"I can't stop playing this guitar!" | EART T-380 Demo & Review 

Re: Three Mile Island ..the nuclear plant that had a problem...I was one of the Music Teachers at a Toronto High School and we did an exchange with a school near York, Pennsylvania close to the nuclear plant. Many of the students came back from that trip wearing T Shirts reading 'I survived Three Mile Island".. There were also many parents who were concerned. It was a great trip for all of us.

Pretty impressive, isn't it?

@@scottstanley8370 I agree. I've done four of these and I can't wait to check out more!

I wouldn't return a guitar for action though ;)

Good question. Personally I have no intention of modding this instrument, apart from maybe dampening the springs on the trem from resonating. When thinking about doing a mod of any kind, you first have to have a good reason to do so. So, you can say, "I really want Nazgul pickups," but question would be, "why?" If you're looking for Nazguls, I assume you're playing metal; and if you're playing metal, I assume you're using a ton of gain; and if you're using a ton of gain, one high-output pickup is going to be pretty much the same as another -- on high gain, pickups affect OUTPUT, not TONE (EQ), so unless you're changing the output level, it might not be a great investment. So, when you're looking to mod an instrument, decide if it needs it. Start with functional issues: are the tuners loose? That would be my first question. Does it have tuning issues? Maybe the nut is binding (which can be fixed). Do the strings break a lot? Maybe the saddles are course and it needs a new bridge. Does the intonation seem impossible to fix? Definitely a bridge upgrade. Do the pots not taper properly? Probably have the wrong taper in there. Do I swap a lot during gigs? Maybe hot swappable strap locks like the Schaller S-Locks are a smart upgrade (just remember they make the screw hole bigger, so you can't easily swap back). Then you can look at add-ons that affect the sound and playing. Does it sound thin and tinny? Maybe check the pots and see if it needs to go from 250k to 500k pots. Does it pick up a lot of extra sound? Microphonic pickups could need wax potting or replacing. Do the pickups short out? That could be a defect in the winding and need replacing. Do you want a lot of whammy bar action? Look into a Vega Trem rather than doing a bunch of aggressive routing to fit a Floyd Rose. Remember, any change you make to an instrument has to be directed by functional issues first, and musical issues second -- never by marketing or status issues. Then you need to ask, if I'm going to make these changes, would it make more sense to buy a guitar with those features already installed? But start by getting it in your hands...This is one of about three or four Chinese guitars I actually have no intention of doing any mods on because they all perform great. A little setup, and maybe a tiny bit of fret dressing on a couple of them, and they're perfectly useful just the way they are from the factory. Even though I sell pickup upgrades and installations, I always ask the client "are you sure?" before we drop money in there. It's worth it...but only if it's worth it. Please post back when you get it and let me know what you think. I think you're going to love it. It outperforms the Charvel Duplantier San Dimas model at three times the price.

@@woodsnstrings Got the guitar and my first impression was "this is an incredible neck". The neck alone is worth the price. The body is also very nice with great comfort cuts and a nice finish. I bought it with the intention of using it as a mod platform and the neck and body are a great foundation. Then I got to work. The mods are complete. Some issues. A few high frets and worst of all the bridge posts were installed at exactly 25.5 inches which made intonation impossible. The bridge pickup was usable but the neck pickup was like playing through mud. I replaced the tuners (Hipshot staggered lockers) which allowed me to ditch the string trees. A new bridge (Hipshot contour) but had to get a luthier to move the bridge location and install the hipshot posts. Then I went completely nuts and got a set of Thornbucker pickups (it is a Suhr clone after all). The pickups cost almost as much as the guitar LOL but they are astonishing. I kept the same wiring pattern with a 3 way and the tap switch. Replaced all the electrics at the same time to get a good switch and pots (CTS pots, CRL switch, Switchcraft jack) and improved/completed the shielding. After all was said and done including labor costs and pleking/setup I wound up quadrupling the price of the guitar but it was still a third the price of a comparable Suhr. Was I crazy to do this? Maybe. Cost of an education perhaps. Wasn't a great guitar when I got it but now it's fantastic. It's a Suhr quality guitar for a third of the price. I know because I've played Suhr's that cost 6k and this thing is every bit as good now. I'm not suggesting any of this was necessary and everyone's budget is different. For the price, out of the box, it's usable and unbeatable. But I saw a diamond in the rough and decided to go for it. This is now the most exciting guitar I own.

It needs a setup. But the basic fix is something you can do easily. The guitar shipped with a small Allen key that fits in the screws on the bridge saddles. Those screws adjust the string action. Just raise the 6th string a little at a time, tuning after each little turn, until the string stops buzzing. If it gets up really high, you might need to adjust the bridge height, neck relief, or the frets themselves, but that's getting a lot more technical.

That's a bold accusation. They do have factory tours on their Instagram. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the video of course, but it's what we have to work with.

@@woodsnstrings What I mean by that is that given the price and the fact that it is made in China one can speculate that the guitars are made in worse conditions for the workers But I don't really blame them, because Gibson, fender etc are guilty of the same thing, that's the price to pay to have a good quality price ratio I love my eart guitar

@@alexdenton6586 it's economies of scale, really. Your opening gambit was an accusation of slavery, or at least forced labour. Lower production prices doesn't necessarily mean anything more than lower costs, and as the cost of living is lower, wages are also able to remain much lower in China. I'm not an expert on Chinese economy by a long shot, but I do know that the cost of living is lower to begin with, and the labour standards are different for sure. There's a reason why almost everything you own was made there. Most of it is cheaper in production because they already have the factory tech in place to do it. Behringer makes pedals there because the plant that makes the circuits is already set up for Boss. Budget pedal 101 :) What's surprising about the EART guitars is how much of the refinement is done by hand -- the frets specifically. When I put them up against the Donner guitars, you can tell were the money is spent. The higher-end Donners -- the DST-400 and the DJP-1000 -- have a lot of hand detailing, and are pushing the same price point as these lower-end Eart guitars...double or triple the price of the entry-level Donners. I'm curious to see what the detailing is like on the Earts that are well over $1000 CAD.

@@woodsnstrings The moral of the story is that where the guitar is made does not matter; what matters is how it is made.

I dunno...a flawless clear coat on a perfect honey burst is pretty premium by most standards, and I'm not sure how much more "modern" a tuner can look (these have a pretty unique button profile I haven't seen before...maybe it doesn't show up on camera, but the machining is really pretty cool). Really for $500 it's a lot of guitar, and still one that I grab first off the rack. It also comes in cream white, as well as metallic blue, green, gold, or pink.

I use this one almost every day for metal AND country and I have no desire to change the pickups.

@@woodsnstrings ok great. Thanks for the info and reply

100% your choice my friend.