of the BTO Taylors and Martins are amazing.

And now, some guitar porn...

picassov7 · #2 12-20-2014, 09:34 PM

Congrats! That is a fine looking Eastman and a wonderful sounding girlfriend!

Oldguy64 · #3 12-20-2014, 09:35 PM

That's purty.

mattwood · #4 12-20-2014, 09:39 PM

Beautiful guitar and great story! Now the question is, what are you going to do for her? Pressures on!

TBman · #5 12-20-2014, 11:15 PM

Wow, that's a great looking guitar. I like the all hog model they offer too. Enjoy it!

Halcyon/Tinker · #6 12-21-2014, 12:36 AM

Way to go Natalie!

woodstock64 · #7 12-21-2014, 01:11 AM

Congrats on the new Eastman and Natalie. Do you think if you tell her I could use the same model she'd buy me one too. I'll PM you my address. LOL

FrankB2 · #8 12-21-2014, 05:24 AM

Nice! I'd love to visit LA Guitar Sales. I bought a fantastic guitar from Ted, but it was all done over the phone.

ENJOY!

llew · #9 12-21-2014, 05:59 AM

Congrats! Beautiful guitar!

evenkeel · #10 12-21-2014, 06:07 AM

Congrats on the new Eastie. Nice Christmas story.

strings4him · #11 12-21-2014, 06:08 AM

Happy NGD! Great story too

stingraider · #12 12-21-2014, 07:38 AM

Fantastic looking guitar and a great story, play it in good health!

Treenewt · #13 12-21-2014, 07:59 AM

Congrats on the guitar and Natalie! That's awesome!

Those 00 Eastmans are sweet! I haven't played the rosewood yet, but the mahogany one was incredible! Owning an Eastman E20 OM, I can imagine just how sweet that 00 must be! Congrats again!

JohnnyDes · #14 12-21-2014, 11:32 AM

Your girlfriend bought you a guitar??!

Marry her!

sprucedup · #15 12-21-2014, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankB2

Nice! I'd love to visit LA Guitar Sales. I bought a fantastic guitar from Ted, but it was all done over the phone.

ENJOY!

They were saying 90% of their business is done online. I was pretty much the only customer there the entire time except for one older gentleman who came to trade in a few high-end guitars. He was replacing all of his guitars with 12-fret slotheads, since that's all he plays now according to him.

LA Guitar Sales is very different than most guitar shops in the area. It's essentially up in an office building in an upscale area with a tiny showroom...but boy is that showroom dense with magical instruments. The custom builds are superb. They have just about anything you could dream of. I was very happy to play an SCG Eric Skye 00 model which was just superb (very different sound than the Eastman though). Anyway, I can't say enough nice things about my experience.