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#1
03-15-2015, 09:45 PM
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Eastman Archtop or Thinline?
Hey everyone! Currently I am looking for a jazzy sounding guitar for my studio. After doing quite a bit of research on the web and on YouTube I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy the tonal qualities of the Eastman line over the similarly priced competition around the $1000 mark. With that said I am torn between the T486B and the AR372CE. I understand they are different animals and I love them both but can only afford one. I am thinking that the 486 will be more versatile and cover a wider range of genres. However it is closer sounding to a solid body than the 372. At this point I have a Schecter C1 Standard and Takamine acoustic. Which of the two Eastman's do you believe would make the best "in-between" guitar? I should also mention that this instruments primary role is for clients to use in the studio. However, I am planning to play on it as well.
 Cheers, Greg Last edited by thercman; 03-15-2015 at 09:51 PM. 
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#2
03-16-2015, 04:50 PM
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Quote:
Welcome to the forum,,, 
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#4
03-18-2015, 04:14 AM
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For a studio guitar I'd go with the 386 - not too many guys are going to use the Bigsby, and you don't need the tuning problems...
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#6
03-20-2015, 04:15 PM
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I'm partial to the Bugera V22 1x12" combo; IMO there's no substitute for real tube tone, and this little loud-machine has more sonic mojo than anything has a right to have for $375. Out of the box it'll get you a good assortment of clean and OD tones at reasonable volume levels (the triode/pentode switch serves not only as a power reducer but a tone modifier), the mid-boost punches up the classic Vox/Marshall vibe in either mode (some nice "brown" tones in there when you play with the preamp and master a bit), and it's got one of the best-sounding built-in digi-verbs on the market (you can actually go deep into Dick Dale/Ventures territory with this one). It also responds extremely well to simple DIY mods - I loaded mine with an Eminence Swamp Thang, some NOS Soviet-era mil-spec tubes, and a mild rebias, and I've got a plug-and-play '60s Ampeg Gemini II/B-12XT NYC studio "key club" tone clone that'll handle a 700-seat hall clean or dirty with no problem, and still power down to bedroom-practice levels. If you need more versatility and/or "that sound" at a moment's notice, the new Fender Mustang and Champion models seem to be a favorite over on the Electric forum - FWIW you might want to post over there, since those guys are as a whole more attuned (no pun intended) to this end of the market...
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#7
03-22-2015, 11:42 AM
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The Bugera V22 1x12" sounds pretty good. I always wonder why guitarists opt for amps with 12" speakers since the low E is only 82Hz. 10" speakers would more accurately represent the guitars frequency range. *shrug* Maybe I would be better off buying the Bugera V22HD Infinium 22-Watt Tube Head and doing my own enclosure. Thanks for all the sound (pun intended) advice.
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#8
03-22-2015, 06:05 PM
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While in theory you're correct - and absent the coloration added by the tone stack in the associated amplifier (traditional electric guitar amps were never intended to be "hi-fi" linear) - there are other factors that historically tended to favor a 1x12" as the practical minimum for "balanced" guitar tone - which, in the interest of brevity, I won't get into here. Suffice it to say that until extremely recently the low-end weight, warmth, and projection expected of a guitar amp was unattainable with smaller speakers, unless used in multiple configurations (viz. 3x10" tweed Bandmaster/4x10" Bassman, 2x10" Super/Vibrolux Reverb, 4x10" Concert/Super Reverb), and except in the 4x10" the term most often used to describe the bass response is "tight" - simple physics dictates that those E- and A-string notes require more air to be moved to project them over a longer distance. While a 1x8" Champ or 1x10" Princeton Reverb may be a great close-miked studio/small-room or practice amp, I played through enough of the latter back when blackface was new to know that their strong point in a band situation was "cut" rather than depth - and by way of comparison, under Everett Hull's leadership Ampeg (the darlings of the NYC jazz and studio players back in the day) would never install anything less than a 12" in even their lowest-priced amps. My thoughts: go with the combo, and build/purchase an extension cab to experiment with; you can unplug and bypass the internal speaker if you wish - and it's always there for practice purposes, if you want to go with a dual-cab setup, or Murphy's Law kicks in and you blow your extension...
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