Eastman Guitars

[SecondCity]

Originally Posted by DHart

This is a preposterously beautiful guitar. I almost want one just to look at it.

[AHill]

Originally Posted by Tony Burns

No judgement here - It its all you can afford and it makes you happy -
Who am i to judge -good for you ( Eastman is about as good as it gets for a factory made Chinese instrument ) so if i needed something decent and was tight on cash -thats what Id get.

If I were the OP, I'd not be sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. Maybe not your intent, but it kind of sound to me like you're saying, "Too bad you can't afford a better guitar. But you got something pretty decent anyway."

I'm also not quite sure what you intended to convey by "factory made". Martins, Gibsons, Collings, Larrivee's Taylors and a whole lot of other guitars are factory made. Eastman guitars are hand made in a factory. The "tight on cash" comment implies that more expensive guitars are better. Not necessarily. I traded in my Gibson J-45 Standard for my Eastman. My J-45 was OK, tone-wise, but was sloppily built. Not the case with my Eastman E10-OM. IMO, it's a better guitar for a lot less money.

[Scolaguitar]

If we're going to talk about Eastmans, please lets get the idea out of our heads that they're just another mass produced Chinese guitar. They're not. Whatever else is said of their quality is fair game but no, they're not "factory made instruments in China" They are hand made and not mass produced.

Every discussion on Eastmans seems to come with the same misconception of them being mass produced factory made instruments in China. They're no less legitimate in how they make their instruments than Martin and Taylor et al. Only thing different is their country of origin.

[Nyghthawk]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

This is a preposterously beautiful guitar. I almost want one just to look at it.

What he said! Woah! Gorgeous guitar!

[DHart]

Originally Posted by Scolaguitar

(Eastman are) no less legitimate in how they make their instruments than Martin and Taylor et al. Only thing different is their country of origin.

SO true. The woods, the designs, the manufacturing processes are all about the same these days.

Other brands of Chinese made guitars of years gone by are no indicator of the quality of today's Eastman guitars.

Just as Japanese products of many years ago were cheaply made, only to go on to set a world standard for exceptional quality products.

The same phenomenon has been developing in China. They produced cheaply manufactured products for many years and now, more recently, have been producing some fine world class products.

It is quite obvious that the consensus here, among people who actually own Eastmans along with their Martins, Gibsons, etc., is that Eastman guitars offer great quality for very reasonable prices. My Eastman E10 OO-M serves right alongside and holds its own with my Martin OM28V, Gibsons, RainSong, Epiphone Elitists, D'Angelico, PRS, Fender USA, etc.

Anyone who is considering buying one should proceed with checking them out and buy without hesitation. And have no fears about Eastman standing behind their product - they have exceptional customer service and fully stand behind their products.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by AHill

If I were the OP, I'd not be sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. Maybe not your intent, but it kind of sound to me like you're saying, "Too bad you can't afford a better guitar. But you got something pretty decent anyway."

I'm also not quite sure what you intended to convey by "factory made". Martins, Gibsons, Collings, Larrivee's Taylors and a whole lot of other guitars are factory made. Eastman guitars are hand made in a factory. The "tight on cash" comment implies that more expensive guitars are better. Not necessarily. I traded in my Gibson J-45 Standard for my Eastman. My J-45 was OK, tone-wise, but was sloppily built. Not the case with my Eastman E10-OM. IMO, it's a better guitar for a lot less money.

Dude,
I have pounded on this for well over a year on here and still people come out of the woodwork and make false statements regarding Eastman of whom they know little to nothing about.
I try to remind myself it's a place for "opinions" but when an out and out incorrect statement is offered as fact, it is unfair to a prospective buyer and the company.
I and hopefully others will continue to issue corrections to the misinformation.
Thanks to you for your part.
Hey, why is it so imperative to denigrate a product or a manufacturer anyway? ...just because other people discovered something good and it's
not for you?

[Skip Ellis]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

This is a preposterously beautiful guitar. I almost want one just to look at it.

Where would one order one of these if he/she wanted to? I see nothing even remotely resembling it on the Eastman website.

[DHart]

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

Where would one order one of these if he/she wanted to? I see nothing even remotely resembling it on the Eastman website.

https://www.laguitarsales.com/index....any-55192.html

Ted has a very close relationship with Eastman and is, I believe, their largest dealer in the USA. I don't know how long these models with the highly-flamed solid mahogany will be available, but Ted told me that Eastman has, over the years, been able to acquire a large stock of excellent tone woods.

The lightweight bracing and lightly applied lacquer finish contribute to a guitar that is very responsive to player input. 1 3/4" nut, 24.9" scale, and 12-fret neck make this a great guitar for finger style playing. The action on my sample is exceptionally good, nice and low - with no fret buzzing. And, it has enough dynamic range to handle strumming well. OO-size makes it comfortable to play on the sofa or recliner. A great addition to any player's group of guitars. At just under $1000, I saw this as a no-brainer.

[Duveex]

Love my E20-OM in all aspects...have had now for a couple years, still smile and enjoy every time I play it.

[Skip Ellis]

Originally Posted by DHart

https://www.laguitarsales.com/index....any-55192.html

Ted has a very close relationship with Eastman and is, I believe, their largest dealer in the USA. I don't know how long these models with the highly-flamed solid mahogany will be available, but Ted told me that Eastman has, over the years, been able to acquire a large stock of excellent tone woods.

The lightweight bracing and lightly applied lacquer finish contribute to a guitar that is very responsive to player input. 1 3/4" nut, 24.9" scale, and 12-fret neck make this a great guitar for finger style playing. The action on my sample is exceptionally good, nice and low - with no fret buzzing. And, it has enough dynamic range to handle strumming well. OO-size makes it comfortable to play on the sofa or recliner. A great addition to any player's group of guitars. At just under $1000, I saw this as a no-brainer.

Thanks for the link - it's a pretty guitar but not for me (and not just because it's Chinese!) There are several design features that I don't care for but that's just me. I'm sure it's a fine guitar. Enjoy!

[devellis]

I picked up an Eastman recently. I've always wanted an oval-hole, strictly-acoustic archtop and a used Eastman 804 was available locally. I checked it out and was very impressed with its quality and tone, kind of surprised actually. I never thought of Eastmans as poorly built or bad-sounding guitars but really didn't have much of a sense of how nice they could be. Not sure how representative this specific example is, but I assume it's completely typical of Eastmans at this price point. And it's a darn nice guitar, if you ask me. This one has a black top and a very attractive, highly-flamed maple back that really looks great. It's fully bound, with binding covering the fret ends, has a nice abbreviated pickguard that's set into the top, ebony tailpiece, Gotoh tuners, and other fairly high-end appointments. Top and back are hand carved spruce and maple, respectively. It's just a very nice guitar that plays really well and has tone I like a lot, with plenty of volume.

The alternatives to this instrument would be either a vintage Gibson (expensive and potentially problematic) or something newer that was built by an individual luthier (very expensive). Even Eastman doesn't make this model anymore, so there aren't a lot of options to choose from for this type of guitar. I feel very fortunate to have found this Eastman. I've enjoyed it a lot since I've gotten it and it has certainly elevated my opinion of Eastman as a guitar maker.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

To each his own and, BTW, I love Brook and McIlroy guitars (foreign guitars to me) - I just can't afford 'em.

I, personally, don't believe that any of the Pac rim guitars, with few exceptions will hold their value in the long run and I've seen far too many of them with serious structural problems over the years and they might as well have been made on the moon as far as getting any manufacturer's warranty service. Just because a foreign company sets up shop in CA doesn't mean anything to me.

The Eastmen I have owned, as well as my wife's killer AJ816, will be making music decades after we are all done and gone barring any accidental demise. There were no structural or other issues that would lead one to think otherwise. I just don't understand why it is so hard to believe that an E6D can equal or surpass a D18, or an E10SS can equal or surpass a J15 in fit, finish, workmanship, and structural integrity. (Tone, aesthetics, and playability are all subjective.) I know for a fact that an Eastman AJ816 can easily better any jumbo on earth.

[rokdog49]

Time to lighten things up a bit

[jmjohnson]

Got to sample a few a few years back.

Good guitar, decent build, sounded ok, reasonable price, but there were enough things I did not like in the small details that I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with purchasing one.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by jmg257

Got to sample a few a few years back.

Good guitar, decent build, sounded ok, reasonable price, but there were enough things I did not like in the small details that I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with purchasing one.

I think I know what you are referring to. If you mean the cosmetics, a few years back doesn't represent the Eastman of today at all. My 2016 E 6 OM Limited and my 2017 E 10 OO are every bit as good in their build including the cosmetics as my Martin OMC 15 E. Hey, if you felt them to be lacking, then you did. I read complaints about a few other brands all the time here. I also think sometimes minor flaws get overlooked because of the name on the headstock.
Someone posted a picture of a Custom Build on here recently with the tuner holes mis-drilled and out of alignment. Doesn't mean I wouldn't buy one