Archtops

lostjohn

No problem, Al. Just curious.

Al Watsky

I understand the appeal of the Eastman brand.
Mostly for my needs a Gibson or Martin will do.
The timber selections are at least stable on the instruments produced before say 75' and the finishes are predictable , they were assembled with normal water soluble glues and had frets that were hard enough to survive vigorous use.
:whistle:
The Eastmans serve a need though. I like their designs.
:peace:

lostjohn

I have a Martin D-35 that I bought in 1973 that's getting ignored somewhat because of the Eastman. But, speaking to your point, the D-35 is still a great guitar after 40+ years, albeit with a neck re-set and fret job. Will I be able to say the same about the Eastman a few years down the road? Don't know. Time will tell, I guess. But I digress - don't want to hijack the thread about arch tops.

condomitti

Hi guys,

Has any of you ever played gypsy with a pearless Manhattan or so? I was thinking of buying one in the future but I'm not sure how it sounds like when unplugged. I have an Ibanez AK85 and it does sound good for gypsy solos but not for harmonies and it's not that loud. Pearless commercializes some archtops that seem reasonable choices for a budget guitar, one that catched my attention was the manhattan model. What do you think?

Cheers,
Condomitti.

Campusfive

For the last 10 years, my main guitar has been a 2004 Eastman 805 non-cutaway. Other than a proper set up, and swapping out the gross 70's-Chuck-Wayne-style guard and floating pickup, I haven't done anything to it.

I've played it up against a bunch of vintage archtops, and it's done more than hold its own. Of course, it's had 10 years of solid, consistent playing-in, but even from the get-go, it was something special. Of course, proper set-up is essential to getting all of the volume out of it.

Unlike most archtops in production nowadays, it really is an "acoustic" guitar. Other than a nice, luthier-built guitar, or something vintage, the only other truely acoustic archtops around are the Loar's.

If you can afford the scratch, vintage Epiphones are the best deal. A properly set up Triumph or Broadway is hard to beat.

Here's the Eastman in action. I don't have any videos of single note playing, but it does that especially well also.

Jazzaferri

I have played a few in stores, never owned one. Seem to me to be pretty good value for money in the new instrument world. Different sound from a Selmac but they can be played hard too, they just respond acoustically somewhat differently from my Dunn.

JSanta

While I am a big Eastman fan, I do think a Loar guitar should be considered as well: http://www.theloar.com/products/archtop-guitars/archtop-acoustic-lh-300-vs

If I was going to recommend an Eastman that could do both gypsy and more traditional jazz, I would suggest the AR610. The woods are the same was on the Thorell Vignola model, which to my ear is the best sounding hybrid jazz guitar in production. http://www.eastmanguitars.com/ar610/ I have the CE version of this guitar and it was fantastic.

Buco

If looking for an instrument with dual use, what is the main genre it will be played on it? If it's GJ, then why not get a guitar for that style because they'll do as good of a job in straight jazz setting with a magnetic pickup a tube amp and eq.

I love how Eastmans sound though. But I will put in a word of caution because I've seen several being repaired at my local shop over the years, mostly cracks in the wood. When I asked what's up, the quick answer was that they don't season the wood properly. If I were buying an Eastman I'd go used, look for one at least a few years old and inspect it in person prior to buying. Again that said, Old Town School had one that I absolutely loved the sound of. Don't remember the model but it was acoustic archtop with f holes, no cutout in natural finish. It had such an old timey jazz vibe to it and was very loud too.

Al Watsky

Buco wrote: »

But I will put in a word of caution because I've seen several being repaired at my local shop . When I asked what's up, the quick answer was that they don't season the wood properly. If I were buying an Eastman I'd go used, look for one at least a few years old and inspect it in person prior to buying.

This is good advise.

Lango-Django

Hey, nice playing, Jonathan Stout, and that IS a nice sounding guitar.

Speaking as an old geezer, the thing I really like about gypsy guitars is how light the strings can be.

I used to play an old Epiphone "Blackstone" model and making it sing required big heavy strings.. by the time I finished a gig, my hands were really tired!

But these gypsy guitars can be played all night and all day and your hands never get tired.