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Opened the case today to find the hinge snapped on the tailpiece. This caused some nice scratching on the top. Strings and bridge were all over the place in the case. I already sent an e-mail to Eastman about it. Hope they will make good on it.
Anyone else experience with their eastmans? It was completed 10/26/009.
Thanks.
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12-02-2012 03:28 PM
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No but when I accidentally locked my Eastman in it's case and couldn't find the keys they were nice enough to send new ones from America for me which arrived within a couple of days. They have good customer service and I'm sure they'll sort you out.
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A few weeks ago I took an acoustic to a repair technician for a setup and asked him if he had any experience with Eastmans. He said he had two in for repair in the last year with broken tailpieces. He couldn’t remember the model numbers. The good news is that Eastman customer service was fast and excellent. In one case, since the owner insisted, they covered the technician’s fee.
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It happened to me with my Eastman El Rey 2. Mine broke while I was actually playing it. About a week before it broke, I started to have tuning issues where the strings would go flat after playing for just a short while. When the hinge finally snapped, I realized that it had been stretching apart for some time.
I ordered a new tailpiece from Jeff Hale. The service was good and the replacement tailpiece was inexpensive.
My El Rey is an early production model, serial #114.
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Yes, same thing with a 1 week old Pagelli. At that time I was waiting for a replacement for the bridge that was defective, so the guitar was sitting in its case. Tailpiece broke in there, and I never got to play the guitar for more than one hour. The customer service told me that "they have never had any complaint about broken tailpieces on their guitars"...
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Hope you live in a right country. I have had many serious issues with my Eastman, but the company don't care, though they advertise with life time warranty.
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Try talking to Steve on their facebook page, I never got a response from their website's customer service email, but after I messaged him he sorted me right out.
Originally Posted by Munk
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There's another thread about this on this site but yeah this has happened to me four, yes four, times on an 805CE 2006. The company knows very well about the defect but what I can't understand is why they don't fix it. It appears to be a poor alloy that is used in the hinge as I suspect yours slowly bent and then perhaps crumbled. This has either gone on for many years in production without them addressing it or they bought the biggest shipment of these things known to man and are still trying to get rid of them. I bought mine from Lou at GnJ and he has always gotten me another each time. The repair is simple. Check the other thread as I think there was a reference to someone at Eastman who can help you.
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Interesting, problem was different for mine as the PG models have that cello-type tailpiece, where the biggest, flat part of the tailpiece is glued onto a smaller one that holds the cable that is eventually wrapped around the pickup output thing (don't know if it sounds clear to you, sorry). The joint broke below the glue... I did get an all new replacement guitar though, that I didn't like... Originally Posted by keith
Last edited by Mr JDG13; 12-02-2012 at 07:22 PM.
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FWIW, they seem to have changed the design, at least on some models. My AR403 does not have a hinged tailpiece. It's a single piece of metal with an (almost) right angle bend. And then there's a rosewood cover piece attached on top of it. I was actually pleased to see this, as I have a friend with an older model (805?) who experienced the same tailpiece break-at-the-hinge described above.
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I got contact with somebody named Eric Fawcett. He said he had to talk with the Vice President and that they regarding my country had given away the responsibility for the life time warranty. After some time I asked him if he heard from the Vice President, but he didn't even want to respond. Originally Posted by Gabe
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A Sacconi tailpiece. Originally Posted by Mr JDG13
Interesting, problem was different for mine as the PG models have that cello-type tailpiece, where the biggest, flat part of the tailpiece is glued onto a smaller one that holds the cable that is eventually wrapped around the pickup output thing (don't know if it sounds clear to you, sorry). The joint broke below the glue... I did get an all new replacement guitar though, that I didn't like...
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Lou must have been troubled to hear that your tailpiece snapped off four times. That is a situation where the manufacturer can really make the dealer look bad. Originally Posted by keith
By any chance, are you the same Keith that used to own a Hofner Jazzica? If so, do you still have it?
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Nope, not the same Keith.
Lou is one of the biggest sellers of Eastman archtops in the US. He has been more than accommodating in finding replacements which has been somewhat difficult for him as Eastman had redesigned it since with the 1/4 inch jack as opposed to the earlier model which has them separate.
Here's his website: Guitars 'n Jazz - Palen, Peerless, Eastman Jazz Guitars and Accessories
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I am bumping this thread because I just experienced the broken tailpiece problem on my AR905 for the second time. The original tailpiece lasted about 8 years before it broke at the hinge. I replaced it a year ago with an original Eastman part, and stored the guitar for a year with lowered string tension (I am on an expat position, the guitar stayed back home).
I came back home a few weeks ago, tuned the guitar up... and the new tailpiece broke after 10 days of light use. That's with TI 12s.
I am now obviously reluctant to order another Eastman tailpiece... and I am also entertaining the idea of not worrying too much about the look and simply going for something tried and tested. What replacement would you suggest?
Here's the guitar with the original tailpiece FYI:
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ES125er, contact Steve Holst. It's about $100 for a cocobolo or ebony tailpiece with a metal bell brass bracket.
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Originally Posted by keith
Yes. Lou is really a great guy to deal with. As many of you probably remember this is not just an Eastman problem - many Ibanez owners have similar issues with those combo pot metal/wood tailpieces snapping someplace near the hinge. It'd be wise to move on to something different, perhaps an ES175 type or Byrdland type tailpiece with a slightly better track record.
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Thanks Jabberwocky. I don't even necessarily need the wooden part as I can always re-use the original; all I really need is a metal part that'll last at least a decade! Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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I got the replacement part from Lou last year. Impeccable service. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
i just contacted him, if only to alert him of the (still ongoing) problem. Being a major Eastman dealer, he should be aware of any issues.
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I have no experience with them but folks have reported good things about those MIC ES-175-style trapeze tailpieces sold on ebay. The mounting holes may not line up though.
I am sure Steve Holst can make you a new metal bracket with the original Eastman ebony cap.
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Eastman developed a hingeless tailpiece ( solid bend of metal with the wood covering ) for this issue that basically should be a permanent fix for your problem, at least it was for my 805. Either contact Lou or Eastman directly and they'll ship it to you free of charge and it's a simple replacement with a Phillips head screw driver. I'd go this route before trying anything else. It's not been a problem since the change.
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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Trying Steve Holst would be a really good idea. I had him make me THIS back in 2002 (if I recollect correctly). Wood and wood. My tech had to install a brass plate to ground the strings with but doggone a great piece., rosewood and ebony, sorry I do not have a better picture where you can see the diamond accents at the head of the TP...
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 06-12-2016 at 04:48 PM.
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Bumped for a very clear picture in the previous post, lovely huh ????
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same thing exactly. Opened the case and it was all broken. Originally Posted by Bflat
did you have any luck with Eastman ?
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Bummer!
I did contact the store where I bought it and their rep sent a new tailpiece. Hope they take care of it for you! Which model do you have?
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