NGD is here: E8OM-TC

[Pura Vida]

Hey, Jim.  Nice update.  Congrats!  Looking forward to the full review, once you've had some more time with it.  Interesting observations about the bracing between the E8 and E20, as well as the smoothness.

[SasquatchLife]

How glossy is the neck? It's listed as satin but in my experience Eastman's satin is still pretty sticky.

I've owned 3 Eastmans, and they've all had a very smooth satin neck. Which models have you played or owned? I've owned an E6OM, and currently have an E8D and E8OM-TC.

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Just picked up my E8OM-TC. I really like it a lot. I haven't had enough time with it yet that I want to comment at length but just a couple of observations...not complaints. The case is not as nice as the E10/E20 models nor would I necessarily expect it to be. It's certainly adequate and I'm sure will work it just fine. The pick guard is a little thick and I may change it out. Would prefer it to be beveled. Not a big deal just a nice touch. The bracing isn't as finished as the E10/E20 model and again, I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be but I did notice it. The TC top is very nice tight grained Sitka and the back is a very nice piece of EIR. Raymond @ AMW set it up for me and it's perfect right out of the box. I have a K&K Mini and will be taking it to my luthier to do the install. Overall, for the very short time I've had it I'm very pleased. As I said earlier...these items mentioned above are no more than observations and personal preferences. I truly believe this guitar is a fine instrument and I will play it regularly. As to the difference in tone between this one and my E20D-TC (not exactly apple to apples?) the Sitka TC top seems a bit more smooth in it's response...not more subtle. It sounds more played in to me than the Adirondack and I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise to me or anyone else? It still has a "bite" to it and I'm always amazed at how well the Eastman OM's take to a flatpick with their 24.9" scale length. I think for me Eastman's OM with the TC Sitka is the better choice...especially for finger picking.

I'm glad you like it. I'm anxious to hear your full review, and you should do a new thread for that!

I love my E8OM-TC. I played it last night for about an hour and it's just an incredible sounding guitar. It's perfect for fingerpicking, and I agree that it's also great for flatpicking.

See, I'm almost convinced that there is no rhyme or reason necessarily on the cases. Or maybe the TC tops and Adi tops get the nicer case with the arched top? I say that because I had a normal black case with no arch top and black lining on the inside with my E6OM and E8D. These cases had an exterior like a fake leather with alligator skin material. Hard for me to explain.

Now, my E8OM-TC case had the nice archtop case with prettier silver lining. And the exterior material was more like a hardshell material. Also, it had an Eastman imprint on top if the archtop. And also had the little Silver rectangular Eastman emblem. My E8D case also had the silver Eastman emblem, but no Eastman imprint. The E6OM had neither the emblem or imprint.

Any thoughts on this? Pura?

[Pura Vida]

Eastman has been changing its cases lately, and they vary by model.  I have a variety, all sitting in a closet, but most were the silver/grey furry lining, and the arch depended on the guitar size, I think.  More recently, they shifted into a grey lined (non-furry) case, and another recent one is different yet again.  I'm sure it's a balance of them trying to improve on the case vs. contracting with case makers (contracts end, new companies get signed).

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BTW, the Eastman logo embossing is a relatively new thing.  Most were hard cases with a metal tag installed onto the guitar.  My E10OM is with me, and it's in a gold hardware / gold stitched case (not a fan of the color, but that's ok).  Some of the newer, higher end models came with a blue/brown case, I think.  Those look really nice.

[Tags]

How glossy is the neck? It's listed as satin but in my experience Eastman's satin is still pretty sticky.

I've owned 3 Eastmans, and they've all had a very smooth satin neck. Which models have you played or owned? I've owned an E6OM, and currently have an E8D and E8OM-TC.

I own a 2016 E10OM and have played a E6D from the same era. They are/were both glossy neck -- maybe not quite candy-shell but also nothing like the slick satin on necks from Martin, Taylor, Larrivee, etc. I gather that at some point in the last couple of years, Eastman went to true satin necks, but I wanted a firsthand description.

[gruuv]

For context, my E8D-TC (new as of last week, only at the shop I bought it from for a few weeks) has a very smooth, very playable satin neck, similar to a Martin OM-28 I owned a few years back. Very, very comfortable.

Also, the case is the newer matte finish (as opposed to my 2015 AC case, which is glossy and very textured), and it has a silver Eastman plate on the side, embossed logo on the top, arch top, and the gray padded interior, similar to some Ameritage cases I've seen. The handle is much more padded and robust feeling a well. Very high quality!

[AlanSam]

Gruuv - If you could conjure up an image of the case I would be interested to having a look.

[UncleJesse]

For context, my E8D-TC (new as of last week, only at the shop I bought it from for a few weeks) has a very smooth, very playable satin neck, similar to a Martin OM-28 I owned a few years back. Very, very comfortable.

Also, the case is the newer matte finish (as opposed to my 2015 AC case, which is glossy and very textured), and it has a silver Eastman plate on the side, embossed logo on the top, arch top, and the gray padded interior, similar to some Ameritage cases I've seen. The handle is much more padded and robust feeling a well. Very high quality!

That's the case I saw on a 2020 E8D that's being sold locally.  The interior color reminded me of Ameritage cases.  I hadn't seen those ones yet.

[Shadow]

This is the case for my recently purchased E8OM-TC. Not sure how to add multiple images to a post.

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More photos.

[mouks]

The case of my AC522 looks the same, but it has gold hardware and yellow stitching

[gruuv]

@AlanSam (and anyone else interested...)

Here are some quick shots... the photographer in me is cringing.

There's still a "furry" quality to the interior, but it's much closer to microfiber than alpaca.

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Let me also add that the fit in the case and the support for the neck is far superior in these cases.