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  #1  
Old 05-11-2018, 10:16 AM
Long Road Home Long Road Home is offline
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Default NGD - Eastman T184MX Lil Smokey

I'm an acoustic rhythm guitar player and singer who got the itch for an electric guitar that would suit my style (mostly roots music - blues, country, rockabilly, with some rock stirred in for seasoning). I had previously bought a PRS S2 Standard 24 for my son, who since decided that he will add piano as his second instrument instead of guitar (he's a terrific jazz trumpet player), so I sold the PRS.

After lots of research and playing, I narrowed it down to a thinline semi-hollow, with specs that would be close to my acoustics (1-3/4" nut, 25-ish inch scale, medium C-ish neck). It turns out that those specs aren't so easy to find in an electric guitar.

I finally decided to buy a NOS Eastman T184MX, and got a good deal on a Lil Smokey (solid maple top over sides/back routed out of a single piece of solid mahogany - 14" lower bout, 25" scale, 1-3/4" nut). The difference between the LS and the standard T184MX is in the finish (satin all-black, which I think looks really nice and, unfortunately is also a smudge monster), and the pickups (the LS comes with a Seymour Duncan Jazz SH-2 neck, and a JB Sh-4 bridge instead of the SD 59's).

I shipped a set of DR Pure Blues 11-50 to the dealer and they promised a full setup. My tech pronounced the workmanship as "great", with the setup done by the dealer as "outstanding".

After a couple of days with it, I really like it how it plays. It'll take a while to dial in the tone, with the darkness of the neck pickup and the clarity and bite of the bridge pickup complementing each other really nicely.

Just one photo for now (or it didn't happen).

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Last edited by Long Road Home; 07-12-2018 at 08:53 PM.
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Old 05-11-2018, 10:35 AM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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Congrats on the T184MX. Those are great guitars.
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Old 05-12-2018, 06:22 AM
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Ed-in-Ohio Ed-in-Ohio is offline
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Congratulations Barry!
I love the look of that satin black finish.
Enjoy!
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Old 05-15-2018, 11:20 AM
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Thanks. This one's a keeper (no... really... I mean it). The satin finish is most definitely a two edged sword. I really like the look because it appeals to the minimalist in me (and it shows smudges like no other guitar that I've ever seen).
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Last edited by Long Road Home; 05-15-2018 at 11:38 AM.
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Old 05-15-2018, 04:17 PM
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I always think of gloss finishes as showing smudges, so it's really interesting that the satin finish shows them even more.

BTW, I am also a minimalist, when it comes to most things, although I seem to be contrary to that with my guitars.
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Old 06-07-2018, 12:35 PM
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I had a "big smile" day yesterday with the Lil Smokey.

First, a friend who is an outstanding guitarist came over and played it. His reaction was "This is an incredible guitar" (big smile #1).

Then I took it to a mostly electric open mic that I've been playing at (acoustic plugged in) for the past 9 months. When I took it out of the case, the host said "What a gorgeous guitar" (big smile #2). Then, the lead guitarist in the backing back got his hands on it and didn't want to give it back (big smile #3).

I plugged in and took it for a bit of a rockabilly outing (Rock This Town by the Stray Cats and C'est La Vie by Chuck Berry... only time for 2 songs because this is a really popular open mic). I had a blast, and got compliments on the sound (big smile #4).

Still smiling just thinking about it.
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Old 06-08-2018, 02:04 AM
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That's awesome! So glad you're liking the LS so much. There was just one on eBay for auction, and it sold at an incredibly low price. The timing wasn't right at home, or else I would have jumped all over it.
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Old 06-08-2018, 03:14 AM
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That looks nice... congratulations!
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Old 06-08-2018, 04:33 AM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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Congrats on a beauty. It looks so cool!
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Old 06-08-2018, 02:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pura Vida View Post
That's awesome! So glad you're liking the LS so much. There was just one on eBay for auction, and it sold at an incredibly low price. The timing wasn't right at home, or else I would have jumped all over it.
Thanks for not posting the price. I thought I got a great deal, and would prefer to maintain that illusion.

Quote:
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That looks nice... congratulations!
Quote:
Originally Posted by leew3 View Post
Congrats on a beauty. It looks so cool!
Thanks. I forgot to mention that my lead guitar playing friend told me that he would be giving me gold stars for this one... not because of my playing, but to stick on the fretboard (I don't mind just having the side markers).
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Old 06-08-2018, 06:53 PM
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Congratulations on your new guitar days!
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Old 07-08-2018, 01:13 PM
kathyson kathyson is offline
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Very cool guitar! Congratulations
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Old 07-09-2018, 08:01 AM
Long Road Home Long Road Home is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Song View Post
Congratulations on your new guitar days!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kathyson View Post
Very cool guitar! Congratulations
Thanks. I've been playing it more lately, and really liking it.
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:40 AM
Long Road Home Long Road Home is offline
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A quick update. I plugged my T184MX straight into my Carvin AG300 last night, and got great clean tones out of it, playing rhythm. That's really good to know, since there will be times that I will probably need to go straight into the house PA at one open mic (it's a very good PA run by a very good sound man).
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Old 07-17-2018, 10:44 AM
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Congrats on the fantastic guitar. Have a blast!
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