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Interesting for sure! My 16” Jazz Elite was made in November’21, which means it’s poly per that article. If so, it’s very well done and seems to fulfill their goals for it.
Originally Posted by John A.
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02-28-2023 08:45 AM
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I’m not sure which mine has (I got it used and don’t have the case candy showing when it was made), but I assume poly based on the serial # (2021 + a high number). Just for the halibut, I sent an email to Eastman asking if the can tell me what finish it has. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I’m very skeptical that finish type makes a difference in the sound of the guitar. I think it’s cool the way nitro ages and is repairable. But then again it’s cool the way polys don’t age and don’t need to be repaired.
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Looks lovely-- and I'll be the third or fourth saying that I really like the lighter back color too.
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On guitars that are at least somewhat resonant. I do think I can hear a difference between thick mass production poly and thin, hand laid finishes (nitro, French polish, light oils, and even unfinished wood). I’ve sanded poly off inexpensive guitars (hollow and solid) and found them to sound more open and balanced with no finish as well as after I rubbed them with a bit of tung oil or Truoil. Truly cheap planks and heavy laminates don’t respond, but I’ve “improved” a few decent inexpensive beaters with sanding, light finishing, better hardware, and meticulous setup. Originally Posted by John A.
Chips in poly are easily filled with a tiny dot of plain old liquid cyanoacrylate. I dip the tip of a very fine tipped brush into a tiny pool of the stuff in a “bowl” made by pressing a small square of aluminum foil over the end of my thumb. I wear a magnifying loupe and mask off all of the surrounding surface. One small drop will run out to the edges of the chip, but it takes practice to size that drop well. Too much will overlap the edge, and too little is hard to remedy because it’s hard not to overfill the tiny areas left bare or low with a second drop.
I’ve also used LOCA (liquid optically clear adhesive) to fill bigger dings. As with CA, you have to use the watery liquid form. It comes with a small UV “flashlight” to cure it, but the ones in most kits are not powerful enough to cure it quickly (if at all). If you do a lot of repairs, buy a good one for a few bucks more. LOCA will transmit and show the underlying finish almost as though there were no defect. It fills well and looks great over poly. I did use it over nitro on an old Carvin, and it looked great.
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Thickness could make a difference, though I remain skeptical about this for solidbodies, especially if you're introducing confounders such as removing some wood by sanding all the finish off and changing components and set-up. It would be interesting to see truly well controlled experiments on all this. (I assume you will post a link to something in 3-2-1 ...) Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I didn't say poly couldn't be fixed. I said it didn't need to be (because it can take a lot of abuse), although I probably should have said this only about polyester (IME, polyurethane is not quite as indestructible). Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Kudos, that's way beyond my skill..
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They are notorious for being loud. Originally Posted by RJVB
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This one surely lives up to that reputation. It seems at least as loud as my resonator... Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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The Cabaret arrived today in between an early visit to the vet with 2 coughing cats and another even further expedition to get some garden necessities. I finally got some time to
get acquainted only after diner.
Beautiful woods, really nice voice but I'm a little bit underwhelmed by the finish (the Cordoba was definitely better in that regard), intonation is a little bit iffy on the 2nd and 3rd strings and I think I'll need to find a higher tension 6th or increase its action because it clatters against the 2nd or 3rd fret when I dig in. Of course the strings are new, the guitar needs to acclimatise and I'm really tired.
The instrument had been shipped via UPS, and turned up in a big cardboard box with guitars printed on it, with a rip in the side. I was surprised that the UPS lady asked me to open and verify the contents before marking the delivery as accepted (here in France we usually no longer have to sign for delivery). Packaging was fairly minimal with just a few layers of thick paper holding the hardcase in place. Fortunately I didn't notice the little blemish I saw later, or I'd probably have refused the shipment. There's what looks like a pressure or impact mark on the edge of the fingerboard, right next to the nut (we've had a thread about shipping damage at that location!). Taking a better look it turns out it's most likely a small chip that's missing from the black plastic veneer which holds the side-dots and thus a priori purely cosmetic.
I'll be doing a more thorough report in a couple of days.
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I have a Buscarino Cabaret (7-string) - it would be fun to play side-by-side next to an Eastman version (even if 6-string) one day. But if it's anything close to mine then I expect you will be very happy.
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I think there are enough Eastman Cabaret owners on here that you could make that happen through a post on here
I think that I'm experiencing the old phenomenon that a much better instrument can seem so much worse than what you're used to because it's so much less unforgiving of errors and inappropriate technique (i.e. it highlights them). I guess (hope) that's what's giving me the "ouch, false" vibes, signalling that my strings have drifted again. Funny though how I'm more accepting of not being perfectly in tune on instruments I'm used to, I wonder how much the presence of a soundport plays in this kind of thing!
I also hope that I'll be able to ease down the relief a bit after we get used to each other. Not that it's too high at the moment, it's right where I'm used to ... but I seem to have maxed it out already.
BTW: there's indeed a battery in a pouch velcroed against the neckblock, even harder to access than if it had been in the lower bout. Or is that not a battery? How to be certain which electronics are really in there, btw? The images on the James May site suggest the Ultratonic has only a single pot, plus what looks like an on/off switch, on just a PCB. Mine has 2 pots in a smokey-transparent plastic casing, no switch that I can find. Eastman's website is of no help because it still mentions the LR-Baggs...
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If it is a battery pact on your Cabaret then you probably have the Baggs installed and not the James May.Best way to find out is to email Eastman with the serial number of the guitar and see what they say or wait for a weekday and call them.
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Yep, battery pouch and an UST.
Inspired by a message above I sent an email to John Buscarino to ask about putting on a particularly heavy 6th string on (question he never answered) and FYI him with some QC observations.
Bummer, but at least now I don't have to feel bad about yanking all that and increasing the area of direct contact between the saddle and top. I do feel a bit bummed by the fact I could have gotten the guitar for almost 500€ less. I noticed that not long after closing the deal on mine - stupidly I hadn't even bothered to search for one since I knew they're unobtainium and TFOA had a few in stock. And now I can no longer write the price difference off to the difference in pickup... Originally Posted by John Buscarino
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The guitar is beginning to open up nicely, and hearing her in my school's concert "hall" the other day I was actually quite pleased with the sound (despite 2 PB-wound bass strings that are taking a bit longer to mellow out).
But this is the last new instrument I buy untried, even at over 3k€ Eastman can apparently not be trusted to have sweatshop workers who manage to seat all frets properly.
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John Buscarino has one for sale too, and with him you'll get one that's probably been set up as well as the original (and the James May PU). Originally Posted by bmw2002
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