Eastman T146SM Thinline

**heavyblues** · 06-13-2010, 02:14 AM

I will get back to the forum once I receive it. Anybody here have one?? I'm really excited. Here's a pic...

**goshawk** · 06-13-2010, 05:11 PM

Don't have one, but demo'd one and liked it alot. I would have bought it, but I got a better deal on an El Rey, which I liked just as much. I find the Eastman necks fast and quite comfortable.

Acoustic tone is actually surprisingly nice; electric tone is excellent.

**bustyman100** · 06-14-2010, 09:16 AM

Yep, great looking guitar you got there, heavyblues. May I ask who you ordered it from?

On a related note, do you guys know where I can find a list of Eastman dealers? I tried googling for a dealer list but the eastmanmandolins.com website seems to be a WIP.

I recently moved to Hong Kong to work and study. I had a look around the local music retailers and the only archtops they sell are Gibbies and Ibanezes.

I would have thought that they would be getting at least some Eastman guitars, seeing as how Hong Kong is right next to the PRC.

**heavyblues** · 06-14-2010, 03:50 PM

i ordered it from Soundpure.com. Here are some good and bad(?) things about ordering from them.

the good:

1) new in the box, not a display or "tested" model
2) they seem to really care because they said they won't ship on weekends so that the instrument does not stay in a wharehouse over the weekend due to the risk of weather changes.
3) if you look closely each item says, "need a lower price, ask for email quote". And of course the email quote is always lower, which is nice. But you no longer get free shipping if you use this option, but its still cheaper overall.
4) they called me to confirm the order which i thought was nice.

the bad?
1) 15% restocking, and you pay for shipping cost both ways!

They have plenty of eastmans. Check them out!

I will receive the guitar this friday or saturday, and then I will leave my first impression "review" here.

**derek** · 06-14-2010, 04:00 PM

The restocking fee + shipping is pretty standard really. You get hit with the same if you ordered from Musician's Friend, but they don't carry Heritage.

A fairly small price to pay to have an instrument you want in your home to play/test out for a week.

**haden olmsted** · 06-18-2010, 02:36 AM

did you order the model with just the neck pickup? Im thinking about getting on, although Im torn between that and an es 335. I play jazz/blues/funk/fusion type stuff so Im wondering how this guitar will handle that kinda stuff. Let me know what you think for jazz and fusion.

**heavyblues** · 06-18-2010, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by haden olmsted

did you order the model with just the neck pickup? Im thinking about getting on, although Im torn between that and an es 335. I play jazz/blues/funk/fusion type stuff so Im wondering how this guitar will handle that kinda stuff. Let me know what you think for jazz and fusion.

I got the model with just the neck pickup. Is that what you planned on getting? By the way I love jazz fusion, but do you mean a driven sound? I can test with my overdrive and fuzz pedals and delay and whip something up for you if you want. I can record and link you to something. Can you describe to me how you plan on altering the tone, or maybe you play fusion type music clean I suppose.

The guitarist for Christian Scott has an ES-335 I believe, check it out on Youtube you might like it. I love that driven tone. I'll PM you once I get the guitar on Monday.

**haden olmsted** · 06-18-2010, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by heavyblues

I got the model with just the neck pickup. Is that what you planned on getting? By the way I love jazz fusion, but do you mean a driven sound? I can test with my overdrive and fuzz pedals and delay and whip something up for you if you want. I can record and link you to something. Can you describe to me how you plan on altering the tone, or maybe you play fusion type music clean I suppose.

The guitarist for Christian Scott has an ES-335 I believe, check it out on Youtube you might like it. I love that driven tone. I'll PM you once I get the guitar on Monday.

I wasnt sure which model id prefer. i was leaning toward the model with just the neck pup. As far as fusion goes, im talking about everything from scofield to mclaughlin and di meola and return to forever stuff. Most people would say to lean toward a 335 for that stuff, but i also play just jazz too, so If i can kill two birds with one stone, that works. i have a PRS custom 24 that covers pretty much everything else, just looking for a good jazz and fusion ax.

**tonedeaf** · 06-19-2010, 11:41 PM

Just ordered one of these. Look forward to a glowing review.

**heavyblues** · 06-22-2010, 04:09 AM

I just spent a while writing a review and then hit the back button. omg. i really don't want to retype everything again....

bottom line is: I highly recommend this guitar!! (caveats: ) Out of the box action was high and there were two small nick like imperfections in the finish and the bridge wasn't set right(read on). To spare me the duty of writing a full review, you can talk to me if you are considering this guitar. I might sway you to consider this over a full hollowbody, as I find that all the resonance and "bark" of a full hollowbody is in this guitar and its only 1.75 inches deep and veery light. I would definitely take this over the AR810 because of this.

Service was great, the bridge was bent forward and I called Eastman and they are shipping me a free bridge (lifetime warranty). However, I easily fixed it myself by sanding part of the bridge. I fixed the action problem by doing that and tweaking the truss a little. Sanding part of the bridge can't be noticed at all. Your guitar tech would have to do that anyway for a setup.

I really recommend this guitar. I won't bother writing more unless you have questions. You can always PM me and I can make you a recording if you want to hear it with an accompaniment or dry.

I'm tired of playing a "box" and I found that this guitar was definitely NOT lacking in hollowbody tone. No soundblock is one reason why.

By the way, I love my jazz strat so I am keeping that but this is more of the real deal in a sense. Still its apples and oranges comparing strat to hollowbody...so if you want a strat/tele, go for it.

Could not be happier with this guitar. My G.A.S is spent, I am looking no further for another guitar. Again, I recommend getting this over a full hollowbody Eastman. It's just so comfortable and light and it still has that hollowbody sound, don't worry about that!

**shoome** · 06-22-2010, 04:23 AM

Sounds great! I was looking into this guitar too, but after testing for several days I went for another one (höfner). The Eastman T146SM really is a nice guitar and I can recommend it too!

@OP: Do you have any photos of your new baby? (besides the stock-photos already posted

)

**heavyblues** · 06-22-2010, 04:25 AM

Originally Posted by haden olmsted

I wasnt sure which model id prefer. i was leaning toward the model with just the neck pup. As far as fusion goes, im talking about everything from scofield to mclaughlin and di meola and return to forever stuff. Most people would say to lean toward a 335 for that stuff, but i also play just jazz too, so If i can kill two birds with one stone, that works. i have a PRS custom 24 that covers pretty much everything else, just looking for a good jazz and fusion ax.

As for fusion, I didn't play with my Sparkle Drive settings that long, but I quickly noticed that when you drive this baby the chords resonate and last a long time! Sounds really mean. I have to get back to you on that, but its best for me to just record the guitar with different tone/drive settings and upload it so you can hear it. Now, I don't have Scofield/McLaughlin/Meola's amp so it would be hard so if it has the sound you are looking for.

**JazzVocab** · 06-24-2010, 06:46 PM

I've had one of these for a few years now and I love the guitar! I've got a vid here

I have the 2 p/up version and like you say, got the nice 'open' archtop sound but without the depth so very comfortable to play on a strap.

**blue_lu** · 04-14-2020, 12:56 PM

Hey people I searched the internet for more info about this guitar but couldn't find to much about it besides a couple of threads / posts on this forum and some older youtube videos.

I am wondering how this guitar liked by its owners. I really like the concept. I wonder how the Lollar sounds in this - as I gathered it - rather bright instrument. I wonder about the neck - I like 44mm nudwith - but I like fat necks, like 59 LP profile.

Also I wonder about the playability and the weight (looking for something leightweight that still isn't neck heavy).

Thanks for any Info and or links. The guitar isn't cheap, after all. But I wonder why it isn't more popular. Looks perfect on paper...

**jads57** · 04-14-2020, 02:10 PM

So I've owned as well as played lots of Eastmans. I only found 3 with the larger fatter neck profile. And even then it was say .90 at 1st fret all the way to the12th fret. The necks also tend to be wider at 1&3/4" width on most models as well.
But some of the newer solidbody models and Romeo model show the 1&11/16ths spec.

I played an older version of this model,and they are excellent instruments. They kind of remind me of the Gibson ES-125 model guitar. But with a slightly different take on them .
I've heard you can Custom Order an Eastman model, but never have tried Best of luck in your search!

**sgosnell** · 04-14-2020, 02:20 PM

I haven't played a T146, but I do own a T145, which is pretty much the same guitar but with a 15" lower bout. IMO it's a great guitar, especially for the money. It's very comfortable to play, and surprisingly loud acoustically. Not a great acoustic tone, because the bass is somewhat diminished by the thin body, but not bad. The nut width is 45mm, a nominal 1/75". If you can't accept that you need to look elsewhere. It's also relatively thin, but not excessively so. I really like mine, but not everyone will.

**blue_lu** · 04-15-2020, 03:24 AM

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The comparison to the es125 sounds compelling.

**BigMikeinNJ** · 04-17-2020, 08:04 PM

I found a T146smd (Spruce top, Maple back, Double pickup) on eBay that J.Hale music had installed Seth Lovers in. It was the violin finish. I liked it because I could sit on the porch steps playing acoustically and hear it ok. I don’t think they’ve made these for some time. Early models had cheaper sounding pickups in them. You see them pop up on eBay and Reverb from time to time. They hold their value. Expect to pat $1200.00 to $1800.00nforv blonde.

Edit: I just took,a look on Reverb and there’s a 2019 up, quite a few to pick from and asking prices are higher.