Eastman El Rey 4

[Bflat]

FYI


Eastman Archtop (El Rey 4) - musical instruments - by owner - sale - craigslist

[Rob MacKillop]

Seems a good price...from the perspective of a UK resident. Is that a good price in the States?

[Hammertone]

Seems a good price...from the perspective of a UK resident. Is that a good price in the States?

Yes.

[Bflat233]

Tempting ... but not practical (at least not for me) as it's not on eBay or Reverb as far as I can tell. I've always admired the design of the ER4.

[Jsparr1983]

For some reason I always thought it kind of looked like a Halloween style archtop

[Jthompson48]

Tempting ... but not practical (at least not for me) as it's not on eBay or Reverb as far as I can tell. I've always admired the design of the ER4.

Same. I would be very interested if I was nearby.

[Mick-7]

For some reason I always thought it kind of looked like a Halloween style archtop

It must, the top is solid carved pumpkin pine.

[GuyBoden]

Seems a good price...from the perspective of a UK resident. Is that a good price in the States?

New, the EL Rey ER4 is about £2000 in the UK.

Link Here: Eastman ER4 Pomonaburst

[Jthompson48]

I have played an ER 4 and thought it was very nice. But the new retail price point is too high for me. I wish I would have pulled the trigger on a used reverb listing at about $1500 a few months ago. I hesitated and it sold very quickly. I have an ER 1 that I like a lot.

[Woody Sound]

The 1-3 are 14", and the 4 is 16". I really wish they made a 15" in-between version.

[Rob MacKillop]

I'm not looking for one right now, but both the ER4 and ER1 occasionally appear on the horizon, beckoning...enough already!

[GuyBoden]

I've always liked the ER1, I nearly bought one from Jeff Hale about 20 years ago, but I have too many guitar at present.

[nyc chaz]

I love my ER4 along with my Romeo,Eastman really hit a home run with these two designs.One thing that surprised me about the ER4 when i got it years ago was that it actually sounds good and loud enough to just play around the house acoustically.That new goldburst color they have on the new ER4''s look quite striking to me.

[WilliamScott]

Guitars n' Jazz is asking for more than the MSRP for theirs.

Guitars n Jazz

[jazzshrink]

Guitars n' Jazz is asking for more than the MSRP for theirs.

Guitars n Jazz

According to Eastman, the MSRP is 3,699 USD.

[nyc chaz]

According to Eastman, the MSRP is 3,699 USD.

No Eastman dealer sells at the MSRP,they are usually priced at 20 percent less or so which makes the price at GuitarnJazz about right but that being said they are usually higher than other dealers.

[Sam Sherry]

I grew up about five miles from where that guitar is sitting. I did a double-take when I saw "Wilbur Cross Parkway."

My ER-4 has been with me for eight years (!!) as everything else came and went. This particular one is a perfect guitar for me, so much better than I expected.

Otto's influences aren't hard to spot: There are build aspects and visual cues from Erich Solomon, Ken Parker, James D'Aquisto, Gibson / McCarty and others, along with Otto's unitary neck-block / cutaway. But it comes together as more than the sum of its parts. That's is all we can ask for and more than we often get!

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

My ER-4 has been with me for eight years (!!) as everything else came and went. This particular one is a perfect guitar for me, so much better than I expected.

Otto's influences aren't hard to spot: There are build aspects and visual cues from Erich Solomon, Ken Parker, James D'Aquisto, Gibson / McCarty and others, along with Otto's unitary neck-block / cutaway. But it comes together as more than the sum of its parts. That's is all we can ask for and more than we often get!

Yes indeed! My ER-1 is beautifully made and a dream to play. I think it's as fine an instrument as any I've ever had. Chris Mirabella told me that Jeff Hale got several of them from Eastman unfinished. He customized them in many ways, e.g. he added ballast at the endpin block to some to balance them better. Chris made some special bridges and tailpieces for Jeff to use on his El Reys (which is why I called him - I wanted to have a set made, but it's not going to happen). After mods, Jeff's shop finished them. There's apparently no way to know if mine (which was reportedly one of those that Jeff played for a while - it's a very low serial number 7) or anybody else's was finishd by Jeff or by Eastman.

The finish (and everything else) on mine has held up remarkably well on a guitar that was used as a demo by a dealer and working pro early in its life. Oddly enough, it came to me with a chrome TOM bridge saddle despite having gold hardware. So either something happened to the original bridge over the years or the one on it now was better in some way. But every El Rey I've ever seen was as beautiful as mine - they're wonderful guitars that are strangely underappreciated.

[Jthompson48]

Yes indeed! My ER-1 is beautifully made and a dream to play. I think it's as fine an instrument as any I've ever had. Chris Mirabella told me that Jeff Hale got several of them from Eastman unfinished. He customized them in many ways, e.g. he added ballast at the endpin block to some to balance them better. Chris made some special bridges and tailpieces for Jeff to use on his El Reys (which is why I called him - I wanted to have a set made, but it's not going to happen). After mods, Jeff's shop finished them. There's apparently no way to know if mine (which was reportedly one of those that Jeff played for a while - it's a very low serial number 7) or anybody else's was finishd by Jeff or by Eastman.

The finish (and everything else) on mine has held up remarkably well on a guitar that was used as a demo by a dealer and working pro early in its life. Oddly enough, it came to me with a chrome TOM bridge saddle despite having gold hardware. So either something happened to the original bridge over the years or the one on it now was better in some way. But every El Rey I've ever seen was as beautiful as mine - they're wonderful guitars that are strangely underappreciated.

Agreed. That makes them a relative bargain! I got mine used and the stock tuners had already been replaced with lighter weight types to relieve the neck dive. I like the stock pickup ok, but actually just ordered a B6 from Djangobooks to try out in it.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Agreed. That makes them a relative bargain! I got mine used and the stock tuners had already been replaced with lighter weight types to relieve the neck dive. I like the stock pickup ok, but actually just ordered a B6 from Djangobooks to try out in it.

I have a B7 (same as B6 but for 7 strings) on another archtop and love it. Mine has no neck dive at all. Since so many ER owners complain about this, I suspect that mine is one of those that Jeff Hale modified with a bit of weight in the tail (especially since he was its original dealer and first owner).

[Woody Sound]

I always wondered if the 4 feels like a 335. (16", narrow body, long neck.)

[Cunamara]

The Craigslist ad is deleted, so presumably it sold.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I always wondered if the 4 feels like a 335. (16", narrow body, long neck.)

The ER4 feels quite different to me. It feels more like an archtop, and the ES335 feels more like a big solid body in comparison. The El Rey 4 weighs at least 2.5 pounds less than an ES335. The body is 1/2" thicker at 2.25" (a considerable increase over the 1.75" of the ES3x5s). It's 4" shorter (almost all in the upper bout), and it has a slgihtly longer scale (25" vs 24.75"). The nut on an ER is 1.72" and on an ES335 is somewhere between 1 9/16" (1.562") and 1 11/16 (1.695") depending on year. IIRC, the neck is considerably wider all the way down.

I played a 345 for about a year and traded it for a 175 because it just didn't feel like a jazz guitar to me. I was young (in high school) and inexperienced, and my dealer found a well used but well maintained 345 for me at a price I could afford. But it never ever felt right, especially after I saw Wes on the cover of The Incredible Jazz Guitar with his 175. I think if there had been an El Rey 4 at the time, I probably would have been much happier with it than the 345.

[Sam Sherry]

The ER4 feels quite different to me. It feels more like an archtop, and the ES335 feels more like a big solid body in comparison. The El Rey 4 weighs at least 2.5 pounds less than an ES335. The body is 1/2" thicker at 2.25" (a considerable increase over the 1.75" of the ES3x5s). It's 4" shorter (almost all in the upper bout), and it has a slgihtly longer scale (25" vs 24.75"). The nut on an ER is 1.72" and on an ES335 is somewhere between 1 9/16" (1.562") and 1 11/16 (1.695") depending on year. IIRC, the neck is considerably wider all the way down.

All true and all notable. Gearheads who go by the numbers, and who like ES-3x5 guitars, could decide not to purchase an ER4 based on any or all of those disinctions.

But there is one key geometric / ergonomic feature which the ER4 and ES-3x5 have in common: Both run 9.5" from the tail to the bridge.
If you like how your hands feel on a 3x5, and you play standing or using a strap to sit, you're gonna like how your hands feel on an ER4.

I played a 345 for about a year and traded it for a 175 because it just didn't feel like a jazz guitar to me. I was young (in high school) and inexperienced, and my dealer found a well used but well maintained 345 for me at a price I could afford. But it never ever felt right, especially after I saw Wes on the cover of The Incredible Jazz Guitar with his 175. I think if there had been an El Rey 4 at the time, I probably would have been much happier with it than the 345.

Fortunately for all concerned you survived high school, grew as a musician and gearhead, and now value all of them for what they offer.
Talk about a happy ending!