Product: Eastman Guitars AC308
Price Paid: USD 400 USED
Submitted
02/04/2009
at
11:07am
by
Gardsounden
Features
:
8
2008 made Eastman AC 308. Made in china
The Eastman I am reviewing is the AC308 with a cutaway. Has a hand rubbed nitro gloss finish. Grand Auditorium sized (think 000) but 14 frets to the neck. VERY Slightly smaller and thinner than a Martin OM sized guitar. Tastefully done cutaway (not sharp nor quite the softer venetian style, either.) Tuners are GOTOH. Binding and Rosette is in the same style as a non-herringbone Martin D-28 but the neck is bound celluloid style. No pickguard. 25" scale 1 3/4" nut. Neck feels like a mix between a Larrivee and a Martin C and not as thin as a taylor. 20 frets expertly laid and finished. The guitar is ALL solid woods. The mahogany neck is 3 piece scarf joint... note: the headstock scarf is nicely blended and matched with regards to the wood grain direction. No electronics. No neck strap pin.
Sound
:
8
This guitar is a responsive and lightly built instrument. It is bright and rings well. Perfect for lighter flatpick playing, too. It doesn't have a lot of range as far as lingering warmth or dark or smoky tones... but this is a focused instrument so it can produce warm tones but the decay is pretty quick thanks to its being built for immediate attack and response. Those with good vibrato technique can get sustain. But clean single note runs and transparent note separation for jazz chords are a breeze to get. From a live performance standpoint, this would work best with a singer with more of a pop or jazz sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
7
Nice looking guitar from 5 feet. All woods all well matched. Nut work, frets, are superb. Close inspection reveals best quality woods and wood working. Internally the finish is impeccable. Externally, the finish was sloppy for a guitar masquerading as a boutique instrument. Binding shows some stains, the bridge is not 100% parallel (maybe 98% but its just that little "skunch" off to make it noticeable. One of the tuners is similarly askew (literally the angle is off 2%) btw, I am being exceptionally picky. So these drop the guitar from a 9+ to a 7. Unless you were a player and interested in the nuances of building, this guitar would pass as a 10.
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
The guitar is too new to make relevant comments on this section.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
The guitar is relatively new and I haven't had to ask for anything so I won't make any non-relevant comments on this section.
Overall Rating
:
10
25 years of playing. Owned tons of guitars high end to low end all hand picked. I have owned 3 Eastmans all played amazing.. took a chance and bouth this one because the price was crazy low for a grand auditorium sized cutaway solid wood "hand-made" guitar in nitro. The guitar does look handmade and this something I find appealing... there is no way I would compare this to a collings or an Olson or lowden but it is a heck of a player and a GREAT alternative to a Taylor. I am a huge Larrivee fan and Eastman's from my perspective are the perfect match to those who love Larrivee's.... eg, Has all the stigma of not being $3k plus or branded as Martin/Taylor. Keeps the price reasonable and make players like me very happy as the bang to the buck ratio is completely unreal. Perfect 5 ply case came with the guitar. I cannot give this guitar a higher value rating than 10 or I would.... if you saw from my other ratings in this review I do not give this lightly. Buy yourself one and sit back and enjoy!
