Earlier this week I received a $500 bonus that let me purchase an E1D. This is my 10th Eastman over the past decade and I am super pleased to announce that this is hands down the best budget guitar I have ever owned.
I placed my order with Fuller Guitars out of Houston TX because the top on this E1D looked particularly dark. I am convinced based on the number of Eastmans I have owned and the number of E1D's I have played that this is a TC top. Based on the pictures what do you think?
INSPECTION:
The guitar arrived earlier today in perfect condition. The guitar was well packed and it survived shipping without any damage.
Shipping a packaging gets a 10/10
SETUP:
Out of the box this was the best Eastman I have every played in the last 10 years. The action was nearly perfect, the relief was just where I like it. The nut wasn't slotted to high or too low. The guitar plays easily with lots of saddle left. I am pretty picky about my action but this one was either set up really well from Eastman or Fullers did some adjustments on it.
One day later I noticed that there was some slight buzzing on the low E string that I think is coming from a high fret. A 1/8 of an adjustment on the truss rod got rid of most of it. For the price this guitar still played better than just about any other acoustic I have ever purchased new and this is expected when a guitar is shipped 500+ miles to its new home.
Setup gets a 9.5/10
AESTHETICS:
I heard someone on this forum (or maybe Facebook) say that they were unsure why anyone would spend $500 on a guitar if they already owned some high end acoustics. For me, this guitar is a perfect "take anywhere" guitar. It doesn't look cheap and the materials don't appear to be B stock. The Sitka top is dark and has even straight grain. The sapele is also very uniform without any noticable flaws. Overall it looks like a classic satin Dreadnaught-not cheaper, just different than other guitars I have owned. The pickguard is a more red pepperoni style, but the color matches the Sapele really well. Just a classic beautiful dread!
Overall I give the aesthetics a 9.5/10
TONE:
My Initial impression of the tone is that it has a lot of depth and clarity.The highs are bright (brighter than I like, but the strings are also very new). The mids are warm and very strong. The bass is there but not overwhelming. Overall, it is very balanced like a good Collings.
There is also a bit of dryness and immediacy to the tone right from the start. I haven't heard this on other E1D's I have played over the past 5 years. Because of this, and along with the darkness of the top I am convinced I got an unmarked TC model.
To which is better (properly aged Sitka or a new top that has been torrefied) I am not sure. The tone is different than any other E1D I have played.
Overall this guitar sounds like cross between my E2OM and my D-18 standard. It's got some of the warmth of cedar with the overtones of my D18.
Also, another perk is that the guitar responds well to being fingerpicked. It feels very responsive and lightly built. I think this will make a good stage guitar.
Tonally, the E1D has a lot of warmth, dryness, clarity and top end brightness. It is also very loud. I would say for the price the tone is probably 10/10, but for my person tastes it's just a little lower.
I give the tone a 9/10.
With different strings and time I think this is going to be a phenomenal instrument.
NECK:
The neck feels very similar to my E2OM, but it may be just slightly skinnier. To me it feels like a really good medium C profile. It's not too big or too small. It's probably the most uniform and comfortable neck of any Eastman I have owned. It feels very right down the middle in all its dimensions. I cannot imagine any player complaining about the neck, except that it feels slightly heavy compared to the rest of the guitar.
I give the neck a 9.5/10
FIT and FINISH:
The overall fit and finish of the guitar is good. I think this may be the best fit and finish I have seen on any Eastman I have owned new from the factory. It's not perfect but it's solid. By solid I mean it was a bit better than the $3000 Gibson 50's J45 I bought in April. The only two flaws I could see is at the heel of the heck there was a slightly sharp point. 60 seconds with some 1000 grit sandpaper fixed that. The other is that there is a tiny hole up by the headstock. My E2OM also had something like this.
9.5/10
BUILD QUALITY
The guitar feels lightly constructed with quite a bit more weight in the neck. The saddle is high and the action is low-which means the neck is set properly.
***Update, time will tell on the tuners. There is some initial slippage that may be due to new strings or a tight nut slot. I will try to update on high the tuners wear over time.
9/10 Build Quality
CONCLUSION/FINAL THOUGHTS:
For the price this guitar cannot be beaten. This isn't just a good guitar for the money, this is a good guitar period. It reminds me of my $1500 Martin OMCPA4 that I gigged with for many many years until it developed some neck issues.
Again, this is probably the best Eastman I have ever owned right out of the box-and this is saying a lot considering is spent $2000 on a E20SS/V back in March.
Does it sound as vintage or warm as my E20SS/V? No it does not, but it has some unique tonal qualities of it's own. And for a guitar I take with me when I play out and not worry about, these models are an insane value. For a live setting I imagine this will work really well.
I forgot to mention that the body does feel a little smaller and a little shallower than the Eastman Dreads I have owned in the past. I didn't notice that affecting the tone too much. I think the slightly smaller body will be a little easier to play in a live setting.
I have a LR Baggs Anthem that I am going to have installed next week. I will do a follow up of the plugged in tone once I get some play time in with it.
I am also convinced that the Bourgeois company has improved Eastman's QC over the past couple of years. Eastman has always been a good value for materials but it feels nice to finally get one of their guitars that doesn't have an annoying flaw. Well done guys!
Who is this guitar for? Well obviously any beginner or intermediate player could greatly benefit from a guitar in the 1 series; however, even if you have an extensive collection like myself; this model could make a very good travel, or dare I say "beater" guitar. From the quality and tone, to the aesthesis and playability, this one will not leave you wanting more. Honestly if this was the only guitar I owned I could probably do everything I need an acoustic to do and more.
Well done guys! You hit it out of the park.
I give it a 96/100. There is not much to dislike about the guitar.
![[Image: dzx7BIw.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dzx7BIw.jpg)
![[Image: xDRB4iq.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/xDRB4iq.jpg)
![[Image: m1wCj3N.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/m1wCj3N.jpg)
![[Image: dQ8lOe2.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dQ8lOe2.jpg)
![[Image: HyIVfXT.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/HyIVfXT.jpg)
![[Image: 1VkWpJq.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1VkWpJq.jpg)
![[Image: BhwdORz.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/BhwdORz.jpg)
I placed my order with Fuller Guitars out of Houston TX because the top on this E1D looked particularly dark. I am convinced based on the number of Eastmans I have owned and the number of E1D's I have played that this is a TC top. Based on the pictures what do you think?
INSPECTION:
The guitar arrived earlier today in perfect condition. The guitar was well packed and it survived shipping without any damage.
Shipping a packaging gets a 10/10
SETUP:
Out of the box this was the best Eastman I have every played in the last 10 years. The action was nearly perfect, the relief was just where I like it. The nut wasn't slotted to high or too low. The guitar plays easily with lots of saddle left. I am pretty picky about my action but this one was either set up really well from Eastman or Fullers did some adjustments on it.
One day later I noticed that there was some slight buzzing on the low E string that I think is coming from a high fret. A 1/8 of an adjustment on the truss rod got rid of most of it. For the price this guitar still played better than just about any other acoustic I have ever purchased new and this is expected when a guitar is shipped 500+ miles to its new home.
Setup gets a 9.5/10
AESTHETICS:
I heard someone on this forum (or maybe Facebook) say that they were unsure why anyone would spend $500 on a guitar if they already owned some high end acoustics. For me, this guitar is a perfect "take anywhere" guitar. It doesn't look cheap and the materials don't appear to be B stock. The Sitka top is dark and has even straight grain. The sapele is also very uniform without any noticable flaws. Overall it looks like a classic satin Dreadnaught-not cheaper, just different than other guitars I have owned. The pickguard is a more red pepperoni style, but the color matches the Sapele really well. Just a classic beautiful dread!
Overall I give the aesthetics a 9.5/10
TONE:
My Initial impression of the tone is that it has a lot of depth and clarity.The highs are bright (brighter than I like, but the strings are also very new). The mids are warm and very strong. The bass is there but not overwhelming. Overall, it is very balanced like a good Collings.
There is also a bit of dryness and immediacy to the tone right from the start. I haven't heard this on other E1D's I have played over the past 5 years. Because of this, and along with the darkness of the top I am convinced I got an unmarked TC model.
To which is better (properly aged Sitka or a new top that has been torrefied) I am not sure. The tone is different than any other E1D I have played.
Overall this guitar sounds like cross between my E2OM and my D-18 standard. It's got some of the warmth of cedar with the overtones of my D18.
Also, another perk is that the guitar responds well to being fingerpicked. It feels very responsive and lightly built. I think this will make a good stage guitar.
Tonally, the E1D has a lot of warmth, dryness, clarity and top end brightness. It is also very loud. I would say for the price the tone is probably 10/10, but for my person tastes it's just a little lower.
I give the tone a 9/10.
With different strings and time I think this is going to be a phenomenal instrument.
NECK:
The neck feels very similar to my E2OM, but it may be just slightly skinnier. To me it feels like a really good medium C profile. It's not too big or too small. It's probably the most uniform and comfortable neck of any Eastman I have owned. It feels very right down the middle in all its dimensions. I cannot imagine any player complaining about the neck, except that it feels slightly heavy compared to the rest of the guitar.
I give the neck a 9.5/10
FIT and FINISH:
The overall fit and finish of the guitar is good. I think this may be the best fit and finish I have seen on any Eastman I have owned new from the factory. It's not perfect but it's solid. By solid I mean it was a bit better than the $3000 Gibson 50's J45 I bought in April. The only two flaws I could see is at the heel of the heck there was a slightly sharp point. 60 seconds with some 1000 grit sandpaper fixed that. The other is that there is a tiny hole up by the headstock. My E2OM also had something like this.
9.5/10
BUILD QUALITY
The guitar feels lightly constructed with quite a bit more weight in the neck. The saddle is high and the action is low-which means the neck is set properly.
***Update, time will tell on the tuners. There is some initial slippage that may be due to new strings or a tight nut slot. I will try to update on high the tuners wear over time.
9/10 Build Quality
CONCLUSION/FINAL THOUGHTS:
For the price this guitar cannot be beaten. This isn't just a good guitar for the money, this is a good guitar period. It reminds me of my $1500 Martin OMCPA4 that I gigged with for many many years until it developed some neck issues.
Again, this is probably the best Eastman I have ever owned right out of the box-and this is saying a lot considering is spent $2000 on a E20SS/V back in March.
Does it sound as vintage or warm as my E20SS/V? No it does not, but it has some unique tonal qualities of it's own. And for a guitar I take with me when I play out and not worry about, these models are an insane value. For a live setting I imagine this will work really well.
I forgot to mention that the body does feel a little smaller and a little shallower than the Eastman Dreads I have owned in the past. I didn't notice that affecting the tone too much. I think the slightly smaller body will be a little easier to play in a live setting.
I have a LR Baggs Anthem that I am going to have installed next week. I will do a follow up of the plugged in tone once I get some play time in with it.
I am also convinced that the Bourgeois company has improved Eastman's QC over the past couple of years. Eastman has always been a good value for materials but it feels nice to finally get one of their guitars that doesn't have an annoying flaw. Well done guys!
Who is this guitar for? Well obviously any beginner or intermediate player could greatly benefit from a guitar in the 1 series; however, even if you have an extensive collection like myself; this model could make a very good travel, or dare I say "beater" guitar. From the quality and tone, to the aesthesis and playability, this one will not leave you wanting more. Honestly if this was the only guitar I owned I could probably do everything I need an acoustic to do and more.
Well done guys! You hit it out of the park.
I give it a 96/100. There is not much to dislike about the guitar.
) G&L ASAT Special Tribute 
)
