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  #16  
Old 07-26-2021, 06:31 PM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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Originally Posted by Fret-O'File View Post
I've owned and have played many Eastmans over the years.
I owned an E20-OO 12 fret that sounded bigger, louder, and had more bass than many OMs I've played. It was a fantastic-sounding guitar. I sold it after a couple of years as the neck was a bit too fat and the nut just a bit too wide for me. I've also played a couple of E20-P parlors that also sounded much bigger than many parlors, OO & OOO guitars I've played. They did have the same necks and nut widths as the E20-OO 12 fret so they just don't work for me but the sound was great.
I've played one E10-OO 14 fret and it didn't sound nearly as big and full as the other guitars I've described above. It sounded more like a smaller blues box kind of guitar. I bought an E1-OOSS-LTD a couple of years ago and it's more like the E10-OO I played. It sounds great but it sounds like a smaller guitar. I use it to play acoustic blues and songs where I don't want that heavy bass and big sound so it works great for that.
So in my experience, the rosewood 12 fret Eastmans seem to have that big, full sound with ample bass, and the E10-OO and E1-OO 14 fret guitars have that smaller sound with less bass. It certainly might come down to the individual instrument and my sampling size might be too small to say for sure.
They all sounded great, just different.
This mirrors my experience. I haven't owned a parlor (P size), but I've played the P, 00 (12-fret), and 00 SS (14-fret). And my daughter owns a 00 12-fret LTD with a wonderfully chunky neck and 1-3/4" nut width, which is perfect b/c it's neither the 1-11/16" (00 SS) or 1-13/16 (P, 00) width.

The 12-frets provide a fuller sound b/c of the elongated body. It's probably the most balanced body shape of the ones discussed. The 00 SS is 14-fret, so you'll generally lose some of that. If you played a 00 SS and liked it (and it didn't seem boxy), then perhaps you should grab it before it gets away from you. Good luck!
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  #17  
Old 07-26-2021, 08:49 PM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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Originally Posted by Fret-O'File View Post
Just be prepared for a big chunky neck and wide nut on the 12 fret Eastmans. I was able to strum and not overdrive my E20-OO, the E20P I couldn't say.
That's fine by me. I've 7-string guitars over the years with wide necks, and my Yamaha LL16-12 has pretty wide and chunky neck. I played an E10-OO several months ago, that had a nice feeling neck. Unfortunately, I didn't like the way it sounded.
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  #18  
Old 07-26-2021, 08:51 PM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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Originally Posted by Pura Vida View Post
This mirrors my experience. I haven't owned a parlor (P size), but I've played the P, 00 (12-fret), and 00 SS (14-fret). And my daughter owns a 00 12-fret LTD with a wonderfully chunky neck and 1-3/4" nut width, which is perfect b/c it's neither the 1-11/16" (00 SS) or 1-13/16 (P, 00) width.

The 12-frets provide a fuller sound b/c of the elongated body. It's probably the most balanced body shape of the ones discussed. The 00 SS is 14-fret, so you'll generally lose some of that. If you played a 00 SS and liked it (and it didn't seem boxy), then perhaps you should grab it before it gets away from you. Good luck!
The 00 SS sounded great - I just wished the neck was maybe a tad wider. I'm still kind of torn about the 00 SS, because while I liked they way it sounded, I think I like the sound of 12 fretters even more. What makes this kind of frustrating, is that due to the low availability of 12 fret 0s and 00s even during the best of times, it's hard for me to make a direct comparison between 12 and 14-fret varieties of guitar types. I usually end up taking a chance and buying a guitar (unplayed) online, which has resulted in some rather expensive failures for me in the past (such as my Waterloo WL12-Mh), or ordering one, and waiting the next best thing to forever for it to arrive in these Covid times.
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Last edited by EllenGtrGrl; 07-27-2021 at 04:48 AM.
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  #19  
Old 07-26-2021, 08:58 PM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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Originally Posted by SRL View Post
I would go with something 00 sized. If you like a fatter neck, Eastman is a good bet.

I'm curious if the Breedlove Concertina you had was a US model or an import. The necks are quite different (fatter neck with 1.75" nut on the US models). I have a US Concertina that I absolutely love; it has a very big sound for a 00-ish sized guitar (although kind of halfway between a 00 and 000, really). You can get them for $1000-1500 on the used market.

Regarding your first post, yes, I find that guitars smaller than 00-size, and even a lot of 00's, have a fairly weak tone. I'm not sure it's as "boxy" as a laminate guitar, but it's definitely weak in the bass register, which leads to a thinner sound

My suspicion on why guitars start to sound boxy as they get smaller is that the soundboards just get too small to generate enough bass, similar to how speakers work. The most important dimension here seems to be width of the soundboard, which is probably why a lot of the most popular travel guitars are "mini jumbo" shape (Taylor GS Mini, Alvarez LJ, Breedlove Companion), or mini-dreadnought shaped (Martin Dreadnought Jr., Taylor Big Baby), while parlor-shape (long and narrow) travel guitars have largely fallen by the wayside.
My Breedlove Concertina was one of the import ones. I didn't know that the US Concertinas have chunky necks, due to it being hard to find any information about Breedlove neck specifications. When I bought my Discovery Concertina, I took a gamble. It was Musician's Friend closeout, going for a few hundred dollars less than list price. It was a nice sounding 12-fretter, but the neck just didn't cut it for me.

My old Breedlove Concertina
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  #20  
Old 07-27-2021, 09:55 AM
Greenstar Greenstar is offline
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I have an Eastman E20P, which I purchased after starting Zoom lessons with Andy. His guitar sounded so good that I went out and picked one up last summer and I couldn't be happier with it. I find that it responds to flat picking very well. They are amazing little guitars with a very big tone. It's like the little brother to my Collings DS2H. Hearty bass response which doesn't overpower the beautiful high end.

Shortly after that I purchased an Eastman E10 OO, also a 12 fret guitar. After several months I ended up selling it. To my ears it sounded a bit boxy and never did open up like my E20P did. I'm not sure if it was the mahogany b/s combo but it never had the great bass response and high end articulation of that great little single O. The E10 sounded pretty darn good finger picked but it didn't like the flat pick at all.
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  #21  
Old 07-27-2021, 11:37 AM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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Originally Posted by Greenstar View Post
I have an Eastman E20P, which I purchased after starting Zoom lessons with Andy. His guitar sounded so good that I went out and picked one up last summer and I couldn't be happier with it. I find that it responds to flat picking very well. They are amazing little guitars with a very big tone. It's like the little brother to my Collings DS2H. Hearty bass response which doesn't overpower the beautiful high end.

Shortly after that I purchased an Eastman E10 OO, also a 12 fret guitar. After several months I ended up selling it. To my ears it sounded a bit boxy and never did open up like my E20P did. I'm not sure if it was the mahogany b/s combo but it never had the great bass response and high end articulation of that great little single O. The E10 sounded pretty darn good finger picked but it didn't like the flat pick at all.
Thanks for the info. That's what I was looking for - how well it handles flat picking.
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  #22  
Old 07-27-2021, 06:20 PM
pszy22 pszy22 is offline
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Originally Posted by Greenstar View Post
I have an Eastman E20P, which I purchased after starting Zoom lessons with Andy. His guitar sounded so good that I went out and picked one up last summer and I couldn't be happier with it. I find that it responds to flat picking very well. They are amazing little guitars with a very big tone. It's like the little brother to my Collings DS2H. Hearty bass response which doesn't overpower the beautiful high end.
I also play an E20P, the one I own is the only one I've had a chance to play. I don't know how much they vary, but based on a sample size of one, I'll say they are surprisingly good sounding instruments.

Based on the small sample size, I'll also add they are very nice looking - nice wood top, sides, back and even the neck; well built and finished.
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  #23  
Old 07-27-2021, 09:05 PM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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I ordered the E20P today. Thanks to everybody for your input. Now I just have to wait 5 months, for the guitar to arrive. Oh well, we all know the guitar supply situation is a mess. Besides, it's not as though I don't have other guitars that I can play while I'm waiting. I'll survive.
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  #24  
Old 07-27-2021, 10:30 PM
eljay eljay is offline
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I can help ya with an Eastman OM to tide you over if yer so inclined!
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  #25  
Old 07-28-2021, 04:38 AM
EllenGtrGrl EllenGtrGrl is offline
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I can help ya with an Eastman OM to tide you over if yer so inclined!
Thanks, but I'm fine. My Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J45 will suffice.
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  #26  
Old 07-28-2021, 01:24 PM
pszy22 pszy22 is offline
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Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl View Post
I ordered the E20P today. Thanks to everybody for your input. Now I just have to wait 5 months, for the guitar to arrive. Oh well, we all know the guitar supply situation is a mess. Besides, it's not as though I don't have other guitars that I can play while I'm waiting. I'll survive.
I think you will find it worth the wait. I searched for over 4 month before I found one.
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  #27  
Old 01-31-2022, 12:13 PM
lar lar is offline
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Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl View Post
I ordered the E20P today.
I'm curious (because I'm also interested in these Eastmans), did you ever receive your E20P?
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  #28  
Old 02-03-2022, 07:40 PM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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I'm curious (because I'm also interested in these Eastmans), did you ever receive your E20P?
Based on her signature (see posts above), it seems she doesn't have it anymore (if she got it).
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