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This is of the first of John Pisano guitars from Eastman. It is truly a remarkable and stunning guitar, and one that I feel quite lucky to own. The bear claw in the spruce top is the most that I've seen. The maple back is chevron, as you can see. It has a short scale and is x braced. 17+". Plays like a dream and sounds like it too. As the history of eponymous guitars, John Pisano to me represents a pretty good story, and this guitar seems to fit in there somewhere. When I contacted Eastman about it, they replied that it was one of the earliest, but that there were no specific records available at that point. The guy that originally owned this guitar definitely liked it, I'm sure, and played it a lot. It's perfect for playing rhythm. Eastman had asked Benedetto to be an advisor or consultant initially, and he told them to read the book. I'm sure they did that, judging from this one. I'm also sure that there is more to this story.
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02-03-2024 06:49 PM
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Prettiest Pisano I've seen.
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I obtained my 05 Pisano 880 in 07. It's been a faithful companion on hundreds of gigs. Yours is much prettier than mine, perhaps it was a custom order or made for NAMM?
Also, noted you say yours is 17"? Guess they changed that spec in production as every Pisano I've encountered has been 16".
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Nicest Eastman I've seen period!
Originally Posted by FourOnSix
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I don't see any frogs on yours LOL!
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Indeed, it's a really beautiful guitar but it doesn't have any of the hallmarks of a Pisano- 17" instead of 16", no frog, no inlaid signature, different headstock, different tailpiece, floater. It looks like an early very Benedetto-ish Eastman, which were great guitars.
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Stunning!
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I've related this story before, that's all it is a story. Around 1999, I first heard that Eastman was producing a carved 17" 7 string. I contacted the rep at the time, a fellow named Gordon. I ordered one- but when it arrived it was almost unplayable. The heel was separated from the body, the frets had very sharp ends, and to top it off, it looked like my dog had done the finish work. I got in touch with the rep and returned it for a full refund.
I followed Eastman at NAMM and saw a steady improvement over the years. I was told that Mark Lacey (RIP) had been hired as a consultant.
I did have a encounter with the Pisano model at NAMM and was impressed enough to order mine from Bob November (also RIP), a old friend of mine from High School. It's documented as a 05 build. It gets a lot of gigs, and it gets the call when my Benedetto Cremona isn't appropriate for the gig.
By the beautiful woods, headstock, binding, and 17" lower bout, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the OP's started life as a 900 series guitar, Eastman's top of the line.
Oh, yeah, just wanted to mention-my Pisano has one of the most comfortable neck profiles ever!
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This one is 2003, and an AR810CE. I know someone that owned one from late 2002, also w/o the Eastman blaze on the headstock. He said it was also a fantastic guitar. I'm interested in the history of these earliest Eastman's. They're not able to give me numbers, so I'm guessing they're fairly rare, and I am guessing that John played and owned a few of them while scoping the design of the first ones. This one has a 24.75 scale, and 1.75 nut, and it didn't leave Eastman without some notice of it's exceptional qualities. I don't know when the first official 'Pisano' was delivered, but there was definitely a shakeout period while that frog was jumping around in his garden pond.
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