Eastman Guitars AR805CE

2004 Eastman AR805CE archtop guitar. Well described in other posts, so no need to repeat here. As one writer said, how many features do you need on an archtop? It's got 'em. Hand carved, solid top, meticulously built. Mine is in classic violin finish, with an awesome matched flame in the back. Its picture is posted on the 12th Fret website at:
http://www.12fret.com/new/eastman_AR805CE_factory_second_pg.html

In writing about these guitars, you have to talk about both the acoustic and the electric sound. They are obviously put to a wide variety of uses, judging from other posts on this guitar and Eastmans in general. First, the electric. The floating pickup (a Kent Armstrong design with "Eastman" on the face) is visually unobtrusive. With electric strings, it produces a nice and somewhat woody jazz tone, through my Peavey Classic 30. I haven't had the opportunity to try it with other amps - some people rave about how they sound with Polytone or Ultrasound, but I can't vouch for that. The E models ship with D'Addario XL 12s, although I asked 12th Fret to replace these with 13s before sending it to me.
Recently, Harland Suttis, a world-class guitar technician and archtop fanatic, talked me into putting bronze strings on it, which I had been reluctant to do since they presumably do not sound balanced through a magnetic pickup. I discovered two things: one, they do indeed not sound balanced through the pickup, although the imbalance is not as bad as I was led to believe; two, and more importantly, the guitar came alive acoustically. The bronze strings really drive the top, and the Eastman just barks. The harder you hit it, the more it responds. I don't think I'm ever going back to steel strings.
Some people have tried GHS White Bronze or DR Zebras, which are magnetically active. I haven't as yet, but from what I understand, they are essentially a compromise. They give better acoustic response than regular steel, not as good as bronze. You have to decide how you want to play the guitar and base your string choice on that.
If you want to see what it can do acoustically, put on a good set of 80/20 bronze strings, the heaviest gauge you can stand (at least 13s), use a really stiff pick, and beat the crap out of it. Play it for at least 20-30 minutes to warm it up. You will be amazed. It can take heavy strings and it can take a lot of pounding (not abuse, just good hard chops). It is an awesome acoustic rhythm instrument.
It also sounds wonderful on acoustic lead. A good strong attack will bring out the best in it.
I'm still looking for a solution to the bronze string / pickup issue. There are a number of floating pickups on the market with adjustable polepieces, and Gordon Roberts of Eastman has stated that they are considering to switching over to an adjustable pickup in 2006. In the meantime, I am trying a Pickup the World archtop pickup as another possible solution. So far, it sounds good, not the same sound you would get through a mike, but I like it better than the floater. If you decide to mike the guitar, you have to be careful about mike placement and watch out for boominess and feedback (which can also be a problem with the PUTW pickup). Hey, if you don't want to have to worry about feedback, get a laminated guitar, not one with a carved top.

Action is highly adjustable through the truss rod and the floating bridge. The setup was good as received, although I have had some further setup work done by Harland Suttis here locally. A higher action will of course bring out the acoustic sound.
The antique violin finish is gorgeous, so much so that my wife even lets me keep the guitar in the living room on a stand, she likes it that much. It will suffer dents and scratches with use. That's the price you pay for a thin finish that won't interfere with the vibration of the wood.
The back on mine is beautifully bookmatched. I have seen others online that don't look as nice as this one.
I have only run across two flaws, both minor. There is a bit of checking in the headstock, the result of a bit too much water content in the glue. It is nearly invisible, and you have to look at it at the right angle in strong light to see it. I can't complain - this caused it to be declared a factory second, and the price wsa reduced as a result.
The other probem that has surfaced is a bit of shrinkage in the pickguard, causing the binding to pull away in a couple of spots. Because I live far away from the dealer, they authorized me to get it repaired locally and reimbursed me for the cost. A few other Eastman owners have encountered this recently.
Other than those things, fit and finish are superb. This guitar is obviously the work of real craftsmen.

I've only had it for six months, but it seems durable, with some caveats. The finish was commented on earlier. Can;t be helped. I'd rather have the thin finish that gets some scratches than the half-inch of varnish you get on some guitars.
I don't think you can abuse this guitar. It is a piece of carved wood, after all. Take care of it and it should last a lifetime.
Since I plan to play it mostly acoustically, I can't imagine why I would need a backup, unless someone put his foot through it (which would probably be the last thing he ever did).

So far, so good. 12th Fret was very responsive to my problem with the pickguard. Also, there are two very active forums for Eastman owners, which are monitored by Gordon Roberts, their head marketing guy. He readily responds to questions or problems.

For my purposes, this guitar is as close to my dream instrument as I am likely to get. It is an amazing guitar at any price, but for $2000, it's unbelievable. I woud definitely replace it with another if anything happened to it. I have been looking for years for a pre-1950 Epiphone Triumph but couldn't find one in good condition I could afford. I may still buy one someday, but I don't need one anymore for playing purposes - the Eastman does the job.
I play in a big band, and have recently been playing it acoustically, after switching to bronze strings. It is turning heads. None of the band members have ever heard anything like it - they are used to electric. It is incredibly loud, with a ferocious midrange bark that is well suited to big band rhythm. I also play in a smaller group, and have to back off somewhat because it is so loud. The piano player told me to "be careful about opening that thing up!"
I'm not entirely sure I would buy an E model again, unless they do come out with a pickup that works well with bronze strings. Also, some people will tell you that a non-cut will be acoustically louder than a cut, others will say it just ain't so. I don't do a lot of work that high on the neck, but it's nice to have the option. This thing is so loud now that I can't imagine why I would need more volume anyway.

2005 Eastman Strings Uptown AR805CE. Sixteen-inch f-hole, archtop jazz guitar, hand-carved in Eastman String's Beijing shop. Classic violin finish with thin lacquer. Selmer cutaway, 3 inch deep body. Solid carved spruce top, maple sides, back, and neck. Ebony bridge, tailpiece, fingerboard, fingerrest, and headstock. Single floating Kent Armstrong pickup with volume knob on fingerrest. Hidden tone knob added under fingerrest. 25-inch 22-fret fingerboard, comfortable 1-3/4 wide nut. Carved ebony floating adjustable bridge. Seven-ply binding on top and back. Three ply binding on f-holes, fingerboard, fingerrest, neck, and headstock. Inlaid Eastman logo. Top and back tap-tuned to concert D. Price includes soft/hard Eastman case with backstraps. Gold Jinho art-deco, stair-step tuners. No fret markers. Too cool!

Extremely expressive, sensitive guitar for solo jazz, smooth jazz, blues, gypsy, or big band comping. Use a heavy pick like a Jim Dunlop Stubby at an angle and you sound rich and full like Herb Ellis. Play flat and strong and the bright sound cuts through an 18-piece big band with little amplification. Highs or lows are fully within your control. I use an Ultrasound AG30 so the guitar sounds like it sounds, only louder. Extremely quiet pickup, no matter what amp I have used. Have never had feedback. Put the amp behind your left shoulder and relax. Don't expect it to sound like an amplified laminated Epi or Gibbie. It won't. It's a true acoustic archtop guitar.

This guitar was expertly set up by Eastman before leaving their Maryland facility, and then fine-tuned by dealer Jeff Hale's luthier Denny Rauen. The result is intonation that is dead-on, for the entire length of the fretboard, frets leveled and smooth, and fret ends comfortably filed. Always go for a professional setup. I had Jeff and Denny add a tone control. The neck is smoooooth. The classic finish on the guitar is stunning. Lot's of compliments from players and audience members. Our drummer thought I had somehow snagged Mother Maybelle's L5. Sorry. I was just a half million short!

Eastman ships the instruments with D'Addario EJ21 round wound light jazz strings. There is slight binding at the nut on the D and G strings. Not a big deal. I may get the nut filed if it proves to be problematic.

This guitar is great for live performance. But it is a fragile, hand-carved, one-of-a-kind instrument. I never abuse it, let it out of my hands, or turn my back on it. Are you crazy?

Utterly dependable. Watch the humidity, temperature, etc. Keep it in tune. Keep it clean. Don't intentionally abuse it like Richie Havens or Willie Nelson, or beat it to death like Freddy Greene. If you're a string-breaker, you're probably not playing jazz guitar. I saw Howard Roberts, Joe Pass, and other guitar greats playing at Donte's years ago, and I don't recall them carrying backup instruments to the club. No backup.

I have never had any warranty issues or complaints. I registered the guitar when I purchased it, and they responded online that same day confirming the registration. The guitars have a full lifetime warranty to original owners.

Even though Eastman Strings has been making violins, cellos, and basses for more than a decade and accounts for at least 30 percent of the stringed orchestral instruments sold in the US, the guitar and mandolin division is relatively new, (2003?) and Eastman Guitars continues to evolve. Eastman Guitars has an on-site forum and discusses warranty, new-model, and complaint issues openly and candidly in front of Elvis and everyone. They seek input from players on proposed new models and prototypes, and produce new models based on player preferences. Incredible! When was the last time any guitar company cared what you thought? Check out the new thinline Eastmans!

I tried a couple of Eastman archtops that were early models and though the sound was great, I thought the nuts were too narrow and the necks were too thick. I kept looking, and found my dream guitar, wide nut, comfortable neck. Because Eastmans are individually carved, you will find they differ slightly from one to another in tone, dimensions, and playability. Check out dealers in your area and try as many as you can. You won't be disappointed.

2004 Eastman 805ce in natural, made in China by Eastman Strings. Solid, carved spruce top, maple back and sides, three-piece maple neck with ebony fretboard and headstock cover, venetian cutaway, Ken Armstrong floating pickup, gold-plated Grover Imperial tuners, ebony bridge and tailpiece, carved and bound F-holes. Came with fiberglass case and strap.

I'm learning jazz after years of floating by on half-assed DSjango chords and folk picking. This is the guitar for it. Not a 335 sound, but a nice traditional archtop sound that's rich and full with chords, even with single strings (bass is a bit boomy). It responds well to right-hand styles and sounds very nice amplified. I practice acosutically, which is so much different. But, this wouldn't fill the room like a traditional archtop or a Selmer-type model. Defintely needs to be plugged in.

Action set up by Eastman, pretty low and comfortable. I'd prefer round-wound strings, but I can change them. I love a natural tone and all their guitars seem very well built. I can see a little glue where the neck meets the body, but it's ever so slight.

I can't imagine this guitar will fall apart or crap out--it'snot an Epiphone or any off-shore model for under $1000, this is great. Whenever I pull it out at lessons, etc, the pros with their Gibsons ask to play it and they always seem very impressed.

n/a

I love the sound and feel of this guitar. After years of playing small-bodied guitars, it seemed very big at first. But, it has a wonderful tone and I can't wait to really break it in and get a nice, aged mellow tone out of it. I love to play Django,

Now comes the China question. I don't always support China and its human rights policies. I have a hard time not buying American. But, this manufacturer is solid with offices in the US and trained luthiers at their disposal. Plus, I've heard they receive excellent compensation. If my purchase helps their artisans live and work well, then I guess I'm OK. I would would like to buy a handmade archtop someday directly from a luthier, but for now, this is what I could afford.

I got my Eastman 805CE a month ago and here goes:
This is new 2004 model with the new tailpiece. 14 Frets to the body and 22 overall. The finger board seems to have a working gap over the body, as not to dampen resonance. There is a single plastic covered pickup with Eastman printed on the front, I cannot tell the maker. There is one volume control concealed under the pickguard, which serves to stay out of the way while struming and keeps the look cleaner. There is a floating bridge and tuner are of gold finish and superior quality. A black space-age case with backpack straps were incluced. The electonics jack share the same hardware for the strap.
I give it a 8 because I'd like to have a tone control.

Ah, the sound:
This guitar reacts very intimately to picking a stumming nuances - that is: it has a 'round' 'brown' sound when stumming lightly or when I turn the pick at an angle to the strings. Yet, the guitar will turn brighter and louder when played harder. This is to say, it's not a forgiving guitar in the hands of a beginner.
The first, second, and third, strings can overmodulate if hit too hard - they will lose the nice sound somewhat and just get louder. Also, I detected harmonic overtones on string 1-2-3 in the mide register - this is harder to describe. Some notes, when hit pick up harmonics and keep resonating until the string is muted.
The 4-5-6 strings can deliver a buzz if not fingered behind the fret - if your fingering is back from the fret then it will let you know.
I give this guitar a 7 in sound:
I am very critical and it may be my preference, but I would prefer a guaranteed round brown sound at all picking and stum strenghts. Also, a better guitar should pick up fingering nuances and become easier to play and more forgiving.
Let me say one thing - this guitar is RESONANT. The whole guitar resonates and vibrates when played. If you keep the body next to yours you can feel the resonance in your chest. I like it!

Fit and Finish:
There were some light scratches on the side of the neck above the body. It looks like a craftsman used some steel wool and did not refinish the area. It's a small area and the scratches are light, but they are there.
There is a blem in the pickguard, which looks like it might be a glue spill or a worn spot - it's like a shiny dot. I expect this to wear away with time. There are a few varnish zits.
Rating 7 -

This guitar feels light and delicate. I dont know that I would gig with it, at least I would be very careful it I did. It feels more like a fine instrument than a warhorse.
If I pick it up by the neck, it creaks, as is to say "Hey - be careful".
I give it an 8 because it feels like a fine instrument and asks to be treated kindly, as opposed to my Strat.

No direct experience. But from the forums, Gordon seems very involved, concerned, and engaged.

This is a fine musical instrument, obviously hand built, and it reflects that character. It surpasses many instruments costing much more. However, you should try out each instrument carefully because I played another 805CE and it felt totally different. I think the overall intonation varies much depending on playing, it is not forgiving to bad fingering, there are suspect harmonic tones developing, and there are a few blems in the finish.

But - an eight for this guitar is like giving an eight to a Ferrari. This is a fine guitar, and to many who are not as critical, who dont mind, and maybe are not as retentive as I, then this could be a 9.
Overall 8 - go ahead and buy one, but know what you are comparing when you shop.

Eastman 805-CE, natural finish, acquired in June, 2004. Single cutaway 16" jazz box. Solid spruce top, solid flame maple back & sides, 3 (well, 5 if you count the 'ears') piece maple neck, ebony fingerboard, ebony pickguard, & solid wood (rosewood?) non-compensated bridge. Neck-mounted Kent Armstrong wound p/u, single volume control hidden under pickguard. Includes case, which is basically a retooled cello case from the Eastman Strings factory; works OK, but essentially a solid-bodied gig bag, ie, don't put it on a plane...

This is very much a jazz guitar, and I run it direct into the amp, although I'm considering putting some sort of eq in line to deal w/ the feedback issue. It has a very natural and warm sound, although it's rather 'live', ie, prone to feed back, if you turn the volume up. This is a genuine jazz box; be prepared to wrestle w/ it to control the feedback if you tend to be a loud player. I love the way it looks, plays, and sounds, but it'll make you work to keep it under control.

The workmanship on this instrument was OK. Fit & finish were good, and the wood was flawless. A couple of finish warts, including a 'zit' of varnish, and a varnish drip, both of which really shouldn't have gone unnoticed. Setup was good right out of the box, although neck required readjustment after a couple of months. I think this is more due to the fact that it's a solid wood instrument, rather than to any carelessness on the manufacturing end. Everything I've seen, played, and heard says that every Eastman is unique, so my advice is to try it before you buy it; caveat emptor...

This is a great guitar, and I think it's built to stand up to professional use. My only caution has to do with its tendency to feed back at higher volumes. I've played it in a trio situation, and it's been just fine; it's also a terrific instrument to play in a duo situation with a vocalist. Since it's also rather new, I'm thinking it'll settle down as it ages a bit. I've used it on gigs w/o a backup, & I consider it a dependable instrument.

Eastman has incredible customer support. They stand behind their products, and no issue goes unresolved. If there's one thing that makes Eastman unique, its their dedication to buyer satisfaction.

I've been playing too long... I have many guitars, including a '66 ES-175D, '62 ES 125 TDC, an early '70s Tele, and too many more to mention (just ask my wife)... I really like the Eastman's sound, playability, and tone. If there's a downside, it's that it's prone to feeding back, but that may be more because I take it to playing situations where a 'plywood' instrument (like my Epi Sheraton II or Epi Howard Roberts) would work better... For the price/value, fully recommended.

2004 805CE model w/single pickup, volume knob only.
Came standard with frets, neck and body with f-holes.
Seriously, What kind of "features" should an arch top have?

This guitar sounds very very good for a guitar that costs 2K.
It immediately jumped out at me. the tonal envelope is very very jazzy and nice. I had an old Heritage H575 (my old war horse) that I constantly had to tweak to get to sound right for me. That guitar fought me every step. Not the case with the eastman. It sounds amazing "unplugged" It's a perfect little jazz box for me, and I have yet to find any loud wolf notes, which my Heritage had in spades.
It's a little brighter than I'm used to, and I kind of wish it had a tone knob, but it's honestly a minor quibble. That's why there are tone knobs on my amp. One quirky thing I noticed about the pickup is it is a little buzzy, almost like it's not completely grounded. The effect it has on my playing is when the strings touch the pickup, at very low volumes you can hear a "click" sound of the pickup grounding out on the strings. But in a band setting it is not audible. Some folks with ears that are very sensitive might find this objectionable.
I also haven't noticed any weird spots on the neck where I have to change my finger positions slightly due to tuning problems.

..Overall this guitar sounds very very nice for 2 grand.

Okay, Here are the minor and few "complaints" I have.

Visual details.

There is a visual blemish on the neck right at the 6th fret. It is only visual and in no way affects the tone, so it doesn't really bother me. I'm sure other people would feel differently.
There is also a slight chip on the neck binding at the twelfth fret, that again, is strictly visual. The wood finish is flawless. The bookmatching is also top notch. It's a very sexy looking guitar. (I suspect only to other guitar players)

Setup
No complaints at all. This guitar is setup perfectly, and I checked the intonation very carefully, due to the age/reputation of the company. The neck is great. It's a very playable guitar.

One thing I had to modify was to remove the little block of foam under the pickguard. This foam piece caused the pickguard to be almost directly in line with my picking, and it left very little clearance for picking on the high E string. The pickguard is now down a couple of millimeters, and it's no problem.

Tuners:
A lot has been said about these tuners. I would agree that they're a little cheesy, but mine have been stable. Time will tell.


Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the instrument. I bought it because it sounded great. And aside from the pickguard modification, it's the only guitar I've ever purhcased (I've had many) that hasn't required a setup job to accomodate my frankenstein technique and playing approach.
This company definitely needs more work on their finishing, but since that's the only thing I've noticed, I'd say they're doing a good job offering archtops for such relatively little money.
I give this category an 8 out of 10 only because of the visual blemishes, which I know is a big deal to a lot of people.

I'll post if I have any problems.

No opinion yet.

I've been playing for 24 years and I've owned a lot of guitars, mainly because I always run into some weird tonal thing with an instrument that I end up struggling with. My heritage archtop was a very idiosyncratic guitar, and it had all sorts of weird things with it, like ringing due to the bridge (Velcro behind the bridge helped) The stock neck pickup was a dog. I replaced it with a Bartolini, which helped but didn't solve the problem. The H575 was just kind of dead acoustically. And the wolf notes! there were like 4 of them! Too many. The high E string also was very tinny. I tried 4 different bridges, different string heights, and nothing helped. Very annoying. I could blather on and on about that beast, but I digress.

When I went into the music shop, I was not looking for an archtop. I had kind of put my desire for a nice jazz box on the far back burner, figuring I was going to have to shell out 5-10 thousand bucks for something nice enough, which I was prepared to do eventually. I played a few at the shop, A Guild, a Heritage Johhny Smith type model, several Gibsons, a Country Gentleman, you know, the whole magilla.
When I picked up the Eastman, I was immediately surpised at the tone. It was so full, and just very round. There were 4 total on the wall, and each one sounded very different. One of them was DOA tonally, and the other three (mine included) all sounded quite different from one another. 3 out of 4 isn't great, but if you can pick the winner, then it doesn't matter.
It's a litle annoying that there isn't any kind of pocket or copmartment in the case.

My Eastman sounds great. It sounds great acoustically and amplified. It plays wvery well, and it's got a great neck. The 16" body is just fun to play. A real player's instrument. I suspect that once Eastman gets their Quality Control issues worked out, they're going to turn the archtop market on its collective ear. There is no archtop from North America that I've played that comes close to the quality and the value for the money. My guitar's not perfect visually, and at least one Eastman I played sounded bad, but mine sounds so good, I just want to play it all day.
If you're looking for a decent archtop, and you can't afford the down payment of a house required to get into a Buscarino, Andersen, or any of the other great American builders, this is a very palatable alternative.

I am adding this review of my Eastman because there isn't one of an 805CE, 16" model yet. There are a couple reviews of the same guitar, but the wider, 17" 810CE model.

Mine is a BEAUTIFUL sunburst finish that I called all around the US for two weeks looking for. They did a great job on it. It really is a handmade instrument. Everything is not exaclty perfect like a machine made it, but I like that about the guitar. They did a great job polishing the laquer down very thin; you can see the vertical lines in the wood grain in the reflection.

It has a simple pickup configuration with only a volume control that's hidden behind the pickguard, standard for all electric Eastmans.

Specs:
Solid flamed maple back and sides, spruce top, a three-piece maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, and an ebony-fronted headstock. It looks like the wood was chosen well. 24 frets. The pickup is a floating Kent Armstrong "mini" humbucker, which sounds very good (very natural, not too jazzy)

I am not giving it a 10 becase the tuners suck (Koren-made Jinko tuners). I will definitely change them.

This guitar sounds great. Keep in mind, the general consensus is that not all Eastmans are created equal. I bought mine sight unseen which is a crazy thing to do with an Eastman, but I got luckly (and California Vintage Guitar and Amp is a reputable dealer - you'd like to think they wouldn't accept a bad Eastman..[?]). Play several before you buy. That's the trade-off with a handmade guitar shop.

Overall, it is very accurate. I mean that I can hear all the overtones clearly at most dynamic levels. There is a small drop off in the low-mid frequency range at a low dynamic, but that's it.

Here's the thing with the Eastmans I played - the dynamic control is amazing. You can really be expressive, more so than with every other guitar I've played so far. I'm finding that I have to adjust my playing style because it's more sensistive and responsive than I expect it to be. It is sure to make me a better player.

The bridge has adjustable action. The action set by California Vintage Guitar and Amp is perfect - low but not too low.

The top was well bookmatched.

I have not discovered any flaws yet. There are a couple incredibly tiny dark-finish blots that splattered on the wood before they applied the finish, located on the back. It doesn't really bother me, it reminds me of a custom guitar my parents had made that was very nice and give it that handmade feel (which it is).

Keep in mind - if you don't like handmade guitars you may be dissapointed with an Eastman.

I think this guitar last, but I have not truly tested it yet. No one can say they've really tested an Eastman, the guitars are two years old at the most.

Everything seems like it will last except the tuners - they got to go!

Haven't dealt with them yet.

Would buy another in a heartbeat. Would not be easy to find a 16" model in a sunburst, though.