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I have a 2006, purchased new. It looks just like yours. I love it acoustically or low volume amplified. At higher volumes I do better with laminated guitars with set-in humbuckers.
It still has the original no-tone-control wiring. I plan to install a tone control and hope that will make it easier to dial in at higher volumes. On the other hand, I might just keep using a laminate guitar for loud bands and the Eastman for solo & duo.
If your tailpiece is hinged, you should know it's likely to fatigue and break. Last year mine finally did. Eastman sent me a brand new hingeless tailpiece to replace it at no charge. Just send them an email with a photo of the existing tailpiece.Last edited by KirkP; 05-17-2017 at 01:17 AM.
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05-17-2017 01:11 AM
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How does the break happen, does the metal itself break from the tension of the strings or does the hinge become unattached? That is good to know - I have had no issues with mine though and have had some pretty heavy strings on it in the past.
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I own a Eastman 805 noncut from 2004 or 2005. The tailpiece broke after 2 or 3 years. This was apparently not too uncommon for Eastmans of the early years. However, the problem might not have been the tailpiece alone: The early cases were not heavily padded. Therefore the extension of the ebony of the tailpice over the rim of the body risked to get a hit from the case wall when handling the case a bit rough (whatever that means, my bad anyway). This hit in direction head stock adds to the pull of the strings and that is just too much for a short moment. My repairman added a bit more padding to the lower rim of the case, and the 2. nd tailpiece lasted. After another 10 years I changed to a metal (trapeze) tailpiece. I like it better for sound and looks. And I didn't like the idea to be very carefull with that extension of the old Tailpiece, as the guitar is heavily used.
Originally Posted by rio
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So I went through many different Eastmans 805CE,810CE,803CE, JP880, El Rey 2. All were basically excellent guitars, and were great values. My 810CE lasted the longest for me and would still have it except for having a custom built Elferink Tonemaster.
The Eastmans are basically built on the Benedetto school of archtop design. That being thinner tops and backs which have less mids in their overall sound. My suggestion is if you plan on keeping the 810CE change out the pickup to an American Kent Armstrong floating PAF or equal quality pickup. And upgrade the tuners as well.
Congratulations
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Fatigue cracks in the metal hinge. The guitar was flat, I tried to tune up and ... BANG! I think Eastman might replace the hinged tailpiece even if it hasn't broken yet. Originally Posted by rio
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Oh wow. I think I will write them to check that if I can find an address. Thanks for the info
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Mark Herring is very helpful. Originally Posted by rio
MHerring@eastmanstrings.com
Kirk
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I have a 2005 805ce #404 and cannot for the life of me get why people dog on those original pickups. Different and more $$ is not always better, and I've had experiences with more $$ sounding not as good. And as to the finish "issues" that were glorified on the web, I exclusively played my 805 in Florida for 10 years in a short sleeved shirt leaving the upper bout where my arm rested damp or wet with sweat. There is a circle of discoloration at this spot and small spot in the middle that is bare wood, just like you see and any non poly finished guitars.
That 810 is beautiful Longways, enjoy.
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A week and a half with the 810 and I am more and more impressed with this guitar. Acoustic tone is wonderful and loud enough to hang with the dreadnaughts at my weekly jam -- which is a pleasant surprise. I really didn't expect to enjoy playing this guitar acoustically as much as I do. Electric tone is great too -- I can't see any reason to mess with the Eastman pickup. This guitar has a lot more mojo and vibe than I expected. We are getting along really well.
I e-mailed Eastman and they are shipping a new tailpiece. Very nice to deal with!
Regarding the tuners, I misread Jinho as Gotoh . . .
Can you guys tell me is the Grover Super Rotomatic the correct replacement, and hopefully an easy drop in with no drilling or enlarging of holes?
One small negative: my 810 has a funky smell. Sort of chemically. I figure there are 3 possibilities:
1. the previous owner might have been a smoker? But I don't really think the guitar smells smokey.
2. the guitar finish is the source of the smell.
3. the case is the source of the smell. the guitar sat in the case for 10 years and it's the funky old plastic case that Eastman used to use, so I could see the case outgassing as a possibility.
It's not a big deal, I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks their Eastman has an odor . . .
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I have an 810 non-cutaway and purely acoustic. I'm very happy with the guitar, the acoustic sound is very satisfying and the neck works just great for me. I sing a lot of standards and such with this guitar and it never disappoints. I did have an issue early on where the original tailpiece broke loose at the bend but it was quickly resolved with no issues from Eastman. I've tried several types of strings and the ones I'm using now I'm kinda happy with, Martin Retro Monels.
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Longways,
The knock off Imperial tuners are absolutely fine, really no reason to change them unless one is obviously damaged. Granted my 805 spends the majority of time in my home with central AC; I can go days with hours of playing time and it doesn't budge out of tune.
Take your guitarout of its caseand leave it out. When you have a sunny day or 2-3 with 0% chance of rain, spray the inside of the case with Febreeze (?spelling) and leave it open in the sun on your back porch and you should be OK. You can also get some (I think it's called)" carpet fresh", sprinkle it in the case and leave it for a while the vacuum out.
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I would guess, without being there to smell things, that the case is the source of the odor. The cello-style case seals fairly tightly and keeps the outgassing from the foam and glue inside, and it has probably gotten inside the guitar. Leave the guitar out of the case for awhile, and leave the case open, outside if possible, and things should gradually freshen up. Baking soda can also absorb odors, but you need to be careful if you use it. Just put an open box in the case and close it for a week or so. If it spills it's not the end of the world, but it's messy. I would try just leaving the case open for a couple of weeks and see if it helps. If not, then you can start using products in it.
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The guitar has been on the stand a couple of weeks now and the smell is diminishing. Good point about opening the case to air out too! I suspect the case is the source -- probably a funky glue or maybe the foam . . .
Regarding the Martin Retro Monels, I'm interested in trying those out, but are they for acoustic or do they work with the magnetic pickup too?
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Congrats on the 810. I've been playing 910ce for 4 years and am very pleased with it, as stated earlier - plays above its price. I replaced the pickup with a Kent Armstrong 12 pole, I like it, but not convinced there is a significant difference.
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The monel strings work for electric. So do the D'Addario nickel bronze strings. But I don't find either significantly better than the standard D'Addario pure nickel strings for acoustic use.
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I have an Eastman 2009 AR610CE which is basically the same as the 810 but with solid mahogany sides and back (please correct me if I am wrong or if the body shape is indeed different in some way)
The original tuners (Jingoh) are stiff and feel damaged. Wondering if anyone knows about alternatives that can be dropped in without additional modification.
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Just wanted to share my chord melody/improvisation on one of my favorite standards (played on my Eastman AR810). I'd appreciate any and all criticism if you choose to listen to it. Thanks fellas
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Nice! Sounds good.
Your 810 looks great - very "vintage"!
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Thanks M-ster. This guitar has a hand-rubbed varnish as opposed to a spray finish like most. When I bought it, I was testing it back to back with an identical guitar with a nitro finish and this one felt way more alive.
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Wow that was nice I just got around to listening to this very good. Nice guitar sound.
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Bravo! Nicely done.
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Thank you for your informative post.
Last night I decided to work out with my El Rey I, a fine guitar, and found the tailpiece had snapped apart while in the case. Devistating!
I immediately sent off an e-mail to Eastman and expect a response appropriate for a quality guitar manufacturer.
Your experience with a replacement tailpiece (Eastman) will likely save me time and angst---I will order the Benedetto tailpiece and accept the non-original look of my
beautiful El Rey.
I can't get over the fact that Eastman put a third-rate tailpiece on a fine guitar. Go figure. Caveat Emptor!
Ron Vitarelli
Connecticut USA
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I still have the original hinged tailpiece on my 2005 AR805CE. (It's living on borrowed time?)
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It may well be a borrowed-time situation.
Incidentally, I own a number of fine Ibanez jazz guitars. One of their best is the AFJ 91. It, too, had one of those wood-appearing tailpieces, which, in reality was a piece of rosewood stuck on a brass hinge-like apparatus. It broke. Ibanez gave me a song and dance in response to my inquiry (I had registered the guitar) so I simply replaced it with a trapeze style that enhances the appearance and sound of the guitar.
Cutting corners is easy to do in areas not accessible to careful inspection.
Thanks for your response.
Ron
CT
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The tailpiece on my 2006 AR810CE snapped at the hinge in 2016. Originally Posted by DanielleOM
I called Eastman’s customer support line. They acknowledged that early tailpieces tended to fail. The sent me a new tailpiece at no charge with no hassle. The new design has a bend in the metal rather than a hinge. It works fine.
I recently noticed that even though that metal would seem to make a convenient grounding point for the strings, Eastman didn’t run a ground wire to it. That makes the instrument slightly more subject to EMI (electromagnetic interference). That’s only been a problem for me at one friend’s house, apparently due to a very noisy high voltage transformer on the street. I’ve been meaning to add a ground wire, but in the meantime I manage it by sitting at an angle that minimizes the noise and cutting the volume when I’m not playingLast edited by KirkP; 06-22-2019 at 11:28 AM.
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