Eastman Gypsy Guitars Coming

Rob MacKillop · September 2018

Cheers, Andy and Buco. I'm nowhere near the level to play with the GJ guys in Edinburgh - they are seriously good. As usual, I've been busy doing too many things. But at the back of my mind, I've always wanted a Selmer-style guitar, and this one is at the upper end of my price range.

I could only find one in the UK, so snapped it up. Can't wait for tomorrow afternoon...

t-bird · September 2018

Hey, Rob.
If I recall correctly, you were set to pick up a Castelluccia some time back. Next I saw, you had taken a big turn and were doing exclusively gut string classical style.
I have enjoyed your videos on youtube. What's your current trajectory?

Rob MacKillop · September 2018

Ha, good question! I've sold my lutes and theorbo, bought a Telecaster and now the DM-1. How's that for a sharp left turn? :-) people think I have a lot of instruments, but I have to sell in order to buy, and I tend to work on projects. I'm lucky to have a really excellent acoustic archtop by Frans Elferink of Holland, and the Belgian composer, Gilbert Isbin, has composer 24 pieces for me - a mixture of classical, jazz, folk styles - which have just been published by Mel Bay. I want to improve my jazz playing overall, so I'm setting up camp in various jazz areas for the foreseeable future.

Sorry I never got the Castelluccia, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Gypsy jazz is something I've had an interest in since I was 14, some 45 years ago now (omg!), so it's about time I knuckled down, gets those arpeggios flowing!

Rob MacKillop · September 2018

Video!

It's a decent guitar, I'd say, but I'm not used to GJ guitars, so I'd be interested in what you guys have to say about it. It seems very light and resonant, which I like, and is beautifully set up.

I play Nuages, and also three Gypsy Etudes by someone called Michael Horowitz...every heard of him? ;-) I like these studies, and hope Michael doesn't get too aggrieved about my non-GJ technique when playing them. But I'll work on getting a more appropriate technique in due course.

So, don't be too hard on me! But let me know what you think.

vanmalmsteen · September 2018

Light and resonant is very good news .
And yeah ....sounds really good!
Thanks so much for posting

Rob MacKillop · September 2018

Thank you, van.

jeffmatz · September 2018

I think it sounds like it's going to sound...right...if that makes sense?

Tubaphone · September 2018

Neat, it's Rob MacKillop!

For anyone willing to listen to some great playing that isn't gypsy jazz or even guitar, check out videos of Rob playing the lute or banjo. Awesome stuff, incredible musicianship across a variety of genres and instruments. We were both steady contributors to the Banjo Hangout years ago, it's really cool to bump in to him here on a different corner of the internet.

Thanks for sharing the video, Rob. It looks cool, sounds good, and has me excited to see one in person.

-Mark Johnson