17" Eastman archtop sounds bright and steely

[Sigmund451]

Maybe you should make some quick recordings. Not so you can post them but so you listen back and get an idea of how you acutally sound. You are so used to really mellow sounds...it may sound perfect but very foreign to you. Take a step away and listen to the guitar...even a phone recording will give you a general idea.

Another obvious thing is to not sit where the speaker is beaming in your face. Even off 15 degrees will make a big difference in what you hear. The notes can be bright and overpowering if you are right in line with your speaker.

You may or may not have the ideal amp but any half decent amp can get you in the ball park.

[James Cosman]

Good advice. Thank you.

[jads57]

Unless you can find a great deal on a used hand carved Archtop. You should work with the Eastman and find the best solution for it.
Eastmans are great deals for the lower entry price point.

[jads57]

Unless you can find a great deal on a used hand carved Archtop. You should work with the Eastman and find the best solution for it.
Eastmans are great deals for the lower entry price point.

You also might consider installing a Humbucker in the top,if it’s possible?

[Sleeko]

Maybe you should make some quick recordings. Not so you can post them but so you listen back and get an idea of how you acutally sound. You are so used to really mellow sounds...it may sound perfect but very foreign to you. Take a step away and listen to the guitar...even a phone recording will give you a general idea.

Another obvious thing is to not sit where the speaker is beaming in your face. Even off 15 degrees will make a big difference in what you hear. The notes can be bright and overpowering if you are right in line with your speaker.

You may or may not have the ideal amp but any half decent amp can get you in the ball park.

Wouldn't this example cause a lot of feedback in certain situations?

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Do you mean the mic at the fret number 10th or 12th?
Impossible to use in a human situation, i dont know whats the use of that microphone there, probably takes more from the amp than the noise of the left hand on the fingerboard.

[KirkP]

I have a 2006 AR810CE with the original floater and no tone control. I’ve considered changing out to a Lollar JS pickup and adding a tone pot, but I’ve always managed without. I use D’Addario EJ21 round wound strings.

Rolling the volume pot to half volume or less (dialing up the amp’s volume accordingly) smooths out the pickup’s response, including the unwound strings. If I’m using a solid state amp, I’ll often use a Joyo American Sound pedal to warm up the tone.

The distance between pickup and strings as well as pole-piece height make a huge difference in tone, especially on the top strings. Have you tried pole-piece adjustments?

[Sigmund451]

Yes, rolling off half the volume on most eastman pots doesnt cut a lot of volume. Rolling off just a little does seem to impact the tone. I guess it engages the electronics gate so you get some impact without a big loss in volume. Plus most amps have plenty of power...just turn it up. I use my volume knob more for tone that I do my tone knob.

Its not a huge difference but between my Thomastik strings and Dadarrios I have noticed that the unwound D's are a little more metalic sounding than the Thomastiks. Its not night and day but the D's seems a hair more metalic sounding. It could be in my head but I dont think so. A couple of other members have observed this. Its subtle but all the small differences can add up (maybe).

I just grabbed a eq pedal and the extra tone controls let you center in more on specific frequencies. It may be worth your while. You can always buy one and if it doesnt help return it. Where I live Amazon is my preference because they allow easy and free returns if you dont abuse the policy.