Eastman serial numbers.

[oldtone]

I didn't receive a COA with my Eastman E40D. I received the guitar on 3/4/21. It was ordered the prior Thursday. It had been in stock at LA Guitars since last summer as I recall. Was watching it and it's sunburst fellow E40D for some time. The SB sold a while back. Probably won't ask Ted about it. I did register the warranty on-line however. Don't think I bothered with that for the E1SS and the E10SS/V.

[pszy22]

The serial number inside my guitar is definitely M20*****.  Since the label in the guitar including the serial number is computer generated, it wouldn't have been a typo.  I would strongly suspect that the labels are sequentially printed in batches which would prevent there being two 5121 instruments.

It would be interesting to understand how the Eastman supply chain works from factory to U.S. warehouse.   It wouldn't be surprising that they ship rather large batches, rather than a few at a time when they get built.(i.e. they wait until they have 500 or a thousand units U.S. bound before they ship.

I did actually contact Alto about placing an order, they wanted a non-refundable deposit before they would order.  I found the explaination interesting --
 "When an item is a hot seller and we are constantly selling it, the order is generated to get more.  If it’s a single item that we decided to try, such as the E20P, it won’t get re-ordered if it took a long time to sell. I know Eastman’s are great guitars, but we've had a hard time selling them once Martin and Taylor started coming out with they’re lower end options."

[AlanSam]

re comment above: "When an item is a hot seller and we are constantly selling it, the order is generated to get more.  If it’s a single item that we decided to try, such as the E20P, it won’t get re-ordered if it took a long time to sell. I know Eastman’s are great guitars, but we've had a hard time selling them once Martin and Taylor started coming out with they’re lower end options."

I don't doubt that market penetration of cheaper Asian made guitars has triggered a response from established big name manufacturers, which is a good thing for us consumers. But maybe Taylor and Martin for example are also offering retailers bigger margins to stick with them?

[cjhorne]

It seems incredible to me that the guitar with a very early 2020 SN did not get a COA until early 2021!

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re comment above: "When an item is a hot seller and we are constantly selling it, the order is generated to get more.  If it’s a single item that we decided to try, such as the E20P, it won’t get re-ordered if it took a long time to sell. I know Eastman’s are great guitars, but we've had a hard time selling them once Martin and Taylor started coming out with they’re lower end options."

I don't doubt that market penetration of cheaper Asian made guitars has triggered a response from established big name manufacturers, which is a good thing for us consumers. But maybe Taylor and Martin for example are also offering retailers bigger margins to stick with them?

A lot of people get sucked in by the names Martin & Taylor, and we all know they make great guitars.  Their lower priced guitars are not going to be solid wood though.

Regarding Alto and wanting a non-refundable deposit: They have product profiles on their web page for what they stock/sell. I guess if you have something outside those, they are not going to want to get stuck with it, since their web page is not set up to promote it.

[pszy22]

It seems incredible to me that the guitar with a very early 2020 SN did not get a COA until early 2021!

That's what got me confused as well, but as I think about it, an instrument started to be built early 2020 may have sat somewhere in process on the shop floor due to a covid shutdown.   I don't know when or if they got shut down, but certainly manufactures in the U.S. like Martin where shut down for several months. And of course there may have been supply chain problems as well.  So in the Twilight Zone we are living in, I guess anything is possible.

OF course from my perspective, obtaining my E20P is one of the better things that has happened for me this past year, regarding the guitar  -- All is well that ends well.

[AlanSam]

It seems incredible to me that the guitar with a very early 2020 SN did not get a COA until early 2021!

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re comment above: "When an item is a hot seller and we are constantly selling it, the order is generated to get more.  If it’s a single item that we decided to try, such as the E20P, it won’t get re-ordered if it took a long time to sell. I know Eastman’s are great guitars, but we've had a hard time selling them once Martin and Taylor started coming out with they’re lower end options."

I don't doubt that market penetration of cheaper Asian made guitars has triggered a response from established big name manufacturers, which is a good thing for us consumers. But maybe Taylor and Martin for example are also offering retailers bigger margins to stick with them?

A lot of people get sucked in by the names Martin & Taylor, and we all know they make great guitars.  Their lower priced guitars are not going to be solid wood though.

Regarding Alto and wanting a non-refundable deposit: They have product profiles on their web page for what they stock/sell. I guess if you have something outside those, they are not going to want to get stuck with it, since their web page is not set up to promote it.
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CJH - I take your point, although I have to say it's a poorly designed website that can't be easily updated for a new guitar or two.   

[Pura Vida]

Hi, all.  Jumping in late, as I was traveling and took a two week break from all forums.  Last week, I read a comment from Mark H. in the Eastman Owners FB group, where he said that the numbers are still being periodically rotated and changed.  So, our theory that M2005121 was made later than M2000232 and before M2019123 may not be true.  He said that it's still completely random, although the M20 part seems to be consistent.

My guess is that they use a batch of numbers, and when they consume that batch, they begin using a different batch of numbers.  And those batches do not necessarily run sequentially.  This also implies that the total number of acoustic instruments may be less than 19k, which seems quite high to me.  In 2017, they told me it was about 6k acoustic guitars (10k total acoustic instruments).

[pszy22]

So who has seen a serial number starting with M21******?  2021 is already 25% behind us, one would assume that Eastman 2021 builds should be filtering into the system by now.

[Pura Vida]

I'm not convinced they will change it with each year.  In other words, 2021 guitars may continue with M20 serial numbers.  But if anyone has an M21 s/n, I'd love to be proven wrong.

[AlanSam]

I think we have established that overall it is a chaotic system. It doesn't require rocket science to get this organised in a sensible manner, but it is what it is.