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Pulled the trigger today. I finally decided that the 16 inch body style and 1.75" nut width were important to me. And I was willing to wait a bit to find that, but I didn't have to wait.
Eastman AR905CE BD Archtop AR-905-CE AR905-CE Archtop AR905 | Reverb
was available for $1599 (if bought directly from the www.guitarsandeffects.com website). It is a 2016 model, I was able to talk to them directly about it, and they do have a return policy (albeit with a short timeframe). This may or may not be the right long term choice, but I am comfortable that I can 'get out of this one' without losing a ton of money here. It will go out with their Fedex pickup on Monday.
Thanks to a number of folks here who were helpful both in this thread and in private messages. FWIW, if you set aside the preference for a 16 inch body and 1.75" nut width, the top two were ThatRhythmMan's Mahogony Heritage Eagle and the Matt Cushman guitar listed on ebay (and referenced in this thread).
dave
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02-11-2017 03:15 PM
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Congrats on your incoming! Looks like the Eastman 910 you have chosen checked the right boxes. As has been mentioned the 910 is their top of the line model and my guess is you will love it.
Be sure to post a NGD when she arrives with your impressions. Happy riding!
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Now THAT is a nice Eastman. Wait until you see those solid flame maple bindings and the attention to detail that no photograph could ever really catch. Originally the 800 series models were the best of the herd, then along came the 900 serises: AR910 being first, AR905 and so on. Always top flight woods everywhere with these. Now THIS is an Eastman you will love playing. IF for some reason it doesn't work for you get right back with the merchant. BUT I TRULY doubt that will be the case.
Nice NGD !!!
Big
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there's an Eastman. 810?
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Originally Posted by dconeill
...if Joe Pass would have this this advice...
Although its true they developed for other reason, later it turned out they have beautiful and delicate sound in solo too.
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The (almost) new Eastman arrived yesterday AR905CE-BD. I am going to wait to post a NGD type review until after the Pearse strings that I ordered get here (waiting and waiting ...). It had some kind of D'addario strings that were certainly a reasonable choice for this guitar but also probably the same ones installed at the factory (1/2016 date of manufacture).
But I did have a set of TI JS112's (minus string #1) so I put those on for now which gave me a chance to do an interesting comparison of this instrument (amplified) vs. my ES-175D (1975 vintage). So here are comparison snippets (from Have You Seen Miss Jones) played on both instruments, Line6 amp modeler (modeling a Roland JC-120) with a splash of reverb, some bass roll-off EQ (too much now that i hear it) and nothing else. And both instruments have TI JS112 strings.
Be kind here. Until last spring I had not touched a guitar since the mid 1980's and I never played at a high level even then. The playing is all fingerstyle (which is the only way I play). And I should record and listen to myself more often - had no idea how choppy I am playing (even if you ignore this mistakes).
dave
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I was referring to the neck's huge girth, not the string action. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Thicker than usual that I'm accustomed too, yes. But I've adjusted to the neck, as I would a piano's action. Maybe coming from piano and not knowing any better is bliss?
The point I'm making about this particular guitar is, the action is fully adjustable. Note the photo depicting how low the action is and yet there's lots of saddle adjustment left to raise or lower the action. The knock on Loar's is they've got suspect necks...but the percentage of guitars with poor neck angles, I believe, could be overblown do to internet criticism.
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Dave, Of the two clips I prefer the ES-175 but with a bit more bass or EQ tweaking for the Eastman it will sound great. The strings on the Eastman sounded new and they had some of that jangly sound that one hears with fresh strings. The Eastman is a fine guitar. I own an ElRey 4 and I'm super pleased with it. The advantage of the Eastman for me over say my GBAA is the 1 3/4" nut and wider string spacing at the pickup. This wasn't as important to me when I was a pick player but in the last year I have moved all to fingerstyle and the wider bit helps a great deal.
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I am a little late to the party on this one, and I am not sure that this was covered previous, but I suggest that you decide what scale length you want. If you are OK with 24.75"-ish there are a lot more choices in your price range. Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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Nice demo! As expected, the Gibson has a fatter tone and it sounds like a plywood guitar, as it should. The Eastman, in comparison, has more clarity and sustain. You may have cut the bass a tad too much, to be honest. One thing to consider with the floating mini-humbucker is to reduce the volume on the pickup and increase the volume on the amp. It will thicken up the sound without the drastic treble attenuation you get from rolling back the tone. How does the Eastman sound unplugged? Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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Regarding the acoustic sound, the Eastman is clearly brighter and louder than the ES-175D. But all I have to judge on is a (I think) very old set of D'addarios or a new set of TI flatwounds (with the old D'addario high E string). So this is not a good comparison for acoustic performance.
I chose this Miss Jones piece, despite the fact that it is a relatively recent add to what I can (by my standards) play, because it renders quite well on my classical guitar. So once I have a proper set of strings installed and broken in I thought the same kind of comparison would be interesting (acoustic Eastman vs. my classical guitar). But from what I have heard thus far ....
1) I would not call the Eastman loud acoustically, but it is night and day from the ES-175D. My guess is that my classical (which was recently appraised at $3K) is going to end up being louder when played acoustically (even with appropriate strings on the Eastman). Bronze strings on the Eastman - maybe a different story.
2) The Eastman has a kind of tone that has 'shades of steel string dreadnought', but more subdued and a bit warmer than that. Sustain is more than the ES-175D but slightly less than the classical. The 'sound on an open string lasts a week' aspect of flattop guitars was a problem, introducing damping requirements that were new to me. So this is fine w/me.
3) You can REALLY soften up the sound of this guitar playing fingerstyle with no nails. This could be an interesting option at some point, playing my classical with 'Alaska Piks' and flesh on the Eastman. I struggle with my nails and am currently using ping ball balls to build my nails. But dropping this, going back to Alaska Pik's and opening up the flesh option on the Eastman - a VERY interesting option down the road (even though I find Alaska Piks to be "OK but kinda clunky". But the technique of flesh only is different and the last thing that I need right now is another variable that I cannot deal with. But still ...
dave
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My classical is 25.5" and the ES-175D was 24.75" and that didn't seem to bother me much. The Eastman that I ended up with is 25". I notice string spacing more, and the slightly larger spacing of the Eastman (vs Gibson) is (somewhat) helpful here. Originally Posted by lammie200
dave
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This surprises me, and I would say it has to do with the strings. My 17 inch (noncutaway) Eastman is louder than my 17 inch 30's Gibson L7. Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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I also have weak nails but I just couldn't adapt to the Alaskan Picks. I keep my nails just a bit beyond my fingertips so I end up depending on how I arch my hand either all flesh, all fingers or both. I also utilize my thumb a great deal. As far as nail repairs go I use brush on super glue and single ply tissue paper.
I have been waiting for several months for this company to get their product out. My last discussion with one of the principles a few months ago was that they were expecting to start selling this month.
Tone Tips Custom Finger Picks | Tiptonic
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Just curious - how do you string your Eastman and your L-7? And which Eastman is it? Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Thanks
dave
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0.013 gauge bronze (sometimes nickel bronze) on both. My Eastman is the 910. It might be a bit louder than the 905, especially given the lack of a cutaway, but I wouldn't think it to be too drastic. I think .012 may be too light to drive the top, especially Thomastik flatwounds which are lower tension than standard. Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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I played this beauty at Gruhn's in Nashville today. Really nice. Reminded me of my Benedetto Bravo, but more acoustic in nature.
Martin CF-1 archtop, 2004, EXF, spruce top, maple back and sides, original floating pickup, OHC ...$2,500.00
AR4533 Martin CF-1 archtop 2004
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gotta say I like the 175 sound better. Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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I fully agree with that. Of course finding a guitar with a better amplified sound was not an objective. And in a way it reminds me of the "cedar vs. spruce top" issue in classical guitars. Typically (it varies) spruce is brighter while cedar is warmer. And you have something similar here with maple (Gibson) vs. spruce (Eastman). But there is also the laminate vs. carved thing going on as well. Originally Posted by WilliamScott
dave
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I threw this together in a rush as some "real strings" arrive today and I have to get back into my cycling habits. I had some .012 Martin Phosphur/Bronze strings laying around (they are new, BTW) so I threw them on and recorded the same thing through a low end mic. Then I repeated that on my (pretty nice, BTW) Jesus Marzal classical guitar. You may well notice this, but I learned this piece (to the extent that I 'know' any piece) on my classical and it shows. OTOH, you should hear my try to play Georgia on my Mind on my classical :-)
Like I said I did this is a big hurry. Files should be self explanatory. And the acoustic volume with these strings is significantly better than with the TI flats.
dave
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Well, the classical sounds great. The Eastman, you might need to let the strings settle in a bit, and it might need an intonation tweak (low notes sounded out of tune) and play with mic placement, but I think I hear the nuts and bolts of what will be a guitar you end up enjoying quite a bit.
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I took another look at this product per the website. It is interesting and what is particularly interesting is the complete lack of intersection with classical guitar which you might think would be a primary market here. In their demo I see two examples on nylon stringed guitars. One is a flamenco example using the rasgueado technique (definitely not a classical guitar thing). And the other shows up/down picking on a nylon string guitar. I don't know what to think about that. Originally Posted by rob taft
But what does occur to me is that these things might be REALLY good to use when NOT playing but when you are doing something that would put your nails at risk. In my case this would be stuff like drinking coffee, talking on the phone, etc (I have REALLY weak nails).
dave
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I heard back from the company today. They will be available for preorder on 13 March. They will not be cheap i.e. close to $125.00 for a set which is supposed to cover different shapes per your finger size(s). These nails can be applied and reapplied numerous times.
I understand your comment about Classical guitar but there is also a huge market of acoustic flattop players and country electric pickers as well. I also dabble in Flamenco guitar as well and the Alaskan picks or something similar won't work for the rasgueado.
I want to see about composition of the adhesive and primer (which is supposed to rejuvenate the adhesive) before I purchase.
I hear ya about the nail thing. I broke my middle finger nail just getting some crackers off the grocery store shelf today. Fortunately it only split part way so I was able to salvage it with brush on super glue and tissue. I never apply anything past the nail bed just the front edge. The thumbnail I just gave up on. The nail bed starts a ways back on my thumb and once the nail sticks out a bit it is history. It is usually just when I get my artificial harmonics to sound full that it splits.
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$125 - WOW. Darn things better play themselves :-)
dave
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I thought it steep. That being said, when I add up the amount of money I have spent on gel nails, fluid, nail dryers, other finger picks, nail salons etc. I'm beyond that figure. I'll give it a try if it eliminates my preoccupation with finger nail care/damage. Originally Posted by DaveLeeNC
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