Great entertaining video mate. That SB59 blacky is majestic. I loved hearing the pick up comparison. Not anything bad at all. Both stellar just different. Cheers Pauly. Loved it. Totally agree want to keep the Eastman's a secret but you cant hide quality like these. Stoked to see your new guitar video. Haven't got to it yet, sunning myself in Bali and watching your videos. Cheers mate
@@Paul-D A 54’ Les Paul custom is a dream guitar for me. It’s the look of early black beauty’s and their unique p90/staple tone. So I got a sb54v/ltd which was very hard to find due to their very limited availability. It’s very light weight with a flamed top hiding under the ebony varnish finish. The Duncan CS p90/staple pickups sound amazing. A buddy introduced me to Eastman a few yrs ago. When his sb59v and T59v gave my Gibson’s a run for their money which is an early 90’s LP classic+ and Es335. Eastman quality is top notch and I definitely plan on adding more to my fleet. The 64T in blue and sb55 jr’s really caught my eye.😮
I own a SB59 with SD '59 pickups. -Very nice. Ordered a 2nd one, because of the quality of craftsmanship for the price, & dropping in a SD J.B. in the bridge. These guitars are absolutely AWESOME. Gibson NEEDS to change a lot of things to compete, IMO
Great vid fellas. I'm with Steve...'creamier'. The thing is...playing on your own you'd never know and playing in a band it might just be that the flame top shines more being able to cut through. Either way, both excellent. I kinda regret not getting that bargain late last year I think it was if you remember. You urged me to get it... I think that's when I bought a jag instead, cause I didn't own one. 🤔 I reckon I'm gonna start looking again, without being in some crazy rush. Awesome guitars boys. I think now Eastman can throw you each an electric of your choice for the promo. 😁 🎸🎸🎸
Great video!! I have the SB9/v now, and had the SB59 before. About the pickups my take on the Lollar Imperials is that they are very good, very articulate and balanced sounding. I swapped them for a pair of Heritage 225 pickups that came from a Heritage custom Core (Alnico III like same output as the custombuckers except are potted and the CB are unpotted). I had the CB in an R8 and I loved how that sounded, so since got the Heritage ones cheap and thought should be similar, went for it and damn I love how they sound. As you say, they are brighter and have that more Tele on steroids thing going on that I loved about the R8, and now me Eastman has it more as well. The thing about pickups is that it depends what you are looking for. Me Myself wanted to more aggressive kind of tone, and the CB gave more that than the Lollars. the Lollars are more balanced, more polite but more nice sounding you could say. Both fantastic pickups! I was talking more about the bridge cos is what I use 90% of the time, but the neck, I agree as well, the Lollars are very sweet sounding, more creamy than the CB of the Heritage, and I did like the Lollars more I think in the neck. So nice to see that my intepretation of both sets is like the same as yours. And I knew myself excatly what vibe I wanted more , thats why I swapped, cos that more aggressivenes is whta I imagine the tone of a LP as well. But I probably at some point will put the Lollars in another guitar, still thinking where, but the lollars are awesome too. And about Eastman vs Gibson, I also agree that the Eastman is such great quality, has all the bells and whistles of a Gbson CS, but less than half the price. I mean, never have missed selling my R8, and I liked it as much as the Eastman, but im happy with 1 LP and I love the Eastman, and im less consciouss as well playing it cos is not so damn expensive. Plus Like as you say that is more balanced and lighter. Actually getting a very good light LP at a decent price was what led me to Eastman in the first place. So glad I took the chance (in my case Eastman doesnt exist in my country, I imported it from the US to here) And by the way you can check a video on my channel I did with the Heritage pickups if you like.
Nice! Like the black one, actually - the whole 'flame thing' has never really mattered me . . . I still have my Ebony '68 Custom, which has been with me 50 years now. Eastmans are def the way to go these days, superb instruments.
Seth Lovers are technically more accurate but i just think the Lollar pickups always sound so good, just know what their doing over there at a deep level for sure.
I should have tried the SB57 when I had the chance, I wonder if its same as the 59V (slightly bigger then normal SB59). Then again, the handmade nature makes them vary too I guess.
@@Paul-DI don't believe they are hand made Pauly. That's not a dis... Handmade in terms of buffing etc sure, but body and neck all cvc, is what I think. They are produced on mass, although not in the crazy quantities of the bigger name companies. I've read their website (not recently) & I figured that meant higher end acoustics and/or their other instruments. Cheers mate!
Oh plenty of CNC use for sure i just meant the hand finishing stage. With a neck even the smallest difference is noticeable so just meant vary based on that.
As of this year, I own an SB 59/V in this exact same black over red finish and I absolutely adore it. The pickups really have something special going on, the guitar is resonant as all get out, and it stays in tune like a dream. I’ve got a couple of wiring things I have to sort as my neck position loses a fair bit of top end as soon as it’s down to about eight or seven unlike the example in this video, but otherwise things are very good
Maybe they accidentally used a different capacitor or something. But man, they are seriously special guitars and will be looked back on as a golden era as many have done in the past.
@@Paul-D yeah man! I’m not worried about the pot. I know a guy who can sort it for me. Really good with wiring as he’s a pedal builder from here in Canada.. i’ll get it sorted for sure at some point soon. But I agree with you. These are super super special guitars. Every time I’ve gigged mine it is surprised me and I’ve had so many nice comments from people in the crowd about the sound. It’s a truly special instrument. Played a double set gig the last weekend of August on it and I think I didn’t even have to tune it for the entire show despite certainly not treating it gently :-) L O L
@@Paul-D that’s a difficult one. I know you’ve done a lot of work on it and you like the weight, etc. I guess the question would be how much have you bonded with it and how much of a history do you feel like you have with it? I’ve thought about moving certain guitars on in the past in favour of a new version of the same thing, or something similar, but eventually I feel like a part of our DNA bonds with the Guitar if that makes any sense, and definitely not to get to esoteric lol. For me based on this video, it’s pretty close between your SB 59 and your friends SB 59/V. With guitars it’s much more about the frame. Do you feel like yours is resonant like his? Pickups can always be changed again. How is the tuning stability and overall inspiration factor with yours? Anecdotally I believe I told you in the past that I have an old T185MX. Not sure if you’re familiar with that model but it’s a really really nice Eastman. Mine has the big headstalk and Kent Armstrong pickups. These are generally seen as less desirable features when it comes to this particular model as it was made in 2011, and by the beginning of 2012 they switched to the Lawlers, and eventually the smaller headstock/generally more refinements. The newer Eastmans are much more refined than the old ones. All of that said, I would never ever consider trading in this guitar as it provides me so much inspiration. I’ve never even considered changing the pickups as I’m happy with it as is, and I don’t wanna mess with a good thing. Man, option paralysis can be a major distraction, and I know from personal experience that the Internet makes it super difficult. :-) HAHAHA too much personal experience with that stuff. 🤣
I hear you 100% - the thing is I do have a connection to that particular guitar. And im also very happy with the tweaks I've made. Im happy with its weight and general performance and stability. The only thing that I night and day prefer about the SB59V is the finish. And in a direct A/B I think the bridge on the Lollars is sweeter. Then again the custom buckers are brighter and more angry which is a cool vibe too.
I’ve always been the same with Les Paul’s. I love the classic look, so many of my hero’s play them but after buying a Gibson Les Paul standard it left me cold. Uninspiring to play, ended up back on a telecaster whilst the Les Paul gathered dust until I sold it. But this video is giving me the urge to check one of these black ones out. Love the relic look and tone is amazing.
See Phil Mcknights 1st review on easttman sb59tv where he says quality is up with custom shop and collings. If only Eastman did a 60s carve and I would have the best of both worlds.
Am ashamed to admit that my SB59v antique finish is sitting unused since buying a 60s unburst Les Paul, even though the Eastman is superior in almost every way bar the 60s next which I love. Will see which stays the course, but I suspect/hope both will.
I'm going to buy a Eastman acoustic soon, either Eastman pch1 om or Eastman pch1 gace. Not sure which is better for me but I don't like big dreadnought guitars for me personally, and I prefer Gibson scale length for my hands. What do you think?
Tbh i dont know that much about the Eastman acoustics - except that i loved the E10SS i tried the other day. I thought big bodied acoustics wouldnt be for me but the slope shoulder really helped it ‘fit’ for me.
Those are nice and very comfortable guitars. I’ve gotten into the Eastman acoustic stuff and have reviewed quite a few of them. I have a student who owns one of those PCH grand auditoriums and he loves it. Has owned it for about four years now.
In a video a year ago you said it worried you that the brand increase in popularity and manufacturing might affect the quality of the instruments. What's your take on the topic nowadays?
Hi! I did indeed - here's my take: To avoid the decline in quality they have clearly 'streamlined' by almost completely stopping the vanish models which take alot more time. This has allowed time to keep the QC up with slightly different guitars. End result so far is, still a great guitar but.... isn't the old hand rubbed varnish (for the same price bear in mind) more desirable and therefore long run a better buy. Thats my short take on it. See how it changes the more they continue to grow I guess. Thanks for stopping by
I've been looking at these and the Maybach. Cant get one of each but cant decide either. On the Eastman the lower horn/cutaway is too rounded and doesn't look right, but the Maybach headstock is to long and skinny, reminds me of a Gretsch Electromatic.
I was there too, was super tempted by the maybach stuff. What put me off them personally in the end was the wiring and pots didnt work as well as the eastman - an easy fix yes…. But was enough to sway me to thinking the Eastmans had it.
I don't mind the Honey Burst toned one, initially I liked the Black guitar and felt it was more brighter or resonate, but I feel there's more warmth or personality to the Honey Burst guitar? Both sound fantastic and I like both, they don't seem any better or less than my Epiphone 2021 Classic Les Paul though.
Steve showed me a trick where you max out the master and then use the channel volume instead, was new to me. Wakes the amp up quit abit through the cab!
