NGD is here: E8OM-TC

[sleigh]

Jordan, excellent news either way, and kudos to you updating so quickly so no one can fault the Acoustic Shoppe's customer service. I've purchased from them myself and have nothing but good things to say about the experience.

[Ted]

I have also bought from them and was happy with their service and I will most likely buy from them again. I'm a bit envious that you get to go there in person and play with their toys.....

[SasquatchLife]

I have also bought from them and was happy with their service and I will most likely buy from them again. I'm a bit envious that you get to go there in person and play with their toys.....

Haha, I don't blame you for being envious. I'm really stoked about visiting them. Only a 3 hour drive for me. So, in some ways, I'm glad this all happened because it gives me an excuse to drive 6 hours total to play with the guit fiddles. I'm definitely a glass is half full type of guy. There's always a silver lining, unless one is a fan of the Texas Longhorns (Boomer Sooner), or has never fallen in love with guitars.

---

Jordan, excellent news either way, and kudos to you updating so quickly so no one can fault the Acoustic Shoppe's customer service. I've purchased from them myself and have nothing but good things to say about the experience.

Thanks, and it's just nice to have reliable dealers to buy from. I've now bought 3 Eastman's from 3 vendors. LA Guitar Sales, The Acoustic Shoppe, and Dave's Guitar Shop. All three have been great, but I'd have to recommend LA Guitar Sales and Acoustic Shoppe.

(Sleigh - I figure you know most of the below info, but just sharing my experiences for people who are new to Eastman and may stumble upon this thread.)

Best Return Policy
The Acoustic Shoppe by far has the best return policy with a 14 day window. And I think that's for used and new.

LA Guitar Sales only has a 3 day return policy on both new and used. Or at least that's what's on their Reverb page.

Dave's only has a 2 day return policy for both new and used IF shipped. If bought in person, no return policy at all. While I do understand this from a business perspective, it's not customer centric at all. Returns are costly for companies, but that is just not good.

Now, the upside for Dave's is they have the best used Eastman guitar prices that I've seen, and it's not really close IMO. I bought my 2020 E8D from them, and it's the best guitar I've ever owned. I still don't know how they sell their used Eastman's for so cheap. I would buy another used Eastman from them, but the 2 day return policy does not offer assurance.

Customer Service

All 3 had excellent customer service. I exchanged emails with all of them at some point, and their response time and thoroughness was perfect.

As most people already know, Ted from LA Guitar Sales is great to talk to on the phone. I emailed him prior to buying my first E6OM, and he called me like 10 min later and spent 10 min on the phone with me. He played a few guitars and gave me 100% honesty and transparency regarding which guitar he thought was best. I assume that Ted is the owner, and it's virtually unheard of for a business owner to directly communicate with his customers.  But, he made me feel like I was a priority, and I feel like he would've spent a full hour on the phone with me if that's what needed to happen.

I appreciate that because that's how I treat my customers too.

I emailed The Acoustic Shoppe around 9pm last night. And they emailed me back by around 10am this morning. Basically when they opened. So, that's top notch.

I imagine The Acoustic Shoppe would talk on the phone like Ted too, but I just haven't had a reason to call them since they answered all my questions in an email.

I called Dave's at one point before buying my E8D, and Josh was very helpful.

So overall, I would rank them like this:

#1: Tied between LA Guitar Sales and The Acoustic Shoppe

#2: Dave's Guitar Shop. They are great too, but their return policy almost prevented me from buying from them. I'm surprised that they don't at least offer a straight 2 day policy on both online and in store purchases.

A lot of great other Eastman dealers I've found on Reverb and that I've communicated with, but just haven't been able to order from them yet.

This reminds me... I need to leave a 5 star review for all 3 shops.

[SasquatchLife]

***Another update***

The more I play this guitar the better it sounds.  I really think this TC top makes a big difference IMO.  As we all know, it's hard to describe sound or tone, but here's how I would describe this TC top compared to my E8D (Non-TC)... Don't get me wrong, the E8D is a WONDERFUL guitar, and I'm not saying this TC is better, just different.  Here's how the TC tone sounds:

- Has a ton of depth.  The tone sounds full, and it's not lacking anything.   It's just very pleasing, smooth, and easy on my ears.  It just sounds like a guitar should sound.  That's the best compliment I could give it honestly.  Maybe it's because an OM is supposed to be more balanced than a dread, but I had an E6OM and it didn't have a such a full tone.  Maybe that's the difference between hog & rosewood, but again I already have a rosewood b/s in my E8D.  And while that E8D was more lush/full than my E6OM, it's not as full as this TC.  

- The guitar is not lacking in any way.  Again, I love my E8D and I loved my E6OM (Although I sold it to fund this E8OM-TC).  However, even as much as I liked the E8D/E6OM, at times both guitars had my ears wanting more.  I honestly didn't notice this as much until I bought this TC.  Tonight I played my E8D after playing my TC, and the treble end sounded flatter and the mids just weren't there.  Maybe it's strings, or maybe the mids are lacking because I'm comparing a dread to an OM.. But, whatever it is, the TC is not lacking in any way.  The trebles sound crisp/angelic, and the mids on this thing are better than my E6OM, and that was a hog b/s.  

- The resonance on this thing is truly jaw dropping.  I never thought I would hear resonance like this from an OM body shape, but I'm about 99.9% sure it's more resonant than my E8D.  

Earlier, I was finger-picking and there is a chord pattern that has a lot of open low E plucking.  When I plucked the low E, the thing rumbled in an angelic way for like 15 seconds and I'm not exaggerating.  I did it a few more times just to make sure I didn't miscount, but the thing resonates beyond belief.

Also,  the back of the guitar rumbled, rumbled, and them rumbled some more against my gut when I was fingerpicking the low E.  I mean, I can kind of feel that in my E8D, but this TC takes it to a different level.  

- Lastly, the bass is honestly out of this world for an OM body shape.  Part of the reason I bought an E8D after my E6OM was due to the fact that I didn't get enough bass out of my E6OM.  I even tried bluegrass strings a few months back, and although it helped, it didn't have the bass that I was looking for.  I've hear hog b/s on an OM can lack in bass compared to a rosewood b/s OM, and that's my experience here too.  The E6OM was an incredible guitar, and I kind of regret selling it, but then again I don't.    I won't get carried away and say that it has more low end than my E8D, because it doesn't.  But, in some ways the bass is more pronounced in tone if that makes sense.  I don't know how to explain it, but in some ways I prefer the TC's bass to the E8D bass.  If I could describe the bass in a cars analogy, it would be this:

E8D= Diesel Dually Dump Truck w/ Smoke Stacks
E8OM-TC=  1970s muscle car w/ glasspacks

That was probably a horrible analogy or way of describing the bass, but I think you get the idea.  

I really think the TC top makes a difference.  I am the king of second guessing big online purchases, and after I bought this TC top I read a bunch of negative things on various forums related to torrefied or TC tops.  I honestly read more negative comments about the TC tops from other brands than positive comments.  A fair share of people even mentioned that they though the torrefied tops sounded worse than the regular tops.  Again, that was with other brands, and alot of these threads were circa 2012 - 2015. So, maybe the torrefied tops weren't quite perfected yet at that time?  I don't know, I don't know the history of TC tops, or how long they've been around.

But, my point is that I think this TC top makes a HUGE difference in tone.  

Not sure I can let go of this one even with the blemishes.  I will opt for letting the shop try to buff it out, and if they can't.  I'm not sure I can trade this one for a new one unless that other one sounds as good.  This one is already prettier IMO because the headstock veneer is darker and the rosewood on the b/s is darker/richer. 

I need to shut up now, I write too much.  Sorry for the novel.

[Pura Vida]

Jordan, I'm sure it will work out one way or another, so that's the most important part.  Either they'll get another one in, you'll find something you like better in person, or you'll decide to keep this one.  In any of those options, it seems that The Acoustic Shoppe will make it right.

Couple of observations from your writing.  (1.) You seem to be partial to Rosewood over Mahogany; the glimmer, the more pronounced bottom end, etc..  Nothing wrong with your ears having a preference (mine too!), but hopefully, these experiences will help you with any future purchases.  (2.) As pretty as that E6OM was to play (and to look at with its amazing body wood), once you sell a guitar, move on without any regrets.  You can't change the decision, and there's nothing to gain by second-guessing it.  If you feel you made a mistake, just try to learn from it for the next time and treat it as an "experience" lesson.  (3.) I have no experience with Dave's Guitars, but LA Guitar Sales and The Acoustic Shoppe are both outstanding dealers with great customer service.  The one difference between them is that LA Guitar Sales is almost exclusively an online sales, while The Acoustic Shoppe has a mix of online and physical customers, so there is more of a risk to get some handling on a guitar in a showroom, even a new one.  That's not what's happening with your blemish issue, but the couple of minor scuffs are not completely unexpected.

Looking forward to reading how this all plays out.

[sleigh]

I need to shut up now, I write too much.  Sorry for the novel.

I actually write novels for a living. That wasn't a novel; just a short story.  

[SasquatchLife]

I need to shut up now, I write too much.  Sorry for the novel.

I actually write novels for a living. That wasn't a novel; just a short story.  

Lol, I tend to exaggerate. What kind of novels, particular genre?

---

Jordan, I'm sure it will work out one way or another, so that's the most important part.  Either they'll get another one in, you'll find something you like better in person, or you'll decide to keep this one.  In any of those options, it seems that The Acoustic Shoppe will make it right.

Couple of observations from your writing.  (1.) You seem to be partial to Rosewood over Mahogany; the glimmer, the more pronounced bottom end, etc..  Nothing wrong with your ears having a preference (mine too!), but hopefully, these experiences will help you with any future purchases.  (2.) As pretty as that E6OM was to play (and to look at with its amazing body wood), once you sell a guitar, move on without any regrets.  You can't change the decision, and there's nothing to gain by second-guessing it.  If you feel you made a mistake, just try to learn from it for the next time and treat it as an "experience" lesson.  (3.) I have no experience with Dave's Guitars, but LA Guitar Sales and The Acoustic Shoppe are both outstanding dealers with great customer service.  The one difference between them is that LA Guitar Sales is almost exclusively an online sales, while The Acoustic Shoppe has a mix of online and physical customers, so there is more of a risk to get some handling on a guitar in a showroom, even a new one.  That's not what's happening with your blemish issue, but the couple of minor scuffs are not completely unexpected.

Looking forward to reading how this all plays out.

Yes, I'm not worried about the TC situation at all, and I'm in good hands with The Acoustic Shoppe. I'll be there Saturday to figure everything out. I'm going to try the buffing option first, and if that doesn't work then I have options.

Yeah, I think you're right about me being partial to rosewood. I like it better overall, but I do like the hog as a change of pace.

As far as the E6OM, I'm content with selling it, but I do think about it occasionally and miss it. Kind of like a past relationship with an ex. I'm okay with it being over, but we had some good times together lol.

[sleigh]

I need to shut up now, I write too much.  Sorry for the novel.

I actually write novels for a living. That wasn't a novel; just a short story.    

Lol, I tend to exaggerate. What kind of novels, particular genre?

I write science fiction and fantasy -- my publisher is DAW Books, which is part of Penguin Random House. Check out my website (http://www.stephenleigh.com) if you're curious.

[SasquatchLife]

I need to shut up now, I write too much.  Sorry for the novel.

I actually write novels for a living. That wasn't a novel; just a short story.    

Lol, I tend to exaggerate. What kind of novels, particular genre?

I write science fiction and fantasy -- my publisher is DAW Books, which is part of Penguin Random House. Check out my website (http://www.stephenleigh.com) if you're curious.

Oh wow, I didn't realize you are a Renaissance Man!

That's very cool, and that's a lot of books. I may have to buy one, as I do enjoy that genre. If possible to even answer, what is your personal favorite book that you've written? Or just a top few.

EGF is full of pretty cool surprises.

I'm a part of many forums, and this is probably my favorite. Everyone is very knowledgeable and kind, without being callous and rude. I do enjoy some playful banter, but some forums are just cesspools for some miserable folk.

Anyways, I digress.

[sleigh]

Jordan -- so as not to hijack this thread (and to avoid tooting my own horn here—especially since horns are not guitars!), I'll reply by PM...