Today my Eastman E1SS-CLA arrived via UPS. Right away I noticed that the cardboard box it was shipped took a little bit of damage. Also, the Reverb Seller basically just put the guitar in the gig bag and then in a cardboard box. There was essentially no packaging or padding around the guitar, which gave me lots of anxiety as I unzipped the gigbag and went in for the initial inspection.
As you guys probably already know, but if you are going to ship a guitar without a hard case, please make sure you spend extra time packing it well. I feel fortunate that the guitar arrived the way it did.
INSPECTION:
Upon inspection I didn't see any damage from shipping. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon more inspection I noticed a few small fit and finish issues where it looks like Eastman really rushed this model. My guitar had old strings, buzzing at the low E, and a lot of relief in the neck.
It looks like this guitar sat in a closet mostly unplayed for a few years. The guitar is in almost new condition with no fret or play wear.
SETUP:
Within about 20 minutes I had tightened the truss rod, put on new Martin 80-20 bronze lifespan 2.0 (12-54) and tuned her up. I put a small shim in the nut slot and got the buzz out of the low E.
I can't really fault Eastman for the setup since this is a used guitar. I think the only fault in it may be that the the first fret seems a bit high and the nut slot a little low. I can get these fixes worked out pretty easily though.
AESTHETICS:
The older I get the more I am enamored with the understated beautify of a sunburst. Something about the lines on a slope shoulder dread with a 30's fire stripe pickguard really speaks to me. I think my particular model sports a particularly beautiful burst.
Normally I would prefer a plain or sunburst top, but of the CLA that I have seen this one looks exceptionally good.
I'll let you be the judge. What do you think?
TONE:
My Initial impression of the tone is that it has a lot of strong fundamentals. The highs are bright and present, like a good Eastman should be. The mids are strong and snappy. The low mids seem a bit scooped, but the bass is very very strong and has the thuddy Gibson roundness.
The tone doesn't sound tight or muted. The guitar has an immediate attack and beautiful warmness. Overall it sounds like an enhanced J45 with more brightness and presence.
I am looking forward to hearing the guitar as the strings break in. I am also interested in trying some phosphor bronze and Martin Monel strings. I will give an update on those.
Oh, and this guitar is LOUD! The open pore and Adi top are a beautiful combination. It is louder and snapper than my J45, but the guitar still sounds pretty new.
Overall, the guitar still sounds a bit brighter, louder, and more present than my 13 year old J45. I think with time the E1SS may mellow out a bit.
NECK:
I was initially skeptical of the 1 1/16 neck because I almost always prefer 1 3/4in at the nut. However, I was surprised to find that the neck is very comfortable. Eastman uses a fairly round and deep D neck carve on these guitars. The neck feels almost identical to my J45 which is 1.72.
The neck measures 1.7 inches at the nut. This is probably why it feels a bit wider than some of my guitars with 1 11/16. Overall I am very happy with the neck shape and feel. It fits my hands well, and my hands don't cramp like they do on some 1 11/16 necks.
FIT and FINISH:
The overall fit and finish of the guitar is good, but not great. There is no glue around the joints or seams. Frets are polished and very smooth. The sunburst finish is very nice. My only complaint is there is some red wood dye/finish around the soundboard and rosette.
**Look at photo 1 to see the inconsistencies around the rosette. I have never seen this in an Eastman before. It looks like the red finish dye bled over the rosette lines.
My example kinda looks like it was finished in a hurry, but for an $800 guitar I can't really complain. All the major components are there.
HARDWARE and ELECTRONICS
Tuners are in good working order and they hold tune very well. They feel much better quality than my 2020 E2OM.
The Fishman electronics and battery add a bit of weight to the guitar. The undersaddle pickup doesn't sound great on its own, but given that I am running it through the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI (IR) technology, I am able to get a good sound through a large PA system. The LR Baggs VP DI blends a recording of your guitar with the sound of the pickup. This really eliminates the quacky piezo tone. I 100% recommend the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI. It's worth the investment.
I will most likely eventually take out the Fishman and upgrade it to an K&K Pure Mini. This will lighten up the guitar and improve the plugged in tone.
OVERALL:
Overall this guitar feels a lot like my E2OM Cedar, but with a lot more volume and clarity.
After my setup the guitar now plays well with low action. The saddle still has plenty of height so it can be lowered if need be in the future. The tone is bright, snappy, and clearly of the slope shoulder DNA. The guitar has plenty of volume, bass, clarity. Fit and Finish could be a tad better, but for a guitar that will get a lot of gig time, I could care less. The hardware works great and the pickup is useable.
The real value here is the build quality and tonewoods. This easily sounds like a $1500+ guitar, but I got this one for $600. The DNA is is basically an E10SS at half the price.
This was another home run for Eastman, and a guitar I think will get a lot play time by me.
If you can find one used and you like that Eastman slope shoulder tone then I would say go for it.
I give the guitar a score of 94 out of 100. For the price I don't think it can be beaten.
As you guys probably already know, but if you are going to ship a guitar without a hard case, please make sure you spend extra time packing it well. I feel fortunate that the guitar arrived the way it did.
INSPECTION:
Upon inspection I didn't see any damage from shipping. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon more inspection I noticed a few small fit and finish issues where it looks like Eastman really rushed this model. My guitar had old strings, buzzing at the low E, and a lot of relief in the neck.
It looks like this guitar sat in a closet mostly unplayed for a few years. The guitar is in almost new condition with no fret or play wear.
SETUP:
Within about 20 minutes I had tightened the truss rod, put on new Martin 80-20 bronze lifespan 2.0 (12-54) and tuned her up. I put a small shim in the nut slot and got the buzz out of the low E.
I can't really fault Eastman for the setup since this is a used guitar. I think the only fault in it may be that the the first fret seems a bit high and the nut slot a little low. I can get these fixes worked out pretty easily though.
AESTHETICS:
The older I get the more I am enamored with the understated beautify of a sunburst. Something about the lines on a slope shoulder dread with a 30's fire stripe pickguard really speaks to me. I think my particular model sports a particularly beautiful burst.
Normally I would prefer a plain or sunburst top, but of the CLA that I have seen this one looks exceptionally good.
I'll let you be the judge. What do you think?
TONE:
My Initial impression of the tone is that it has a lot of strong fundamentals. The highs are bright and present, like a good Eastman should be. The mids are strong and snappy. The low mids seem a bit scooped, but the bass is very very strong and has the thuddy Gibson roundness.
The tone doesn't sound tight or muted. The guitar has an immediate attack and beautiful warmness. Overall it sounds like an enhanced J45 with more brightness and presence.
I am looking forward to hearing the guitar as the strings break in. I am also interested in trying some phosphor bronze and Martin Monel strings. I will give an update on those.
Oh, and this guitar is LOUD! The open pore and Adi top are a beautiful combination. It is louder and snapper than my J45, but the guitar still sounds pretty new.
Overall, the guitar still sounds a bit brighter, louder, and more present than my 13 year old J45. I think with time the E1SS may mellow out a bit.
NECK:
I was initially skeptical of the 1 1/16 neck because I almost always prefer 1 3/4in at the nut. However, I was surprised to find that the neck is very comfortable. Eastman uses a fairly round and deep D neck carve on these guitars. The neck feels almost identical to my J45 which is 1.72.
The neck measures 1.7 inches at the nut. This is probably why it feels a bit wider than some of my guitars with 1 11/16. Overall I am very happy with the neck shape and feel. It fits my hands well, and my hands don't cramp like they do on some 1 11/16 necks.
FIT and FINISH:
The overall fit and finish of the guitar is good, but not great. There is no glue around the joints or seams. Frets are polished and very smooth. The sunburst finish is very nice. My only complaint is there is some red wood dye/finish around the soundboard and rosette.
**Look at photo 1 to see the inconsistencies around the rosette. I have never seen this in an Eastman before. It looks like the red finish dye bled over the rosette lines.
My example kinda looks like it was finished in a hurry, but for an $800 guitar I can't really complain. All the major components are there.
HARDWARE and ELECTRONICS
Tuners are in good working order and they hold tune very well. They feel much better quality than my 2020 E2OM.
The Fishman electronics and battery add a bit of weight to the guitar. The undersaddle pickup doesn't sound great on its own, but given that I am running it through the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI (IR) technology, I am able to get a good sound through a large PA system. The LR Baggs VP DI blends a recording of your guitar with the sound of the pickup. This really eliminates the quacky piezo tone. I 100% recommend the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI. It's worth the investment.
I will most likely eventually take out the Fishman and upgrade it to an K&K Pure Mini. This will lighten up the guitar and improve the plugged in tone.
OVERALL:
Overall this guitar feels a lot like my E2OM Cedar, but with a lot more volume and clarity.
After my setup the guitar now plays well with low action. The saddle still has plenty of height so it can be lowered if need be in the future. The tone is bright, snappy, and clearly of the slope shoulder DNA. The guitar has plenty of volume, bass, clarity. Fit and Finish could be a tad better, but for a guitar that will get a lot of gig time, I could care less. The hardware works great and the pickup is useable.
The real value here is the build quality and tonewoods. This easily sounds like a $1500+ guitar, but I got this one for $600. The DNA is is basically an E10SS at half the price.
This was another home run for Eastman, and a guitar I think will get a lot play time by me.
If you can find one used and you like that Eastman slope shoulder tone then I would say go for it.
I give the guitar a score of 94 out of 100. For the price I don't think it can be beaten.
![[Image: hrsLmR2.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/hrsLmR2.jpg)
![[Image: UAbDIyU.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/UAbDIyU.jpg)
![[Image: Vt8pByQ.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Vt8pByQ.jpg)
![[Image: 4IEi84J.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/4IEi84J.jpg)
