I saw this on Facebook Marketplace and the grain and fit and finish jumped out at me and would not let go. So, I bought it for $600. Eastman T386 2014 model.
NGD - Eastman T386
- Thread starter Wilmywood
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Any solid wood involved in this guitar ? Eastman is reported as doing good copies, at a price that's very much underneath the one, of American original models they copy...Originals are so expensive these days, and sometimes that disappointing, that one may consider getting one some day...
It'd be interesting to know how you will feel about this guitar in a year time or so : I find that many advanced musicians seem to go back to the originals after some time, if they can afford them...
It'd be interesting to know how you will feel about this guitar in a year time or so : I find that many advanced musicians seem to go back to the originals after some time, if they can afford them...
Nice! Congratulations!
The top and body are all laminated maple. The neck is maple. I know a bass player in CA whose guitar player has one of these and another Eastman and loves them, otherwise I would have never considered it. We will see. Also, I researched these on Reverb and many of this particular model have been sold over $1000 up to $1400 so I don't think I can go wrong at the $600 I paid for it.
PS - on laminates - my '72 G37 has a laminated archback so I do not consider laminate a negative necessarily.
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Almost all of the semi-hollow types are plywood. I have one veneer site saved, and you can get some insanely quilted maple, enough to do a couple of guitars with, for a hundred bucks.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
A soild wood 335-alike doesn't sound like a 335.
600 is a great price! Eastman makes pretty great guitars.
600 is a great price! Eastman makes pretty great guitars.
FYI Gibson 335s have laminated tops as well
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I downloaded a set of construction drawings, and the drawings claim it to be a three layer veneer.
I would image that it would be easier for a garage Luthier to carve a top and back, that to laminate the plates.
I would image that it would be easier for a garage Luthier to carve a top and back, that to laminate the plates.
I’ve been very curious about these. Eastman full body archtops are held in high esteem by jazz players.
I’m looking forward to your thoughts once you’ve had some time to evaluate it.
I’m looking forward to your thoughts once you’ve had some time to evaluate it.
I'd go with those jazz players' impressions, this is very much out of my area of expertise and experience, but I can tell you my bass player friend in CA, his guitar player thinks highly of them and he has never steered either of us wrong. In addition, the workmanship really holds up on close scrutiny, for instance, the bniding, even that around the F holes, is very well fit.
That's beautiful! What kind of finish is Eastman using, these days?
tildeslash
Member
Most of those have the nut width of 1 3/4.
Yes it's listed at 1.72"
They call it Truetone gloss which is a very thin polyurethane
30 years of Eastman: revisiting the golden age of handcrafted guitar making
The history of Eastman Musical Instrument Company reads like a three-decade sprint through the evolution of stringed instruments, and it is a story shaped by hand tools and old-school craft
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Pretty, wilmy. Enjoy!
You are right, arch-backs and electrics are a whole different story, especially arch-backs I've heard...But I usually end up being disappointed by non solid guitars quickly...I like the tone of solid wood when I play an electric acoustically I think...
Alvin Lee 335 (or whatever the number is) is an all solid guitar (mind the feed back though - and the price
-).Yes you didn't pay much it seems, congrats...
Alvin Lee plays a 335 and it's a semi-hollow with a center block. I don't understand what you mean by playing an electric acoustically ...You are right, arch-backs and electrics are a whole different story, especially arch-backs I've heard...But I usually end up being disappointed by non solid guitars quickly...I like the tone of solid wood when I play an electric acoustically I think...
Alvin Lee 335 (or whatever the number is) is an all solid guitar (mind the feed back though - and the price
Yes you didn't pay much it seems, congrats...
Also the Gibson Alvin Lee 335 is laminated top, sides and back
Gibson Custom Shop Alvin Lee Big Red ES-335 Electric Guitar Review @TopGuitars.info
One of the enduring images of 1969’s Woodstock Festival is of Alvin Lee blasting out the solo section of “Going Home” on his 1959 ES-335 (which Lee nicknamed Big Red). When he cranked out the scorching solo to "Going Home" at Woodstock, his iconic axe became preserved for all time on celluloid...
www.topguitars.info
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A solid top would be insanely expensive. If you can find the pic of Gibson's press, it shows an entire sheet of plywood bent into sides. They slice that whole sheet up like a loaf of bread.
