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I've been searching for a high quality 15" or 16" 7 string archtop that I could use for gigging for the last year+. But I couldn't find a used one from a realistic and reasonable seller. I considered several, and my quest included driving hundreds of miles with cash and offering to fly to New Orleans to pick one up in person. All were described as "close to perfect", but none of the sellers was willing to send me high res pics of the frets and other vulnerable areas, and none was willing or able to offer me any history at all. My requests for information about maintenance, repairs,. current flaws etc were entirely ignored.
Enough is enough. I love my Eastman 810CE7, although I won't gig with it because it's too big to maneuver safely on the crowded club stage that's been my musical home for years, and feedback is a problem at any reasonable stage volume. So I drove another 200 miles round trip and bought a gorgeous brand new Eastman Jazz Elite 16 from Lou Del Rosso (Guitars 'n' Jazz). It's a bit thinner than the Ibanez AF207 I've been gigging with for over 20 years (2 1/4" vs 2 1/2"), which is great on stage. But it's a step up from the Ibanez in both acoustic and electric tone. The laminated Ibby actually sounds very fine through the Benedetto B7 pickup I put in last year, but it's no match acoustically for the carved Eastman acoustically and a step below it when amplified.
This is the best sounding, best playing, and most beautiful guitar I've ever owned - and that includes the L5CN with Rhythym Chief pickup that I bought new in 1970. This one appears to be unique, when I compare it to others I've seen of the same model. The top is magnificent straight grained spruce. The back is book matched flame maple, and the flame on the maple rim is oriented across it to match the flame in the binding. The workmanship is fantastic - it's artful in the extreme.
Mark (the in-house luthier at GnJ) set it up perfectly for me with close to 0 relief and very low action. I use JS113s with an 0.075 Chrome 7th. Lou asked me to bring a 7th because they don't have any 75 flats, but it was already set up with a fresh set of JS113s on it and within minutes, I had exactly what I needed.
I got it a few days ago, and I've only had time so far to record the comparison I posted earlier of my Blu 6 and my Superbock US / Toob Metro. This is fingerstyle:
I LOVE THIS GUITAR!!! Pictures are worth 1000 words:
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11-21-2022 09:31 PM
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Looks great Dave, is that what you used on Strollin?
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Yes indeed!
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Very nice guitar indeed and nice playing and tone...bell like clarity and great definition.....could not tell it was played with flats . Well done Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
S
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I only played an Eastman for a weekend when we played Will Smith's fathers birthday in Miami.
I was afraid of checking my old L-5 @ the airport so a friend lent me his Eastman that came w a fiberglass case and was only around 1K iirc. The piano player buzzed my room at 3 AM one night and said to meet him in the lobby where they had a grand and we played acoustic duos until the sun came up. It had a floater and was bright sounding and a feedback machine plugged in but very loud. I wouldn't mind trying a 6 string 17" w built in p.u. someday.Last edited by wintermoon; 11-22-2022 at 03:35 AM.
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There’s no 18” Eastman that I know of. My 17” carved 810CE7 with floater is also a feedback machine. But this 16 is much less prone to feedback. The pickup is a hand wound KA. Originally Posted by wintermoon
The Jazz Elite has fairly heavy parallel bracing. Eastman makes them for Lou (who says he designed the model) in 16” and 17”. I haven’t played a 17” JE, but I’m told that with a set pickup they’re more in the Gibson camp soundwise. My 810 sounds more Benedetto than Gibson, with lighter bracing beneath a thinner top. But the 16 didn’t feed back last Thursday even though I was sitting right in front of the amp at 90 degrees to it. And with treble rolled off, it’s even a little thunky.
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Congrats on the new gal in the harem!
May she inspire your playing for many years to come.
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I thought about getting one of these as well from Lou! But bumped into the Heritage Sweet 16 to fulfill my thinner hollow guitar search locally. The recording sounds great, and Lou was very patient with questions when I reached out.
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Congrats! Beautiful instrument and tone. I have a 16” Jazz Elite six string. They are very nice guitars.
AKA
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Awesome! Looks absolutely beautiful and sounds wonderful as well. I got my Jazz Elite 7 from Lou in January. Can’t put it down. Been very happy with mine. Mine has the floater and not the set in pickup. As far as I know, the Jazz Elites all come with the floater and Mark routs out the top and installs the other pickup. I believe that’s what Mark told me. I opted for the floating pickup, which I liked. I run a small guitar repair shop, so if I want to install a set in pup at some point, I certainly can. Can’t go the other way though. Interestingly, mine came with a 0.051 for both the low E and 7th A string. Fixed that right away.
Enjoy that new Eastman! BTW, I hang on to every word of your advice on playing a 7. Your replies have been very helpful - thank you!
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Great playing and super clear tone! (And a gorgeous burst.) Nice use of the low 7th - tuned to A? Direct recorded? I had an 8107CE, but I gave up on 7 string.
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Thanks! My 7th is an A. That clip was recorded with the onboard mics in my TASCAM DR40x recorder (used as a DAI) in front of my Toob Metro BG driven by my Superblock US. I love my 810CE7, but I don't gig with it because it's too big to safely negotiate the cr@p cluttering the stage at the club where I play twice weekly. And it's a bit of a feedback machine when stuck on stage sitting about 5 feet from my amp with the guitar at a 90 degree angle to it. The little Elite is much easier to protect and fairly resistant to feedback - and I think it sounds as good amplified as the 810. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Great sound! The Eastman Jazz Elite Series (16 or 17") from Lou at Guitars 'n' Jazz are great guitars! I'm surprised they're not more popular!
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Pretty guitar. Great playing. You really know how to take advantage of the crisp tone.
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Great tone and beautiful guitar. Looking seriously at them. Looks like all the Elite 16-6 have set p/u. It is interesting that the GnJ website states the "heavy parallel bracing" which would seem to dampen any acoustic sounds but the spec sheet speaks to "Solid Spruce x-bracing". Would like to see more reviews of this guitar as it checks almost the boxes for me.
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Dave, just saw this. Wow what a nice guitar. I bought one on eBay about 10 years ago, same finish as yours. And then two years ago I bought a natural one from Lou. The first one had an inset Armstrong with volume and tone controls in the usual places. The second one was a floating pickup guitar, but Mark put in a set in Armstrong like the other one. However I asked them to leave the controls in the pickguard. It looks like yours is like that as well. I think I see a knob under the pickguard in one of the pictures but no knobs on the top. That is a magnificent guitar indeed. Lou told me that the year I got mine was the last year Eastman would make any seven string guitars so that is a very very special guitar having no control knobs on the front and being a seven string not to mention the incredible flame. You lucky guy!
I had a Wes Montgomery, but when I got my Eastman I sold the Wes. I didn't think the sound or the feel compared to the Eastman Elite. Plus I left six strings behind. I love your sound clip, very nice playing.
Jim
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Dave, hi again. You mentioned in your message a recording where you compared a Blu to the Superblock. But the clip in your post only has the Superblock. Is that other recording still available? Is the Superblock powerful enough for gigs? I'm considering those two amps. Thanks.
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Hi! Originally Posted by voyage
I probably deleted that comparison because I was using the free SoundCloud tier at the time and it limits the total recorded time you can store. I finally went to the first paid tier and no longer have to delete clips to add more.
The SB isn’t in the same league with the Blu for power. I use the SB with a Toob (Metro or 10) for smaller gigs, but the Blu will handle bigger bands in bigger venues. I’ve used the SB with the 10” Toob on bigger blues gigs and been very happy with it for that. But to be loud enough, both gain and volume have to be high enough to put some hair on the tone. It’s a pretty good blues tone, but it’s not clean enough for jazz, pop, etc.
The Blu is the best all around gigging amp I’ve ever had. It sounds great and it’s easy to carry. I bought the SB when my Blu order was in supply chain limbo, but I don’t use it at all now & will probably sell it. PM me if you’re interested.
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Looks drop dead gorgeous. Happy NGD buddy.
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Hi Dave. I have a Raezor twin 8 I have never had a head for so I was thinking about the SB. I'm going to take the cabinet to my local shop to try with an SB but it will be a while before I can do that. I will let you know. Thanks.
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Sounds and looks real good! I'm surprised at how good Eastman has gotten with the binding and purfling work. I own one of their small-body, flat top guitars, and that one has been a wonderful surprise as well. Good stuff, and again, nice playing. I also would have guessed 'round-wound' strings.
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I'm not always a huge fan of the finishes Eastman uses. I find their plain bursts to look a little cheap and the 'classic' finishes are a bit too red for me, with exceptions. THAT finish though is to die for - really violin looking, sophisticated. I feel the same way about the finishes on most AR580CE models I see.
I am a bit jealous
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I just went into my audio achives and found the original recordings. So I uploaded them again for you. The levels are pretty well matched, but I notice that I had a bit more reverb on the Blu than on the SBUS. I decided not to try to add more to the SBUS track before uploading it for fear of altering the sonic character in any other way. When I made these, I tried hard to play both takes as close to each other as I could. They're not identical, but I think they're close enough for this comparison. Listening now, I think I should have upped the treble EQ just a hair on the SBUS to bring the two amps even closer. Originally Posted by voyage
Jazz Elite through Blu -
Jazz Elite through SBUS / Toob Metro BG -
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