Slight resurrection of this thread, just because I could.
And just for fun.
IMHO ...
I've owned three Gibsons in my time, and tried to like them all. An early '70's Country-Western. An '84 Les Paul Standard. A '09 Southern-Jumbo. The first - a gift, the others bought sight-unseen, due to circumstances above and beyond.
I wish I still had them all ... but only to sell
again, as the first two are worth considerably more at current prices.
All were a disappointment, especially the first, as it was my first Gibson, given to me by my family. No bashing meant, you understand, this is just the gist of it ... dogs, all of them. Especially considering the price.
The only Gibson I've ever played that I actually liked was a war-era all mahogany banner that looked as if it had been through a tornado. Or two.
More recently, I acquired an Eastman E20SS. I've owned some examples of imported guitars in the past, Alvarez, Washburn, Madeira, Epiphone, and Takamine come to mind. Reasonably decent guitars for the most part, but nothing worth keeping around. But none of these mentioned, including the Gibsons, could possibly keep up with the other USA-made guitars I've owned, or still own.
Until the Eastman, that is.
If I had personally encountered it in a music store, I doubt that I would have picked it up. I would have automatically dismissed it as a second rate instrument, suitable for beginners and journeyman players, and headed straight for the Martins, Collings, Santa Cruz guitars, etc. Experience tells, and if you know what you want in terms of tone, feel, and quality, there's no reason to mess around with lesser guitars, despite the pricing. Go for the good stuff, and keep your choices in perspective.
But since the Eastman was given to me, I had no choice but to evaluate it on my home turf. I hoped that I would find a way to like it, but I also knew that if I didn't care for my last
Gibson slope, this guitar was probably going to be even more of a let-down, being that it was an import, and only resembled that J-45. And cost less than half of that same guitar. Less than half of what my 10 year old used Collings cost, as well. You get what you pay for, right?
Playing the Eastman was an educational experience. To say the least. It was definitely tight at first, being that it was so newly pristine. The action needed work, the relief adjusted, and the nut slots filed. An unaccustomed string spacing, and a narrower nut. Light PB strings that sounded all wrong, with weird harmonics and overtones.
Five weeks later, and I'm firmly convinced that I've got my hands on something special. I made the physical adjustments to the guitar, tamed the overtones with nickel strings, and become accustomed to the string spacing and nut width, helped along by what I can only describe as one of the better neck profiles I've had the chance to play.
The tone is pretty incredible. The bass is warm and round, but articulate. The mids are rich. The trebles are clear and fat. It strums wonderfully, and week by week, is becoming more and more responsive to a lighter touch, especially when fingerpicked. It has nice volume, but more than that ... the tone is just complex enough to be interesting and full, with nice sustain, but no messy harmonics, less like rosewood, and more like mahogany. A tad bass-heavy, but accompanied by some of the sweetest, cleanest trebles I've ever heard. Great articulation in the chords.
It doesn't sound like anything else I've ever played, but in this instance, that may be a good thing. The more I play it, the more I want to play it, if you catch my drift. Maybe I just got a good one, but to say that I'm impressed would be an understatement.
I highly suggest that if you want to try one out, that you contact Ted at LA Guitar Sales and have him pick one out for you. I am exceedingly grateful that he did so for me. Man alive, this is a really good guitar. And a whole lot more satisfying and fun to play than the Collings that I sold, and somehow never bonded with, regardless of the exquisite fit and finish. Call me astonished.
... JT