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Did anyone play an Eastman 803D? I can't see a dual set hum 16" in their range anymore.
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01-13-2014 04:29 PM
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Loobs, there are more than a few models that are 16" bouts with double pickups. If you're basing everything off of the Eastman site, you should know it's pretty inaccurate. A lot of the models they have on there are offered with different configurations that aren't listed. You should get in touch with Mark at Eastman if you're seriously interested.
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i don't find the asian kent armstrong pickups to be an issue. I think they sound fine. I would advise getting something with parallel bracing though which guitarsnjazz uses on that jazz 16 model. The standard eastman bracing is x-braced and to me, that sounds nasally. The classic gibson jazz guitars were parallel braced. Having said that, one issue with eastman is that the guitars are made by non guitarists and sometimes I think they lack the ability to know what sounds good and what doesn't. This is also true of heritage by the way as the main guys there are not jazz guitarists but they have a tradition (gibson) they build from and it's a tried and true formula.
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I agree with Jack about the bracing. I knew very little about archtops(and nothing about bracing) when I bought my Eastman 803CE16. Since then I have discovered that I prefer the sound of parallel bracing vs the X that my guitar has. I recently changed the Asian Kent Armstrong pickup for a Gibson 57 and I believe it gives me a slightly better electric tone(Darker and more mids and less transparent highs). Subtle though. I actually love the Kent Armstrong in an Ibanez Am70 guitar. I find the Eastman guitar very bright...I actually put foam in it to tame some highs and use TI flatwounds to get more of a dark 'smokey' tone. But I recently compared my 803 16 to a 371 and prefer my guitar. I also found the 371 to be bright( and more so than most Gibson 175's). The 803 had a less boxy tone to my ears...
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With all due respect Jack, (really dig and respect your playing and points of view) it's not uncommon that that someone who builds instruments doesn't actually play that instrument. Leo Fender being a common example on guitar, but I know there are violin family and keyboard makers who don't "play".
Originally Posted by jzucker
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it doesn't matter. The difference is that eastman doesn't have a tradition of building archtop guitars and are not working from a tried and proven formula. If they were, we'd be seeing $1500 L5 clones that are amazing. The designs they are using should be modeled after the classic gibson jazz guitar to start off with and then if they wanted to branch out with other models with different features that would be fine. In the early days, gibson listened to what their players demanded and changed the designs. Maybe eastman will do that too but dumb things like making guitars with the 15th fret inlay on the 14th fret, making neck heavy guitars , making a 175 clone with a maple neck and continuing to use x-bracing as their standard is an indication that they are not getting the player feedback they need to whip the line into shape. I know Lou has been instrumental in getting them to change some designs so maybe they will improve.
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I like my Eastman 803, It became a project to make it sound more to my personal taste through experiments with pickups, strings, using foam inside and of course the ultimate amp to go with it.
I also recently tried a Mahogany Pisano model that I liked alot, but it's over my price range.
Yes Eastman have their own thing as most guitars do...But I also wonder sometimes what some companies are thinking and especially who are they consulting as to what the players like and want...
There is one company(I don't wish to mention the name) that comes out with new models that I always want to love, but there is always some major issues that I can't believe they didn't address.
But yes we do have so many options! Lot's of guitars out there.
Of course this is my humble opinion
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I hope you can manage to keep the 803. I think it would make a great alternate to something like the Jazz Elite 16.
How are Eastman prices north of the border?
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The 175, I had the idea that I could find an inexpensive guitar (600$max) that could fill my Gibson 175 GAS. Tried a a lot of those cheaper laminate guitars and must say (for many reasons I suppose) they just could not do it for me.
I guess the least we could say is that the Gibsons have caracter!
The Gibsons are just so expensive(yes relative)...for my budget anyway.
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I am keeping the Eastman, for sure. I remember reading a Ben Monder interview where he mentions tha when he got his Ibanez guitar it sounded nothing like he thought it would. But after a while it's like you breathe your own voice into the guitar and maybe make it sound like you want it to. Originally Posted by PTChristopher2
There are not many dealers that have Eastman in Canada. The prices are pretty much the same as in the states.
I purchased My 803 in Ottawa (2 hrs from Montreal) paid about 1900$ with taxes, 3 years ago. There's one store here that has 2 or 3 of their guitars in stock.
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Loobs,
How about the new Eastman AR380CE as an option? It's the laminate John Pisano signature. I believe it's slightly shallower than the AR371. Has a mahogany neck too. An EU dealer has one at 1390 Euro.
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that looks cool. Did they parallel brace it?
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>>> When that group constitutes a reasonable standard of excellence, artistic standards and experience it has incredible bearing.
If talking about opinions, then sure. One can define opinion leaders then follow as it may best suit one's purpose. It helps to glowingly describe the group of leaders then try to include oneself in the description.
Fortunately this is a guitar opinion forum with no consequence.
It's all fun so long as that's the goal.
It gets a little silly of course when waves of brass nuts "increase sustain" (for endless souless DiMeola, pre hair, Berklee solos). Or include any favorite wave of guitar hysteria if one is too young for the brass nut wave.
If we can avoid anything that is measurable, it is all good for certain.
Chris
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I tried an x-braced Eastman with a cheap pickup yesterday and it sounded great. But what do I know?
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>>> I tried an x-braced Eastman with a cheap pickup yesterday and it sounded great. But what do I know?
Har-har.
As the story (not necessarily the actual flow of events) goes, Eastman got into the guitar business by using the Benedetto Book as their guide. So they built X-Braced archtops with a decidedly acoustic character.
In my opinion, such guitars sound great. I also think that many players expect them to sound fat and woody even if played in a fairly heavy-handed style, then are disappointed.
But best of all is that we can have archtops in pretty much any wood and bracing combination we want these days.
Eastman has done a remarkable job in my view. And back to the OP's point, they have dropped some guitars from the line. But I suppose even with some discontinued models, it is a complex job to manage so many guitars in the line.
Chris
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Well first of all I love roundwound strings but they make it almost impossible to get a more electric tone from my guitar(Eastman 803CE16). I tried DR nickel strings, Thomastik Infeld Bebop's etc. But to get a darker tone, Thomastik Infeld swings(Flatwounds) seem to be the best. Even D'Addario Chromes sounded too bright on my guitar. The next step was to change the pickup, I put a Shadow Atilla Zoller AZ-49 for a while...cool unique tone. I wanted more of a PAF thing so I got a Gibson 57 and it does help with my quest. Don't expect a huge difference though( I find the Gibson to be Darker, heavier mids less transparent highs). Originally Posted by StevieB
I tried blocking the F-holes...didn't think much of that. Also I kind tried to put a homemade soundpost inside the guitar to transfer some resonance to the back (my luthier thought it was ridiculous!). It made a difference but I was not convinced of the concept. Now I put a few pieces of soft foam inside the guitar under the pickup, I find it helps the electric tone and cuts some highs. Now this may seem ridiculous to want to cut acoustic resonance from the guitar but when you think about it a Gibson 175 has less acoustic resonance so I was thinking it may help to get the 'electric' thing. And if I want a more acoustic tone I just take it out...
Last but not least I use a darker sounding pick, used D'Andrea Pro Plecs for a while, now I like Planet Waves Black Ice.
Then well there are amps... I use a bunch of different ones sometimes with EQ pedals to fine tune the 'Darkness'.
There you go!Last edited by Ronstuff; 01-18-2014 at 04:12 PM.
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