Eastman T386 Semi Hollow

[plunkstar]

Hi Meathead,

My T386 in sunburst was delivered on Monday. I wasn't able to try before I buy so was going on reviews and blind faith. I wasn't disappointed, quite the opposite. It gives any of the 335s I've played in store more than just a run for their money. Some of the 335s had little issues with them that you would not expect for the price, the T386 I received is immaculate in every detail, the neck is amazing, very resonant, it is obvious a lot of care went into its construction and for that reason alone should be priced higher than a couple of 335s I've played.

I went for the 386 over the 486 simply because I prefer rosewood fretboard. A lot of people switch out the pickups for Seth lovers or similar and I thought I might. But after trying it through the fender Champ style amp I built I can say it has its own sound that is great and I definately won't be swapping the pups, you just have to make sure the neck and bridge pups are set to the right heights as I believe both pups are exactly the same. Don't let that worry you though, because if you dial in the right amp settings and use the volume and tone controls on the guitar and set the pup heights right it sounds just awesome.

[Meathead]

Hey Plunkstar - thank you for joining the forum, and welcome!

Appreciate the feedback on the T386, happy to hear you were pleased buying one without having played it - as that is the same position I am in. A few questions - curious, did you buy yours new, or used? Also - are you able to estimate the weight of the guitar? I assume not too bad given it is semi-hollow. Weight has become a factor for me - I no longer want to be playing a 13 pound Les Paul on stage :)

If you get a chance, feel free to share some photos.

[plunkstar]

I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

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I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

The quality is not very good because I can only upload 500kb images for some reason.

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqSOZDLyZxui1ZcG2

This might be better

[Garcon]

I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

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I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

The quality is not very good because I can only upload 500kb images for some reason.

---

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqSOZDLyZxui1ZcG2

This might be better

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Garcon, welcome to the EGF, good to have you along.  Eastman elecs/archs don't get their due.

We used to have a T184MX, loads of fun.  Traded it after we got the AR880 archtop.

Speaking of blues, this is a short demo I did a couple years ago with the T184 doin' the slide thing with my GoldTone PBR do some bass/fills:
 
https://soundcloud.com/bertramd-1/t184mxsb-demo

Nice demo, Bert. The clarity of the mx shows up nicely. Great singing voice too!

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Hi, Meathead, and thanks for the welcome.  I wouldn't say this guitar wasn't intended for higher-gain blues, it does a pretty nice job of it.  Though when showing it off on a Gretsch discussion board, someone else postulated that its carved top might make it more prone to uncontrollable feedback, so I set out to test it in this video:

https://youtu.be/7O3XRQwwjVI

And while in a small room and up close to the amp, it's not hard to make it howl, in actual gig situations when the song calls for some dirt, it does a fine job, and the guitar is not as delicate or feedback-prone as some have speculated.

Great sounding demo, Giffenf. I am soooo gassing for a T58v. I've been chasing down clips of this model and you prove it can be so classic Gretchy sounding. 

Marry that sound to an Eastman neck, and add a Bigsby -- you have a great instrument!

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I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

---

I bought it new. The certificate is dated June 2017, so can't get much newer! It has a nice weight, about 7-8lbs? After having a Les Paul round my neck it feels light. I'll try and post a couple of pictures in a moment when I figure how to do it on my phone!

The quality is not very good because I can only upload 500kb images for some reason.

---

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqSOZDLyZxui1ZcG2

This might be better

She's gorgeous, Plunk. Here's an image of my 486.

T486-BK

[Garcon]

I would like to offer a demo of my T186MX. Forgive the poor playing but I think this clip does serve to show the particular qualities of this carved top, fully hollow instrument. I spoke at length about the tonal qualities of this guitar is in an earlier post but hearing is obviously much better.

All the parts in this version of Summertime were played on a T186MX with one exception; the middle solo (with the heavily distorted sound). That is a Sheraton (semi-hollow and laminate top). 

But contrast the tone of the Sheraton with the last solo -- which is the T186 -- it is very revealing, I think. 

Notice how notes sustain more acoustically and with far less gain added? Held notes not only bloom but the overtones get more prominent, bringing out a singing quality that I find very musical. I don't really play super loud but I find this guitar is more likely to resonate musically than feedback in the annoying way some guitars do.

Summertime


Summertime - 2nd try

[plunkstar]

I would like to offer a demo of my T186MX. Forgive the poor playing but I think this clip does serve to show the particular qualities of this carved top, fully hollow instrument. I spoke at length about the tonal qualities of this guitar is in an earlier post but hearing is obviously much better.

All the parts in this version of Summertime were played on a T186MX with one exception; the middle solo (with the heavily distorted sound). That is a Sheraton (semi-hollow and laminate top). 

But contrast the tone of the Sheraton with the last solo -- which is the T186 -- it is very revealing, I think. 

Notice how notes sustain more acoustically and with far less gain added? Held notes not only bloom but the overtones get more prominent, bringing out a singing quality that I find very musical. I don't really play super loud but I find this guitar is more likely to resonate musically than feedback in the annoying way some guitars do.

Summertime

Unfortunately I can't seem to open the link but with regards to the extra sustain (and someone correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not an expert in this) is that due to the fact one of the guitars is solid carved wood (T186MX) so it will naturally sustain better whereas the laminate (along with the centre block) help to control the feed back much better? So it would be pretty much horses for courses with Eastman offering guitars to suit a broader range of styles depending on your needs, which is another reason this is a great company, they don't just have one body then just stick in different pups and add trims here and there. There really is a guitar to suit your style.

[Garcon]

I would like to offer a demo of my T186MX. Forgive the poor playing but I think this clip does serve to show the particular qualities of this carved top, fully hollow instrument. I spoke at length about the tonal qualities of this guitar is in an earlier post but hearing is obviously much better.

All the parts in this version of Summertime were played on a T186MX with one exception; the middle solo (with the heavily distorted sound). That is a Sheraton (semi-hollow and laminate top). 

But contrast the tone of the Sheraton with the last solo -- which is the T186 -- it is very revealing, I think. 

Notice how notes sustain more acoustically and with far less gain added? Held notes not only bloom but the overtones get more prominent, bringing out a singing quality that I find very musical. I don't really play super loud but I find this guitar is more likely to resonate musically than feedback in the annoying way some guitars do.

Summertime

Unfortunately I can't seem to open the link but with regards to the extra sustain (and someone correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not an expert in this) is that due to the fact one of the guitars is solid carved wood (T186MX) so it will naturally sustain better whereas the laminate (along with the centre block) help to control the feed back much better? So it would be pretty much horses for courses with Eastman offering guitars to suit a broader range of styles depending on your needs, which is another reason this is a great company, they don't just have one body then just stick in different pups and add trims here and there. There really is a guitar to suit your style.

Hi Plunkstar,

Not sure why the link didn't work, it opened for me when I tested. But please try the 2nd attempt which I placed into the post. 

You are spot on regarding Eastman's creative mixing of features to shape interesting guitar models. I haven't played another guitar with the exact character of the T186MX. The combination of sustain and clarity is remarkable.

[Meathead]

Hi Garcon -

I tried to play your links as well (I am interested in hearing) - but it didn't work for me either for some reason. The page loads but there are no playback controls or no way to download. Not sure, could be a permissions issue with your google drive?

[Garcon]

Hi Garcon -

I tried to play your links as well (I am interested in hearing) - but it didn't work for me either for some reason.  The page loads but there are no playback controls or no way to download.  Not sure, could be a permissions issue with your google drive?

Hi Meathead,

I've changed the permissions to anyone can view.. link not needed. I'm hoping this will help... yikes.

Summertime 3rd attempt

Below is the link without using the insert function.. maybe the issue? Who knows.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw6X094...sp=sharing

[Meathead]

Hey Garcon... still not working unfortunately. :(

This looks like it might be a quick and easy alternative to share audio if you want to give it a shot
- https://clyp.it/