Hello From Eastman Guitars!

[GibbyPrague]

Great to see Eastman here, and a great move by the company given how much positive momentum the brand is getting here on the AGF and the related good word of mouth that members are passing on.

I have just one question for now - where is the closest dealer to Prague, Czech Republic that i could visit the check out some Eastmans ?

[JohnnyDes]

Originally Posted by bohemian

Hi Pat,
Fine instruments and a good value.

I will make the following suggestions which I have been making for years.

1. The nut width in the mandolins is an unplayable ridiculously narrow 1 1/16th inch. Even Gibsons narrow version is 1 1/18th. Adult width nuts such as is used on Webers would be appreciated by many... 1 3/16ths. This is the main reason I do not own an Eastman mandolin. Unplayabble.
2. The dual point is a fine instrument and mostly favored by classical and jazz players. Years ago I played an Eastman prototype with long scale and fully fretted. I ordered one. It came short scale and with an abbreviated, useless fingerboard. Useless for classical and jazz. Scoops or abbreiviated fingerboards might be ok for some bluegrassers.. but short sighted when it comes to this particular model and a niche segment of the market. And as above, an adult nut width.
3. The D and the OM model guitars.. fine job on the 1 3/4 nut width (the minimum acceptable standard) perfect for fingerpickers and many flatpickers, but then the saddle spacing is an absurd 2 1/8th or scrid wider.. might be ok for flatpickers.. very difficult to fingerpick. No sale.
Also Your OM is not an OM it is 000. An OM by definition has a 25.4 scale.. not 25".
4. The so called antique or vintage or old violin finish looks like a Junior High School woodworking project gone bad. FGailed miserably. I do like the golden and blonde and the sunbursts.. but that antique finsih, not even close. Comical.

I am waiting for the local dealer to get a promised parlor which is now into several months. Looking forward to it.

Eastman has come a long way... a little more attention to the market voice and I see great things coming. I also like the Washburn Mandola.. specifically the nut width.. that should be the mandolin nut width.

+1 on the string spacing at the bridge. This is what I've seen as the biggest complaint about the Eastman OMs. 2 5/32" is narrower than anyone else (although I think Rainsong is the same). This doesn't absolutely rule Eastman out for me, but it's held me back so far.

In the end, I'm always torn because I think Eastman is doing so many things right, and the guitars sound incredible to me. In fact, I'm not sure I've played a guitar that sounds better to me than an E20OM I played at Eric Schoenberg's shop.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, and thanks for listening!

JD

[Wasper]

Eastmans are generally well received and have been praised on this forum. So, good job Eastman.

I only have one comment/suggestion.

Cedar.

Make some guitars with Cedar tops . If you had, my last purchase very well could have been with Eastman. Cedar is almost as popular as Spruce and a lot of people prefer it over spruce (myself). I think by not offering any Cedar topped guitars, you are closing yourselves out of a market segment.

[medio]

Originally Posted by bohemian

Oh and "viloin finishes"

As a former rare violin hustler.. trading in violins 2 and and three centuries old.. never have I seen a violin with a finsih that remotely resembled the blotchy splutch slathered on an Eastman. Never. Hideous.

You like it, buy it. But it is a deterrent to purchased... silently some dealers mock it.. but "violin finish" has been marketed to a point where some easily influenced buyers will suck it up. Sadly some very fine Eastman products have suffered this finish. One in particular... I just could not buy it and would not be seen with it. A non cutaway, non electric oval hole archtop guitar. Fantastic instrument ruined.

But those are just my not so humble opinions and observations.

What is violin finish? Is it this:



If yes, then more of this, please

Getting my first Eastman tomorrow. I don't think I will be bothered by the string spacing, and I wish people would stop generalizing about these things. I prefer narrow nuts and saddles spacing and I play exclusively with fingers.

[shortymack]

You will love it medio, if thats yours that a beauty SB (sweetburst as a fellow member from the EOS labeled a similar looking E10D. The only other one Ive seen like it).


The nitpickers are just that, pay no attention. Everything from the finishes are too thick to too thin to they arent really OMs to string spacing is wrong. Eastman is doing a great job and shouldnt change a THING IMO.

[kramster]

From me visit to Winter NAMM '12... great bunch of stringed things

[dkoloff]

Welcome to the forum....I think the free Eastman guitars to all is a great way to introduce yourself.

[songz]

"But those are just my not so humble opinions and observations."

Boy, you sure got that right! Many of us, however, have
our own opinions, and they're the ones that matter when we spend
OUR money.

Ron

[bohemian]

Please purchase based on your own opinions.

BTW do you own an Eastman, if not, why not?

I don't own one, not because they aren't fine instruments..the "one" simply has not presented itself.

A parlor was supposed to arrive last December. I am still waiting.

[skatalite]

Originally Posted by bohemian

Sitting on the fence and posting nicey nicey to collect friends and elevate your forum status serves no one. Some seem to resent those who post facts, relate personal experience, post opinions based on both. My comments were directed to Pat and Eastman.

Please purchase based on your own opinions.

BTW do you own an Eastman, if not, why not?

I don't own one, not because they aren't fine instruments..the "one" simply has not presented itself.

A parlor was supposed to arrive last December. I am still waiting.

I don't own one because the ones I've tried had thick gloss on the necks. I'd own an E10D if it weren't for that.

[abelville]

I have the AC312 and just love it. I got a bit of a deal as it was subjected to cold and had weather checking. Great note separation, just the right amount of complexity, great bass, and bar chords sound great up the whole neck.

You sell a quality product!

Al

[songz]

Originally Posted by bohemian

Please purchase based on your own opinions.

BTW do you own an Eastman, if not, why not?

I don't own one, not because they aren't fine instruments..the "one" simply has not presented itself.

A parlor was supposed to arrive last December. I am still waiting.

Yes, I own an AC-822 and have owned 4 others. The Parlors I
have played have surprised me - they're fine guitars in keeping
with the "E" series of traditional models.

Ron

[drive-south]

Originally Posted by bohemian

By definition.. an OM has a 1 3/4 nut width... even when Martin slimmed down in 1939 to an absurd 1 11/16ths nut width for most models the OM was a 1/34.

When reintroduced, the OM was 1 3/4 while all else was , again. an absurd 1 11/16ths.

A 000 has a 1 11/16ths nut width and a short scale. The Eastman "OM" is a 000 with a 1 3/4 nut.

Taylor was smart enought to make the 1 3/4 nut standard with few models having 1 11/16ths. No one grumbles.

Martin has finally come to the party and making more and more guitars with 1 3/4.

Fact is... fewer people will decline an otherwise suitable guitar because it has a 1 3/4 nut than will decline a guitar beacuse it has a 1 11/16ths nut. Same goes for the mandolins...

Every time I have discussed nut width, whether mandolin or guitar, with the suits at Eastman.. the answer has been the same.. and this goes back nearly 10 years... "why would we change, we sell all we make" swell.. fine answer.. but you miss the point,, and the point is not your sales but the customers interest...wider nuts please.

Seriously what would it take to make the mando and guitar nuts wider and the string spacing wider and bag the idiotic mando scoops on classical/jazz models... not much considering the claim each one is handmade.
No extra money, no extra work.

Consider the customer.

As to Eastman's custoemr service.. started out great, declined horribly, but as of late... very much improved. Obvious staff and philosophy changes.

Oh and "viloin finishes"

As a former rare violin hustler.. trading in violins 2 and and three centuries old.. never have I seen a violin with a finsih that remotely resembled the blotchy splutch slathered on an Eastman. Never. Hideous.

You like it, buy it. But it is a deterrent to purchased... silently some dealers mock it.. but "violin finish" has been marketed to a point where some easily influenced buyers will suck it up. Sadly some very fine Eastman products have suffered this finish. One in particular... I just could not buy it and would not be seen with it. A non cutaway, non electric oval hole archtop guitar. Fantastic instrument ruined.

But those are just my not so humble opinions and observations.

This was pretty harsh, but I have to admit many times I have checked out Eastman guitars (mostly archtops) and I have to agree the finishes are what deter me. They are way too thick, too dark, and they tend to make the curly grain look like a big mess.

Gibson used very dark finishes during the dark days of the Norlin ear. That was to hide the poor grade woods they were using back then. It nearly cost them their market share. It's clear to me that Eastman is using nicely figured wood on their guitars, but making a mess of it with the nasty finishes. If there is room for improvement in this line it is with the finishes.

[Taylorplayer]

Very happy to see Eastman getting the kudos it deserves! I was an early fan here, having bought a 905ce in 2007. I now own this beauty, and am constantly impressed with the woods, playability, sound, and workmanship.

Keep up the good work!

[PFCG]

Hello again folks, i wrote that post friday near the end of the day, and BAM! when i get back to work its a long thread already!

I have not gotten a chance to read every single post, but i will answer a few questions i saw here quickly.

About us:
My name is Pat, and I work for Eastman Guitars and Mandolins here in our Pomona, CA headquarters. I am a luthier and instrument designer by trade. I got my Degree from Berklee College of Music, and then went to Musicians Institute afterwards to learn a bit more about guitar craft. After that, i worked for James Tyler Guitars, and made a lot of electric guitars. Here at Eastman, i design instruments, do quality control, and source a lot of materials and parts for the company. I work directly with the factories that we own, to communicate any changes or new ideas.

I work closely with a few key people that you may get to know in the future.
Mark Herring is who speaks directly with our dealer network, and handles a lot of the customer relations side of Eastman.

Steve Greenfield does a lot of our purchasing, customer relations, and helps keep a lot of the gears turning here at HQ.

Touch Singleton is our head of the shop who has a great crew under his belt setting up every single guitar as we receive them.

All of the people that work here at Eastman Guitars is a guitar player. Everyone has played professionally to some degree, and has years of experience with instruments, how they are made, and how to make them sound and play great.



T386: Its coming, we are working very diligently to make as many as we can. The response from the NAMM show was huge, so we have been trying to make a bunch of the T371 and the T386 models.

Prototype guitars: We did show a few models at the NAMM show including the Travel size guitar, that will be coming in the near future, as well as our Ukuleles. We did have a couple of fanned fret guitars, but they will require a bit more time to see if they are a viable option for us.

I did see a post about nut width/bridge spacing/scale length/body shapes. To briefly address that, i will say that we have a lot of old school flair, and we follow a lot of tradition in our design, but we are still a unique company. We are not trying to be something that already exists. 25 inch scale on an OM is just what we wanted to do. A lot of our guitars are a 25 inch scale, so it just felt natural to us. All of our flat top models have 1 3/4 in width nut, side the travel guitar. As far as nut Width for mandolins, i have not heard much on that front, however it is something we can look into. That is the first i have heard someone say something about that subject.

Finishes:
The violin finish we do is something that the owner of our company saw and wanted to do to our instruments. Some love the finish, some may not care for it as much, but we do make instruments in different finishes, so if you prefer a sunburst, or a blonde, etc, they are available. And satin neck finishes may be available in the near future, so keep your ear to the ground.

We are a constantly changing and evolving company, so we take all of your input into consideration. We have endured a lot of success due to your voice and support. We appreciate all the players out there, and we just want to make instruments that people love, and offer a great value!

If you want to try and WIN a FREE Eastman, you can get more information here: http://www.eastmanguitars.com/


More posts to come!