New guitar: Eastman T-145SM

M-ster · #1 10-24-2011, 04:55 PM

This past Saturday was new guitar day at my house. After various posts and other exposures, I ended up with one of Bernunzio's T-145SMs. And, who else can I share this with, besides you guys???

merritt stone · #2 10-24-2011, 05:15 PM

NICE! Beautiful finish, and that flame is gorgeous.. I love the Eastman T's.

M-ster · #3 10-24-2011, 05:22 PM

The first two photos are 2 of the 21 (of 3 different guitars) that "Robbie" at Bernunzio's sales counter sent me while I was deliberating. Both Robbie and owner, John, were very patient with me.

The 3rd photo is the Eastman case, which I had never seen prior to obtaining this instrument. Seems decent, and is shaped a bit like a cello case, given the narrow neck. There's no internal compartment, though, unlike many of the guitar cases with which you may be familiar.

The last two photos are of the guitar in its new home. It is much more attractive than I could discern from the Bernunzio photos; but, unfortunately, my two don't do it justice, either.

My impressions, so far: I assumed rightly that 15" was the right size for me, and I'm happy with that selection. The guitar is quite light and is very comfortable to play. The neck feels good, but the fingerboard is quite flat (larger radius) and is wider than I'm used to. I don't dislike it, but I'm not sure I would continue to buy this neck-width. Time will tell.

The guitar supposedly received a setup prior to shipping, and I believe the strings were new and the neck had been adjusted. Of course, then it was shipped, detuned considerably, so some of the finer setup points may have been lost. When I tuned it up and had played for quite a while, I noted that the intonation was off (bridge needs to be repositioned slightly), and there are a few frets that are not seated well on one side or the other (i.e., low E side vs. high E) that cause notes fretted one fret back to buzz against the slightly raised, unseated frets. At the moment, I note 2 frets on the low E and 1 on the high E side that need to be re-seated. So, I need some additional setup work to get the guitar completely there.

It does sound nice direct-in to my DAW, and I think I'm going to be happy with it, overall, once I've tweaked it up a bit.

mr. beaumont · #4 10-24-2011, 05:28 PM

I've said it before, Eastman's "voilin" finish is seriously sexy.

NSJ · #5 10-24-2011, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I've said it before, Eastman's "voilin" finish is seriously sexy.

I've noticed that the finish on my El Rey is a tad too thin. I wonder if this an issue for Eastman guitars in general?

Drifter · #6 10-24-2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I've said it before, Eastman's "voilin" finish is seriously sexy.

Very much so, indeed. Great looking guitar, congrats, M-ster. Although the fret issue would bug me a little.

mark105 · #7 10-24-2011, 06:35 PM

Nice, I'm fond of that finish as well.

M-ster · #8 10-24-2011, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drifter

... Although the fret issue would bug me a little.

I was wary of "thin finish" and "sloppy fretwork" from other Eastman-related posts. But, to be honest, the guitar has mostly exceeded my expectations. I considered making a fuss and returning the guitar because of the fretwork, but at this point I believe that, with just a little more attention, this will be a very worthwhile instrument.

I'll report back if it turns into a nightmare!

Jazzpunk · #9 10-24-2011, 08:50 PM

Looks sweet. Congrats!

AlohaJoe · #10 10-25-2011, 12:44 AM

Congratulations. The wood looks really nice and the color is great! I like the 15" aspect too. How does the neck feel front to back?

Pierrot · #11 10-25-2011, 01:23 AM

Congratulations! One of the best guitar formats, IMO. Enjoy it!

mangotango · #12 10-25-2011, 04:08 AM

Oh now that's a lovely looking guitar - hope that it sounds as good as it looks!!

Wish you well to play it.

RoyaleT · #13 10-25-2011, 04:09 AM

Beautiful guitar, congratulations, enjoy.

M-ster · #14 10-25-2011, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlohaJoe

Congratulations. The wood looks really nice and the color is great! I like the 15" aspect too. How does the neck feel front to back?

Thanks, everyone!

AlohaJoe, the neck depth feels very good, to me. I've seen some comments about some Eastmans having a pretty shallow D-shape (i.e., not much depth between back of neck and fretboard), and Robbie (at Bernunzio's) remarked that this instrument had a slightly chunkier neck than the others I was comparing. Really, I noticed the fingerboard width and relative flatness straight away, but the neck depth felt fine from the beginning.

I'm sure it's so subjective that I'm not providing you much information, but that's all I can do.

bluewaterpig · #15 10-28-2011, 09:36 AM

Any way we could get a video or sound clip? I'm curious as to how "big" the thinlines sound.

M-ster · #16 10-28-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewaterpig

Any way we could get a video or sound clip? I'm curious as to how "big" the thinlines sound.

A reasonable request, and one I might have made, myself. I will try to accommodate ...