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Post by Leftee on Jan 23, 2024 10:38:36 GMT -5
A while ago I sold my LP Trad. I turned a little profit on it, but I sold it as I was yearning for something more along the lines of a LP Historic.
I'd been reading the Eastman comments/reviews here and looking at their line. What I ended up with is the SB59/v. The "v" is for varnish. It's a hand-applied varnish much like is done on violins, etc. The guitar has some relic hardware and a worn look, but not a beat up appearance.
One piece Mahogany neck w/ ebony FB, bone nut, Jescar frets, Lollar Imperials, CTS pots, Orange Drop caps, switchcraft jack and switch.
I found a lightly used one for a great price. Should be here this week. I'm stoked! Hoping this is "all that" in my LP world.
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Post by reverendrob on Jan 23, 2024 12:17:52 GMT -5
HOpe you like her, they sound nice on paper but I can't stomach that $$$ for an import - and I don't mind imports.
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Ryder
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Post by Ryder on Jan 23, 2024 12:24:12 GMT -5
Really nice Guitars, Leftee. I like my T64 with Lollar P90s a lot! Very light weight too.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 23, 2024 12:56:01 GMT -5
I hear ya about the imports, Rob. It just seems to tick all the boxes for me. I’ll know soon enough.
This will also be my first experience with Lollars. 😎
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Post by samspade on Jan 24, 2024 20:12:21 GMT -5
wow, I didn't realize they were that pricey!
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Post by Leftee on Jan 24, 2024 20:42:41 GMT -5
It wasn’t huge money. Not by today’s standards.
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Post by LTB on Jan 25, 2024 7:01:15 GMT -5
Post photos when you get it Eric!
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Post by Leftee on Jan 25, 2024 15:10:07 GMT -5
Just arrived.
I had a quick play through the shop amp.
This is “The” Les Paul sound in my little world. This sounds excellent! Playability is great, as well. And it weighs 8lbs. 6oz. That is awesome for a solid body.
I’ll get some pics up later.
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Post by LesTele on Jan 25, 2024 16:51:34 GMT -5
I was lucky. My Les Paul is my perfect Les Paul.
Same with my Tele.
I wouldn’t be LesTele otherwise.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 25, 2024 17:47:54 GMT -5
These pickups are outstanding PAF tone generators. Really digging them a lot.
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Post by LTB on Jan 25, 2024 22:26:54 GMT -5
Hope the finish is not too soft and scratches easily. What is your opinion on how it feels and plays Eric?
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Post by Leftee on Jan 26, 2024 9:46:59 GMT -5
The guitar has a weathered/worn appearance. It’s going to be a challenge to see things I do to it.
Point- Eastman 😂
This is the first factory-relic I’ve purchased/owned. I’m no big on this particular market-space. This purchase was less about looks and more about playability and tone. In that regard I’ve very pleased.
I’ve got an Epi ‘50s LP that I put Parson Streets in. I’m going to A/B the guitars to see if I keep the Epi.
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Post by reverendrob on Jan 26, 2024 11:38:29 GMT -5
I was lucky. My Les Paul is my perfect Les Paul. Same with my Tele. I wouldn’t be LesTele otherwise. I feel you, I have two of the same "weird spec" production from '16 with the extraide frets and ultramodern features. The first one I was curious so did #yolo order firing I could return it if it suckd. I'd owned LPs before but never fell in "love" with one especially at the price points. They were mostly one-trick ponys - a very nice trick, but took pu a lot space (case etc and care versus a 'knock around don't hurt me' Fender stuff The '16 I bought EXPECTING to change the tuners if I kept it (the last run of the G-Force were on it) but I loved them so much (and stil do) that I put 'em on all my other Gibbys. Perfect extra-wide neck (with a problem solved I'd had for 30+ years where I push the E strings off the fretboard with HUGE fingers and being a lefty-playing righty giving...a little extra he-man fretting hand strength. Axcess neck joint, plethora of tap/split/phase options. *nice* gloss in good colors on the high-end studios that ear, with real MOP inlays, my favorite 490/498 set already installed. I knew tihin days of getting the first I *had* to get a second just because everything Gibby I ever like gets discontinued QUICK. I found a sister born a couple weeks later than my first, and it's study in both exact CNC/modern finishing similarities (good!) and "how much different the sum of the SAME parts is). The wine red first one does SLIGHTLY better jazzbox but does 95-98% of the other one's range and the necks are TWINS. The second, arctic white monster, is Sex Pistols/NY Dolls/Ronson snarl writ LOUD, but it still cleans up and does jazzy stuff with that same 95-98% overlap. I haven't felt like getting another LP since. The second was originally paranoid (if malfunction/break/etc killed #1 I didn't want to chase oddball short run thing 10 years from now) but if I *had* to pick one it'd be the keeper by a nose. BUt when you gfet the RIGHT LP, don't ever let it go. It's an EXPENSIVE chase to find the right one especially if you let the "one that got away" get away.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 26, 2024 13:46:09 GMT -5
BUt when you gfet the RIGHT LP, don't ever let it go. Agreed! In the end that's why I let go of my Trad. It was an excellent guitar. I just though that there must be "more." I ended up leaving the Gibson brand because of price. Where I was headed, in my search, was a lot more than I'd ever spent on a guitar before. What I got for my Trad paid for this guitar. 🙌 Not that I don't love Gibson. I've still got my LP Trib with P90s, my 335 and my Explorer. Not bashing them at all. I just went down this road for a LP-styled guitar.
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Post by reverendrob on Jan 27, 2024 0:52:52 GMT -5
BUt when you gfet the RIGHT LP, don't ever let it go. Agreed! In the end that's why I let go of my Trad. It was an excellent guitar. I just though that there must be "more." I ended up leaving the Gibson brand because of price. Where I was headed, in my search, was a lot more than I'd ever spent on a guitar before. What I got for my Trad paid for this guitar. 🙌 Not that I don't love Gibson. I've still got my LP Trib with P90s, my 335 and my Explorer. Not bashing them at all. I just went down this road for a LP-styled guitar. Ya, I feel you, my LPs were the most I've ever paid and I did it twice in < a year. And they weren't even *that* bad ($2kish, but they did come with road cases t least) And I feel like I got off CHEAP given how happy with them I am 7 years later. They're basically a mix between a LP Recording and a Custom (without binding), which I'm fine with!
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 27, 2024 11:01:03 GMT -5
I've played many Eastmans that were hard to put down. And, putting Lollars in there makes it even better! We swap a lot of pickups in our shop and there are a lot of good ones out there, but it isn't often we turn our heads because something sounds so good, and one of those times was a set of low-wind Lollar Imperials.
I've never played that model before. Having an ebony board on what is otherwise a "standard" seems interesting.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 27, 2024 14:59:29 GMT -5
I recall seeing the Eastman name pop up at my old music store hang out years back now. I dismissed the whole line as cheap imports, didn't realize it a "thing". Sounds like you got yourself a dandy, Eric. The varnish finish is interesting. Having become a fan of shellac I went down the "violin varnish" bunnyhole. Some wild and exotic recipes out there.
"100 g of white shellac 100 g of Rosin 50 g of Castor Oil 20 g of Siam Benzoin (optional) 1 liter of Denatured alcohol"
With a footnote of "It's possible to add to this varnish preparation some Gamboge to color the varnish"
🤔
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Post by Leftee on Jan 27, 2024 19:50:29 GMT -5
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Post by LTB on Jan 27, 2024 21:47:02 GMT -5
I've played many Eastmans that were hard to put down. And, putting Lollars in there makes it even better! We swap a lot of pickups in our shop and there are a lot of good ones out there, but it isn't often we turn our heads because something sounds so good, and one of those times was a set of low-wind Lollar Imperials. I've never played that model before. Having an ebony board on what is otherwise a "standard" seems interesting. I did the same thing with Eastman and Sire
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Post by LTB on Jan 28, 2024 1:18:36 GMT -5
Leftee, what makes the Eastman as good or better than a Gibson?
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Post by LTB on Jan 28, 2024 1:20:04 GMT -5
Leftee, what makes the Eastman as good or better than a Gibson?
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Post by Leftee on Jan 28, 2024 10:14:30 GMT -5
This guitar just feels and sounds like a really great LP.
That said…
It looks LP-like. It’s not a clone. It sports a different type of finish.
A Gibson purist would discount these guitars out of loyalty. And, after all, it IS Gibson’s space.
I was faced with replacing my Trad with a Historic. But I wasn’t going to land said Historic for less than $3500 (used). And that would be an exceptional deal.
I paid less than half that for this instrument.
Side note…
I played my Epi ‘50s LP for a while yesterday. The one I put the Parson Street HBs in and leveled the frets. It definitely lives in the space that the Eastman occupies. The acid test for me is always the OD tones of the bridge pickup. That certain midrange character of a PAF is sublime to my ears. It was neat to experience that my Epi is close to the mark.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 28, 2024 11:33:02 GMT -5
Yeah, I think Eastman knows how to do a look-a-like that isn't a clone. With their 335 version, it has a maple neck, wide nut width and ebony board. So, it seems like they're making the ES-335 that the jazz-fusion guys always wished a 335 was, rather than trying to nail a 335. I'm not quite sure the thinking on their LP is as obvious, but it is still interesting. I remember loving the LP Studios from the early '90s with the ebony boards, so if it is like a lighter/better version of that, I'm sure it is a keeper.
I babbled too much about it in a Heritage thread, but it really is the correct way to do it. Unless you want to go all in and make an incredible replica (Nacho guitars make Fender CS look like Squier Classic Vibe) you're best off figuring out how to make a good guitar on your own terms and your own market... and by extension, for the customer base to evaluate it on its own merits without asking "is it as good as a...". If my 335 disappeared and I had to buy a new one, I'd probably buy an Eastman instead and probably enjoy it more... but if asked which one "nails" the 335 vibe, it is obviously the actual 335.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 28, 2024 11:59:04 GMT -5
you're best off figuring out how to make a good guitar on your own terms and your own market Reading Eastman's story (linked above) it seems that's how they went about this.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 28, 2024 12:21:39 GMT -5
Oooh, I missed that the first time.
I like it. The crazy thing about Les Pauls (and many other solid body electrics) is that it is mostly about design choices, not just nebulous ideas of "quality". If Gibson made the same design choices on the baseline LPs that they do on the high end ones it wouldn't cost anything extra, and they'd be great instruments.
I wince a little bit about the emphasis on "hand made" because it is often silly... who cares if a body blank is cut out with great-grandpa's sharpened screwdriver or on a CNC? But, I also get it. They need to make stuff in China and also ditch the "Made in China" mentality among the consumers. You're a player who knows a good guitar when you see/play one and don't need to overthink it, but for many players this is a serious obstacle.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 28, 2024 12:38:01 GMT -5
The "handmade" thing made me wince a bit too for the same reason. In my mind "handmade" is the "hard way." But does it add value and consistency? That's academic in my little world - and regarding this particular guitar.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 28, 2024 12:59:29 GMT -5
Right.
I could be biased, because "hand made" in the US is often an excuse for low quality/wide tolerance, hoping we'll dismiss something as just being quirky. The reality is that you can still be process oriented and have tight quality with hand tools if you want. "Hand made" may be an excuse for not getting the bridge in the right place in any consistent way, but you can absolutely be consistent with that by hand if you want to. I'm sure that article doesn't tell the whole story, and the Eastman factory probably has a very different feel than any American shop. And to be fair, I've seen plenty of "machine" things that are inconsistent, partly because they fail to modify CADs as needed, like the $7000 LPs I had to setup where the neck pickup route wasn't deep enough, so the pickup had to be set too high. That isn't a hand vs. machine thing, that's just lazy.
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Ryder
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Posts: 856
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Post by Ryder on Jan 28, 2024 18:56:41 GMT -5
Cool, glad you like it! They sure seem to be well made guitars!
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Post by langford on Jan 28, 2024 20:10:24 GMT -5
wow, I didn't realize they were that pricey! I'm a huge Eastman fan (I own four) and would say they are only inexpensive in relative terms. You'll pay a whole lot more for comparable guitars from the big brands. So, Eastman is massively competitive, but you still have to be in the higher tiers of market. The good news is that we're living in a whole new world of high-quality instruments at affordable prices. I've got some of them, too.
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Post by langford on Jan 29, 2024 7:29:29 GMT -5
... you're best off figuring out how to make a good guitar on your own terms and your own market... and by extension, for the customer base to evaluate it on its own merits without asking "is it as good as a...". If my 335 disappeared and I had to buy a new one, I'd probably buy an Eastman instead and probably enjoy it more... but if asked which one "nails" the 335 vibe, it is obviously the actual 335. "Vibe" is an interesting point. I've come to view high-end guitars (and "vintage" instruments, too) simply as objects. One can spend $5,000 or $1,200 and get a great instrument. The quality difference won't be all that large. You can also close it further for reasonable amounts of money with after-market parts, which you can on your own time and according to your own budget. High-end "classic" instruments, IMO, are more valuable for what they represent to individual buyers — the story of a company, the history or influence of a particular model, a tribute to a favourite player, the first guitar you fell in love with etc. That's valuable, too, but not in the objective quality way. We're buying fetishes. Nothing wrong with that. It's why I can't look to Epiphone to scratch my itch for a Les Paul Jr. Which comes back to your point: Guitar makers are best off making good instruments on their own terms and us buyers should simply evaluate them on their own merits, tangible and/or intangible.
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