Eastman AR605CE

**Retro1969** · 08-19-2017, 04:49 PM

So after reading up on the Eastman AR605CE here on the forum and finding a slightly used one on Reverb (made a low-ball offer and was accepted) I'm now an owner. I come from the acoustic flat top world and just venturing into Jazz. So this question is for those of you who play the 605. What is your preferred strings? My instinct is to go with what I put on my flat tops. D'Addario EJ17 Phosphor Bronze Mediums. Suggestions?

**rob taft** · 08-19-2017, 05:19 PM

I don't own the particular model but I own a couple of Eastman archtops as well as other brands. Sting choice depends on what kind of tone you favor i.e. Martin Taylor vs Wes Montgomery for example. From my experience all of the Eastman guitars I have played are on the bright side. If that is your tonal preference and you want to play this guitar as an acoustic guitar, your string choice will be fine. If you plan to amplify it via its floating pickup, I think you will find the tone very bright and unbalanced. Your pickup does not have adjustable poles so you are left with the raw sound of the pickup.

What I prefer on my Eastmans or for that matter all of my archtops with floating or built in pickups is either TI (Thomastik Infeld) roundwounds .12 or TI flats .12 both with a wound G.

**Rhythmisking** · 08-19-2017, 05:48 PM

Bronze acoustic strings on an electric are going to be problematic (unless you never plug it in) because of how bronze works electromagnetically -which is not very well. 'Electric' strings won't sound as good acoustically, but will sound MUCH better with better string to string balance electrically. If this is indeed a "bright" guitar, and you are intending to play it electrically, flatwounds will be less bright on the wound strings, but if the plain strings are still too harsh sounding, pure nickel strings will usually smooth that out. And you can't go wrong with TI's.

**gator811** · 08-19-2017, 05:57 PM

Not sure about the d'addarios, but most bronze strings are not designed to be used with a magnetic pickup - or rather you may find the that the heavier wound strings dont allow the core to work with the pickups magnetic field resulting in uneven output.
If you dont plan on using the pickup, no problem.

NB - I just read about DR Zebras which alternate bronze and steel winds giving the pickup more ferrous material to work with. Never tried them but could be a good compromise (Bronze just sounds so much better acoustically)

**rlrhett** · 08-19-2017, 08:26 PM

My acoustic archtops are different, being CF, but I really like a set of Curt Mangan Flatwound Stainless. It shouldn't work acoustically, but I really does. And the big bonus of being totally made for a Mag pickup. YMMV.

**dconeill** · 08-20-2017, 02:11 AM

Whether your pickup responds to bronze strings or not depends on the pickup. I have a Heritage Sweet 16 with a Benedetto-label Armstrong pickup, with no adjustable polepieces. I usually have used electric guitar strings (D'Addario EJ21, iirc) but on a whim I tried acoustic strings (D'Addario EJ16). To my surprise it worked fine, and was pretty balanced. I have since seen hints in various writeups that this pickup was designed to work with both steel and bronze strings.

I have no knowledge of the pickup on the Eastman.

But changing string type is a pretty easy and cheap experiment. Try some different strings and find out what you like.

**dconeill** · 08-20-2017, 02:12 AM

Originally Posted by rlrhett

My acoustic archtops are different, being CF, but I really like a set of Curt Mangan Flatwound Stainless. It shouldn't work acoustically, but I really does. And the big bonus of being totally made for a Mag pickup. YMMV.

"CF"? What's that mean?

**Retro1969** · 08-20-2017, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by dconeill

I have a Heritage Sweet 16 with a Benedetto-label Armstrong pickup, with no adjustable polepieces.

This Eastman has a Eastman-label Kent Armstrong pickup (HJGS-1) which is probably the same pickup you have. Thanks for the information!

**sgosnell** · 08-20-2017, 10:58 AM

rlhrett builds archtops with carbon fiber tops, thus the CF.

**AlohaJoe** · 08-21-2017, 04:39 AM

Nickel strings for magnetic pickups as others have said. PB strings on acoustic archtops are too bright IMO.

**furtom** · 08-21-2017, 12:11 PM

Yeah, a lot of guys will disagree with me, but as much as I like guitars with floating pickups, I always felt there is a design -- if not flaw -- then a shortcoming.

You have a nice top, perhaps carved thin and tap-tuned, so you want to hear the acoustic properties! But then you have a pickup and want a good electric sound... It's a problem of identity crisis.

There are a lot of different solutions that I've never tried, so maybe I'm wrong, but I always felt it was best to keep the two functions separate. Have a routed guitar for electric (and I love solid carved tops with a pickup route!) and an pure acoustic with bronze strings for the acoustic sound!

All you need is a D'Angelico and an L-5. Problem solved.

**tonyp145** · 08-21-2017, 03:16 PM

I'm partial to the D'Addario EJ21 set myself, it's 12-52 with a wound G but it's roundwound so you get a nice bright, fairly loud sound acoustically and they sound great electrically too. Plus they're dirt cheap. I have them on all 3 of my archies.

**Retro1969** · 08-23-2017, 10:25 AM

Based on the input received here and from several players that I consulted off-forum, I have ordered a set of the Thomastic-Infeld Swing 12s. I was torn between the flat wound and rounds but ultimately decided to try the flats first. Thanks everyone for the input and advice.

**Woody Sound** · 02-07-2020, 12:54 PM

Has anyone had any playing time on Eastman's 15" carved top, the AR605CE-15? I am looking for more of an acoustic archtop sound rather than a laminate sound. It has a single set in humbucker, which makes me wonder about its acoustic tone. (I have no interest in the 2-PU version.) I was looking at AR805's and AR605's but these days I prefer a slightly smaller guitar. I am not necessarily concerned about volume, but more the brighter acoustic tone.

**ESCC** · 02-07-2020, 01:32 PM

Thanks for posting this Woody as I too am curious about the AR603CE15. I own an Eastman AR910CE that I absolutely love and an ES175CC. I've had a jones for a 15" archtop with a set humbucker. I also like the idea of a mahogany back as per the 603.

**JSanta** · 02-07-2020, 02:42 PM

I had one of those for about a year (sold it to get an Eastman 7 string), and it certainly had that great woody tone. I played it 99% of the time unplugged and I really liked that guitar.

**RJVB** · 11-17-2021, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by rob taft

From my experience all of the Eastman guitars I have played are on the bright side.

Sorry for reviving such an old thread, but can someone put this into perspective? It's not the 1st time I've heard Eastman archtops described as such (the other term I remember is "nasal", which frankly put me off).

What kind of brightness (or nasal'ness...) are we talking about here, compared to a similar-sized spruce + maple flattop (say a Seagull mini-jumbo)?

**ccroft** · 11-17-2021, 10:21 PM

I can't compare to a flat top. Just wanted to say one man's 'Nasal' is another man's 'Articulate', which some describe as 'more acoustic'. It's like how one man's 'Warm' is another's 'Muddy'.

I love the sound of my Eastman with round wound nickels. I also have a heavier carved Lehmann with phosphor bronze that I love as well. Both guitars have the same pickup that can easily balance either type of string on any guitar. They're different both plugged and un-plugged in the same way.

You could describe the Eastman as 'brighter'. I would say I hear more ringing overtones and more 'air' in the sound than the other one. The heavier guitar has a more pronounced fundamental tone. More than anything, I think it's the thickness of the spruce tops, and maybe the bracing of these 2 that create the different tone. The Eastmans are modelled after the Benedetto style with a thinner top and X bracing. L5's for EG have thicker tops and parallel bracing. If you like the L5 sound you might have a tough time getting happy with an Eastman like mine.

I think the only way you're ever going to know what you think is to try one...somehow. Sounds like it might be difficult.

Hopefully someone will come along who has experience with a carved Eastman and a flattop such as you describe and can give a comparison that makes sense to you.

**RJVB** · 11-18-2021, 06:47 AM

Fortunately, liking the one sound doesn't mean you won't/can't like the other. You're right of course about trying, but also that it's going to be difficult. I wouldn't know of a store where I could within at least 100km from where I live.

A lighter top should mean that finger picking will be easier But even supposing the Loar LH-600 series does indeed have the heavier L5-inspired top it seems from certain videos I've seen that it's very responsive using what has to be a quite light picking hand - and all the way up the fretboard:

(use the whole thing!

)

If only the LH-600 didn't have that V neck I'd spring for one immediately...

**RJVB** · 11-18-2021, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by ccroft

I love the sound of my Eastman with round wound nickels.

Just to be clear, what model is that? This thread's AR605 or one with a maple back? I'm guessing a solid mahogany back would be a bit less bright, but I'm a bit concerned it might also be more compressed, giving a drier bass?

**seaguitar** · 12-27-2021, 01:52 PM

I have one of these AR605's from about 6 years ago and these are beautiful guitars. I replaced the mini floating pickup with a 12pole KA handmade and better CTS pots and the pickguard as well since the original came with a linear thumbwheel which I thought was noisy. I love the sound of mine. Not sure I would describe it as nasally at all. It has a nice brightness and sustain but the mahogany also gives it a darker sound. It's a great value for a carved spruce top with mahogany back/sides. It seems the prices on these have gone up substantially since I got mine. I run TI Flats don't remember the gauge. Will post a photo later.