Really thankful for this video Richard! The guitars both sound awesome to me. If anyone is curious, I ended up choosing guitar #1. I love a woodier tone where the notes almost seem to be coming more from the wood than from the strings, and to me guitar #1 has slightly more of that resonant quality. Whether or not that's literally what happens or if it's just perception, I have no clue, but I love guitar 1. A lot of people prefer a brighter tone and I'm sure guitar #2 will find a happy owner too. They're just amazing guitars in general. Thanks again :)
Hi!!! I just replied by email but will reply here too. Indeed this guitar has that "woody" tone in its DNA. I TOTALLY agree the second guitar I played is a tad brighter and the first one is just that little more "mid centric" - more balanced and as you say that woody tone. I didnt want to say too much in the video but SO SO pleased it helped you. I actually have another customer waiting for this guitar and will now allocate the other one to him. He too will be blown away with the other one so everyone is now happy. Can't wait to get it to you very soon!
Yeah, I agree with him. I own Gibson, Martin, Taylor, all bought before I knew of Eastman. Now I have 6 Eastman guitars, they really do have shocking quality and build.
They are both fabulous. For me, the first one (screen left, your right) had the edge, by a newts whisker. I’d still opt for the ‘standard’ E10SS, visually closer to a J45 but without the Gibson build quality lottery. Better value too.
Gibson build quality lottery! That is brilliant, and a good sounding one these days seems to be a very rare item. Thanks for your brilliant explanation Peter. I just couldn’t find the right words and you have done that for me. They can talk all they want about limited edition this and that signed by mr master craftsmen Blagh Blagh Blagh, I have traveled far and wide to try said Gibsons with figured woods and limited editions etc and they were less than average sounding. I still like a good sounding Gibson but they are so rare now that I’ve almost given up and have started looking at alternatives. That’s what brought me to Richard’s Guitars channel. Such a brilliant guy with real world demos etc. Thanks Richard.
Most Americans have no clue what digestives are. For Americans, digestives are cookies with a medical sounding name so you'll feel less guilty while eating them...😉
I bought a PCH1 Grand Auditorium in the "classic" finish about 2 weeks ago and LOVE it. Can't believe how easy it is to play (I mostly play electric) and how "big" it sounds.
I bought the PCH1-OM and it's the easiest playing acoustic I've owned (and I've had quite a few). Now getting set to buy an Eastman T386 in the future.
They both look and sound fantastic! Listening through my headphones the first one sounds slightly fuller, so that's the one I'd go for in a solo situation. That said, the second might well cut through a little better in a mix... It really boils down to how you envisage using them.
I preferred the one to your left which had slightly darker wood on the back. It looked a little more varnished and sounded ever so slightly louder to me with the overtones. However they are both amazing instruments and I will be happy with either. It would be interesting if you compared a Eastman 10ss to an Eastman E10d to see how much the different body shapes impact the sound. Just a thought for a future video 😁
My alternative to the J45...love the J45 but it's 3000.00 price tag is off putting. Love the E10 ss in a tobacco sunburst color! For a 1/3 of the price! plus cheaper if used!
I just revisited this video and, although I liked the first guitar most the last time I watched this, today I'm picking up a ringing noise from one of the treble strings. I have a hunch a quarter turn of the truss would fix that. Also, every time you lifted your arm off a guitar, I would hear the tone noticeably open up. And that right there is why I have installed an armrest on every one of my acoustic guitars, four of which are Eastman.
OK. My first thought was: WTH?!! But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. As consumers we're always hearing about the need to try guitars you want to buy because there are variances even among the same model. This demo showed that even though they're similar, and maybe more similar than other brands, and they both sounded great, most folks, myself included, preferred the first one. Other brands seem to have way more variation, and not in a good way. I appreciate the videos. Keep up the good work. (NOTE: I just got an E1D and I love it.) Peace. ONE MORE NOTE: I could be mistaken but I thought that the tiger stripe pick guards are hand made in Canada, maybe originally for the Bourgeois guitars, who have partnered with Eastman.
I am picking a minor difference in the brightness on the one to your left. Ants knocker it it so would take any based on tone. More flamed back option is the one I would pick overall. Very sweet. 👍🇦🇺
Agree that sound boards look unfinished without a pick guard, but these look thin, plasticy and a weird colour. I'd leave them off and let the owner fix them on, pref a well made wood one you can find online that doesn't kill the tone.
First time I have seen this video. For me I would be delighted with either of them. The difference is personal taste. If I had a choice it would be the the one on your left. The one with more mahogany , as you say flamboyancey. I wouldn't disagree or agree over the two. Definitely no electrics on these beauties.
Not saying they haven't got good sustain but there is compression on the video sound making them sound like they are sustaining more. You can hear it bringing the volume up slowly after the attack phase.
Want try one of these. I have an Eastman t59v electric and it’s honestly the nicest guitar I have ever owned. Not sure if I just got lucky but the tone, feel, mojo, vibe of the guitar is incredible. I have owned all the top brands and nothing comes close to it. Really fancy one of their acoustics now!
You're not alone Jon,I have a t59v too,an amazing guitar.i also have just bought one of these,that to amazing,get one soon you won't put it down. I keep thinking because of the fantastic quality of these guitars the price is going to rocket.
I liked both , I couldn't discern any difference aurally tbh. The finish on them is delicious and the pickguards add to the old fashioned aura . It's interesting they use Adirondack spruce ; which according to George Gruhn was used on all Martin guitars up to WW2 . Obviously because of the war , Sitka was more available and after the war, there was a trade embargo or something like that ,that made Adirondack unavailable or just too expensive. I drool over their T58V personally , seems to "Outgretsch" Gretsch on every level !
I don’t understand why guitar buyers want to buy a guitar that has false wear marks put onto it. It’s not just Eastman that are doing it but hey ho, I picked one of these guitars up the other day and they feel very comfortable in the hand to play. It would be better if they were fitted with electrics so the buyer has more options
A different type of review but I liked it just the same. Yes one has more low end giving it a bit of a fuller tone. Many guitars are like this that's why it's advisable to play as many as possible to find just the right one that appeals to you. I purchased a E10SS/V in may online from a dealer just to see what all the hubub was with Eastman Guitars & there's no dealers close to me. Well the guitar sounded pretty nice, no complaints there but the finish and little things like a bubble in the pickguard bothered me. The finish had marks that were not consistent with the relic or hand rubbed process that were pretty obvious. I told the store about them & they offered a small refund or I could send it back. Since it played & sounded ok I kept it, he did say he'd send me a store Tee-shirt instead of the small refund, but that's never happened. I'm changing the pickguard to the ole F-45 style so that worked out. But all this talk "Awesome", "Fantastic" guitars I feel is a bit much. I have less expensive acoustic's that play, look & sound better so I wasn't overly impressed but maybe I just got a not so great one, the perils of buying guitars online. Why didn't I just send it back you ask, cuz I kind of like it! Go Figure.
I like the pick guard. Acoustic steel string guitars without pickguards looks strange to me, and those are nice ones. Both guitars sound good. It doesn't sound like a J45. Way too many overtones, which I think people are often trying to get away from and toward a drier sound when they gravitate toward a J45. They sound good though. Seems more like a Martin-ish than a Gibson-ish tone to me.
Your review on this guitar is the only one that is the honest sound. I just received one from Eastman guitar in California. They replaced my D8d that the bridge came almost come off from belly bulge. Will that bright bright sound mellow out and what strings would work to tame it for now. The other reviews must be controlling sound from amp or what ever
I have Martin Retro Monel (12 gauge) on mine, and it sounds fantastic. Certainly not too bright and lovely overtones and harmonics. Re the 'review' I found Ian Meadows demo to be the most accurate, sonically. He also uses exactly the same setup for all his demos to help with comparison.
At around 0.17 you hold a box and say 'and inside these two guitars', and I thought 'hello, they must be like Russian dolls, guitars inside guitars, that's something new'. Great video as usual and interesting guitars.
They both sound very nice, if you played them back to back and cut the visual of the video honestly I wouldn’t be able to know which were which. You showed the bodies very well, Wouldn’t mind a brief explanation on the neck and headstock though, what kind of frets, tuning pegs etc... not sure if the action on the neck were satin finish or gloss. Just two cents from the peanut gallery Richard 😂, love the videos!
I was tempted by this but I've folded and bought myself a j45, I never got to try the e10ss but I have to say the Gibson is the best guitar I've ever played, probably not worth 1000 more than the Eastman but I'm inspired to pick it up everyday
Glad you found the guitar that surprise s you every day, everyone has their own sound they look for. I was looking for a j45 and tried a few out, but none hit that sweet spot for me, I tried a standard e10ss and I knew I had found that sound I was looking for, and as said, it still surprises me every day.
I was lucky enough to find a store that sold Eastman and also had a J45. They were very close, but the Eastman didn't quite have the volume... very close but not quite. Also, the Eastman had the bassy boom of the Gibson but just not quite there. So in all comparisons, it was like if the Gibson was a 10, the Eastman was at a 9. But for someone like me "maybe" the Eastman is good enough esp for the price. So I couldn't decide and so I didn't buy either. Still thinking about it all. I'd like to find an old J45 though, I have played a few of those and they are beautiful and I don't have another 20 - 30 years to wait for a new one to age to that beautiful sound LOL
The one on your left, or the right of the screen, sounded a little warmer to me. The other one, the first one, seemed a little brighter. Maybe my speakers are affecting my opinion. They are both beautiful.
I love Eastman acoustics Richard when lockdown is over I’m driving down to your shop p.s I’m so glad to see your hair is worse than mine due lockdown 😀
They both have a nice tone but I think the prettier, more flamboyant guitar, comes in second. The gold medal goes to the first one you played. Without the same model guitar for comparison, that second place guitar will fly off the wall.
Don’t see the point in comparing 2 guitars of the same model from the same manufacturer. I bought an E10SS from you back in Sept / Oct, what did you expect to find different? As they are hand made the only difference would be in the small variances between each guitar. Either way they are both great guitars. However mine is a tobacco sunburst, which I prefer
Hi Thomas. Well interesting you should say that. Many many people will not buy a guitar online in fear that one guitar will not sound as good as another. In my old days of selling Martin guitars for example there was MASSIVE and I mean extraordinary differences between them - with one sounding classically as I would expect with another sounding dead. Or the saddles/geometry would be very very different. This video demonstrates VERY clearly the continuity found in EASTMAN guitars particularly. These guitars both have consistency of sound and feel with just some variance in visuals - a small difference I found in tone but very small. So you could argue it leads to a "why do this?" scenario from your perspective but the very fact they are indeed very similar proves the consistency is there in this brand. The video as mentoned was done to help a customer as he didnt want to buy one guitar that looks nicer IF another guitar SOUNDED better. Hope that helps explain the video and I personally found it really interesting to do and thought you would find it interesting to observe as very often you dont get this consistency across 2 different model acoustics.
Thomas chalmers man Of course their is a point as you get to hear the difference in two pieces of wood with two sets of string. If they are the same as you hear and feel them, then that’s a comparison outcome for you. If they are different then that’s also acomparison outcome! 👍🇦🇺
I have no doubt about the build quality of the Eastman ss models but the nut is too narrow and Gibsons just sound better. Sure the Eastman's are cheaper but it's false economy if you don't want to pick it up.
Ironic that you’d use Gibson as your comparison as the number of Gibsons I’ve picked up flat id have trouble justifying for firewood - I’ve lost count. Gibson have a repudiation for the worst quality control imaginable so if we are to talk about guitars only being inspiring if you are able to pick them up I couldn’t agree more and that’s why I’d choose an Eastman. Tonal properties are very personal and whilst I’d disagree about the sound as I love them I do agree with build quality being an equally important benchmark
Listening months later, l like the look on the right but the tone of the left..seems to project a more robust sustain.. crazy. Overall tone is close, handmade they will never be identical in tone OR estetics, almost dare l say it..."Taylorish" tone? I would LOVE either, what a pair in the rack that would be, my SB59V in vintage cherry next to that perfectly matching acoustic...ugh.
Excluding the pick guard they are stunning guitars. The pick guard really isn't to my taste, I think it would look nicer with a black guard and white edging. The deep red reminds me of a pair of leather shoes that my grandad had - only brought out on special occasions.
Wow. Amazing to see and hear. Thanks Richard. First 1 sounds fantastic but the second has the edge for me. Your right tho they sound very very similar aha.
There's some serious compression going on in this video. The way the audio blooms on the sustain is quite annoying and makes it quite difficult to really hear whats going on with the guitars. Given that benefit of the doubt, these guitars, while sounding nice, don't sound remotely like a J45. Way too jangly and no real body. That said, it could be the recording.
Hi. The best way I can explain it is to pick up a pointy rock guitar and put your heart and soul into playing jazz on it. Especially a bright pink one! No matter how hard you try its hard to really get into the feel of the music knowing you are doing it on a bright pink pointy rock guitar. Having an old school instrument that literally looks and feels the part has a massive impact on the players expression. One of the reason second hand guitars are so popular is they have that feel about them - something you just connect with that a brand new guitar often lacks. Hope that helps explain it.
It reminds me of paying twice the price for jeans that come with holes that would have gotten you picked on as trailer trash 50 years ago.. So what the heck does the v mean.
Vintage varnish finish. Hand applied. Also referred to as violin finish as it’s the same application as they make to their world class violins. If you don’t fancy the aged lool you can go for the E10SS so no ageing.
@@RichardsGuitarshop Thanks for the reply. These are both wonderfully sounding instruments. I think what I was so inartfully getting at is whether the v is worth the extra cost and the most helpful would be to compare a non varnished E10SS with the a red one. I of course realize you may not have both at the same time though. With headphones #2 in a photo finish but how they would sound from a player standpoint in real world acoustics is another matter. You couldn't go wrong with either.
Andrew Hayes I don’t like sprouts so I don’t buy them but I guess you don’t really care about that. As far as relics being fake, that’s just silly if it’s made and sold by the original manufacturer. It’s just aesthetics and individual choice. It’s likely to be more original if anything..👍🇦🇺
