Eastman vs. Larrivee

[mrkpower]

Originally Posted by Kh1967

Have played and owned both. Eastman and Larrivee are both great guitars, but I would choose Larrivee every time.

Why would you perfer Larrivee over Eastman? Sounding perferences?

[hag99]

I have been following this thread closely as I am considering buying either a E10OM or a OM03R. That said, I already own an Eastman AC308 (hog om) and used to own a D03R. I really like the Eastman, enough to consider buying the "higher end" E10, but that D03R was really special (did not like the nut width but am still considering another). It would a tough call for me but for around $1000 I can't see how you can go wrong with either, or want something much more expensive.

[Jim]

They are not comparable, the Larrivee is built to much higher standards in terms of raw materials and construction and they look and feel and sound that way. It would be like comparing real Guilds vs. Guild GADs, or Gibsons vs. Epiphones or Fender strats with Squier strats.

If you like the Eastmans that is great and I am a bit envious since you are able to buy your favorite guitars for a lot less than I am able to buy guitars that I appreciate since I strongly prefer the Larrivees which means I have to pay a much higher price to get the extra quality that I want.

[mrkpower]

Originally Posted by Jim

They are not comparable, the Larrivee is built to much higher standards in terms of raw materials and construction and they look and feel and sound that way. It would be like comparing real Guilds vs. Guild GADs, or Gibsons vs. Epiphones or Fender strats with Squier strats.

If you like the Eastmans that is great and I am a bit envious since you are able to buy your favorite guitars for a lot less than I am able to buy guitars that I appreciate since I strongly prefer the Larrivees which means I have to pay a much higher price to get the extra quality that I want.

used Larrivee could be an option!

[Mark E]

I've owned two Larrivees in the past, and just this week bought my first Eastman. The Larrivees were well built, played nice, and I really liked the maple binding. They both sounded good and were solid guitars. But if I had to choose between the two, I would pick the Eastman right now. There's someting special about this guitar, and I still can't believe I got it for the price I did.

[JJO]

Originally Posted by Jim

They are not comparable, the Larrivee is built to much higher standards in terms of raw materials and construction and they look and feel and sound that way. It would be like comparing real Guilds vs. Guild GADs, or Gibsons vs. Epiphones or Fender strats with Squier strats.

If you like the Eastmans that is great and I am a bit envious since you are able to buy your favorite guitars for a lot less than I am able to buy guitars that I appreciate since I strongly prefer the Larrivees which means I have to pay a much higher price to get the extra quality that I want.

I don't think this is really fair to Eastman -- Larrivees are better in terms of fit and finish and materials, and I completely understand that someone would like them better for a host of reasons, but the basic construction and workmanship on Eastmans is very high quality. Lumping Eastman in with the anonymous Asian factories making budget guitars for larger corporations along with their own branded lines (a la Cort or Saga) is just inaccurate -- Eastman is its own company, with its own facilities, and a long-standing background in violin-making that led it first into mandolins and archtop guitars and eventually flat tops as well.

Questions about environmental practices and wood sources are all of those issues are certainly relevant (and understandably, given the disregard for environmental issues historically shown by their government, Chinese companies deserve particular scrutiny on this, although North American companies are not exempt from these concerns either), but I do think that it's unfair to lump all Asian guitar makers together or to put a smaller, elite (for China) company like Eastman with a strong tradition and brand identity on the same level as the much larger conglomerates that don't really make their own lines but subcontract with other brands to put out lowest-common-denominator product as cheaply as possible.

[Ryler]

I own 2 Larrivees and an Eastman. But all three are different sizes, so the comparison isn't quite fair. My AC 308 is akin to the size of a Taylor GC. The Larrivee OM-03R is a little larger and the 00 is obviously smaller than both the others.

The Larrivee OM has more of a rich tone to it, but the Eastman has more bass. Noticeably so. But that bass rests on a boxier sound all and all. And even saying that, it's hard to call the tone of my Eastman boxy. For what I paid for it, I cannot flatter this guitar enough. The price differential between this particular Eastman (bought on Ebay NOS, though marketed as used) and my Larrivee (bought new) was much larger than the quality differential you might expect. But again, circumstances of purchase weren't apples to apples. The AC model is discontinued and the price reflected that.

To simply answer the question, I prefer the Larrivee tone. Oh, and the finish on my Eastman is very ding prone. That complaint from others has been born out for me, too.

[Watt]

What Jim is saying is that those of us who like Eastmans are poor ignorant saps who don't know any better. Great for us that we can be satisfied with such an inexpensive and presumably substandard instrument. Fact is, I also own an $8,700 custom made instrument, a deep body OM made from outstanding quarter sawn Madagascar rosewood, AAA Alpine spruce top, sort of plain jane but with a few nice touches like a subtle rope binding. The only guitar that I have ever played that was close to comparable was an exceptional Martin D-45. Both guitars are significantly better, in virtually every way, than my Eastman or any of the handful of Larrivees that I have played. Is the Eastman better than every Larrivee out there? I doubt it, but how would I know. I've only played a few and they did not speak to me. I am sure there are some great ones, though I suspect that none would supplant my OM. As far as I am concerned, when we are talking Larrivee and Eastman, we are not talking about the best instruments available. Period. They are both fine instruments for a fair price. Nothing more. As between the two, it's largely a matter of taste.

[gitnoob]

Originally Posted by Ryler

I own 2 Larrivees and an Eastman. But all three are different sizes, so the comparison isn't quite fair. My AC 308 is akin to the size of a Taylor GC. The Larrivee OM-03R is a little larger and the 00 is obviously smaller than both the others.

The Larrivee OM has more of a rich tone to it, but the Eastman has more bass. Noticeably so.

My experience is that a given Eastman generally has the bass and volume of the next-size-up Larrivee.

For example, an Eastman OM is pretty close to a Larrivee L-body in terms of bass and volume.

[mrkpower]

Originally Posted by Mark E <><

I've owned two Larrivees in the past, and just this week bought my first Eastman. The Larrivees were well built, played nice, and I really liked the maple binding. They both sounded good and were solid guitars. But if I had to choose between the two, I would pick the Eastman right now. There's someting special about this guitar, and I still can't believe I got it for the price I did.

Which model do you get?

[Mark E]

I got the E10D. I'm really enjoying it.

[TomRC]

I’ve only been playing a few years but the one thing I know for certain is that “sound assessments” are totally subjective. I don’t think there is any question that the Larrivee is built to higher standard and with better raw materials than an Eastman but I don’t think this makes it a necessarily better sounding instrument. I like my Larrivee LV-03 better than any guitar I’ve ever played, my dad loves his Eastman. We each like what we like end of story. When asking which is a better guitar you almost need to qualify the questions as to whether you are asking about build quality, fit and finish or sound quality because I don’t the two sets of criteria necessarily go hand in hand. I’ve played boutique guitars in the $3-$5k range that are no question built better than my Larrivee LV-03 with better hardware and fancier (labor intensive) finishes and inlays but I’ve yet to play any guitar that sounds better than my LV-03 to my ears..........note I said my ears. Sound is so subjective. Just look at how far apart Taylors and Martins are in terms of tone yet they each have a very loyal following most of whom who would not trade one for the other.

[pappy27]

Wow! I can't believe there are 96 people (as of this posting) that have experience with both brands.

Here in Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., you would be lucky to see a Larrivee (one dealer used to carry a few) and definetly no Eastman flattops.

Three years ago I had to mail order my Eastman, and nothing has changed about availability.

Did most people voting mail order their guitars or are both guitars that readily available for comparison? Definetly not the case here.

I didn't vote, as my brief encounter with one Larivee and my one Eastman purchase as I understood the question didn't constitute enough experience.

[Cue Zephyr]

I like both, have tried both, never owned either though.
I liked all of the (limited amount of) Larrivee's I've played. Not so for all the (less limited amount of) Eastmans I played. The Eastman that I really seem to like is the maple bodied GA-sized AC622.

[mstuartev]

Oooh Eastman is catching up!
Go Eastman, rah rah rah!