Gibson, Eastman, or Ibanez ES-Style Guitar

[EllenGtrGrl]

Make mine a 16" body please.As for Gibson vs Ibanez vs Eastman - I've never owned an ES-335, but I did have a Heritage H535 (it was pretty decent, and the sound was good, but not better than my old Ibanez AS120 Artstar [which had Super 58 pickups]).

Eastmans - I LOVE the necks on Eastmans (my slope shouldered dreadnought is an E1SS, that has a wider than spec. neck, that sounds and plays great). Due to playing a lot of acoustic guitar over the past several years (my only "sort of" gig nowadays, is acoustic guitar at a local Catholic church [I'm playing tomorrow at 5 pm mass - this week I'll be using my Eastman E1SS]), I've grown very fond of wider and chunkier necks (I've played classical style [thumb behind the neck] for decades, and as a result, wider and thicker necks are more comfortable for me), and Eastmans have thicker necks, and some of their electric guitars also have necks wider than the typical 1.69" nut width necks that Gibson-style electrics have. Unfortunately, I can't afford a semi-hollow or hollowbody Eastman at the present time, so no Eastman for me.

Ibanez semi-hollows - well it depends. Quite a few of them have necks that are too thin for my liking, but with some careful searching, you can find a few that have a neck profile and thickness that works - and I found one recently. The neck thickness was at the lower limit for what I like, but combined with its modified C-shape neck profile, it worked for me. Also, its Super 80 pickups (that sounded as good as or better than the Super 58s my old Ibanez AS120 had), gave it great modern jazz tones, while allowing it to be a rock monster, when I want to be a heretic, and seriously dish out the dirt tones, resulting in me becoming the owner of an Ibanez AS93 Artcore Expressionist.

Photo isn't of mine (I really need to take new photos of my guitars)

[bustromo]

My only issue with Eastmans is the wide fretboard/nut feels pretty different than guitars I’m used to.

after getting used to the T59/V I tended to find the Gibson fretboard a touch too narrow. the Eastmans are all roughly similar fretboard width to my strats and my tele. Feels pretty comfortable to me. the different eastman models might vary a bit - I have the impression the T184 is a little bit narrower across the fretboard than the T59/V, the T64 and the Romeo.

You asked about the tone of the T184 vs the Ibanez AM200. I think the Ibanez pickups are wound a bit hotter. The bareknuckle humbuckers and the Ibanez SM58s both have a soulful mid-range forward sound. The SM58s sound much better on the AM200 than they did on a JSM100 I used to own. I think the brass nut on that guitar made them sound a bit too metallic and hollow.

[DustinG]

Bumping this. Any other thoughts/options?

Have any of you played a Seventy Seven Albatross?

[Gustavo Eiriz]

The key here , leave aside neck preferrences, is resonance. Being the 335 very muddy guitar in terms of resoonance it lacks something for jazz playing in my opinion. Sounds too electric.
Heritage (i have only heard one 335 style) sounded more woody and probably Eastman too... they use probably thinnier tops and this is more acoustic tone. Is a matter of taste, there is a reason why Gibson chooses that construction way, and it is not cost only.

[Lkdog]

I have had all of the usual suspects in Semi hollow 335 type models....probably about 20 over the past couple decades.

Heritage
Gibson
Eastman
Yamaha
Ibanez
Epiphone

All good really.
My keeper is a '64 Reissue Gibson ES 335. The Custom Shop Gibsons (58/59/61/63/64) are really good. Different neck shapes.
Usually in mid $3k to $4k range.

Newer Heritage H535 models are my next favorite and can be had under $2k used.

[Hammertone]

Bah, humbug!

[joebloggs13]

I've owned examples of all three. I still own Gibson. A Les Paul and an ES-335.

[DawgBone]

I sold my Gibson and kept my Edwards because it was just a better instrument though it was mostly in the playability department. They both sounded great. The slim taper on the Gibson always needed truss rod adjustments though, it was a pain. I would take an Edwards E-SA over an Eastman or Ibanez.

[Hammertone]

Bumping this. Any other thoughts/options?
Have any of you played a Seventy Seven Albatross?

You mean the Seventy Seven Exrubato, which is their copy of the ES-335. The Albatross is something else entirely.

[jim777]

The MIJ made Exrubatos have very full necks; great guitars but not a "slim C" profile. Possibly the JT series necks are thinner, I don't know. I eventually sold my AS-200 and kept my Tokai, which is basically a Gibson clone with zero issues.

[John A.]

MIJ Seventy Sevens also use the same nominal 24.75" scale-length that is actually 24.6" scale-length as Gibson. Most other brands (including Ibanez) use true 24.75" scale lengths. Eastmans are true 24.75" or 25", depending on the model. It's a subtle thing, but I do find it noticeable. Even though I like my D'Angelico EX DC a lot and think it sounds as good as any other semi, I do toy with replacing it with something that has a 24.6" scale and a chunkier neck to match (ish) my Seventy Seven archtop and my Les Paul. But I also think it's kind of silly to dwell on these tiny details and not worth the expense and hassle of the horse trading. 16" vs 14"? A few years ago I would have said 16". But I've come to like the LP size a lot, and I also recently tried a 339 that I really liked, so I'm not sure. So basically, my answer to the OP is ¯\_(?)_/¯.

[jim777]

Those Hofners are gorgeous!