Members Tony Burns Posted October 11, 2005 Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 http://www.eastmanstrings.com/eastmanguitars/models/ar800c.html I saw a version of this last weekend in Buffalo, with highly figured maple - unfortunately I was unable to play it -going back in a few weeks --does anyone have an Eastman and what do you think about it ? I want to play the AR800-C real bad !- always wanted an old fashioned Arch Top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roy Brooks Posted October 12, 2005 Members Share Posted October 12, 2005 I played a couple at Elderly Instruments. They looked good and played well. But their sound just did not do anything for me. For a straight traditional jazz sound the Hofner New President was alot more impressive. I ended up buying a Heritage H-575. You can find Heritage archtops for around the same price as an Eastman, sometimes less. The String Collector in Kalamazoo, Michigan always has a few Heritage archtops at very good prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 12, 2005 Members Share Posted October 12, 2005 Eastman makes a great guitar, certainly an excellent value in a fully carved (not laminate) jazz instrument, for around $2K. If you want an ES-175 sound, this is not your instrument, but if you are looking for gorgeous acoustic archtop sound, i defy anyone to find a better piece for that kind or money. Way more responsive than the d'angelico reissue, heritage, hofner, etc, which all cost more. i will say, that as with any handmade(non robot made) guitar, they all are a little different, so you may have to kiss a few frogs to find the prince. the John Pisano model is really nice too, more of an electric, instrument, so worth finding. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 12, 2005 Members Share Posted October 12, 2005 the older 80's-90's heritage archtops(eagle, super eagle, johnny smith) were pretty nice if you can find one. most new ones i have played these days seem kind of dull and sloppily crafted, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emir Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Damn MikeSF...boy you sure can play! love the tone too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 aw thanks, you guys. its not me, its the guitar, really. i have since switched to 7-string pretty much exclusively and dont really play my sixes anymore, so i recently sold that Eastman. As soon as i find an equally great Eastman 7-string, i'll be a buyin'. None of the 4 Eastman dealers in this area stock 7 strings at all and i am not willing to gamble on one sight unseen because i am kinda picky i guess. Meanwhile, i have a 7-string being made for me by a custom builder which is still several months from completion. i'm getting excited about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riovine Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Hey Mike, I also really dig your playing. Where did you study? BTW, who is building your new 7-string? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 well, no real formal jazz education until just recently. i took the heavy metal route to jazz(iron maiden, black sabbath, judas priest) in the 80's. mostly just a lot of listening to records and transcribing; i get more out of doing a transcription than from any lesson. I do study now with Mimi Fox at the Berkeley JazzSchool here in CA. She is great. Nelson Palen is building the 7-string. These are sold through Guitars n' Jazz in New Jersey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riovine Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Well, you certainly sound good. Have you ever heard those sessions Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald back in the 70's & 80's. I'm betting you probably did, considering the vocal/guitar duet stuff you do. If not, you should definitly check some of them out, it's some of my favorite examples of jazz guitar/vocal duet stuss. FYI, I also do some jazz guitar duet (and solo) stuff, both with horns & vocals. I just got a nice nylon string made for me by Kirk Sand that I use for a lot of that, sounds & plays really nice. Later, Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundwaveLove Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Some eastmans I really like, others not so much. Don't order one, find one you connect with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 15, 2005 Members Share Posted October 15, 2005 Originally posted by riovine Well, you certainly sound good. Have you ever heard those sessions Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald back in the 70's & 80's. I'm betting you probably did, considering the vocal/guitar duet stuff you do. If not, you should definitly check some of them out, it's some of my favorite examples of jazz guitar/vocal duet stuss. FYI, I also do some jazz guitar duet (and solo) stuff, both with horns & vocals. I just got a nice nylon string made for me by Kirk Sand that I use for a lot of that, sounds & plays really nice. Later, Ron yeah, that is some amazing work. Joe and Ella were magical together. my teacher studied with Joe & tells some great stories about him. wow, that Kirk Sand guitar must be nice. do you have any mp3s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dkbmusic Posted October 15, 2005 Members Share Posted October 15, 2005 I both own and sell Eastman archtops, and I can attest to the fact that they are terrific guitars. Amazing quality, regardless of the price. You would easily have to spend three times the price to rival the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riovine Posted October 16, 2005 Members Share Posted October 16, 2005 wow, that Kirk Sand guitar must be nice. do you have any mp3s? I don't have any recordings of my Sand yet. I do have some recordings of solo fingerstyle stuff on my Goodall, but I'm not quite sure how to attach it here. All the files are over 1M. If you know how, let me know and I'll post some. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted October 16, 2005 Members Share Posted October 16, 2005 you cannot attach 'em in this forum. you would have to have it uploaded to a page somewhere, then reference the link here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tony Burns Posted October 17, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks all for the help ! played a Eastman at the Mayville Guitar show last Saturday - guess im not much of an Arch Top person . Bought a Martin OM-28V ( I am a happy man ! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted October 18, 2005 Members Share Posted October 18, 2005 I played an Eastman in my local store but it was strung with monster guage flatwounds which I found a problem.It was very nicely built however.I owned an Eastman mandolin for a while which was very nice indeed,and hand carved for relatively little money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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