Eastman E10D

[Glenn F]

I liked it so much that I just ordered a AC320CE that was being blown out at a price I was unable to refuse.

[DonK]

Welp' date=' I tried out a AC422 almost 5 years ago, and it was awful. Completely dead-sounding, frets like speed-bumps, basically DOA. I returned it for a refund and found my little 000-M Marty a week or so later. The Martin was a completely superior guitar. Looking back, I am glad the Eastman was a dud. The E10D, however, is a completely different story. I have yet to see anyone who's played one to not be impressed. Oh, a couple or people here and there have said it 'lacked complexity,' and, true, it doesn't have as many overtones as my rosewood/ovangkol guitars, but it is an amazing guitar, nonetheless.[/quote']

 

 

Yeah, the current Eastman guitars a whole 'nother breed. I'll post a few pics of mine tomorrow, because even the cosmetics are in league with the best builders.

[Glenn F]

The AC320CE arrived today. It isn't 'bad,' though I find the bass a bit weak and muffled, and the frets need dressed. The truss-rod is also not very responsive to tweaks. It is going back. Oh well. It isn't like I need another guitar. winky.

[The dman]

The store I teach at carries Eastmans and I think they're very nice guitars, brighter than Martins but that's not always a bad thing and it's got me lusting for an E10ss or E20ss. I've owned an Eastman MD 605 mandolin for a few years and it's been a great instrument.

[Glenn F]

I completely love my E10D. It has some bright shimmer to it, a la Taylor, but the bass is far superior, and....and.... I just love the guitar. I don't think I've been as wowed by an under €1,000 acoustic like this before. The mahogany back and sides is plain gorgeous. In contrast, the sapele back and sides of the AC320CE looked pretty generic. That wouldn't bother me if the guitar had spoken to me, which it didn't, sadly. It is a decent enough guitar, but I kinda want better than decent, these days. My 2013 Martin OM 21 is the one I'd go back into a blazing fire for, though.

[Idunno]

I'm on the edge of acoustic and acoustic electric. Specifically, nylon cross-overs where the plugged sound defies my own gravitation toward unplugged steel string sound is on the table for some serious consideration. And, I can do more with a cross-over. I have one steel string left and it isn't getting played. I think I've hit the steel string apogee and the cross-over will take me from there.

 

On the Eastman topic, I played the AC320CE and wasn't moved. That's the only Eastman I've ever played.

[Glenn F]

I figure when I want a PU, I'll have one installed in one of my current guitars. For recording, a couple of nice condenser mics suits me better than a PU.

[David Earl Pfeiffer]

Here in the American southwest, Eastmans don't do so well with the lower humidity levels. I suspect they don't age their wood as well as Martin, Collings, etc. or to a comparable moisture content. Consequently I've had trouble with warping and finish problems (even kept in my humidity controlled studio). I'd be very careful and do ALL my homework before purchasing

 

Just something you may want to consider.

[David Earl Pfeiffer]

On a slightly different note.

 

I've got a couple Eastman archtops that say they were made in Clarksburg, Maryland. As both have very low serial numbers, I was kinda hoping that they were really made here in the USA (yeah, I know, wishful thinking).

I suspect the labels reflect where the American distribution office was located, but can't find any info on it. All the later models I've seen say "made in Bejing China" and have different characteristics/specs (width at nut, neck carves, etc).

 

ANY input would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

dp

[jamesp]

My 804 says Bejing and it's #59. I've got a MD615 #153 that says Bejing, too. I know when they started making violins Eastman paid some american luthiers to go over for consulting/training duties. IIRC they did the same thing with the mandolins. It's possible they had the first archtops made in Maryland as templates for their luthiers to follow.

 

Sunday I'm having dinner with a luthier who repped for Eastman for awhile. He'll probably know.. I'll try to remember to ask him about the first archtops.

.

[Glenn F]

Can't see page 3.

[Idunno]

Page 3....*looks around current page* ....hello? Isn't this page 3? Math never was my strong suit.

[David Earl Pfeiffer]

jamesp

Thanks, I hadn't thought of the prototype possibility. If you think to ask your rep friend Sunday, here's a little more info.

I have an '02 800E # 54 and an '04 805CE #NS04-005 Both say "Clarksburg, Maryland".

The 800E doesn't even have the Eastman logo inlaid on the headstock. Someone told me "they probably weren't tooled up for it yet". And the 805 has the old (wider) pickguard. and a narrower neck at the nut than the newer 805s.

 

Again, ANY information would be greatly appreciated.

 

dp

[DonK]

On a slightly different note.

 

I've got a couple Eastman archtops that say they were made in Clarksburg, Maryland. As both have very low serial numbers, I was kinda hoping that they were really made here in the USA (yeah, I know, wishful thinking).

I suspect the labels reflect where the American distribution office was located, but can't find any info on it. All the later models I've seen say "made in Bejing China" and have different characteristics/specs (width at nut, neck carves, etc).

 

ANY input would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

dp

 

 

Dang, I live about 5 miles from Clarksburg, MD and until the last couple of years there was nothing there. It was - and still largely is - a very rural area, though that's changing rapidly as the farmland is gobbled up for housing developments. Nowadays it refers to an area, but it was originally just a small crossroads with a few shops and houses. I can't imagine a guitar with that address unless some designing entrepreneur imported them from somewhere and then stuck a local label on them.

 

I'm going to do some poking around to see what I can find....

[DonK]

Okay, this is really weird. I googled "eastman guitar clarksburg" and the first hit was for an Eastman Music Company (and the URL isn't the same as for Eastman Guitars). Every time I tried to go to the site I got a timeout error, but I did find this:

 

http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/strings/eastman.html

 

HMT is located in nearby Takoma Park (basically a modern hippie enclave that has voted itself a "nuclear free zone"), and I'm guessing they know what they're talking about when they say Eastmans are made in China and then set up in Clarksburg.

 

Here's a shot of the building in Clarksburg (new office/warehouse park). I can guarantee you this isn't their original location, as the office park hasn't been around that long:

 

[jamesp]

Here's an old thread I posted. The link needs a google profile to view anymore, but this was Gordon Robert's AR800 #1. Gordon was an early Rep for Eastman. I never heard the details but they were boneheads to ever let him go, for any reason, because he was the best. Probably still is.

 

It's circa 2002 and says Clarksburg on the label.

 

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/...la-42/1328820-

 

 

[jamesp]

Here's some interesting history. Kinda makes me happy to have an '05.

 

http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...guitars-2.html

 

 

[Neal]

Who the hell do you guys think you are, resurrecting a thread 5-28 days old!? Wait, what's the cutoff? DeepEnd or Fretfiend should know. Is this one ok guys? Back to Eastman... Haven't played a bad one, and as far as I know, those are made in climate control, so maybe just an off-chance for David's experience? My only gripe is a vain one... I don't care for the headstock graphics. How's that for a totally invalid reason...?😉

[jamesp]

I'm a Hall of Flamer and I'll post whatever I want!

[recordingtrack1]

A new model D-18 will be the winner in the long run -

Thou Eastman's are nice for the money- their not a Martin .

I feel the newer model d-18 is one of the smartest things Martin has ever done -

( besides the introduction of the OM28v -which is my favorite - but I'm buying a lottery ticket

and hoping someday for a new model D-18 ) i also think in the long run the Martin will hold its value better ..

 

Amazing sound from these guitars...or at least the one I played, LOL. And brand new in the store, at that. Can you imagine what it would sound like in a few years after opening up. Wow! Any of you who haven't played one of these, find one and try it out.

[Idunno]

Okay, this is really weird. I googled "eastman guitar clarksburg" and the first hit was for an Eastman Music Company (and the URL isn't the same as for Eastman Guitars). Every time I tried to go to the site I got a timeout error, but I did find this:

 

http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/strings/eastman.html

 

HMT is located in nearby Takoma Park (basically a modern hippie enclave that has voted itself a "nuclear free zone"), and I'm guessing they know what they're talking about when they say Eastmans are made in China and then set up in Clarksburg.

 

Here's a shot of the building in Clarksburg (new office/warehouse park). I can guarantee you this isn't their original location, as the office park hasn't been around that long:

 

 

This is the name on that building and I agree, it isn't a guitar company. It's The Thales Group. I'm involved in their aerospace interests as a third party maintenance facility performing repairs on their products. Thales, Liebherr and SAFRAN are the largest French suppliers in the aerospace industry of parts and materials supporting the highly subsidized multi-national aircraft maker Airbus. And, typically French, they are the most difficult people in the world to deal with. I've had easier negotiations with Venusians.

 

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en

 

[DonK]

Haha. That was the address that came up for them in Clarksburg, so I though they might have part of the building.

[jamesp]

David Earl Pfeiffer commented

12-25-2014, 05:28 PM

jjamesp

Thanks, I hadn't thought of the prototype possibility. If you think to ask your rep friend Sunday, here's a little more info.

I have an '02 800E # 54 and an '04 805CE #NS04-005 Both say "Clarksburg, Maryland".

The 800E doesn't even have the Eastman logo inlaid on the headstock. Someone told me "they probably weren't tooled up for it yet". And the 805 has the old (wider) pickguard. and a narrower neck at the nut than the newer 805s.

 

Again, ANY information would be greatly appreciated

 

Hi, we had a nice dinner. I heard more about the early Eastman years in Clarksburg than I ever wanted to hear. The short answer here is that none of the early archtops were made in the US.

Eastman never had a shop in Clarksburg, just their corporate HQ where a little rudimentary setup was done, mostly involving minor adjustments. The headstocks were left blank because they were still deciding on the design for the logo.

 

I played my 804CE for about four hours today. Love that guitar!

[Neal]

Blank headstock...perfect!!!

[jamesp]

Blank headstock...perfect!!!

 

 

They were kinda cool. IIRC there was a redesign later where a few mandos with blank headstocks got through.

I've followed Eastman since their first violins got here and to me, the idea of a Golden Age of Eastman seems unfounded. There have always been times when you could find a real jewel, but IME, at any point in time since they started importing there've also been some real duds that shouldn't have gotten past QC.