Eastman Guitars AR803CE-15

I bought this used on EBAY. I believe it's a 2008 model. The finish is a dark wine. I'm not sure of the official name for the color. It has a single gold Armstrong 12 pole Humbucker, one volume and one tone control. The tail piece is really a trapeze type covered with what appears to be an Ebony carved cover. At a distance it appears to be a solid Ebony tailpiece. The bridge appears to be Ebony. The guitar is very light. The action is respectable after I tweaked the trust rod a bit. The overall fit, finish and playability is good, but definitely not the best I've played. The molded hardcase is very nice and has a unique shape to it. You can't hold much in it, aside from the guitar.

A friend had an AR803CE-16 that sounded very good through a tube amp. This is what started my quest to look into the Eastmans. When I first received my AR803-15, it had flatwounds on them. It did not sound very good. The bottom was a bit boomy and the mid and highs were thin and flat sounding. I changed to a set of GHS rollerwounds. These strings have more presence than flats, but without the fingernoise of roundwounds. These are great for jazz archtops, in my opinion. This change improved the sound a bit, but still lacked the richness I was looking for. I decided to replace the stock Armstrong pickup with a Benedetto B6. The result was night and day. Because this pickup lacks pole pieces, the bottom sounded a bit lean. So I raised the low-end height closer to the low E and this balanced out the sound. The overall sonic effect was now very woody and rich, with a nice balance across all strings. I also own a Heritage Golden Eagle, which has a great woody jazz vibe. I find I'm starting to favor this little 15" Eastman. I can't get over how woody, articulate and rich this little guitar sounds. With the stock pickup and flatwounds that came with the guitar, the best I would rate it would be a "5," ...with the Benedetto and change in strings...a solid "10." I've been playing this little gem through an early 80s Polytone mini-brute II. The volume and tone pots on the Eastman are the mini type and look flimsy. On the performance side, they are very responsive to incremental changes in rotation. I was pleasantly surprised.

I feel the workmanship is not on par with my Heritage Golden Eagle, but for the price I paid, I can't complain.

Hadn't had it long enough.

Hadn't had a need to contact them yet.

Overall, I'm very happy with this guitar, but only after the changes I've made. I was looking for something smaller than a traditional 17" body, that had the same vibe. I found it with this little Eastman. Eastmans are one of the best bangs for the buck. The fit and finish is a bit lacking. If it weren't for that, it would be a solid 10.

I've been playing for over 30 years and own many guitars and amps, from solid state to Tubes.

Spruce top, maple back and sides, very light weight, one armstrong humbuckng neck pickup, ebony pickguard etc. Nice idea. violin finish is nice but checking began within 2 years. I would rate it a 10 if the quality was there.

I play jazz through a fender twin, Acoustic image with an EV and a Fender Cyber. I use Thomastix 12's . The sound is pretty good for a 15 inch guitar. This is it's strong point.

The guitar plays poorly with a bad S warp in the neck. this is terribly common among Eastmans. There are edges where the guitar was glued that are not smooth. some of the binding is not even and not all the frets are seated properly. It is sad that they used this quality of wood with this little attention to detail.

The guitar is quite light and with the rate of checking and neck problems, I would never depend on it.

If you are not the original owner, forget it.

I own a Takamine classical, A Godin Flat Five. an Ibanez GB-15. They are all superior to the Eastman.I will never own another one despite liking the sound as well as the finish, hardware etc. This is not a guitar I could trust.