The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26
    dang..that blonde body is beautiful. I'm wondering if Eastman picks out particularly nicely flamed wood for their blonde models or if you happened to just get one that's really nice. Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. I've got an 805ce on the way to me in classic, curious how it will look as from my experience with Eastman mandolins, some "classic" finish models show up with more of a mild sunburst like glow than others. Very nice. Anyone else want to get their Eastman's to pose for the camera? I'd love to see those Pisanos everyone keeps bragging about, as well as sunburst models in general. I love the sunburst on my T185mx but I'm not usually a big fan. I think when there's a little flaming in the top it makes the sunburst really stand out. In the mandolins with the spruce top, it didn't stand out nearly as well as in the semi-hollowbody.

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  3. #27

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    Well that big 810ce prototype with the Benedetto style headstock was probably made to show off at NAMM or to be given to an artist as a promotion. I saw a kid on eBay last year selling another that was a dead wringer for mine in every respect, it had the really early curly-que metal tailpiece on it that they used at first before switching to the ebony (and then later brass w/ebony overlay). I wrote this young man, he is some kind of artist (not jazz mind you) and got it from Eastman as an artist promo model. The wood on it was just a hair less stunning than mine, he listed it on CL in L.A. and eBay a couple times, and it sold for less than 1k...



    That T146 and the Yunzhi 5th anniversary copy both had very nice wood - I know any guitar maker has to pick a nicer wood (free of defects) for their natural finished guitars, I know Guitars n Jazz has a 20% upcharge for one in Natural or Vintage Age finish. Here's a back shot of the 5th Anniversary copy and you can see this lighting and background bring out the lovely flame it has.

    These are just flat out really great deals, 40 years ago people were wary of buying from Japan, but look at the amazing gear that Ibanez, Burny, Greco and others produced - many Ibanez archtop (copies of G-brand models) are wonderful values. MADE IN CHINA is the new paradigm, people should get a look at them because they really do kick *ss.

    the Yunzhi 5th Anniversary copy


    the T146smd
    Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 07-01-2011 at 10:08 AM.

  4. #28

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    I just want to say thanks to everyone for their input. I learned a lot and made my decision. I have a brand new Eastman T185MX-CS on it's way. I should have it in about a week. One thing I learned which you might want to know is that the T180 line has been revised. The newer models come with nickel hardware, instead of the gold, and Seymour Duncan Pups instead of the Kent Armstrongs. I was told by a dealer that the are a big improvement over the older models. That remains to be seen, I guess, but I opted for the older 2011 model because I got a great deal from a dealer who told me he had called the factory to see if they had any remaining T180 models that the company might want to get out of their inventory, at the right price. He got them real cheap and passed it on to his customers. Simce I have never even played an Eastman before, I figured it was a good gamble. The cheapest good condition used one I've seen go on Ebay was $1049 plus shipping. I got this new one for a little less than that. I'm a happy camper. Thanks again to all.


    Eastman Jazz Guitar Recommendations-eastman-t185mx-cs-jpg

  5. #29

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    Bobsynth

    I think you'll be quite happy with what you got - and later if you feel you want to change things get a set of Seth Lovers installed, they do make a difference. You get this one in the door and love it up for a while and later when your money is better maybe upgrade it... All these models are so screaming nice.

  6. #30

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    Just been having a look at heavyblues' thinline (T146?) with a Lollar CC pickup installed.

    Now that, I'd go for. If I had any money to spare right now, I'd really be looking seriously at that.

    Instead...I have a family holiday in Hilton Head Island, SC, coming up, and all my £££/$$$'s are spoken for. Shame, as it looks such a great guitar; but I couldn't afford both that and the divorce that would follow as surely as Night follows Day.

    Life's tricky when your wife and your lawyer are the same person.......

  7. #31
    guitarguy77 Guest
    I love my Lefthanded Eastman AR910 CE archtop, I was insistent on being a snob and wanting a very expensive archtop, until I came across this lefty in LA, it was dinged up and scratched, but I really was suprised by the quality of the guitar, and it straight through my Polytone Mini Brute is a pleasing tone to my ears. Please dont forget about us LEFTIES and at least have one And if you did have one, have the top of the line 910 CE, nothing was worse than going to guitar center as a kid and seeing the cheap Mexican Lefty Strat on the wall and nothing else.


    Eastman Jazz Guitar Recommendations-eastman-ar910ce-jpg

  8. #32

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    It would seem the former Eastman luthiers get around. I've heard of Yunzhi on here before, but haven't seen much. Looks like a solid instrument, and looks like the former Eastman employees brought the original Eastman plans with them I can't say I'm a fan of copyright infringement, but I'm sure it's a carbon copy in terms of feel and tone to the Eastman. At one point, I did see some copies of the Century instruments floating around, but I can't be sure if it was the same company or not.

    I was/am working with a few luthiers from Eastman as well. However, with any company, be sure you are on your toes.

    I've recently had to ramp down building custom instruments as a couple of builders have been "slacking." The first round of instruments I received was stunning....but I then started seeing a slight decline in the quality of the work. I immediately ceased operation and I'm addressing that right now. It would seem at first the luthiers I located and set up a small shop/agreement with to build instruments were excited and ready to put out quality work, but the more orders that came in the less incentive there was to keep it up.

    Perhaps it's why some of these luthiers are formerly of Eastman, but be sure you are very aware of their quality control.

    It's a very tough call. Eastman makes nice instruments (I own one,) but they are overpriced IMO. They carry a very high markup, and I was told by many dealers they would not risk cannibalizing that. If you were to buy direct from a company overseas, there is typically no guarantee with the instrument, customer service, and a host of other issues that hover on your mind.

    It'd be nice if someone could strike a balance (I'm attempting to,) but those involved have to be equally as dedicated and have equally good intentions.

    Anyway, that being said, my vote for Eastman instruments is the Fisch line. Easily the best bang for your buck. The uptowns are nice as well, and will likely sell the best, but the price difference is exaggerated with the change in wood. It certainly doesn't cost that much to make the switch from mahogany to maple and rosewood to ebony. The 900 series....well let's just say you're paying an extra grand for wood binding and ebony caps.
    Last edited by 82Benedetto; 07-03-2011 at 12:05 AM.

  9. #33

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    Great insight from your perspective 82B, thanks for all your input. I was lucky in that I first got a Yunzhi 810 5th Anniversary copy (that's what it is closest to in features) and had a chance to play it extensively. It had great acoustic tone, it came with a KK pickup inside it but I never tried it, it was a great guitar for sitting on the back steps and playing hymns with. So when I pulled the trigger for the YZ23 I knew there was no warranty but the guitar would be what I was expecting. You are right they did a remarkable job copying the JP880, the only difference is the neck is rounder and a little fatter on the YZ23, a lot like a 50's Les Paul actually. Fit and finish is really terrific.

    I looked at your website and guitars, I wish you all the best with that endeavor.

  10. #34

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    I have an AR 910ce blonde....I would describe the sound as being very "woody" in character...typical of a 17inch archtop with a floating pickup...I prefer a smoother velvet jazz sound that you would get from built in pickups...but, nevertheless, the guitar is beautiful and a real head turner.... I am also not a fan of Kent Armstrong pickups and switching them out for another pickup like Bartolini may be an option.

  11. #35

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    Makani

    I went with an old handwound Kent Armstrong made Benedetto pickup - these handwound by Kent are waaaay nicer than most pickups on the market - you don't have the polepieces to worry about being JUST under the strings so you always get a consistent signal on every string... The difference in the sound was fantastic. On my Yunzhi YZ23 model I am having a Ibanez GB-10 neck floating pickup installed - it's about the best "Johnny Smith" pickup copy out there... Fabulous tone... As I stated before the Eastmans are a terrific value - you save so much money over most American brands you can afford to upgrade to better electronics and still buy another Eastman with the money you saved - at least that's what I told my wife (three times), lol.

  12. #36

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    Hi all,

    I just acquired my first Eastman, a T386.

    I absolutely LOVE the neck.
    I had it in my mind that I wasn't going to bond with it because of the 1 3/4" nut.
    Very small hands, doncha know.
    This guitar feels as comfortable, to me, as an old pair of slippers!

    The question... in your experience, how consistent are their guitars? If I was to get another, is it likely to have
    the same feel?

    Looking forward to any experience based opinions.

  13. #37

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    Don't know, but I also quickly became a fan of the 1 3/4" nut and the 25" scale - a new configuration to me - on my AR403. And I have fairly small hands as well.
    Last edited by Tom Karol; 04-21-2013 at 02:31 PM. Reason: Missing adjective!

  14. #38

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    I own 2 Eastmans (a 603 and a El Rey)

    Exact same neck/fell on both.

  15. #39

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    That's the "Eastman Feel" and it'd different from anything out there, and I've felt that way about all their guitars, each one has felt like coming home. It's one of the greatest differences between them and the Yunzi's I've tried. The consistently "fast" neck has been something I've felt on high end Ibanezes and some custom built guitars.
    But yes, I've played a lot, own one and they all have that feel, in my experience.
    David

  16. #40

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    I have an AR803CE and a AR403CE. Both neck feel like home. I am an Eastman convert. I am looking at a 371 now.

  17. #41

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    It's funny but the one thing I don't like about my Eastman T186 is the neck profile. It's too thin for my taste. I can adjust to it but I'm much more comfortable on my guitars with chunkier necks.

  18. #42

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    I've got a real early 810 prototype. Had a T146smd, a AR880 John Pisano and a couple of Yunzhis (an 810 5th Anniversary copy and my John Pisano copy with a floating pickup).
    They all have terrific necks, I'm shaking my head typing this because I wonder WHY I sold the T146, it had Seth Lover 4 wires in it with push/pull pots. WHAT a beast of tone. The only one that is a little different is my John Pisano copy Yunzhi, that neck is a little more Les Paul like. The others do have that high end Ibanez feel to them (like the neck on a GB10)...

    Welcome to the Believers Club.

  19. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gabe
    It's funny but the one thing I don't like about my Eastman (T186) is the neck profile. It's too thin for my taste. I can adjust to it but I'm much more comfortable on my guitars with chunkier necks.
    +1

    I love the neck profile of my AR605, but passed up on a T186 for exactly the same reason as yours: the neck felt too thin!

  20. #44

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    I've not owned a T386, but I've owned several 910's, 810's, John Pisano's, a Jazz Elite. I'd not classify them as on the thinner side...I've owned Heritage archtops with thinner necks than Eastmans. Very middle of the road size wise, but each of them were comfortable to play...if you're thinking of an archtop I'd keep an eye out for a used JP-680, the mahogany version of the Pisano model.

  21. #45

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    Sorry I can't answer truly your question as I only play the one I own and love, but I thought I'd chime in to voice a bit of surprise (not disbelief) at the above statements about similarity of neck feel just because their necks are all hand carved. Maybe they follow general guidelines but there has to be a fair amount of variation (given that a few mm can feel so different) from neck to neck. I have an 805ce and I'd call the neck a perfect medium C.

  22. #46

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    I have two more Eastmans on order. An AR371 and the new AR380, both lefties!

    I'm hoping the necks will be similar to my T386.

  23. #47

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    Hmmm... What's the 380? I couldn't find it on the Eastman site. I googled and only found another comment of yours, here!

  24. #48

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    As shown in my avatar, I have an 880 Pisano model and a Jeff Hale custom El Rey (it's a nitro'ed maple-bodied ERII body but with the single Seth Lover PU of the ERI). I also recently got a (NOS) T145, a thin, but fully-hollow archtop with a single KA pickup. Each one is wonderfully built to very high standards, sounds great, and is very, very playable. Of course, due to their various body styles and sizes, they each do somehow have their own 'feel', but there's still an overall similarity to their necks. I'm not being contradictory there; they all still somehow feel like Eastmans—not Gibsons, or whatever—and I've since come to think of their slightly wider nut and string spacing as a preference for me now. (As has been mentioned here by many, the Pisanos have especially super necks and playability.)

    In fact, other Eastmans I've played in shops also have this same nice neck feel. Admittedly, they're each hand-carved (AFAIK), but, like it says up-thread, their luthiers must simply be master aces at consistency. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by ooglybong; 04-24-2013 at 10:57 AM.

  25. #49

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    I'm interested in the AR380 as well to compliment my AR880. In talking about the 380 with my Eastman dealer this week, I was a bit surprised to find out that Eastman refers to it as a 'student' model. Philosophically speaking though I guess we are all students . . . and me more than most!

  26. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by StevieB
    I'm interested in the AR380 as well to compliment my AR880. In talking about the 380 with my Eastman dealer this week, I was a bit surprised to find out that Eastman refers to it as a 'student' model. Philosophically speaking though I guess we are all students . . . and me more than most!
    AR380? Ha, I was planning on the very same addition to my own AR880. Earlier, I had been looking for a perfect AR371 (non-"greenburst"!), although I did come across two or three that played and sounded great. (Now that I've seen Retroman's cool natural-finish AR371, I'm wondering...) But then news hit about the AR380, and I just decided to be patient.

    Anyway, I'd think that Eastman might just possibly be referring to the AR380 as a "student" model but only in comparison to the fully-carved Pisano 680 and 880 "pro" models. Really, though, from the specs posted back in the NAMM 2013 news, pretty much everything on the 380 looks to be a notch up from the AR371, including model-specific, newly-designed KA pickups (and, who knows, maybe even using upgraded laminate plates, too).

    Then again, it could also just be that Eastman thinks of ALL their laminate-bodied archtops as "student models".

    Whatever. I want one of those AR380s. Any more news on a street date besides "late summer"?