"Are Eastmans A Good Value?"

[backdoc]

Well I have a virtually unplayed Martin 000-18 back at Nazareth for a neck reset and when it comes back there is a strong possibility that I will sell it to buy an Eastman E20OM TC. That would make my third Eastman. I find them to be amazing guitars that compete with guitars at least twice their price, so...what was the question again??

[bil40272]

When the E20 OM first came out I saw one at a local shop, and played it.
I was very impressed with the new out of the box sound.
At home I had a Martin OM21, that was my dads guitar. I have always enjoyed playing the OM 21, but am very careful with it,,,,only playing it inside,
never putting it on a stand for any amount of time,,,,etc.
I decided I wanted an OM sized guitar that didn't have the sentimental value of dads guitar. One that I didn't mind taking out of the house, one that if it got a few scuffs or scratches it wouldn't upset me too much.
I bought the Eastman.
There were a few minor finish imperfections. and for the first year I had to adjust the truss rod a few times. something I don't have to do on my other guitars. The sound got even better in that year. The guitar played great and sounded great.
During that year I occasionally A/Bed the two OMs.
It was very apparent that the Martin was heads and shoulders above the Eastman in every category. I'm not putting the Eastman down, at all, for the money it was a great guitar,,,but not a Martin.I wound up trading it on a Taylor 324.
Yes, sometimes I regret parting ways with the Eastman, and probably will in the future own another Eastman.
On a side note, I still Play dads guitar, and it still is either in the case or On my knee, never being set down out of the case,,,,and it has even made it outside a few times.
Side note number two, My best bang for the buck in OM guitars is one of my latest purchases,,,A Huss & Dalton Road Series OM Mahogany.
Not cheep( I bought mine used),,,but in my opinion, the best bang for the buck in guitars.
Sorry for the rambling post.

Bill

[rokdog49]

I'll go with C and D.
Eastmans are unique, built completely by hand and the only other guitar I could compare them to would be Blueridge. My understanding is that Blueridge guitars may be built in multiple locations. I don't know if that is factual. Eastman's are built in one place only.
Both of my current Eastmans are way better than anything I've played if you are talking dollars spent and if "built-by-hand" means anything to you.
If it doesn't, there are certainly other production guitars that are great values.
I don't consider them in the same league...that's just me.

In terms of all aspects, there just isn't a better value than Eastman IMHO.

[Osage]

I don't own an Eastman but have now had more than a few come through the shop for setups and repair. they're good guitars and I'd put them at a B. I have yet to be blown away by one but they are a good value and more and more working players are bringing them in, which is always a good sign to me. Guys that need their guitar to sound fine but more importantly play well and hold up to abuse night in and night out, often on a tight budget, always seem to gravitate to what's good and affordable. These are the same type of guys that come in with used Guilds and Japanese Telecasters.

[jrjones]

I vote C and D. At their price point they’re really good guitars. At double their price point they’re still really good guitars but they’re not made in the US so folks will start griping about that compared to similarly priced guitars.

[roylor4]

I vote somewhere between B & C.

I have owned 4. 2 were dogs. 2 were better than average guitars at their price point.

They are not hype but I have found better bargains in the bang-for-the-buck category in other Pac-rim guitars. (IMHO)

[RP]

Originally Posted by roylor4

I vote somewhere between B & C... (IMHO)

I agree and would say that the Eastman dreads I owned were C+/D- (based on the OP's scale).....

[Kupuna50]

Yes, Eastman guitars are a good 'value'.
The dilemma I see is that many are comparing them to the likes of Martin, Taylor, Collings, etc.
For a 'value' guitar, they are worth the money.
But..............they are NOT comparable to those mentioned above.
IMHO

[L20A]

Eastman makes great guitars.
They hold their own against many American built guitars.

While I would be very happy with an Eastman, it would be at the current pricing.
I would not consider them worth more than their asking price.

If I'm going to pay more that what Eastman guitars are selling for, I will go American built.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Kupuna50

Yes, Eastman guitars are a good 'value'.
The dilemma I see is that many are comparing them to the likes of Martin, Taylor, Collings, etc.
For a 'value' guitar, they are worth the money.
But..............they are NOT comparable to those mentioned above.
IMHO

I haven't seen "many" doing that. In fact, I don't recall any comparisons of Eastmans to Collings at all. Besides, even if they did it doesn't mean they were wrong. It means you disagree that's all. Respectfully it's not really a dilemma, where's the problem? This OP wasn't about comparisons anyway, it was about the perceived level of value Eastman guitars provide and from what I'm reading, it's pretty high.

[guitar george]

I have checked out Eastman guitars in two local stores. They are very fine guitars. They seem to be well built. Most of them sound pretty good. The question in this thread is "Are Eastmans a Good Value?" I feel that they are quite expensive, when compared to other Chinese made guitars, and would probably have been made at a fraction of the cost of a North American or European made guitar.

[jdto]

Originally Posted by guitar george

I have checked out Eastman guitars in two local stores. They are very fine guitars. They seem to be well built. Most of them sound pretty good. The question in this thread is "Are Eastmans a Good Value?" I feel that they are quite expensive, when compared to other Chinese made guitars, and would probably have been made at a fraction of the cost of a North American or European made guitar.

They are handmade guitars. If they were made in North America or Europe, they would be considerably more expensive. They are not the same as the less expensive, mass-produced guitars churned out by some other Chinese factories.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by Kupuna50

Yes, Eastman guitars are a good 'value'.
The dilemma I see is that many are comparing them to the likes of Martin, Taylor, Collings, etc.
For a 'value' guitar, they are worth the money.
But..............they are NOT comparable to those mentioned above.
IMHO

I respect your opinion, but do not share it. I worked in a Martin, Guild, Bourgeois, Collings, Gibson, and SCGC shop. I have owned all of those brands as well H&D, Blueridge, Seagull, Taylor, and Eastman. Tonally, Eastman guitars can and do hang with anything. That being said, Collings fit and finish is beyond everything else. Bourgeois and SCGC workmanship is usually beyond Martin.

By my count, I have owned 11 Martins, all 14 and 12 fret dreads. My latest was a 2016 D18. My 2017 E6D is a better guitar, in both tone and ergonomics, than the D18. My wife's AJ816 (Engelman top over carved maple back and sides) is flat out the best jumbo I have ever played including numerous Guilds and Taylors.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

I respect your opinion, but do not share it. I worked in a Martin, Guild, Bourgeois, Collings, Gibson, and SCGC shop. I have owned all of those brands as well H&D, Blueridge, Seagull, Taylor, and Eastman. Tonally, Eastman guitars can and do hang with anything. That being said, Collings fit and finish is beyond everything else. Bourgeois and SCGC workmanship is usually beyond Martin.

By my count, I have owned 11 Martins, all 14 and 12 fret dreads. My latest was a 2016 D18. My 2017 E6D is a better guitar, in both tone and ergonomics, than the D18. My wife's AJ816 (Engelman top over carved maple back and sides) is flat out the best jumbo I have ever played including numerous Guilds and Taylors.

Stop it Keith, your making me want to buy an E6D. As you know I have a new D18 and you're scaring me.

[brancher]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Stop it Keith, your making me want to buy an E6D. As you know I have a new D18 and you're scaring me.

Me, too. Im still on the e20 om tc versus om-28 fence.... this ones gonna get played a lot, so i gotta think of all angles.