Martin or Eastman?

[RomanS]

I for one bought the Eastman, but could easily have afforded the Martin original it was loosely based on - and it wasn't because of separating binding.

"Iconic"? Why does that matter when buying a guitar? A guitar is not a work of art to hang on your wall, it's a tool for making music, nothing "iconic" about that.
I personally don't worry about brand names, prestige, cache, heritage, whatever, at all, I buy and play what sounds good to me, feels the way I like it, and works playing live on stage as well as at home (and yes, it has to look nice, too). (BTW, none of my Teles is a Fender, either...)

And while I love the tone of Martin guitars (particularly the D18), I have yet to find one that has a neck that fits my playing preferences - which means a FAT one. The only chunky necks Martin currently makes are on their Authentic series (or similar limited, expensive, or custom shop versions) - and those are indeed above my paygrade. All standard series Martins come with their modified low oval necks, which to me, next to 1980s Ibanez shredder guitars, is one of the most uncomfortable neck profiles EVER.

And that's why I bought my Eastman dreadnought, after trying lots of other dreads from various brands - the Eastman was the only one that had a neck that, while not exactly chunky, was at least "mid-size-plus" (and it sounds great and was very affordable, on top of that).

Just the other day I was at a jam session, where the only other guitar player (who was much better than me...) had a HD28 (with the binding falling of, I'm not kidding you, he just stuck it on with sello tape) - and while it sounded GREAT - my Eastman sounded just as great, just with a slightly different character.

I for one am perfectly happy with my Eastman, and I'm not lusting for a (standard series) Martin; quite to the contrary, every time I see one it makes me angry that this company doesn't give their customers any choice in neck profiles (even Gibson does that, with their 50s round vs slim-taper profiles on similarly priced J45s), and even if I did have the money to order a chunky neck D18 from their custom shop, I'd rather get something like a Pre War Guitars Co. version of that...

[Dothraki]

Originally Posted by mcvc

Hello,

Considering buying an acoustic guitar priced within 1,800-2,200 CAD. Looking for good quality, tone, and value for price.

Which of the 2 brands, Martin or Eastman, would be recommended? Any models in particular worth looking into?

Thanks!

Your ears and your ears only, will be able to answer this. I have an Eastman and a Martin dred. The difference in sound between them alone is worth the 2x cost for the Martin…to me…but my family or friends wouldn’t notice it. Neither would most of my buddies who play. But to me it’s night and day.

Basically, there’s no right answer except your own observations. I could easily like the Eastman sound more than the Martin. Both are great guitars, but to me Martin’s just have a more resonant woody sound which I like.

Play as many guitars as you can before taking the plunge with your wallet….what’s a wallet you ask? Well back like a hundred million years ago people used to keep their money (green paper you buy stuff with) in a dried and treated cow or horse hyde, sometimes alligator, kangaroo etc…

Lol. Remember pay phones? I didn’t even realize they were gone until one day someone pointed it out to me…and I couldn’t find a single pay phone anywhere.

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

I'm not taking the wrong lesson here. I'm speaking from experience. The op ask and I answered from my experiences.

Why would anyone buy a copy of the most iconic guitars ever built? I know a lot of people do, but if given the choice my money is on most would not.

Not directed at you. I'm tired of hearing about binding separation from people who have never and will never buy a Martin. Give it a rest already and let us Martin players worry about it.

Between “Martin is the best” and “buy what sounds good to you and what fits your needs”, I really do think the latter is what makes sense. I’m answering from my experience, too. I own an Eastman and a Martin, and I probably play each as much as the other despite Martin’s iconic status. Why would anyone buy a copy of an icon? Because it’s not an exact copy of the icon and the copy will have variations you might actually prefer. It’s subjective, i.e. your preference for Martin is subjective. Since the OP’s opinion of Martin or Eastman will also be subjective, I think “buy what sounds better” is better advice than “buy a Martin.”

[new strings]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

Why would anyone buy a copy of the most iconic guitars ever built? I know a lot of people do, but if given the choice my money is on most would not..

I did not realize Eastman made a J45 copy.

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by new strings

I did not realize Eastman made a J45 copy.

I get it but 'for the record' my Eastman is an exact copy of a J45 right down to the upside down bridge. Did I mention that I love my Eastman?

[EllenGtrGrl]

I know it's been said before, but after almost 45 years of playing guitar, I have to say it, if you can, play guitars you are interested in, and buy what you like (if you can afford it).

Buying guitars without trying them, is always IMO, a risky affair. I've been forced to do so on occasion, due to the fact that what I want in a guitar, just hasn't been available locally. Sometimes it works. My Guild OM-120 (all mahogany OM size - it's occasionally used when I play at church), and Guild F2512E Deluxe (12-string guitar - my main church guitar) were bought online, due to none being available in my area, without having them special ordered (I'm not comfortable with having a shop go to the hassle of ordering a guitar I might reject when I try it out). They are great playing and great sounding guitars, that I bought online that have served me well. Other guitars bought online (for example: the Martin DSS-17; and Waterloo WL-12Mh) were duds for me. They didn't suit my playing style and as a result, sounded bad, and were not comfortable playing-wise. As a result, they wound up being expensive failures. After almost 45 years of playing guitar, I'm not in the mood for having to adopt my playing style for guitar to work for me. Hence the reason why if at all possible, I prefer to try before buying.

I had to put this ethos into practice yesterday. Due to an unexpected money crunch I had to sell my great playing and great sounding Yamaha FG-3 (sorry, the Guilds are going nowhere, and the electrics are earmarked as trading material for an Eastman archtop electric I've ordered [from good past experience with Eastman guitars, I was not worried about ordering it before buying it]). I still wanted to have a 'dread, so I sold my Yamaha back to the place I bought it from, and worked out a deal to not only receive money back from the deal, but take home an Eastman PCH1-D, that I spent time trying out, before buying it, to make sure it would cut it for me. The PCH1-D sounds good (but in a different way than the Yamaha did), and has that Eastman neck profile that I find oh so comfortable

Information is important, and advice given on this forum, or via online reviews is a valuable tool that can help make a buying decision, but don't use the information as the sole factor in deciding to buy a guitar. Different guitar players have different criteria for what constitutes a good guitar. Many players swear by Martin guitars (it's akin to electric guitar players who say a Strat or Les Paul is it - why would want anything else for a guitar?). I think they sound pretty good, but as the DSS-17 I used to own hammered home to me, I can't stand Martin necks. They may be fine for thumb over the neck players, but I play classical style (thumb behind the neck), making Martin necks uncomfortably thin for me. Conversely, while I like Eastmans, and vintage spec. Yamahas, other players think they have necks that are like a baseball bat, and don't have that Martin-style bluegrass or folk guitar tone that they think a good guitar needs to have. In short, it may take you trying out a guitar to find out that it is what you want.

[Jaxon]

didn't read through to see if op had bought or not...have read where some long time martin'ers were through buying current martins because of their thin neck depth's...I have 2 eastman's an om and p and i much prefer the p' neck thickness over my om slimer neck, so if martin neck is thinner than my om i certainly wouldn't want one with a thin neck

[Mr. Bill]

In my experience, Martins in the OP's price range are not competitive with Eastmans in that same range. I have been checking out a couple of Eastmans with Madagascar rosewood & thermally-cured Adirondack tops(OM & dreadnaught) and the Eastmans blow similarly priced Martins into the weeds. You may have a different experience.

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by new strings

I did not realize Eastman made a J45 copy.

https://www.eastmanguitars.com/e10ss

[RussellHawaii]

For me, it’s worth quite a bit to buy something made in North America. It’s worth even more to buy something not made in China. Just for me.

[Ugly Dougling]

Most of my guitars are American made; haven't found a Martin for years that really has "it" for me. I am happy with my whole stable right now - happy enough that I haven't done any serious shopping lately (which might disqualify me from commenting on this site!). I do drop in my local stores and browse routinely. There is one sweet OM that keeps trying to seduce me; it plays beautifully but is beyond a reasonable price and half of that price can be chalked up to bling - beautiful vine inlay up and down the fingerboard, fancy bindings, etc. For that kind of money it will be there for a while.

I wander through all of my guitars and fall in love again with each for a few weeks. But the one I keep coming back to - the one I will choose when I'm traveling and want the most versatile tones and satisfying to my hands (the one, in other words, that I would want on that proverbial desert island) is my Eastman. And it's just about the least expensive one, to boot.

But so what? That's just me. You have cited two quality brands and should have no worries about either. That's the only fact here; all the rest of our comments are just opinions.

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by RussellHawaii

For me, it’s worth quite a bit to buy something made in North America. It’s worth even more to buy something not made in China. Just for me.

I agree completely.

[EZYPIKINS]

I like to buy US when I can. That said, I played for 45 years before I would even consider spending enough money on an acoustic to buy a Martin.

My last "affordable" guitar I bought was a $500. Dean in the late 90's. Bought as a stage/beater guitar.

It served me well for about 15 years. I could abuse it, and not worry too much about it.

I now own 4 Martin's and 5 Gibson's.

Between Eastman and Martin?

Martin Standard series are pretty expensive. I have only had one cheaper Martin. A USA made 000-15 Mahogany Top. This one is different from the 000-15M MIM guitar.

I never could fall in love with it.

Have done setups on some of the lesser expensive Martin's. Haven't been crazy about them either,

My take is, If your budget does not allow for at least a Standard Martin. Take a look at other avenues.

I wouldn't count out Eastman. Take a look at Recording King too.

Bought a Recording King 000 for a Granddaughter. She seem to like it.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by RussellHawaii

For me, it’s worth quite a bit to buy something made in North America. It’s worth even more to buy something not made in China. Just for me.

Based on guitars that I own, I would modify this to say, For me, it’s worth quite a bit to buy a guitar built in the US, Canada, the UK or the EU. I have guitars built in each of these places, and wouldn’t rank one location higher than the other.

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by sinistral

Based on guitars that I own, I would modify this to say, For me, it’s worth quite a bit to buy a guitar built in the US, Canada, the UK or the EU. I have guitars built in each of these places, and wouldn’t rank one location higher than the other.

If we're listing out quality guitar makers not in China, I'd add Japan.