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Hi everyone,
well I really really wanted to love the AR371 that I bought new in 2012. And I did use it quite a lot. Acoustically it was nice unplugged, the feel was balanced and even, the notes had a pleasing sound. But, it had a re-occurring problem that I need to get fixed at least once every six months: 12th fret buzz. Every time the climate changed the wood shifted and I had to get a luthier to make adjustments. He told me it was a rise in the wood of the neck and it would need a reFret if I really wanted to get rid of the problem. So I sold it (along with several other things) and got a '53 Gibson Es175. I should have just saved myself the headaches and planned my money better earlier. Not to say that when the Eastman was working well that I liked it, and it did sound good. But damn. Maybe I got a lemon....it just seemed that everytime I wanted to use it for a gig or concert, I had to take it in to get rid of that annoying buzz..and each time it cost me about $30-$50.
it did have the green tint to it under fluorescent lights. But the design was quite Gibson-like, and the neck was thinner than what I have now on my Gibson. Just be sure to try it out before you buy. I got mine from a music store who ordered from an Eastman distributor. So I only tried it out for about 15 min before I bought it.
chipLast edited by Chip4274; 09-18-2016 at 10:36 PM.
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09-18-2016 10:33 PM
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Really nice guitar.
but I got tired of mine rather quickly & traded it off for the next thing.
didn't turn out to be a keeper for me
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This is a tone to which I aspire:
Two pieces of the signal chain were a surprise to me. The Eastman archtops I’ve tried (including a 372) have all seemed very bright. And roundwounds?!? Is this all in the amp?
Anyone else chasing a tone like this have tips to share?
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15"s emphasize those full tone fundamentals instead of the upper harmonics.
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Wooden bridge saddle.
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Looks like a replacement tailpiece to me. Which leads me to wonder how much tweaking has been done on this guitar?
Otherwise, the formula is clear: Eastman 371 + Peavey Delta blues = this nice sound, at least with this one guy's technique and pick!
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I didn't like the sound I got from my AR371 until I changed out the pickup (DiMarzio 36th Anniversary) and put dark flatwounds on it. Now it sounds really nice. My amp is a blackface deluxe clone...
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For around €1000 to €1300?
Or dollars...
Hi guys, I’m new here and I have a question for you guys..
I played two Eastmans today. An ar371 and a 372. I liked the 371 way better but maybe it was a little bit more played in? It was specified as a demo model so maybe they’ve already had it in the store for a couple of months and people just played it more. I need something with two pickups for a bit of versatility, but I couldn’t help but think the 371 possibly sounds better because of perhaps the top being able to move more freely?
So my question is: Is there something nicer at the pricepoint of the Eastmans? Because they are reaaally good solid guitars. Well built and amazingly finished. I also played an Ibanez George Benson model which cost about the same of the Eastman. A LGB30 I think... And some kind of Ibanez Artstar wihich was even more expensive. They sounded way deadder acoustically. They weren’t nearly as nice of guitar as the Eastman’s. The Ar’s sound very good acoustic as well..
Hoping some of you guys could chime in on this subject... Thanks!
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I have had my AR372CE for a year and a half by now and I love it. It's a very fine guitar (period) and much more so when considering the price point. I don't know if the tonal difference you hear is due to a second pickup on the 372 - I mean it's two individual guitars and guitars will always sound a little different from each other,so....
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I bought a used 371 several months ago. It's a terrific guitar.
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Eastman took the AR371-2 models a little further when they released the AR380 John Pisano model. It's quite pretty. The thing that I've heard about all three models is that Eastman strived to use a thinner laminate than what's being sold by other companies - their intention is to mimic the older ES175s that had thinner laminated bodies - those were perhaps a bit more lively unplugged. Check out the AR380s. They have a little touch of class that I find appealing.
Big
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I had both a 371 and a 372 at the same time a while back. I really liked them both but could not find myself preferring one over the other. After coming to the conclusion that there was no good reason to keep both of them, I put them both up for sale on the forum here with the caution that I would only sell one. The first one to go would decide which one I would keep. The 372 went first (maybe because I put them up at the same price) and I found that I was quietly very happy with that outcome. All along I knew I liked the 371 better. But I felt that I shouldn't like it better because it didn't have the versatility of the 372. Not so. In any case I think you would be happy with either one.
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While changing strings on my 372 this weekend I removed the neck pickup to have a peek and found out that the top laminate is really very thin....
Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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Yeah those 380's look cool, but I like the vintage look of the 371/372's more. I already decided to go for a 372. Sold my vintage Bandmaster head and my Epi Emperor Regent. I'll report here when I get one...
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I play an Eastman AR372 and love it. As always with instruments, it is a personal decission and there are also other very good models around (and I don't know enough of them to really help you). I just wanted to mention, that I visited the Eastman factory last October in Beijing and it was a pleasure to see, how they build all those fine guitars completely by hand, I could watch them, talk to the workers there, test several instruments and felt like it is a fair company with good craftsmen and a nice vibe (ok, it still is a factory in China and not a 5 star hotel
).
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I think the Eastmans are kind of their own vibe. I like them a lot.
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Eastman's seem to have a loud acoustic voice in general.
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I have a 371. The build quality is superb. I don't think there is anything to match it for the price. I has the feel and sound of a grown up guitar but for the price of a basic instrument. The neck is on the wide side, but a very nice shape and the frets flawless. It is embarassing that it is so good for the money.
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I just played a blonde 371 in a store up in the city and it's a really good guitar. It was reasonably prized as well. Also played a great Fender American Original Tele. Haha. Choices Choices!
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After much research, most of it here, I managed to find a used AR371CE-SB for $575, shipped, and I pretty much agree with everything others have said about it. It reminds me far more of a 1960s Gibson or Epiphone than any of the Loars, Samicks, or other budget archtops I’ve owned- maybe more than my LH-700. I replaced the supplied strings (who puts .010s on an archtop?) with .011 Chromes and it sounds and plays great. Acoustic response is very good for a laminated guitar. The only significant flaw is the POS hard shell case, which is too thin and has crummy latches that spontaneously pop open. This guitar deserves a better case.
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Okay, okay... no need to get huffy about it....
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Nice! I’ve always been curious about those. Do they have 1 3/4” nuts like other Eastmans?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Yes. That was one of my criteria in searching for a new guitar. My XL sized hands work better with a wide neck. I almost bought a used DkAngelico Premier series EXL, as they have a really fat neck, but the guitar I tried was surprisingly heavy and cost $125 more. Originally Posted by rio
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If you ever get the urge to swap pickups, give the Pure90 from BG Pups a go. Gets really close to the vintage ES-125/175 sound.
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Wow ! With such a beauty, don't you feel like you are the king of the world ?
And... once you are accustomed to these 0.011's, give the 0.012's a try !
(Who puts 0.011's on an archtop ?)
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