Talk me into or out of an Eastman E10SS, sight unseen

[Charmed Life Picks]

BTW, Folks, if anyone's interested, I started a thread three years ago about Eastman guitars. Pure Vida and some of the other participants in this discussion come in there and share their thoughts. All are welcome.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=540591

I have no vested interest, other than I love their instruments and know some of the great folks who work there.

All the Best,
Scott Memmer

[JHey!]

Scott,

Thanks for sharing. Everything about that performance is great. The playing, singing, guitar tone, the song itself - all of it. I’ve come across some discussions where your high opinion of the E10ss helped me focus on that make/model, in particular.

Peter,

Thanks for the encouragement. The short scale is part of what drew me to this particular guitar. I’m looking forward to joining the ranks of happy Eastman owners.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Funny story. I bought my Eastman about four years ago from a guy on the forum here who has since become a very close friend. He has literally been begging me to buy it back since it left his door. He'll probably be in here in a minute to grouse about it.

That is a very special E10SS, and it sounds great in Scott's hands. It's one of the first built, and it has a 1.76" nut and a relatively full profile carve. Ask me how I know.

[Pura Vida]

1.76" nut, and you let it go? One of the great AGF tragedies.

[PeterD18DK]

Originally Posted by JHey!

The short scale is part of what drew me to this particular guitar

Here is my E10SS (without the first string that I broke), you can almost hear it is short scale

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KgA...ew?usp=sharing

[JHey!]

Zissou,

It sounds like you let a great one slip away. At least it’s in capable, appreciative hands.

Peter,

Thanks for sharing and nice playing!

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

That is a very special E10SS, and it sounds great in Scott's hands. It's one of the first built, and it has a 1.76" nut and a relatively full profile carve. Ask me how I know.

I'll TELL you how he knows, folks. He's the kind gent I bought it from. When was that? I wanna say Dec 2015?

sm

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by JHey!

Scott,

Thanks for sharing. Everything about that performance is great. The playing, singing, guitar tone, the song itself - all of it. I’ve come across some discussions where your high opinion of the E10ss helped me focus on that make/model, in particular.

Peter,

Thanks for the encouragement. The short scale is part of what drew me to this particular guitar. I’m looking forward to joining the ranks of happy Eastman owners.

I'm so glad I could be of service to you. It's truly a remarkable company, Eastman is. I'm lucky to live only an hour from their West Coast facility. We've become good friends through the years, and in fact I'm proud to say they use our picks daily in their custom shop when they're setting up their best guitars. I wear that as a serious badge of honor. And for the record, I would never say something positive about a company strictly for a quid pro quo commercial plug. They are doing some very special work over there, as many know by now.

I would be remiss if I did not give props to my #1 guitar hero, the late, great Steve Goodman, from whose version I modeled mine. Steve died way back in 1984, so he is not well known. However, he was John Prine's best friend for more than ten years, and it was mainly his version of "The Dutchman" that propelled it to a much wider audience. Steve also wrote the best train song in history, "The City of New Orleans" (no, Arlo didn't write it). Here's Steve's version, in a really crappy video from long ago. I pray he and John Prine are jamming up in heaven as I write this.



Finally, while I'm in the props department, a shout out to the amazing Michael Smith, another under-the-radar guy who penned this song, and who we also lost in 2020. What a horrible year. Mike and Steve and John came out of the Chicago scene around the same time in the early seventies. An extraordinary writer whose best songs hang with the best American songs of the last hundred years. Rest easy, my dear friend.

I'm babbling. Caffeine! Glad I could help, JhHey.

scott memmer

[davenumber2]

If you want the J-45 sound then save up for a J-45. Eastman looks the part but has a sound of their own (that’s a good thing). That big dry thumpy thing J-45s do is often imitated , rarely duplicated.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Cromwell

I was hunting for j45 a few months ago, I played many, but just did not click with any, they sounded to dead for me, I then saw an Eastman E10ss while out hunting, and I couldn't believe how much I fell in love with the guitar, I now own it and it is to me the greatest sounding guitar I have ever played, and I've played thousands. maybe I just found a special one, I don't know, but from videos I've seen if others, I've not seen a bad sounding one, which can't be said for J45s, there are many many dud j45s out there.

And you know that how?
Have you played “many,many” or are you basing that on the here-say on this forum or elsewhere.
I didn’t find that to be the case at all and I played quite a few over the years. There were a couple I wouldn’t have bought, not “many, many”.
The J45 owners on the forum will support me on this.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by lowrider

What about a J-15? It's going to have a lot more J-45 vibe than the Eastman, and it is a Gibson.

The J15 doesn’t have a J45 vibe. It does have a Gibson vibe.
The J45 is a stand-alone sound and I’ve never played another guitar that sounds like one.
I’ve played the Eastman E10SS. It is a really nice sounding guitar.
It does not resemble J45 or a J15 in its voicing...has its own deal.

[tomcstokes59]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

And you know that how?
Have you played “many,many” or are you basing that on the here-say on this forum or elsewhere.
I didn’t find that to be the case at all and I played quite a few over the years. There were a couple I wouldn’t have bought, not “many, many”.
The J45 owners on the forum will support me on this.

I might have to agree with you Rokdog. I have played several J45s and they were mostly very good, a couple that sounded stuffy and a couple that were stellar. There was a 2019 J45 VOS at Fuller's Guitars that still haunts me. I have owned both the E10SS and SSv and loved the guitar and tone just not the neck and nut. I think Eastman offers a fantastic slope shoulder and they have it in rosewood as well. I recently acquired a 50's J-50 resissue that is (IMHO) quite impressive. It has a little wider nut and beefier neck that just fits me better. The tone is all Gibson if you like that kind of thing. The Eastman slopes are not Gibsonesque and conversely the Gibsons are not Eastmanesque. I think that is a good thing. Isn't it great that we have a wealth of choices and something for everyone?

[stevecuss]

I was in a similar situation as you - I was after the impossible - a 'holy grail' sort of 00018 type guitar, but on a much lesser budget. Seemed like an absurd goal, but the search kept leading me to the Eastman OM10TC. This is Eastman's answer to the Martin Authentic line at around 1/3 of the cost.

I bought one new, sight unseen. My first ever new guitar purchase. I've had it about 6 months now and it keeps opening up, which is interesting for a thermo cured guitar. My son was playing it next to me yesterday with pretty old strings and MAN did it have fantastic tone. Just that woody mahogany goodness with the mellowed out 'snap' of the Adirondack. It is gorgeous and I love it.

I've played a slew of 00018 style guitars including the real thing. One of the finest guitars I've ever played was a Martin Authentic OM18. I have no idea how the Eastman compares, but I sure love how it sounds and I keep picking it up to play again and again.

I suspect you'll really enjoy the slope. I think SS guitars are some of the most beautiful designs. I prefer smaller guitars, but if I get a hankering for a dread one day, it will be a slope for sure and the Eastman will be top of the list.

[JHey!]

I agree, Steve - I think I’ll enjoy it. I’ll hang onto it for awhile, no matter what my initial impression is. I’ve found that if you love a guitar enough it’ll usually and eventually love you back.

[Pura Vida]

Especially those Adi tops, which seem to work on their own timelines.