Eastman DM1 versus dm2

vanmalmsteen · July 2021

Anyone played both of these guitars back to back? Any opinions? Thinking of one or the other just, not sure if the dm2 is worth nearly twice the price? it definitely sounds like dm2 has more low mids whereas DM1 has more highs?

Buco · July 2021

Did you talk to your Altamiras about this first?

vanmalmsteen · July 2021

http://youtu.be/wO1HfdtgjyE

Maybe I’m overthinking this? It would appear that they are playing in a guitar shop with brand new guitars. The tags are still hanging off the headstock’s. It looks to me like Jimmy chose the dm1 over the DM2 that the other guy is playing. I know that speculative, but think about it, if Jimmy Rosenberg’s in the room you give him the first choice of which guitar to play. He rattles off a couple licks on each one and chooses the DM1?

or am I tripping? Lol

I also found another very recent video where Jimmy is playing the same DM1 in Amsterdam

ChristopheCarington · July 2021

Played both quite a bit - NAMM two years, at a shop in L.A., a shop in New Jersey, and owned a DM2 for about a year before selling it (and had quite a bit of work done to improve it).

Your Altamira Model M is going to sound better, and for less the price. DM1 has no bass, nasally mids, and a pretty harsh high end. DM2 has a much smoother sound with more bass, but still nasally mids and harsh high end. By themselves they sound pretty good, but I find them to be lacking in a group setting or even basic recording.

Here's the best sound I got out the guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpFy6FRxKYE

But, I've also recorded myself playing with Le Jazz Hot and Paul Mehling quite a bit - and all you hear is high-end crunch.

Also, RE: Jimmy's playing - he's kinda known for just playing anything you hand him. And while he did pick up that DM1... he didn't stick with it very long either.

constantine · July 2021

I had a different experience possibly because these guitars are machine made and can vary from guitar to guitar. I found the dm1 to be extremely similar to the Altamira in tone and volume. I found the dm2 to be far superior to the DM 1 and in fact the only guitar I've owned that could compete with the volume and hi end of my bandmates holo. Of course it's no holo in terms of overall tone but I found it rather remarkable that Eastman dialed in the Selmer sound better than any other inexpensive guitar I've owned including altamira, stringphonic and nomade. The dm2 is also less than 4 pounds.

JSanta · July 2021

I've owned both an Altamira M01 and Eastman DM1, and while I thought the tone of the Eastman was just a bit more authentic sounding, the Altamira was a much nicer instrument to play. The D shaped neck on the Eastman was not comfortable to me at all, and the tone of the DM1 still didn't feel "right". I think for the price, it's certainly a good guitar, and someone with more skill than me could do wonderful things with it. As much as I love Eastman guitars, I found that the DM1 left me wanting more. I decided to sell some gear and get into a Bumgarner, and that has been the best decision I could have made. While I have a Gaffiero on the way to compliment my Bumgarner, the past year and a half with Craig's guitar has been wonderful. I figured out that for me, if I can have a few nice guitars, or just one excellent instrument, I'd go with the one every time.