Drying Out My Eastman AR805

[OddManOut]

I've noticed my Eastman AR805's tone growing warmer as it ages. I got to listen to someone else play it today and was struck by its "flat topish" tonal character. It still cuts pretty nicely, but the overtones are filling in. I'm currently running D'Add EJ16s on her. I'm thinking I want to try some different strings to maybe dry it out a bit. Should be a fun experiment, anyhoo...



Recommendations?


Thanks!


EDIT: FWIW, Here is a similar guitar in a demo by the dealer (not my exact guitar...but dead on):

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I have a 2007 AR805 acoustic archtop. I prefer nickel plated strings but the strings I fitted to this guitar and also to my '34 Gibson L-4 they were both fitted with the New D'addario Nickel Brionze mediums 13-56) some time ago and I'm really quite impressed.

I've used ej22s before which are punchy but I prefer the Nbs. "would use again!"

Hope that helps.

[Steve DeRosa]

Martin Retro Monel MM13's, drop the action a hair, and give them a week or two to break in - old-time tone for days...

FWIW I came this close to buying that very guitar from Djangobooks (may the better/faster man win - use it well and often ); by way of information you're dealing with a mahogany-bodied instrument rather than the traditional maple, and as your guitar breaks in it's going to reflect its unique construction in a "warmer" tone ("rounder" bass, sweeter trebles) with more overtones and sustain - the definition of "modern" archtop tone, filtered here through a mahogany lens. Whether or not this is what you want in your instrument is up to you, but suffice it to say that the similarly-constructed, early-postwar Epiphone Devon has a cult following among discerning archtop aficionados for just that reason: the characteristics you cite are even more accentuated by the 17" body (and seven decades of aging) - if you're primarily a singer looking for a different flavor of accompaniment I can't think of a better archtop than an old Devon, and with some more break-in time yours should exhibit its family lineage in similar fashion...

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Martin Retro Monel MM13's, drop the action a hair, and give them a week or two to break in - old-time tone for days...

FWIW I came this close to buying that very guitar from Djangobooks (may the better/faster man win - use it well and often );

Thanks for the string recommendations, Steve and SillyM.



Funny...I was hesitating on this purchase, too, trying decide between this one and the sunburst one he had. In the end I loved the antique red too much and there was but a tiny difference in tone (this one a tad warmer).

by way of information you're dealing with a mahogany-bodied instrument rather than the traditional maple

This one is maple B/S. I think the 600 series are mahogany. I dig the "modern archtop tone"-I think of it as an archtop for a flattop player. I'm curious to see if I can get a bit more cut out of her.

[Mandobart]

I'm currently running Ernie Ball aluminum bronze 13's on my Eastman archtop. I've also played Martin Retro monels and Newtone archtop strings. The aluminum bronze strings give the "oldest", dryest tone to me.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by OddManOut

...This one is maple B/S. I think the 600 series are mahogany..

My bad - I was looking at a 605 on their site a while ago, also in the red finish, and I misread your post (you're right BTW - the 600's are indeed mahogany, 800's/900's are maple)...

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

My bad - I was looking at a 605 on their site a while ago, also in the red finish, and I misread your post (you're right BTW - the 600's are indeed mahogany, 800's/900's are maple)...

No worries...easy mistake to make. Your enthusiasm much appreciated.


In fact I was also considering an AR610 (mahogany, 17" body) DjB had in stock at the time I made this purchase. It was a couple hundred $$ less, sounded good in the demo. I was concerned about the ergonomics of the 17" body, so I went with the AR805.


A few months later I got to test drive a used AR610 at Gryphon. I found-to my surprise-it was remarkably similar in tone and feel to my AR805.



Cheers!

[Fatfinger McGee]

Originally Posted by OddManOut

A few months later I got to test drive a used AR610 at Gryphon. I found-to my surprise-it was remarkably similar in tone and feel to my AR805.

Cheers!

Thread jack alert!

Is that opinion shared by others here? Feel I get, but the tone surprises. Both the AR805 and AR605 are on my future GAS radar, and the videos I've heard online sound quite distinct. Both warm and lively but the maple 805 sounds a lot more archtop-y to me (with the sizeable caveat that the only archtop I've played, for about 5 minutes, was a junky old Kay Truetone).

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Fatfinger McGee

Thread jack alert!

How dare you!

Is that opinion shared by others here? Feel I get, but the tone surprises. Both the AR805 and AR605 are on my future GAS radar, and the videos I've heard online sound quite distinct. Both warm and lively but the maple 805 sounds a lot more archtop-y to me (with the sizeable caveat that the only archtop I've played, for about 5 minutes, was a junky old Kay Truetone).

My subjective evaluation was to answer the question "Do I want to purchase this AR610 as a compliment to my AR805?" I did find the AR610 a bit warmer, with a bit less "bite" in the attack and rounder tone. I did not find it different enough to pull the trigger. Again, this was a totally subjective judgement, YMMV.

[Fatfinger McGee]

I like to announce my intent to interrupt before interrupting .

Thanks, that’s actually pretty helpful. From the audio I’ve heard online I’d put it the same way, but from the other end - the AR605 wasn’t different enough from my flat top mahogany, and the AR805’s maple bite is the draw. Ok, back into the shadows I go, lurking here and on reverb.

[OddManOut]

I finally got to trying Martin Retro Monels on my Eastman 805 after going through a couple of other string options. The tone is dryer with more focus...a step or two toward a traditional archtop, but it still retains a lot of its modern presence. Just what I was looking for...

[Richard Mott]

OddMan, I just listened to the original recording you posted, somehow I’d missed it. But what great push and cut this guitar has! It’s almost like a mini-clinic on what makes an acoustic archtop great and so different from a flattop. I especially was struck by the great “push” of the single note lines—so much energy out in front.

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Richard Mott

OddMan, I just listened to the original recording you posted, somehow I’d missed it. But what great push and cut this guitar has! It’s almost like a mini-clinic on what makes an acoustic archtop great and so different from a flattop. I especially was struck by the great “push” of the single note lines—so much energy out in front.

Agreed...it has a snappy attack and a lot of cut as compared to a flattop. It also has more bass presence, more overtones, and more sustain than a traditional archtop. Kind of a tonal melding between an archie and a flattop.

A flattopper's archtop, perhaps.

[buddyrama]

I use D'Addario nickel bronze 13 - 54, use them on my AR371 too. Both guitars are mellowing out nicely after a few years.