Eastman Guitars - Who has experience with them and what are your opinions?

[chris32895]

I've known about Eastman guitars but I always thought that I would want nothing but a Gibson (love the ES-175) as my future main guitar. However, I saw a couple videos today on models like the AR905CE, AR580CE, and some other ES-175 clones that have really caught my eye. Honestly, the reviews seem very positive as long as you buy one made somewhat recently.

My question here would be what is the general consensus on these guitars (if there is one), what are models that are good, and for those who have experience with them how do you like them? I'm interested as well how they sound acoustically as well as plugged in. They are certainly less expensive than a Gibson.

[JBMorse02]

I LOVE both my Eastmans. For years I played a Les Paul Studio for everything, and it was great, but I really wanted a full hollow for jazz band. Like you, I thought I wanted a Gibson. I had my eyes on the ES165 as it used to be fairly attainable for an ambitious college student. Even John Pizzarrelli told me, as he signed his CD after a concert, that I should look at Eastman for a good affordable archtop. I remember thinking "yeah ok," and continued to try and nickel and dime my way to the Gibsons.

Then one day I gave two Eastman hollowbodies a try at my local shop. One was an ES175 copy, and it was brilliant. I liked it better than the ES165 I had tried and couldn't yet afford. As good as it was, I asked to try the AR403, as it was a more unique shape and I liked the single humbucker better. And it was instant love. It was comfortable, light, beautifully finished in sunburst, and the neck felt great. It sounded very lively when played unplugged. This was Eastman's most "modestly priced" archtop, mind you. All laminate and fairly basic. But I loved it. I even liked the KA style pickup, which a lot of people complained about.

This was maybe 7-8 years ago. I paid around $750, which was way less than half the cost of the used ES165 I liked, and I actually preferred the Eastman.

Fast forward a few years when I had decided I couldn't live without a semihollow. I tried everything I could find under $1000. Ibanez, Epiphone, Grestch etc. I loved the Sheraton, didn't get to try any of the higher end Ibanez and the one I tried wasn't great. But when I finally tried an Eastman T486, that was it. It was the most expensive of the few I tried, but it was in another league. Again it was beautifully finished with great flame maple, nice feeling maple neck, great setup, and I loved the Duncan pickups. It was a no brainer. I paid about $950 in 2017 and it's still my #1 in most of my bands.

Both of my Eastmans are at least as good as the Gibson or higher end guitars they compete with. Prices have increased but they are still great value.
I have yet to play any of the higher end Eastmans like the ones you list, but if my lowly AR403 can hit so far above its weight, I can only imagine the 905s etc are great too.

[Gitterbug]

You will find lots and lots on Eastman searching this Forum. However, the company won't be making archtops for the foreseeable future, so fewer and fewer new ones available. The pandemic accelerated sales of classy instruments and Eastman ran out of wood and workers.

[sgosnell]

Eastmans should continue to turn up on the used market, and there are some new ones still in stores, I suspect. But the prices will keep going up. I've owned one, and it was at least as good as any Gibson I've played. I regret selling it. They have a different sound than Gibsons, being built like Benedettos instead, much lighter, with thinner tops than Gibsons. I find that a plus, but not everyone does. It's very subjective.

[Gabor]

I bought an used ar371 few years ago for $600, spent approx $150 for fret leveling and smothing. Best spent money, very lovable intrument.

I also ordered an ar810, brand new, it is a sophisticated instrument, but maybe it is me, I can not love it, it is too cold for me

[chris32895]

You will find lots and lots on Eastman searching this Forum. However, the company won't be making archtops for the foreseeable future, so fewer and fewer newness available. The pandemic accelerated sales of classy instruments and Eastman ran out of wood and workers.

I wasn't aware of this - did the company make a statement or something to that effect?

[mickmac]

I bought both of these this spring 2021. The quality control is A++ I have two Benedetto,s that cost 5 times more . These guitars are equal in every way accept name and price in my limited opinion,, Mickmac Eastman 372 and 503

[Gitterbug]

I wasn't aware of this - did the company make a statement or something to that effect?

I've been informed by a German archtop dealer, for whom Eastmans were the most important product line. There was a previous thread, where someone else had received a "for the time being" statement from the manufacturer. As I understand it, Eastman ran out of seasoned tonewoods and, facing good demand for their thinline/solidbody guitars as well, relocated up to 70 skilled workers from their violin/archtop factory to another plant. This is all secondhand/from memory info. Anyway, so sad to see another fine archtop maker hunker down - for good?

[Klatu]

I would be surprised if Eastman decided to step away from solid carved archtops since they were what put them on the map to begin with. Supply chain issues are being felt by most players in the industry, so it would seem fitting that Eastman simply push back production until they can satisfactorily restock their tonewood inventory.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I love my 810CE7 and feel no desire at all for a “better” guitar. Any marginal improvement per thousand above its cost is negligible at most. Even the same model varies from example to example, and I think mine sounds and plays as fine as the name archtops I’ve owned or tried. I remember one early Dale Unger AA that blew me away, but it was also the first of his instruments that I’d ever seen. At the same guitar show, I played two Benedetto 7s that were wonderful but no better than Dale’s - I actually preferred his. And I think my Eastman is as good.

I got to play a few of the first Eastman carved archtops in the US at Ed Roman’s then-newly-opened Las Vegas shop. They were excellent. But there were apparently early QC issues when they started ramping up to meet demand, and one dealer told me he was returning 2 or 3 of every 4 he got because they weren’t up to the standard they’d set with the first ones. That issue is long gone. I also want an El Rey 7, but so far I haven’t found one new or used. The only ones on the usual sites are marked “sold”.

Eastmans may not be as gorgeous as some more expensive guitars, but I can’t afford to collect guitars and art - so it’ll have to be guitars for me

[plasticpigeon]

I relly like my Ar-371, its up there with Gibson in my opinion, but it is not really a 175 clone as it is much lighter with thinner plates, but made beautifully.

[339 in june]

I have an AR503CE, and it 's the one that has the most of my playing time.
I bought it new 6 years ago and never regretted it
I play it unplugged, it has a good (and true) acoustic sound
I stringed it with Phosphore Bronze, so it has become unusable as an electric like this.
The spruce top is thin carved
Fret work was good from the beginning
Nut width (1,75") is very comfortable to me
Body depth (2,75" AFAIR) is very comfy to me, too
Ebony fretboard (and tailpiece, pickguard and bridge) looks and feels so sweet
Price went up 25% since I bought mine, but even at that price, it's a bargain.

[BBGuitar]

I have 2 Eastmans one flat top and 1 archtop.

My 1968 ES-175D sits in its case and is rarely taken out.

[nyc chaz]

Eastmans are the best value in the current market.I have an AR910,El Rey 4,Romeo-sc and Sb59.I own other more expensive guitars but the Eastmans get most of the play time.TheAR910 is a clone of the Benedetto Manhattan.Having played both guitars they do not sound exactly the same but neither is better than the other in my opinion and the AR910 costs 10x less.Many guitarists i have known through the years hear with their eyes and only care about the name on the headstock and don't give a company like Eastman a fair shake.

[Simon1234]

I bought an Eastman 503 new in 2016 and while it was a lovely guitar, I just ultimately didn't bond with it. It was overly bright to my ear and suffered from terrible fret poke depending on the season and weather. Having fallen in love with an Epiphone Broadway, I sold the 503 in 2018 for a little less than I paid for it, to a semipro player who was overjoyed with it. So all is good in the world. I now play a '76 Aria Pro II PE-180 with which I am smitten. For now ?.
Bottom line, Eastman archtops are great guitars, but perhaps not for everyone's ears.

[chris32895]

What years are good? I'm looking at an AR805CE from 2006. Has some scuffs and scratches but otherwise looks sound. I don't want to get an instrument from a year where there were quality control issues

[nyc chaz]

If you can play the guitar in person and like it then by all means buy it.If buying online i would say a 2006 is not a sure thing.The quality of the one's made in the last 5 or 6 years has been really consistent.

[Archie]

I've played several good Eastmans but never been tempted to buy one. They seem like a marmite guitar. I can see why ppl like them.
Quality control is iffy as mentioned above and I did not like the early ones. The newer ones seem better imo.

[ccroft]

I bought a used 2007 Pisano 880 about 6 years ago. Still love it. Absolutely a beautiful and well built instrument. Top quality wood with a nice tight and even curl on the back and rims. 5 ply wood binding. I did replace the pickup, the harness and the tailpiece as I didn't like those as much as the rest of it.

Quality of sound is totally in the ear of the behearer. If you're looking for the solid dark thunk of yore you won't find it here. Other instruments do it better. What you will find is a clear open tone full of harmonics.

The nitro is a bit brittle. I've put a few dings on it, but it doesn't bother me. I'll have it for the duration. It's worth a lot more to me than what I might be able to get by selling it.

[EllenGtrGrl]

I used to blow off Eastmans - especially after playing some Eastman dreadnoughts back in 2009 or 2010, that sounded so dead to me, that I put them down withing 30 seconds of strumming them. In 2020 I started reading great comments about Eastman flattops on the Acoustic Guitar Forum - especially with regards to their necks being a bit on the thicker side. Since the Martin DSS-17 I had at the time, was turning out to be a great source of frustration to me, due to its thin neck, I decided to give Eastmans a try. It helped that my favorite local guitar shop (Cream City Music), had just become an Eastman dealer. I bought an E2OM-CD, OM sized guitar. It was pretty good, but I was reminded that cedar top guitars don't sound too good to me, due to my playing style. So, it went bye-bye.

A few months later, I got my hands on an Eastman PCH2-OM. That guitar sounded great, and I regret getting rid of it at times, to upgrade to an Eastman E8OM, with solid rosewood back and sides, that was a fantastic guitar. But, I had a need for a 12-string to replace my Taylor 150e (which had too thin of a neck for me confort-wise) what I was playing in a local church band, so the E8OM was used as trading material towards a Yamaha LL16-12, complete with are refret job to Jescar EVO Gold hypoallergenic frets (besides, I began to feel that OMs in general were too close sound-wise to a dreadnought, and I wanted something a little smaller for another acoustic guitar). By that time, I'd already put down a deposit several months previously for an Eastman AR403CED, but nobody knew when it would arrive. I wanted a decent parlor guitar, and had read some rave reviews for the Eastman parlors, so I swapped over my deposit for the AR403CED, to an Eastman E20P parlor guitar. It still hasn't arrived, but I'm good to leave things alone in the parlor guitar purchase department.

I still wanted a decent archtop, with a decently thick neck, and was having a hard time finding anything archtop-wise that didn't have a thin and narrow neck, that wasn't an Eastman. Luckily for me, Guitars 'N Jazz, still has a fair amount of Eastman Archtops in stock, and, they were on sale to boot! So, after e-mailing back and forth with Guitars 'N Jazz asking about the specs. of a 3 different Eastman guitars I bought an AR380CE Pisano Model. I could only give it a brief play when it arrived, due to its nickel strings, and nickel frets, but it felt good. It's being refretted at the present time with nickel free (and stainless free - I have an issue with chromium) frets, then I'll be good to go.



As you can tell I like Eastmans.

[mad dog]

I've tried a few that were just OK. One particular T64V/T, way better than that. I like it so much, I'm looking for a T146SMD right now. Anybody here have one they could part with??

[Oldjock]

I have two Eastman guitars. An AC308CE acoustic and a T486 to which I added a Les Trem III. I love both guitars and play them all the time. As I was looking at the Eastmans, comparing them to other brands, it was obvious that they are the best bang for the buck on paper. I had the opportunity to demo both guitars and was blown away with each one. I also find that the T486 is a very versatile guitar when I match it with the HX Stromp. I have no qualms about buying from overseas. As someone else mentioned, their workers are trying to earn a living similar to us.

[medblues]

I have an AR503CE, and it 's the one that has the most of my playing time.
I bought it new 6 years ago and never regretted it
I play it unplugged, it has a good (and true) acoustic sound
I stringed it with Phosphore Bronze, so it has become unusable as an electric like this.
The spruce top is thin carved
Fret work was good from the beginning
Nut width (1,75") is very comfortable to me
Body depth (2,75" AFAIR) is very comfy to me, too
Ebony fretboard (and tailpiece, pickguard and bridge) looks and feels so sweet
Price went up 25% since I bought mine, but even at that price, it's a bargain.

I have the two pickup version 403CED bought from SoundPure



I changed the pickups to humbucker sized P90s handmade by Bryan Gunsher (Pure 90) and it sounds superb (humbucking in the middle position).

[John A.]

I've tried a few Eastman archtops and flattops. I'd say the build quality and finish is very, very high. Soundwise, the flattops sound as good as anything else of comparable design. I played their parlor guitar and OM style next to some Martin, Huss and Dalton, and Collings models, and they stood up very well.

I think the archtops are a more complicated subject They have in common a certain brightness and distinct resonant peak (some call it "nasal"). It carries across multiple designs. Some of the laminated models, carved tops with set pups, and acoustic models with floaters all have it

I didn't much like any of the ones I tried for myself, but I've heard other people sound really good with them. So I think it may be a matter of whether or not the sound complements one's style and technique. For a lot of people, they're fantastic guitars. But whether that represents a good value depends on what you're looking for.

To oversimplify, none of their models is "a Gibson for a fraction of the price." They're all something else, even the ones that look a Gibson. In some cases, it's for similar sound and quality to something much more expensive (I guess other guitars built from the Benedetto book), and a tremendous value. But if that's not a sound you want, it's not a bargain.

[AKA]

Around 2001 I stopped in a music store in Santa Cruz, CA. that had several Eastman archtops. I tried them all and wound up purchasing 16” oval hole model. It is a wonderful acoustic archtop that I has been close at hand all these years.

About a decade ago I stopped in Blue Note Music in Berkeley (since closed) and they had a batch of new archtops and flat top Eastmans. I walked out with a T145 (small-body single built-in pickup thin line) that I have loved since the moment I first touched it. It is the lightest guitar I’ve ever held. All solid woods. It plays and sounds great!

A couple of weeks ago I saw a blond 16” Jazz Elite for sale on the Eastman owners group Facebook page. It’s 2.25” deep, 25” scale, 1-3/4” nut width, single built-in Lollar pickup, and has parallel bracing. I learned this model was spec’d by Lou at Guitars n Jazz. I purchased from the seller up in Washington state who offered an extended approval. That one is not going back. It’s a gem! Just what I’d hoped it would be. Very light weight, extremely comfortable, extraordinarily resonant …..

I own a number of fine archtops built by the likes of Trenier, Mirabella, Grimes, and Gibson; and have owned great instruments by Benedetto, Ribbecke and Megas. Each of my Eastman’s are absolute bargains that give away little compared to high-end boutique builders. I keep them close at hand and I’m less stressed with the possibility of bumping/dinging them?

Big Eastman fan

AKA