New Eastman AR37CE in the house!

[RetroSound]

so about eight months ago I sold a 1954 ES 175 I had because I just wasn’t playing it that much and had been focused on country since I was playing with a country artist. in a weak moment, I sold the guitar to procure some other gear and have lived to regret that decision. not the first time, likely won’t be the last. so now, looking to resume my submersion into the jazz guitar world, I was faced with needing another hollowbody. A quick look at the prices of vintage / used custom shop ES-175’s told me that that was not currently an option. So after some research here, on other forums and trusty old YouTube, I kept coming back to the same thing… Eastman Guitars. So many people seemed to be raving about the quality and the bang for the buck. So I reached out to my Sweetwater guy and he made me an incredible deal that I just couldn’t pass up so I decided to try the AR372ce. Now I realize it’s not an exact copy of an ES-175 but at least in this season of my jazz guitar journey, it’s certainly close enough! I think it sounds great and it looks stunning. If I look really close with a critical eye, I can find some very small cosmetic issues, but for the price, nothing that can’t easily be overlooked. And honestly, I’ve seen the same tiny imperfections on guitars made here in the US that cost five times as much. After putting some flatwound strings on it and setting it up to my preference, I am so very pleased with this guitar! Having owned pretty much everything out there from the big names as well as the vast majority of boutique guitars, I can tell you that I’m absolutely at a loss for how they could produce guitars this nice at this price point. If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not to take the plunge, I can only say that if my Eastman is any indication of the quality of the work they typically do, you have nothing to worry about. I recorded a sound clip as well that’s linked so you can hear it.

Eastman AR372ce solo jazz guitar! - YouTube

[Jx30510]

Beautiful guitar !
I'm in the same situation as you. Sold my last jazz guitar a few years ago (a high end Tokaï ES 175 copy) and regret not having one anymore.
I can play my "jazzy" things on every guitar I own, but I miss the archtop bouncy dynamic feel.. nothing else can touch that. Pretty sure I'm going to buy an Eastman at this point.
Maybe an AR403, or 405.. the AR372-P90 is also very appealing..

[nyc chaz]

I've played most of the Eastman line and to my ears the 480 is the one that comes closest in sound to a 175.Those 372's are really nice guitars,especially for the money.Enjoy my friend.

[Cunamara]

I tried the one pickup version of this guitar quite a few years ago. I liked the wide neck and the feel of the instrument. It was stupidly easy to dial in a great jazz tone just with rolling the volume down a touch and rolling the tone knob off to taste, just to round out the top end of the sound a little bit. It was a nice instrument. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come!

[jads57]

Now if they would just offer a Fatter Historic Gibson 59 shaped neck!

[TOMMO]

I have an AR 372 CE and although I don't have much hands-on experience with fully hollow arch top guitars (I'm an ES 335 type of guy), I'd still say that it is a great guitar.
Had mine custom ordered in natural back then.

[RetroSound]

I tried the one pickup version of this guitar quite a few years ago. I liked the wide neck and the feel of the instrument. It was stupidly easy to dial in a great jazz tone just with rolling the volume down a touch and rolling the tone knob off to taste, just to round out the top end of the sound a little bit. It was a nice instrument. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come!

The neck does feel really good the pickups sound great to me! Thanks!

[RetroSound]

I have an AR 372 CE and although I don't have much hands-on experience with fully hollow arch top guitars (I'm an ES 335 type of guy), I'd still say that it is a great guitar.
Had mine custom ordered in natural back then.

the natural looks stunning!

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Construction quality of Eastman is excellent.they are lighter weight than Gibsons, and thats what makes the difference in amplified tone. But that kind of extra brightness can be effectively compensated with the tone knob. As with L5 wes and the double pickup version, the tone knob compensates well, you wont get a muddy sound after rolling it back a little.