Got my Eastman 810ce

teamster · #1 01-30-2012, 11:53 AM

Hi everyone got myself an Eastman 810ce last week.
Pickup and guard are off for abit, as some refurbishment is needed.
Sounds nice with great build quality, I would have liked to get a
Gibson Johnny Smith but I'd be saving for years.
Here are a few pics

Anandbhat · #2 01-30-2012, 07:33 PM

Beautiful! Enjoy!

Retroman1969 · #3 01-30-2012, 08:41 PM

Gorgeous!

Keira Witherkay · #4 01-30-2012, 09:11 PM

looks awesome ...congrats

Norman931 · #5 01-30-2012, 09:41 PM

Congrats from a fellow 810 owner! These are wonderful instruments!

modsupremo · #6 02-02-2012, 10:09 AM

Great stuff! Congratulations! Have fun!

marshall · #7 02-02-2012, 08:41 PM

Beautiful guitar! May it bring you joy.And it is nice to have a Brother Teamster here

teamster · #8 02-02-2012, 08:51 PM

Hi folks,
Thanks for the positive comments, Been playing the 810 regularly
and have got over the new guitar syndrome, So being totally objective--
this guitar is pretty darn great acoustically(still working on pickup and guard).

Quite nicely made and finished, the interior is as flawless as the exterior.
Produces goood volume with a pleasent voice and this is with flats---
DAddario Chromes I'm thinking.This weekend I might change to bronze
or sumpthin to better enjoy the acoustic realm.

Pickguard attachment should have been engineered better as this weak
link has left me non-electric, I'll get it sorted, but there's room for improvement
in this spot.

The supplied case is a fiberglass Cello style thats a perfect fit. A bit of
a departure from the tolex covered plywood we all love but I'm sure it'll be fine.

I got mine used, it was made in 2008 so maybe it's sound has opened up,
also original owner changed machines to gold bean Grovers which is a plus.
All in all very happy with it, frankly if those 18" Eastmans appear I'd
have a go at one of those in a few years.

Back to the fretboard,
Cheers

Rick Kay · #9 02-03-2012, 06:24 AM

Beautiful looking guitar! Enjoy!!

Norman931 · #10 02-03-2012, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teamster

Hi folks,

Pickguard attachment should have been engineered better as this weak
link has left me non-electric, I'll get it sorted, but there's room for improvement
in this spot.

Cheers

Did something break or come unglued?

teamster · #11 02-03-2012, 08:13 PM

Yep Norman, the wee block that is glued to the pickguard
and is screwed into the side of the neck has split, and been
repaired twice by previous owner, honestly he did a crummy job
so this time it'll get done correctly as I'll do it myself. Also the pickup
wire has seperated from the guitar so some soldering will be necessary.
Lastly some of the perimeter binding of the pickguard has seperated
and has to be put right.

None of this was a deal breaker for me, obviously, since I bought it.
I'm gonna fix it soon as work slows down maybe even build a new one
cause I'm interested in a 12 pole Kent Armstrong, but maybe thats just a pipe dream

Reality is a couple hrs and it's fixed, just enjoying it acoustically for now.

Cheers

PTChristopher · #12 02-03-2012, 08:33 PM

Congrats. I assume that is the burst front, and "classic" back and sides finish - the coolest from Eastman in my opinion.

The PG block design is pretty classic, but yeah - prone to split with pan head screws driving the wedge into the ebony block.

Great guitar and glad you got it.

Chris

rio · #13 02-03-2012, 08:40 PM

Hey man,

Nice looking guitar! I'm probably 15 minutes across the river from you in Jersey - good to add more Eastmans to the locale.

I have an 805ce and ended up putting on a 12 piece KA. It was an older model, so it has a different pickguard on there which has never given me an issue, but I wasn't quite satisfied with the tone. So I switched out the stock, put on a pickup from an old Ibanez GB-10. SOunded good but lost the acoustic tone. Swapped that out for an old 90's Benedetto pickup, but that was almost a bit too acoustic sounding. Settled on the KA 12 pole and kept it that way, sweet sound and good ability to use whatever strings I want due to the adjustable poles.

Speaking of strings, been through what seems like all of them. Settled on a custom gauged set of Newtone archtop strings. Good acoustic sound without sacrificing that electric sound so many of us are going for.Gauged them to be like a set of Thomastic Bebops, cause they are cheaper but still pure nickel double wrapped.

Anyhow, hope you like it and are having a blast!

Paul

kamlapati · #14 02-03-2012, 09:02 PM

What kind of PU are you going for? I have a Lollar Johnny Smith on one of my L-5's... it will make you forget that Gibson JS you were longing for.

NSJ · #15 02-03-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamlapati

What kind of PU are you going for? I have a Lollar Johnny Smith on one of my L-5's... it will make you forget that Gibson JS you were longing for.

Interesting. Please tell me more of this comparison between the old Gibson JS with the Lollar JS pickup. How differently do they sound? What does the Lollar have that the Gibson brand lack?

There's a company in the Netherlands that also makes replicas of the DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1100 pickup. I wonder fi any one's tried that? I forgot the name of the Dutch company.

teamster · #16 02-04-2012, 08:12 AM

Hey Kamlapati, not really lookin for specific sound just thinking if I'm
gonna build a new pickguard might as well install a new pickup I'll keep
the lollar in mind. I really wont forget about the Johnny Smith as I owned
a '63 for a decade -I miss it.

NSJ here is a link to the Dutch DeArmond copy -- Statler Pick-ups by
Welcome to Jazz-Guitar.com

Hi Rio, and neighbor, I'll take a look round for those Newtone strings.
thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers.