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A dealer from Germany says there will be no more Eastman archtops. Is this common knowledge? Given how much attention is given on this Forum to a) Eastman and b) Gibson's absence from the category, I think this, if true, is quite a blow. If no news, I'll delete this post asap.
PS On a quick scan, Eastman's website gives no clue.Last edited by Gitterbug; 11-18-2021 at 03:23 PM.
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11-18-2021 02:11 PM
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Oh man, I just passed on a non-cut 805 thinking I could just get one down the road.
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This would be very sad if true.
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Something's up there. They removed all references to 7 string guitars from their website a few months ago, which I thought was strange. But they seemed to be moving toward more and more serious guitars, with new signature models and an expanded California shop. I love my 810CE7 and have been scouring dealers' website inventories for a 7 string El Rey. I'lll give Lou a call to see if he can shed any light on all this.
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Some detail from my source: Eastman says no archtops "temporarily", which is for two years at least. The demand for their solid-bodies and thinlines has surged to the extent they had to move 60 people from the violin, cello and archtop works to another plant. I've previously heard the there's also a shortage of seasoned tonewoods. While I have to rely on my source for the accuracy of the information, I think it's vital for the jazz guitar community to know that the supply of well-esteemed archtops is petering out, with consequences likely for the secondhand market.
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Thanks for that. Looks like I got my AR910C acoustic just in time…but putting personal circumstances aside, this is a blow for many in the jazz community, as Eastman have served them well over the last - how long? - decade or more.
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I just checked the homepage of the dealer who specializes in jazz guitar gear and who sold my AR 372CE to me and he writes that Eastman has stopped making archtops "temporarily". Since Eastman guitars were about 50% of his guitar business that's a big hit and he says he will only deal in amplification in the future.
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Tommo, your source and mine are one and the same.
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Oh - I see. Well that's a reliable source then....
Originally Posted by Gitterbug
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I was looking at 2 yesterday as well, is $1700 crazy for these? I haven't been following them so I don't know. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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This doesn't surprise me. As someone who keeps an eye on what's for sale, it seems that any dealers with eastman archtops have sold most their inventory and never replaced it. I was wondering what was up. In general archtop guitars seem to be becoming somewhat obsolete. You can find them more in the very low line or very high line not much in between.
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It's those damned Telecasters!! Originally Posted by skiboyny
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Surprised they are so overwhelmed with solid body orders. Eastman fills a great niche within the archtop/semi market but I don't see why anyone would want a solid body from them with so many other options.
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Their SB59/V is a serious competitor for a 3 times costing custom shop Les Paul. I had one, sold it, regret it sometimes. The SB55 or 56 get great reviews as well. Apparently Eastman seems to be able to produce custom shop level LP's for a fraction of the price. Even better than Maybach and other companies, it seems. Originally Posted by drbhrb
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$1700 for a used Eastman in good condition is not at all unreasonable, IMO.
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oof. that sucks hard. they really held it down for the archtop market at a time where it was all super low budget or luthier made.
truthfully, i haven't heard much one way or the other about their electrics aside from them being pretty good. maybe i should be taking a closer look.
but i didn't know they were taking the world by storm to the extent it was all hands on deck over there. i wonder how this affects their acoustics. i thought that's where they were making their biggest mark, as an affordable, high quality alternative to gibson and martin. came really close to picking one up last year.
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The thing is there are plenty of great used arch tops that are actually carved tops available in the market already.
The Hopkins Contessa in the For Sale Forum is an absolute Steal!
And there are probably a bunch of new old stock Eastmans at Guitarsnjazz.com as well. So I don’t think it’s a dire situation at all!
Hey and what’s wrong with old Teles,LOL!
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I guess it was a good idea then, that I:
1. Cancelled my order for an AR403CED from the local Eastman dealer, and switched the money I'd used for the order to ordering an Eastman E20P parlor guitar (which there still is no definitive arrival date for, from Eastman).
2. Bought my Eastman AR380CE Pisano, from Guitars 'n Jazz (because they had it in stock) instead of trying to order another Eastman archtop through the local dealer (which would have been a bust).
As for the the surge in demand for Eastman Solidbodies, and thinlines - I guess I'm not surprised. The only Eastman electrics that the local Eastman dealer has been able to get are an El Rey, a Romeo, and a T485. Also I've seen and read some pretty positive reviews of Eastman's take on Les Pauls. It doesn't hurt when James Williamson (who was The Stooges lead guitarist), becomes an Eastman endorser, retires the Les Paul Custom he has been associated with for decades, and starts playing SB59s.
Still, it is a bit of a bummer that the Archtops are being put on hold for a while.
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Time for a "Telecaster Hate Thread; Only Archtops Allowed" Originally Posted by jim777
It's those damned Telecasters!!
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Geographically speaking not quite true everywhere. I had to wait about 8mths for another Eastman to appear at the one retailer in Sydney. Nothing second hand. Originally Posted by jads57
The thing is there are plenty of great used arch tops that are actually carved tops available in the market already.
The Hopkins Contessa in the For Sale Forum is an absolute Steal!
And there are probably a bunch of new old stock Eastmans at Guitarsnjazz.com as well. So I don’t think it’s a dire situation at all!
Hey and what’s wrong with old Teles,LOL!
Be happy that you can enjoy such a selection. Not all of us can.
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You do have some luthiers like Hancock Guitars and a few others as well? Not sure how expensive they are in Australia.
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You are right. We do. We have as far as I am aware about 3. There might be more but it would be word of mouth one-offs- not like say Sonntag for example.
An Eastman Pisano 380 runs about aud1800. A Romeo is listed about A$2300.
a good condition second hand es175 runs 3-4K
A Handcock starts at around 12.5k from what I gather. And can go well North.
the entry level Sonntag is about A$7k for what is close to an AR680 Pisano in construction but poly finish. Double the local price for the Pisano
All great guitars as far as I am concerned. Not a smear on any.
the next tier down as many point out are the lower spec Ibanez offerings (af95, GB10ce etc) and even Gretsch electromatics are put forward in the hollobody arch top category. Again, not Bad per se, just built, appointed, finished to a specific objective which may or may not suit your specific needs.
hope that allows those outside Terra Australis gain some perspective on what we face locally.
so yeah, sadly we are loosing that great mid tier offering. It’s been a long time since I saw a GB10SE or PM2 in the flesh, let alone a G10 or a PM200.
cheers all and here’s hoping it is a Hiatus so they can concentrate on more Unique designs of their own.
M
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Just thought I'd share this tidbit of info since I don't recall seeing it mentioned yet on the forum (I could be wrong).
Eastman announced a new archtop model for 2022: John Pisano AR480CE
AR480CE - Eastman Guitars
Perhaps this suggests they're not "pressing pause" on all their archtops. The design bears similarity to their AR380CE, with a few notable differences: thumbnail inlays, a single pickup (Seth Lover), maple neck, GraphTec nut, and a nicer looking burst. Given the positive things I've read about the Pisano line, it certainly has me interested.
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This is good news for sure. However, this is a laminate build, probably from the same factory as their semi-hollows and solidbodies. Carved archtops came from a different plant.
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That makes sense. Thanks.
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