I have Eastwoods Airline H44 DLX which is their take on a 1954 Harmony/Airline H88 Stratotone Doublet. I changed the PU's at the neck. I got a '55 Harmony Gold Foil NOS that dropped right in. I put a Duncan Pearly Gates at the bridge but put on a 50's style toaster cover so only a collector would notice it was not some factory PU of the era. The same with the bridge. It had a rosewood bridge. You can not adjust any saddles and it sucked up the sustain. I put in a Fender Mustang bridge. It is bent steel so it is period correct looking. Finally it came with white Gibson knobs and a switch tip from a Strat. I put on Harmony cupcake knobs and a barrel switch tip. Eastwood should have done the same since it would not have cost more. So it looks more authentic and the hummy thru my Plexi takes down walls. It has more sustain than my LP. The fit and finish is excellent. The tuners are cheap acoustic guitar strip tuners. They are in keeping with the original. BUT! They should get some that are at least smooth turning.They do hold tune better than the best because an earthquake could not move them, lol.
UPDATE: Eastwood is going to pay for the return costs and issue a refund. They have recognized that this should have been a B-Stock item. Happy ending :) ----------- Would you Eastwood? What would you do with this one? Find the Eastwood Airline Twin Tone here: 🛒 Reverb reverb.grsm.io/gpuv8wvdgd1p 🛒 Ebay ebay.us/F7bxvx
I bought an Airline Bighorn in snot green and a Classic 6 in beautiful emerald green years ago. Both fun guitars and arrived here in outback Australia in perfect condition. Great review as always.
Disappointed in an expensive squealer. Shame, too, that candy apple red 53 Corvette vibe goes away once it's plugged in. All the Eastwood demos I've seen make them a tough buy, even as a lefty. Dang. Fun, as always, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Hey Landon, I’m one of the leftys being blessed by eastwood, I have their spectrum 5 and it’s actually one of the best guitars I’ve ever played Im genuinely surprised by the low quality of this one
I have owned a few Eastwoods and I only had an issue with one. It was a semi-acoustic and they made the mistake of not reinforcing with extra wood the inside spot for the strap button on the upper horn, so of course the screw stripped out the thin layer of wood in no time. In all fairness when I contacted Eastwood about this they said give them a quote from a repair shop and they would cover it, but I ended up fixing it myself.
I really like the way it looks and initially I thought the tones sounded fine, but the squealing would be annoying and shame about the imperfection in the finish. Price seems toppy for a Chinese-made guitar with a basswood body. So many strong options at that kind of pricepoint (especially if you include that shipping cost).
I used to try and gently tap in a bushing that wasn't seated all the way but I discovered a better, safer method. After removing the tuner I place the ends of a plain leather strap on the back of the headstock and over the bushing. Next I use a small C clamp to slowly and safely press in the bushing. Works great.
Seems like like a product that you pay a premium for its unique and eye catching design, but guts of the gutter are more in the 200-300 range. Very informative thanks.
@@landonbailey I don't have much experience with their humbucker models, but I think you'd like the tones of their P90 guitars. Not nearly as wooly at the neck.
I bought an airline bighorn as my first guitar. It was a lemon. I took it to 2 places for setup and it turned out to be a mis-seated bridge. I replaced the cheap hardware with a stewmac of higher quality and sold it for $250 after fixing the buzzing issues. just my experience with the brand. They do look cool though.
Hey Landon, Michael Robinson, the founder and president is completely accessible and hes a super nice guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who reversed the shipping. I dont like chunky necks but with the shorter scale I've thought about it. I reviewed the Classic 12 and it was fantastic. Incredible sound. I dig the sounds you got from the neck pickup. The bridge pickup def sounded off. Thanks. I hope you and your family have a nice holiday. Mark
I recently purchased an Airline Jetsons Jr. single pickup version. it plays well enough (though I needed to adjust the truss rod). I’m still not sure on the pickup, the output is high but it sounds a little thin. It doesn’t squeal, but I haven’t gotten a chance to crank it yet. Mine is Indonesian so maybe it’s different. The price was $600 US but I purchased during a 24 hour sale and got the matching bass for free. To be honest this was the only reason I went for it, I plan to sell the bass and recoup most of the cost. The bass had some bad solder joints but Eastwood reimbursed me for the repair. No finish flaws on either of them.
Thats a lovely single cut, the color is very distinctive! I have the Airline 59-2P in a tobacco burst finish and while I love it to death, for a Korean made guitar, the price sure was ouchy!
I got a Bowie story, the town I live in Kidderminster in England 🏴 used to be a flying stop for upcoming bands in the 60s & 70s A young Rolling Stones played here The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Eagles, The list is quite a long one ....Robert plant lead Singer of Led Zepplin still lives here to this day, anyway David Bowie played a set here in his younger days and my dad went to watch him, didn’t have a clue who he was at the time, and when it was all finished David Bowie was walking up the high street and my old man shared a cigarette with him, it’s his story that I’ve heard a million times so I feel obliged to share it with you lol 😂 cool story though Bowie’s a legend & still a favourite on my playlist 👌🏼😀 I’d expect a lot more from a guitar if I was buying that without the discount, you can get entry level with a better fit & finish 🎸
It’s a shame, the sound didn’t come across to bad, it’s when you opened it up, plus one thing we don’t get across in the video is how the guitar feels & that can be a major deciding factor in wether to keep it or not
@@landonbailey I can def see your point w the plastic..it's too bad on such a cool guitar..kinda finicky concept-y design but not cheaply priced..pups not great..
This is something I would get as a mod project, It looks real good in the video, personally I would buy it and all the cheap stuff would have to go, ream the pot holes for better ones, throw a better switch in it and for some reason I think those art deco tuning peg keys would look much better on this, maybe throw some Pearly gates or Dimarzio 35th Ann. I think that would solve the problems for the most part then its down to just how it feels, and as long as the wood working and hardware feels good then I think it could be a hit if its your thing. For the money you may be better off looking elsewhere though.
Really like that gumby headstock,but send it back, don't let them get away with a blem that big,not a fan of non waxed pickups, even if PAFs came that way years ago.
I am always impressed by the production value and editing of your videos, and this one is no exception. Great job as always! Oh, and I would totally send that bridge pickup back to Planet Guitar on a one-way flight.
It’s unique! That’s about the nicest thing I could say! Reminds of a 50s style diner. Don’t know if Canada had those, but for awhile they were big in the U.S. Weird analogy, but now I’m thinking of Happy Days! Yo, I’m the Fonz! I’m losing it, Sorry 😢 !
Well, dang. Im sorry you didn't like your guitar, Lando. But yeah, looks like vibe is the only thing going on with this guitar. I could tell right away those controls would be in my way as well. I wish you could swap it and try out another one of their guitars. After being thoroughly disappointed with the MIC Casino I bought (very disappointed Beatles fan...), I'm so happy with my Airline H77! And it IS a Lefty Paradise!
That looks and sounds like a toy not an instrument. It seems like they're way overcharging local Canadians to prevent local people from complaining about the quality as that could affect business pretty badly.
OK palm muting on the bridge pickup looks like the same as cupping a mic for a singer! you'll get the squeels / feedback, microphonic pickups = upgrade the bridge pickup to a p90 perhaps? I have a a nice blue epi 339 that you can't easily get up high on the high strings soloing, much like the Beatles Epiphone you have, too. Upgrade and enjoy it mate :) Do you have a Gretsch? the G2622 streamliners are cool and just over 5 pounds! maybe trade for one.
Having a look at their website I'm just impressed you managed to get the 8000 points needed to get 30% off! 500 for signing up and then 250 each birthday, how did you manage to get the rest?
@@landonbailey That's interesting. Over here in the UK the website definitely says 8000 for 30% and 250 per birthday. Perhaps the fact they know they're about to charge you 100 dollars for shipping makes them a bit more generous with the discounts😂
@@landonbailey Yeah good point. Interesting video, as a George Harrison fanboy their classic 6 (country gentleman remake) caught my eye but for 100 pound more you can get the gretsch version (G5422T) and I think that'd be a better option.
Eastwood is Canadian in name only. The first Eastwood I bought some years ago (a limited edition of 50) was a disaster. They had to send me three before I got one that was acceptable. Eastwood’s policies give me the impression they hate Canadians. Mike told me that only 5% of their sales are in Canada. (not surprising when you think of it!!). If that's the case, why not give Canadians a break and sell their guitars at par with the US? The low volume would likely not affect the bottom line much. Surely they can keep SOME inventory in Toronto. They DO have lots of great-looking instruments, which makes their pricing even more frustrating. You have to want a retro-style guitar. I have no issues with the cost of shipping. US - Canada shipping is expensive. I bought a Carvin Belair in 2007 and shipping was US$65 (when the dollar was worth 60 cents US!) so it's not surprising it's gone up. My issue is that they ship from the US in the first place. If you can't ship from Canada, then don't call yourself a Canadian company. The guitar sounds like you were paying it through their mini-amplifier. 🎸 😀
Landon, same thing happened to me with shipping and I was not impressed. Then later on I come to find out that the discounted price was actually the REAL price of the guitar and they make it look like they are giving you a discount. Not a fan of Eastwood and their ways. Some nice guitars but I will pass. Did you pay a lot of duty taxes? Cheers! p.s. I agree that the parts are cheap. Overpriced B>S>. It's like having a girlfriend or boyfriend that looks great and when they open up there's not much there.
thanks for sharing. I paid taxes up front with the order. It was shipped FedEx and I did not owe anything on delivery. However sometimes FedEx bills after the fact, because I have an account, so I'll see.
@@landonbailey Right, that being said, I believe I was billed later on but it was UPS. You may be in the clear my friend. Thanks for doing the video. This was a good honest review.
I literally just watched a new video from twoodford where he worked on a guitar with microphone pickups. He filled the pickup covers with paraffin wax so there wouldn't be extra vibration in the pickups. That should help with the squealing. That said, I agree that, for that price, quality control really needs to step up their game.
It's so ugly I really dig the looks. The rosewood on the neck looks great. Before you even mentioned it I didn't like the tones I was hearing, but I kind of expect to hate the sound of the humbuckers in inexpensive Chinese instruments. It's an interesting scale length.. Overall, I think the deal breaker for me is the position of the switches, pots, and the output jack. The PUPs could be upgraded, but I just think it would look better on the wall than it would feel playing it. Great review. It's nice seeing something different.
I don't think $900 is considered inexpensive, but compared to the same pricing of the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson models, this one doesn't hold up well.
Super disappointed in the quality control and cheap parts used. I was looking at getting a couple of Eastwoods though now it's very unlikely. Great independent review. I guess we know why they don't send out guitars to reviewers now.... 🤔
I didn't realize they were/are in Canada. I own an Eastwood Custom K-200 (made in Korea) and it is a great quirky guitar. Great quality for the most part other than the wiring looks a bit cheap but I plan on upgrading eventually. Very groovy stuff. Edit: Also worth mentioning is that I found a great used deal on Reverb at $500 shipped including original hard case. The fret work is really top notch on mine as well. Would I have paid full retail? No......probably not.
they say they are based in Canada, but they don't ship from Canada, nor make anything in Canada. So it's kind of Canadian based, but also not really. Maybe kind of like the way Peavey is these days.
These reissues always look off to me because of the use of stock parts like pickups, bridges, and tuners. The originals were quirky because every part felt like it was reinventing the wheel.
That "little" imperfection on the back may be the reason why you got "free shipping". (They sent you B-stock!) I would be ticked off, since it's a new guitar. 🤬 😡 🤬
@@landonbailey I hope you're right, but for $1000, you deserve better. It would definitely make me think twice before buying from them again. It isn't "good business" in my humble opinion. 😟 🤔
I got a pair of Seymour Duncan 59’s that might be very happy in one of these. Favorite Christmas movie… Hmmm I never miss muppet Christmas carol but I don’t do favorites, I keep it to too 5 or 10 because I have a fear of commitment.
...I gotta say I am a little disappointed with Eastwood not using better internal components, especially in this day and age of inexpensive quality guitars. Hope they pay attention to this
@@landonbailey that Two-Tone is one of the models I have had interest in, thinking it was a step up in the Eastwood lineup, but those microphonic pickups were horrible. It seems to me that leaving additional wood in the cutout for pickguard support of the mounted electronics and even epi-grade pickups would have made this guitar a keeper
Beautiful guitar, just seems like it has a few issues to iron out. The 1960's Airlines were Res-O-Glass bodies which had their own unique sounds, this one does too. In that regard it's an attempt to recreate Airline Guitars, sold at Montgomery Ward's & Sears for $ 99. Not sure many artists use the Airline's, you'd have to be Jack White for that. And in that case if one was looking for their own tone & sound, this might be the guitar for them. I'd expect wax potted pickups for a $ 1K+ US dollar guitar. If you want microphonic, a GLarry TL is hit & miss on those ceramic single coil pickups and can be had for $ 100 or less. Who knows if the bulge on the back is by design ? I doubt the Res-O-Glass Airline's of the 1950's/1960's were perfect body builds ? From photos of a Res-O-Glass body, it's pretty much a hollow fiberglass shell with blocks of wood for where the hardware mounts. Personally, I like the look of the modern Airline guitars, but that doesn't mean I'd like the sounds. They're most likely much better than the original Airline guitar ever was. Not sure what $ 99 translates to in terms of 2022/2023 money for inflation. Today's $ 100 Chinese guitars are simply better than a $ 55 Kay or $ 99 Airline ever was back in the 1960's simply because CNC & technology is more accurate for manufacturing this level of musical instrument.
It's an odd looking thing. Yup.. 50s vibe sums it up. Looking at their website, the only thing that really leaps out is the Trinni Lopez lookalike. For about the same price as an Epiphone (similar looking thing) signature model for a girl I've not heard of.
I have been tempted to buy Eastwood guitars but have always concluded that they are likely a fairly decent quality Chinese guitar (which is fine) with a huge price premium added for the clone/designer angle (not fine), hence would feel like a mug if I shelled out for one.
I used to have an Airline guitar that had a fretboard screwed onto an aluminum tube for the neck! It was hollow with no holes, and the body was like fiberboard! It was the time and was harder to smash. Very lightweight though. Still, a piece of crap!
I thought the tone at around 9:16 was really nice but if it involved eq'ing your amp to vastly different settings than usual I think new pickups might be in order. As you dig the aesthetics of the guitar you could keep it and use it to demo different pickups (if you're sufficiently confident in your soldering).
It's 249 bucks for shipping in Canada now!!! Also the only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on a new buy I do have3 Eastwood that i Got used and they're awesome Shame the shipping is so high
@@landonbailey exactly !! I totally love the brand but that's a very prohibitive thing for buying them. @eastwoodguitars you need a distributor in Canada? Heck I'd do it!
Yea, you could’ve gotten a Gretch Streamliner for less but a much better guitar. They sell Squires that are better quality for cheaper. They are sure proud of there guitars.
Interesting you mentioned this. I just bought their Guyatone LG-50 because of what I'd heard about the pick-ups. I was a little disappointed with the frets buzzing. I couldn't truly evaluate the tones from the pick-ups with that problem. Very annoying. It'll need to be readjusted somewhere with some of those strings. But i picked up my streamliner G2215 and whoaa. What a sound that thing has. And for $200 less.
Maybe instead of calling it "airline" they should call it "Dirty Harry" because the tones just don't take off....✈...or just "Clint".....I don't know what I'm saying...thanks Landon!
I don't know brother. As a long time sub I'm on the fence with this one. See, I know you have the 'touch' to bring it up to snuff (within a relatively high probability anyway at least)... but the real question here is what is it worth to you??? She's got that nifty fifty vibe going which can easily lure the eyes into maybe following down the upgrade path. On the other hand, you're already into her for so much even with the discounts etc. So really, is her visual allure enough to want to give her the much needed 'vocal lessons'??? I honestly don't know. From reading other comments here I can easily agree that it doesn't seem to compare at all to Epi's QC or even the hardware hidden inside. Of course, I don't think it's fair at all that you'll be facing a cost for shipping it back merely because you live in the country the brand is from...that's bizarre and uncool. Love your candid honesty as always. Very sorry for your disappointment. Guess they can't all be winners. Going to get the occasional lemon when you run a review channel. Sorry this happened to be one especially since it could have and should have been a pretty sweet find. I still hope you give the Gretsch Electromatic g5220 a go at some point. I really think you'll like it. More now seeing how you dug the classic visual throwback style of this one. The gretsch looks more like a ritzy LP but has tones I think you'll dig the heck out of. Anyway, my fingers are winded from typing so in case this is your last video before the holiday hope you and your family have a merry one filled with good times, good vibes, and good 🎶!!! 🤘🙏🤘
I agree on a g5220 review. I put a Duesenberg trem, roller bridge and locking tuners on mine. I left the pickups alone, they work fine for me. It's a great guitar, upgraded or not.
@@landonbailey I could definitely get behind that Fender on Darrell's channel though. Sound very close to a Gibson, but with the feel and lightness of a tele
You should get one of those Airline 59s, that you had a poster of in the background of this video. I heard great things about the Eastwood versions of those. They also have some really cool ones, with three pickups and a Bigsby, that i'm currently thinking about buying.
I have a white 59 3p DLX with licensed bigsby vibrato, super cool guitar, great finish, love the neck and fretboard (very playable IMHO) overall a very good instrument. If you are not the kind of person to be annoyed by the quirkiness of the instruments design I kinda recommend owning one, definitely something different, good looking and good sounding.
@@marcop1587 i already have one and i love it lol. I got the black "Ripley" one, (whoever that may be). It has a built-in boost switch, ofc i love the quirkiness!
So, it would cost you $105 CAD to not keep the guitar? That’s expensive for not getting a new guitar. I got a New Supro like that and kept it because it was 50% off, so I traded it in for what I paid and got a Gibson. I should have returned it, but same with the shipping.
Wow, for that kind of money I would have expected better quality components and craftsmanship! It looks cool enough to spend some money on decent pickups and pots, but you really shouldn't have to at that price. Not sure what to think.
You should've got the model with the 'proper' vintage correct style pickups, not humbuckers. Eastwood do a version with their ‘Vintage Voiced Single Coil’ pickups, which are recreations of some kind of the (humbucker-sized) single coil pickups the vintage original version of this guitar had.
@@landonbailey hmm. maybe Eastwood only use those vintage correct pickups on their higher end models now. they certainly used to use those pickups on a model with that same body shape as your guitar (the vintage model was a Supro Dual Tone, i believe). the vintage pickups superficially look like humbuckers but they're not. your red guitars has all the vintage looks but not the sound. shame.
The guitar is totally cool .... BUT..... I think that it cost way too much I think that you can get something way better for the money.... You can actually get a usa gibson for around the same amount of money...... Just my opinion...... I really love your show Landon keep up the good work... Btw have a amazing Holliday ....
Thanks, Landon. I've been interested to see more of these, too. Unfortunately they seem to have carried over some of the toy-like attributes of the originals along with the great looks. Too expensive for that. In this case I would try to send it back. That "At your expense" often refers more to change of mind situations. I've found when there are flaws companies sometimes accept eating the return shipping. Have a good Xmas.
Airline makes great guitars for the money and you can get some great deals during the Holiday season. Along with Reverend Guitars, they are underdogs of the guitar world.
I've bought guitars just for the look...hell, I'd play them if I could. But I've also bought BMWs that cost half of what you've paid for this one...and I still have them.
@@landonbailey I got one for 350eur (seller wanted 1000 which it wasn't worth), one for 550eur, one for 1550eur...just the ones I still have...(that was a while ago, when I could have got many for little money in the US, too, instead I paid thousands for rental Mustangs there. I never checked prices in Canada though and I don't care about modern cars)
I just picked up one of these in mint condition. Used off reverb with a hard shell case for $300. Fit, finish, playability and sound are all top notch. My model is from the 2010 era which apparently had better construction and QC. All I know is that it's a joy to play and it sounds fantastic.
Eastwood guitars have always been overpriced for what they are imo. certainly how they're priced in UK anyway. one is certainly paying a premium for the vintage repro looks. A big problem is that they often don't fit their repro guitar models with vintage correct designed pickups - as in the case of the guitar model in this model. for me, that defeats the purpose.
Eastwood improves some models other meh... I certainly wouldn't call it a improvement on all the models like their RDs are for sure a lesser quality and I've heard some of their LPs can be a big hit or a big miss
