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View Poll Results: Which brand do you like the most?
Eastman 137 36.44%
Larrivee 239 63.56%
Voters: 376. You may not vote on this poll

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  #61  
Old 11-14-2011, 12:40 PM
blaren blaren is offline
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Well...I have never put my hands on an Eastman. That doesn't stop me from adding my two cents though lol.
I'm one of those hypocrates who wants to do right by the environment but will buy the cheapest item I can find. I don't care where it's made.
I also consider myself a patriotic Canadian but if I can find a product that's cheaper and from China...I'll buy it over a Canadian made product every time (almost). Besides...most of the stuff I buy in Canadian stores is made in China anyway. ...as I sit here typing on a Chinese (probably?) made Dell computer. Maybe Malaysian.

I own a Stonebridge (Czech made) and a Stanford (China). I like Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, Guilds, Seagulls...but the price was right on the guitars I bought.

I have been trying acoustics in stores lately. I have picked-up several Larrivees to try (never SEEN an Eastman flat top in a store up here). The ones I happened to try (after trying Taylors, Martins, Gibsons and Morgans) were lower end satin finished plain boxes. I tried 3 or 4 of them in the past few months and EVERYTIME (and these were priced around $700 iirc) I was blown AWAY!
Blown away by the feel and the tone. They seemed more playable than the Taylors and louder and more dynamic than anything else I tried.

Everyone will hold and play a brand of guitars that just fits and feels RIGHT. I think Larrivees might be MY brand.
I don't know why I have this urge to buy all the Chinese gutars I keep reading raves about like BR, Eastman, Stanford etc...when I can buy one of those WICKED Larrys for cheaper.

I think a Larrivee is next on my list.

From my experience with Stanfords (I had 4 of them last month), if they are any indication of the quality work coming out of these small brand owned shops in China...well..they provide some competition for western builders and force them to put out top quality products.
All my Stanfords were very well built with top materials and they sound AWESOME. From what I hear, quality of other Chinese brands (Eastman, BR, Stanford, Guild GAD, Epi Masterbuilt, RK...) is equal to Stanford. If that's true the Eastmans are AWESOME (and according to reviews and soundclips..they ARE)...but if I can get a Canadian or US built guitar (Larrivee) for the same $ or even less than a Chinese import.....welllll I'd be silly....oops...look at me..I own a Chinese but no Canadian guitars.

Oh...I've tried several Seagulls, S&P, A&L and other Canadian made guitars. Larrivee just seems to be in a different league. I lump them in with Taylor, Gibson and Martin....not Seagull, Stanford and Easteban...I mean Eastman.

That's my unbalanced two cents. YMMV
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  #62  
Old 11-14-2011, 01:31 PM
gitnoob gitnoob is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomRC View Post
I don’t think there is any question that the Larrivee is built to higher standard and with better raw materials than an Eastman....
I'd be interested in hearing why people think this is so. How do you grade the quality of materials and build standards?

Larrivee is known for his wood selection, and I think that's well deserved. I have seen very few spruce tops on a Larrivee with run-out, for example.

But I'm equally impressed with Eastman's wood selection. Very little run-out, and they often have some very straight-grain rosewood, flamed mahogany, etc.

In terms of build standards, I believe Eastman does much more hand-work and there's much more labor input for each guitar, but both factories seem to produce consistently good guitars.

Personally, I'm glad we have both options. Sometimes I'm even glad Martin is making guitars too.
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  #63  
Old 11-14-2011, 07:41 PM
mrkpower mrkpower is offline
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Originally Posted by Ryler View Post
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.
oh, this thread is opening for you
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  #64  
Old 11-15-2011, 09:00 PM
Broadus Broadus is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gitnoob View Post
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.
That's pretty much my observation based upon the limited number of either brands I've played. I own an Eastman and owned two Larrivees.

My Eastman is among those with a fragile finish. Still, I bought it as NOS for an excellent price in early '09.

If I could have my desire, it would be the Larrivee L's sound in a Larrivee OM body. My Eastman OM satisfies my ear better than a Larrivee OM because it has more of the bass that a Larrivee L offers.
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  #65  
Old 11-16-2011, 03:02 PM
RAD3 RAD3 is offline
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It may be that Eastman has improved the durability of their finishes on later models. I've had my early 2011 AC312 for about five months now and the finish is holding up well. I had Steve at Gianna's put a standard sized pick guard on mine since I'm mainly a strummer/cross picker for now but the area below the guard where my Potomac dred is showing a good deal of scratching (from pick "overrun" :0) ) is unmarked on the eastman.
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  #66  
Old 11-16-2011, 03:15 PM
Rosewood99 Rosewood99 is offline
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I've had my Eastman AC412 since July and haven't had any problems with the so called delicate finish. I will say that guitar is very light but I think that's a plus.
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  #67  
Old 11-16-2011, 10:06 PM
billder99 billder99 is offline
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I love Larrivee, especially the L body, but they are all heavy in my hands (I have owned several Larrivee's and played about 100 of them). The Eastman's in general are light as a feather (and now have a slope D). Side by side comparing equal specs you will find them very equal (though different) in tonal quality, but with the firmly established consistency of the Traditional series my vote now goes to Eastman.

PS: The Eastman E10P blows away the Larrivee parlors... no comparison.

Last edited by billder99; 11-24-2011 at 07:07 AM.
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  #68  
Old 11-17-2011, 12:10 AM
veggieryan veggieryan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billder99 View Post
I love Larrivee, especially the L body, but they are all heavy in my hands. The Eastmans are light as a feather (and now have a slope D). Side by side, comparing equal specs, you will find them very equal in tone.

PS: The Eastman E10P blows away the Larrivee parlors... no comparison.
I agree about the E10P and feel the same about the E10D... the tone is... dare I say it.. iconic.. its so good that I think you will soon find other manufacturers copying them... the 25" scale... the light finish.. the aggressively scalloped bracing.. the choice tone woods... imagine that... copies of chinese guitars... the ole dipsy do... its scary.
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  #69  
Old 11-19-2011, 12:06 PM
momanbilly momanbilly is offline
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Default Eastman Wins

I have played quite a few Larrivee and many many Eastman guitars.
You will often read the Larrivee guitars being described as possessing an elegant or subtle tonal quality. To me, there is no comparison, the Larrivee is so subtle that it is boring, no subjectivity applicable here.

Larrivee guitars are smooth, elegant, great balance, but playing a Larrivee brings out the FULL RANGE OF SPARKLE in the Eastman rosewoods and mahogany guitars.

I would say comfort and playability are equal, I don't know anything about guitar quality, and Eastman tone leaves Larrivee back in the dust.

I read a post recenty that submitted that you must go up a couple notches in the Larrivee guitars, to match the tonal quality of an Eastman. That statement has some merit and then we might say that one's preference is subjective, and then, even still, comparing say a Larrivee L-09R to an Eastman AC 722 (both Rosewood and both like a mini jumbo size, slighty smaller than a dred), the tone quality to me is still strongly favoring the Eastman. I do care about cost, but, cost nor quality (within certain extreme limits) will not stop me from buying thee guitar I want. To me, it's all about tone, so I vote Eastman, regardless of cost. That being said, the Larrivee L-09R cost about twice what the cost of the Eastman AC 722 costs.

Last edited by momanbilly; 11-24-2011 at 04:05 AM. Reason: typos
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  #70  
Old 11-19-2011, 12:13 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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momanbilly

I agree... the majority of Larrivees I have played , with one exception, were polite and without distinction. I prefer the Eastmans for character.

I am thinking the 90 degree x bracing on the Larrivee is their signature blandness. Not bad, just bland.

A few years back a local Martin, Taylor, Larrivee store dropped Larrivee and replaced it with Eastman.
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  #71  
Old 11-19-2011, 02:44 PM
el_kabong el_kabong is offline
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Default Eastman E10D vs Larrivee L-03

Finally got a chance to make a somewhat apples to apples comparison here and, for my money, I'd do the L-03 all day long. I was really hoping to love the Eastman as I've found several adirondack topped guitars to really work for me. But, alas, it was not the case. The L-03 was high-stepping all over the Eastman's dead you-know-what. JMHO
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  #72  
Old 11-24-2011, 04:17 AM
momanbilly momanbilly is offline
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Cool Eastman Momentum

There is another concept here, which favors the Eastman guitar. Eastman is obviously the underdog here as most readers of this forum know. Larrivee is a much more established name in guitars. Consider that even just 2 or 3 years ago, the vote would have been something like 85% Larrivee and 15% Eastman. Half of my point is, that Eastman guitars have only been recently discovered AND humans tend to be loyal creatures, our need for stability and security result in our being hesitant to change. But wow, look at this pole. Eastman guitars are GAINING CONVERTS probably (I have no hard data) at a rate 10 times faster than Larrivee.

At theunofficialblueridgeguitarforum.com you will find that there is a pattern: folks are trading and selling Larrivee, Martin, Blueridge and others to buy Eastman and they will have extra left over cash to take mama (the guitar-acquisition-inhibitor) out for some pasta. (I'm not claiming folks are now using their Martins for firewood.) The more signiificant question is not which guitar is most favored, but which guitar maker has the greater momentum (new converts per month). And then ask yourself, why is this so? Pretty cool analysis, hah?

You're Welcome...


Last edited by momanbilly; 11-24-2011 at 04:40 AM. Reason: improvement
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  #73  
Old 11-24-2011, 06:28 AM
billder99 billder99 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Side Man View Post
Geez... couldn't find my reading glasses for a couple of minutes; at first glance I thought this poll was "Esteban vs. Larrivee"...
HAH! The very definition of LOL
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  #74  
Old 11-24-2011, 06:56 AM
billder99 billder99 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mstuartev View Post
Oooh Eastman is catching up!
Go Eastman, rah rah rah!
Stuart, is that you playing and singing on Soundcloud as Papawheelie? Outstanding, great songwriting. I loved the drone of Titanic... perfect tone for a story of disaster, blues voice but not blues meter and rhythm.

PS: Turbodog is a mighty sturdy looking commuter.
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  #75  
Old 11-24-2011, 06:59 AM
strings4him strings4him is offline
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The percentage seems to have stayed the same:

67% prefer Larrivee

33% prefer Eastman

Pretty conclusive to me
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