Eastman Factory String Action Height too high? (about my E40OM-TC

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Hi everyone, i am very happy with my new guitar which is as lovely as expected but, the Action Height setted from the factory seems really too high for me. Is like they want you to pay some extra setting on the store. I had to lower the guitar nut quite a bit and the saddle on the bridge to make it easy playable (even for a strummer, i am not being a too picky fingerplayer), other guys that played the guitar said the same, that the factory settings were not that good (considering how good the guitar itself it is really, all the details and love and care putted into it). The neck was okay, and it came with the Addario Factory strings 0.12 which were my favourite gauge.

[nostatic]

Don't buy a Martin - they tend to be mid-high action from the factory. The reasoning is that you can always lower the action, but raising is much more difficult.

[davenumber2]

It’s expected that the dealer set up the guitar to the customer’s liking. There is no one size fits all setup. As was said, it’s easier to go down than up.

[Pura Vida]

Hi, Gustavo.  As nostatic mentions, this is not exclusive to Eastman (or Martin).  Many guitar makers build and ship for many different locations and climates, so it's common to ship with higher settings and allow the buyer or dealer to adjust them down, as desired.

Nearly every guitar I've purchased, whether new or used, gets a second set of eyes from my local luthier.  Sometimes, he'll keep it for a setup, occasionally he'll make a couple of minor adjustments on the spot, and about half the time he will hand it back to me b/c there's not much more to be gained from the current setup.

For my latest MR TC guitars, he wanted to test me and asked me what I thought.  For the OM, I told him that I thought the nut was a little high and that he would likely suggest lowering it and maybe taking a little off the saddle.  He smiled and added that the neck needed a slight truss rod adjustment, as well.  When I handed him the dread, he gave himself away and said: "same thing for this guitar."

For Eastman, I'm about 50/50 overall, but the premiere models (AC630-BD, E40s, etc). are nearly setup perfectly, and a few dealers (Sky Guitars, Dave's) came in with perfect setups (Sky Guitars asked me how I wanted it setup).  Other brands have almost all required setups, whether new or used.  YMMV.

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Thats what i thought, thanks everyone foe the reply, yes the nut and the bridge saddle needed lowering, everything else was perfect. Its been quite a long since i dont buy a new guitar, i always buy used.

[Pick-n-brew]

Most factory made guitars will benefit from a pro setup,and I didn't even know people did those things when I started playing.I thought the problem was me? come to find out my 75 dollar pawn shop guitar was almost unplayable.But I fought through it,literally had blood on the strings. a cheese grater action at the nut.wish I had known

[Pura Vida]

Most factory made guitars will benefit from a pro setup,and I didn't even know people did those things when I started playing.I thought the problem was me? come to find out my 75 dollar pawn shop guitar was almost unplayable.But I fought through it,literally had blood on the strings. a cheese grater action at the nut.wish I had known

I hear you.  My first guitars were painfully unplayable, but I played them anyway b/c I didn't know any better.  I wish I had decent instruments back then, as it might have made a difference in how I learned.