My Eastman AC512, pictured on the right, has a more rounded OM body shape versus the traditional OM shape (as pictured with the E6OM).  I rather like the slightly more rounded OM shape.  It's not clear to me which Eastman models have this more rounded shape, but I can say that the 512 was made around the 2010 time frame (thus, it's a vintage Eastman?     ) 

Curious if anyone else has noticed the variation in OM body shapes in some of the earlier Eastman models? 

Well, it's been several months since I got my T-486. My initial nits remain but it gets played a lot. Considering that it resides in a stand next to a wall in my bedroom with some fairly respectable other brand semi hollow gits (or artwork as it is) hanging there that says a lot. 

The thing about the 486 is that even though there are things about it that bug me, they don't bug me enough to bother changing them.

I even went so far as to buy a set of much heavier tuners, and a very light aluminum tailpiece to help fix the body heavy character, and I have a Gibson 57 classic pup (as well as others) to dump the high voiced SD "Jazz" neck pickup, but even with these replacement parts in hand I am reluctant to change it. Why? because it "IS" different.

So far I've been able to adjust / compensate for its minor faults and changing it won't really fix anything that I cannot already tweak out.

I have my sound bases covered on Gibson branded stuff, so there's no need to try and duplicate any of them or other brands and the 486 just fits... like a comfortable pair of shoes, or well worn jeans, as much as or better than any other semi I own or have owned. 

Some little things I have come to appreciate about it are:

The pick guard. Yup, the PG. I use the PG to anchor my right hand and it doesn't flex or make noises like some I've owned, and the PG being bound rather than laminated is definitely an uplevel appointment seen only on "better" (read as high end) models from other companies. 

The bound Fretboard. Usually I could care less if a FB is ebony, rosewood, torrified maple, richlite or whatever. My fingers cannot tell the difference between them. I like to say I'm not sensitive, so much so I could likely sleep with an anvil under my mattress.

What I like about the 486 FB, is its finish. It's one of the most unusual FBs I've played, smooth as freshly polished glass and slides up the neck are definitely different on it. The only other neck I felt this way about was a 50's Goya Les Paul type that had an all plastic pearl type FB. Being new to Eastman I can't say if this finish is common or typical because my 165MX is definitely more typical of a Gibson... meh I do not notice it.

Eastman definitely has a winner with the 486, I wonder why the natural finish is discontinued though.

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several songs I sing require that I either transpose to a better key for me (alot of work for me) or use a capo. So I use a capo, then I can play with the same chord shapes and don't need to relearn a song. But I think that using a capo, generally muffles or a least changes the tone of a guitar significantly. Please comment if you have experience and an opinion about a capo's effect on tone. Thanks all.

You can now tag someone in a post using the "@" symbol.  This will create a link to their profile in the text of their message. Hope to add notification functionality at some point in the future.

Example: @"Meathead"

Cheers,
Tim

I came across this article recently:

http://acousticguitar.com/everything-you...itar-kits/

Has anyone been tempted by the desire to build your own acoustic, using a pre-fab kit?  Sounds fun.. and also quite a bit of work!

Saturday I bought an Eastman AC422 off craigslist, picked it up in Spartanburg, SC. Like new, a lady bought it 3 months ago, the sitka is so white is looks like adi. I'm thrilled with it. Playability/neck feel is great. She ordered it, it was too big, it's new, my discount is about enough for me to fly to LA to see my son. Today, I bought a wonderful Recording King ROS-647 (ROS-627 with abalone bling) from a EGF member, from whom I bought my AC822 years ago. The RK is quite a surprise, built with spec as Martin's 000R but made in China, open headstock, 12 fret, nut 1 13/16" , it feels, plays and sounds wonderful. A mellow toned voice I have been after for years as my singing buddy. Great lookers, nice guitars.
On the RK, the strings feel loose, I guess it takes a little getting used to, the short 25" scale.

Last night, an RK ROS-697 Excellent Condition, showed up on Guitar Center used for $199. I researched some, found that this model has Brazilian rosewood, eventually was something special, as ebay and several AGF threads said this model has sold for over $8,000.  I know it is probably an error but I bought it at midnight. I think the error is probably that the label inside the guitar actually says ROS-647 and somebody read it as a 697 cause the 4 maybe written sloppily by hand. The picture shows a 12 fret guitar with open head stock, so any ROS Xlent Cond for $199 should be fine for a keeper or resale.

Curious if anyone on EGF has tried (or owns) a ToneWoodAmp?  Experience?  Seems to have great reviews.

https://www.tonewoodamp.com/

For a fingerstyle soloist - this would be a very interesting tool to have in the bag.

The first one minute of this video explains a 'muddy' tone guitar, (move the slider to zero if it starts elsewhere).   The late Bill Collings always began each build with the most choice wood to be found.  Bruce Van Wart has been the wood selection guy at Collings since their startup, still handles every piece of wood going into their guitars, their wood is always grade AAA.  Not true for most major brands.

Proper stiffness along the grain line and across the grain is the first priority in selection.  A guitar with an extra warm tone does not = 'muddy' is my point.  Solid wood used in Eastman Traditional and AC series have always been of high quality in my experience. This video demonstrates to me why hands-on Eastman and Collings are comparable.... vs CFM, Taylor, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b6e0AvYjUI&t=72s

I'm thinking about upgrading the tuners on my E10 00. Has anyone done this and if so what tuners have you used or would recommend?