Eastman E10SS vs Gibson J45 | Guitar Battles #5 | @ The Fellowship of Acoustics 

Thanks for sharing Stephen! I think that's quite correct, the Eastman sounds a bit more bright.

Great point Geona! We often sell the J45 here in the store as the perfect singers guitar, exactly for that reason ;)

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The J45 is the perfect storm where all elements come together to achieve the perfect guitar. It has everything it needs. no more. no less. it’s the ONE! It’s the “desert island” guitar. it’s the guitar that can do anything and everything and do it well. It can be loud-quiet, jangly-articulate. Fingerstyle, vocal accompaniment, heavy strumming, alt tunings, slide guitar….ALL THAT! The Sound that you, me, we all have in our head……..of the acoustic guitar…… that’s the J45.

That's a great tip, we totally agree! 😉

That's a fair point Michael, thanks for commenting and sharing!

Great to hear! Eastman really delivers impressive quality and we're huge fans! 😃

You're not wrong! We've been trying to perfect that ever since these first video's. I'd like to invite you to watch our new ones to see if they're any better :)

cmon!!!!!

Go guitar shopping - you can’t get mid-level Martins, Gibsons, or Taylor’s for less than $3k new any longer. So, no, I’m not putting a $600 guitar up against the big boys. But the big boys aren’t in the conversation because they’re over $3k. It ain’t 2016 anymore…

Also - highly doubtful that you’ve played an e1ss beside a $2500 Taylor, high-end Epiphones, entry-level Martins. I have. The e1ss edged them out. What does that jerk who has become an internet meme say? “Facts don’t care about your feelings” 😂

bull shhhiiiitttt u dont know me.....Let me tell you something Ive owned easily 100 guitars from 200 dollars to 10k...... I like eastyman very much having played several here in nyc at rudys the necks were thin and horrible.....now its a very good guitar...but any yamha and recording king killed them:)))@@adamproctor483

Martin 00028? ;)

The Fellowship of Acoustics exactly the reimagined one

Not at all, they are 'normal' if you ask me and very comfortable. Most Eastman's share the same neck profile.

@@thefellowshipofacoustics the E10SS has a 1 11/16 nut but most of their traditional Guitars have a 1 3/4 nut. Either is good for most players.

Good point, strumming styles could differentiate tone as much as actual woods, bracing, etc.

the neck/head joint cracked on my Gibson Les Paul the other day...just opened the case and found the crack..the famous Gibson smiley face crack...or infamous I should say. Bummed. Love this guitar and always babied it...kept it in the case and no scratches or cracks anywhere...except now around the neck/head. I love the J45 but the things I read about Gibson have made me less of a fan of their products. American made isn't always American quality anymore...just look at GM or Chrysler.

Just glad Gibson didn’t put those bloody robot tuners on! Lol.

Exactly Stephen! It's like we all forgot what happenend to Fender in the 80's when they started letting the Japanese build their guitars. Americans aren't always the best... ;)

That's a fair point Frankie. Most people do care about the headstock however, understandably so ;) There's more to a brand than just a logo!

Eastman is making great guitars these days, but of course, nothing surpasses the vintage ones... 😉

You're a simple man Bill, something I can admire ;)

@@thefellowshipofacoustics I call it like I see it bro. :)

Noisegate

And the Adirondack top eventually opens up and then it sounds magical. Mine took about 1.5 years and I changed to non-coated Daddario bluegrass strings and Tusq presentation pins. Mine was an older prototype with large block MOP inlays and I supplied my own firestripe pickguard

I'd much rather have a Tusq nut, so the guitar would stay in tune. As for the saddle, either is fine. But the Tusq nut is much less likely to fail to release a string pinched in a nut slot after being plucked. Every time a string gets caught, that string goes out of tune.

It does stand up quite a bit, but it doesn't have that Gibson compression those workhorses are known for.

@@thefellowshipofacoustics Yeah. It's hard to define it to some else, but if you've played them, you know what it is.

@@thefellowshipofacoustics So you'd say it's definately good bang for the buck then, if you can't budget for the j45? I heard the new Epi inspired by Gibson '45 next to a j45 and it was way off. Sounded ok on its own, but when hearing the j45 straight after, it was game ove.

@@brin57 Yeaa the Epiphone's are tricky... Electrics are pretty good but the cheaper acoustics don't live up. The Eastman is definitely a good contender if you don't want to spend 'Gibson Money'!

The adirondack top on the Eastman would have more headroom than the Sitka top on the J45. I think in this case the Gibson would choke out first.

Yeah and the Eastman has an adi top and ebony fingerboard, bridge. You have to go custom shop to get that at Gibson and pay minimum 4k.

African Mahogany has a different sound than real Honduran Mahogany. It can be nice & sweet, but it remains different. So, I'm afraid that if you want to get the J-45 sound, you'll need a J-45. However, for the money? I dunno. I have a Guild with African Mahogany back & sides. It has an interesting rather unique & pretty sound. But it sounds absolutely nothing like a D-18, for instance.

Then Eastman sure is doing something right!

Well those brands do offer entry level models at affordable prices, where Gibson doesn’t really have that. Their cheapest model is still over $1600 USD. While MSRP is listed higher, I bought my Taylor 114e for $500 new. Also Gibson has had massive quality control issues for a while now, which doesn’t go well with premium prices. I dream of owning a J-45 and have now played 6 different ones. And only 2 of those were worth buying. the other 4 just didn’t play as good and sounded dead. Someday I’ll pay to own a Gibson j-45 (and hopefully an sj-200) but there is no way I’d buy one without playing it first.

My j45 is superb, I admit it is overpriced but it will retain its value and I am drawn to pick it up every day so it was worth it to me.

⁠@@stucarr2912gibsons are great acoustics but they’re definitely not worth the price. I honestly would put the value of this gibson j45 at $1500. It sounds like a $1500 guitar, anything more than that is absurd. Like buying a $300 hamburger just for the name. People buy Gibsons but they’re getting ripped off cos there’s no value in it and when they try to sell them good luck, they pay $3k originally and expect $2700 or $2600 even, they usually don’t sell them until it drops to $2200 or $2100 and at that they still stay on the listing a while longer. That’s an $800 to $900 drop. Now take an overseas made epiphone that costs $750, it will usually sell at around $500, $400 depending on the condition. Now, who takes the biggest loss?

Could tell immediately which was the J45 .Not saying the Eastman is a bad guitar .Just differant . Sounded closer to a Taylor to me . I have a Eastman mandolin which is beautifully crafted at fraction of price of American made mandolins but will never sound like one . Does its own thing very good just like there guitars . I also play a J45, ES335 and LesPaul

Eastman is really setting the bar high for impressive price/quality ratio. And yes, they could even compete with models above their price range! Always worth to check them out :)

I'd happily agree with you if I didn't know Coen better ;) There are fair points to be made for the Gibson!

Good one Laurens! Thanks for sharing :)

Your comment completely misses corresponding comments and conversation (the whole point of the video). As evidences in the comments, there is plenty good reasons to compare because many people (even Gibson fans) say they like the Eastman just as much, if not better than the Gibson. Note, Eastman buys same wood supplies as Collings in US and handcraft their instruments by certified Luthiers in China. They've done everything right in my book.

Yes, well... I suppose if we overlook the spotty quality of Gibson guitars since 1955, the overbuilt and ahh, rather transient nature of Guild through multiple owners, we are left with Martin, Santa Cruz, Collings and Bourgeois plus a host of individual luthiers - all make wonderful, but rather expensive instruments that are beyond what most working musicians can afford. There is something great about Eastman providing a high-quality, luthier-built instrument from the same tonewoods as its American competitors. A couple of European builders accomplish the same thing for a more affordable price - one of many "critical elements" they do just as well, and sometimes a bit better. I saw recently that after a long search, Dana Bourgeois selected Eastman to build guitars under his name, so they must be doing something right.

@@davidscotbrown3241 I just read about their collaboration. I could never afford a Dana Bourgeois guitar, but if their collaboration produces some cheaper alternatives I'm all in on that.

It's not a cheap copy, it's a good copy. I own Eastmans...But of course, when the moment is right I prefer to replace them by american brands. Certainly now...china rules too much of the world

I don't think it's a cheap copy, and I don't see how the nationality of the people working on something would alter the tone or quality. Gibson is nothing more than a trademark: it's marketing. It has switched owners, factories, states, workers, contruction techniques and ethics. The only consistent thing about it is the headstock. Not to bash Gibson (I own several, some of their guitars are excellent), but the assumption that guitars made in Asia suck is outdated and unfounded. The assumption that American made equals good quality is also outdated and unfounded. And I like how you refer to Gibson as if it's a good employer...it's not. Again, Gibson was great. Still makes some great guitars, but don't act like it's a superior guitar when it really isn't. Construction quality and wood quality on these are equal. The Eastman is just built like a banner (making it brighter and lighter) and the Gibson is more modern.

Seriously Kowalski? Yeah, I remember about 40 years ago when Chinese meant "cheap", but you obviously haven't had a chance to compare the quality of workmanship or note the pride and commitment of highly skilled Chinese luthiers; or European when it comes to that. I ordered a Custom Shop Gibson in 2015 and recieved a guitar with glue globs, rough braces, nut groves that caused the strings to bind and many other imperfections. At the price, this just shouldn't happen!! Never a problem with Martin, and my experience checking out/playing Eastman guitars is closer to the Martin experience. It's about pride in the work you do and producing quality and fair value - not country of origin. Maybe the J-45 became an icon when quality standards were high - up to 1955, but from there until more recently the quality was very poor. More recently, well, quality comes and goes. When you're considering that kind of expendature, there are better musical instruments from European and Chinese shops for a lot less. American shops are quickly pricing themselves out of the market among real working musicians. New icons are on the rise.

agreed ! the import copies just do Not have the critical preferential & sought after tone playability workmanship and original styling of American domestic acoustics ! I've owned over sixty high end domestic steel strings (US/CDN/(EU)) and the off shore stuff does not stack up as in the same category , most critically the tone ; the domestic high end builds excel in Every Important aspect !! I'm Not saying the better off shore builds are particularly bad in anyway ; but it is also just Not the same level of build and tone ; you get what you pay for ; if you wanna pay for cheap labour and costly shipping and copied original designs , you get a cheaper built copied instrument that is always worth less ¡

as TFOA are based in Holland and cater mainly for Europeans whether American workers have a job or not is of little concern.