Hi All! Just joined as a recent new owner of a T486!
I recently acquired an August 2021 build Eastman T486 in the Classic finish and thought I would share my impressions of this instrument. A little background to help with a baseline on my opinions; this is my third electric guitar. I also own a 2015 Gretsch G5435 Electromatic Pro Jet (made in China) and a 2019 Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro (made in Indonesia). The Gretsch is a ‘chambered’ solid body – kind of like a Les Paul, but with a low output Gretsch Filtertron sound that sparkles. The Joe Pass, as the name suggests is a jazz oriented full hollow guitar with Epiphone’s great Probucker pickups and coil splitting. I now play mainly jazz tunes, but also like to play blues and British alt-rock from the 80’s and 90’s (The Smiths etc). Both of those guitars are in my opinion great for their price, and I particularly love playing the Joe Pass. With the addition of a case the Epi Joe Pass is about the same price here as the T486, perhaps a shade under. The Gretsch is about 2/3 the price with a hard case. So the T486 is arguably my most expensive guitar. I play mainly through a Roland Blues Cube Artist and like clean tones with a little drive.
The T486 came about after a 12 month urge for a 335 type semi-hollow for more bluesy tones – I have never owned a semi-hollow, but have admired my tutor’s gorgeous 1980’s Ibanez AS200 for some time now. I considered many options – the three main contenders being the Ibanez AS153, The Yamaha SA2200 (used) or an Epi Sheraton. The Sheraton is basically the thinline double cut version of my Joe Pass, same pickups, wiring, appointments and almost the same tone – so I ruled her out first. The Yamaha was twice my budget new and impossible to find used – these are magnificent guitars to play but beyond what I was prepared to spend. The AS153 is probably the most equivalent to the T486, but a very warm jazzy tone, which I already had covered. Also in the price range were various thinline Gretsch Electromatics and Streamliners – the Electromatics in particular are great well made instruments – but not the tone or vibe I was after.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Now the Eastmans are unique guitars. Some might ask what’s so different about yet another 335 type semi-hollow, and I would answer “the finish”. My T486 is the Classic finish – I have not seen another brand with a finish like this, it is brown with a touch of red to it that has a very subtle burst. The finish grades a little lighter near the peaks of the ‘ears’ of the cut-aways. The flame on the front and back is vivid without being overdone. The gloss lacquer is not a nitro – it’s their new less hazardous to apply finish, I’m guessing it’s a very thin poly. [Frankly, I don’t buy into or value the tone difference of nitro vs poly when it comes to a solid or semi-hollow guitar with layered/ply top. I do believe it is relevant to the unamplified sound of full hollows with carved solid soundboards – but in those cases a violin varnish would be a better choice over nitro or poly.] Whatever the varnish is that is applied to the T486, in any case, it is stunning and thin enough to show where it has ‘sunk’ into the grain. The overall effect of the finish is a hint of vintage whilst being clearly new. It does not feel ‘plastic’ to the touch.
The binding is also unique for a mass produced guitar. It not only multi-ply black and ivory along the front, but multi-ply across it’s thickness too. So seen from the side it has ivory and ivory with a slight green hue stripes. Same at the heel, along the fretboard, and the headstock. All beautifully applied and gorgeous.
The fretboard is a tight grained wood, specified as ebony, stained black. It is super smooth, and feels almost like glass to the touch. The split inlays are mother of pearl (not pearloid) and were accurately and cleanly applied – they look great and I can’t fault them. The overall impression of the guitar is of superior quality and – there’s no other way I can describe it – pure class. I love this finish.
In addition to this, the hard case it is supplied with is lovely. Well made, solid and wrapped in a faux leather textured covering that impresses.
HARDWARE:
The Gotoh bridge and tail, the pots and knobs and switches are all excellent and considerably better than on my Epi or the Gretsch. The tone knobs have a very linear and noticeable effect. All the pots are smooth and secure when used. The Switchcraft pup selector switch is solid. By contrast, I had to replace the switch on the Epi after a year and it always felt sloppy, and the tone adjustment is not very linear. I had to replace the volume pots on the Epi too. The Gretsch tone control has a very narrow band goes rapidly from thick wooly sock tone to sparkle in a fraction of a turn. It’s no competition really.
Where the Epi does trump the Eastman though are the tuners. The Joe Pass has 18:1 Grovers which are a joy. Fine, predictable, reliable. The Eastman has what I think are proprietary ‘Ping’ 14:1 tuners. Smooth – sure – but I miss the fine adjustment of the 18:1 the ratio. The Gretsch tuners are, well, ordinary – let’s leave it at that, not terrible but far from great. With that said, I don’t feel any need to change the tuners on the Eastman.
The bone nut on the Eastman is great but needs a little adjustment as it grabs in tuning. To be honest, the Graphtec nut on the Epi is probably as good in practice.
PLAYING:
A really interesting journey. I have had the guitar now for 3 weeks. I use Thomastik Swing 12s (flatwounds) on the Joe Pass. I had the T486 prepared with Thomastik Jazz Bebop 12s (round wounds). The T486 was much brighter than I expected with these on neck and bridge, too much for what I wanted. After a few days hoping it would settle down, I swapped for the Swing flatwounds but in 11. That darkened the tone a bit, but I was also getting a slight phasing sound (best description for it) and it seemed harder to play cleanly than my Epi. I put it down to me getting used to the neck – but it did not make sense – the neck is a thinner section than the Epi which should suit me better. I loved the instrument but I was slightly disappointed. Then, 2 ½ weeks in something dawned on me as I was going between the Joe Pass and the T486...
The action. The action was much higher on the T486. I did not question it as I had the shop set the guitar up, but now I checked it. Much much higher. I checked the relief and set it to about 0.5mm at the 8[sup]th[/sup] fret. Dropped the bridge height to get a low action of about 1.75mm on 6[sup]th[/sup] string and 1mm on the first. Tuned and intonated and tuned again. A quick fret buzz check and (to some relief) not a sign of any buzz anywhere – these frets are perfect. Wow. The moment I played it again, it was a completely different instrument. Gorgeous full tone on the neck, bell like on the bridge. No sign of any phasing like sounds. Super easy to play with a light touch. It is now without question my favourite to play plugged in. The tone can be bright or warm, but it is always articulate. It is very responsive and quick single note runs or comping is a slick exercise. In terms of tone I put it between the sparkly Gretsch Filtertrons and the warm Probuckers, a ‘PAF’ style humbucker. In terms of the tone quality, the SDs of the T486 are superior to either of the others to me.
Unplugged, well it’s a semi-hollow, so other than some quick quiet practice it is not really worth considering. Better than a solid body for sure, but it’s not really what a 335 type is for. The full hollow, full bodied Joe Pass is the go-to instrument for me when playing at home unplugged – warm and clear, very rewarding and a very underrated guitar.
SUMMING UP:
Now, I really enjoy all of my guitars. I love that they each have their own sound and style. If we come down to the dollars I would say the Epiphone Joe Pass is pitched at the same price point as the T486 once you account for the case. The Epiphone has similar fancy appointments and a couple of extra features – coil splitting mainly and the lovely flower-of-life headstock inlays. The build of the Epiphone itself is great. It does it’s thing very well (for me) and I am very happy with it – it delivers what I expect for the price.
The T486 has something else – it’s a little intangible really, the combination of the quality parts, the finish, the lovely choice of materials, the feel of it, the quality of the tone. Together these things make me feel like I have received a quality guitar intended for a price point twice it’s actual price. This Eastman lifts the bar in this price range. I can’t compare it to a Gibson – I’ve never played one, and I’m not motivated to either – but let me put it like this, I don’t feel like I am missing out. It is just an excellent package beautifully made. At some point I am now sure to also try the Eastman jazz archtops, given my experience with the T486.
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I recently acquired an August 2021 build Eastman T486 in the Classic finish and thought I would share my impressions of this instrument. A little background to help with a baseline on my opinions; this is my third electric guitar. I also own a 2015 Gretsch G5435 Electromatic Pro Jet (made in China) and a 2019 Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro (made in Indonesia). The Gretsch is a ‘chambered’ solid body – kind of like a Les Paul, but with a low output Gretsch Filtertron sound that sparkles. The Joe Pass, as the name suggests is a jazz oriented full hollow guitar with Epiphone’s great Probucker pickups and coil splitting. I now play mainly jazz tunes, but also like to play blues and British alt-rock from the 80’s and 90’s (The Smiths etc). Both of those guitars are in my opinion great for their price, and I particularly love playing the Joe Pass. With the addition of a case the Epi Joe Pass is about the same price here as the T486, perhaps a shade under. The Gretsch is about 2/3 the price with a hard case. So the T486 is arguably my most expensive guitar. I play mainly through a Roland Blues Cube Artist and like clean tones with a little drive.
The T486 came about after a 12 month urge for a 335 type semi-hollow for more bluesy tones – I have never owned a semi-hollow, but have admired my tutor’s gorgeous 1980’s Ibanez AS200 for some time now. I considered many options – the three main contenders being the Ibanez AS153, The Yamaha SA2200 (used) or an Epi Sheraton. The Sheraton is basically the thinline double cut version of my Joe Pass, same pickups, wiring, appointments and almost the same tone – so I ruled her out first. The Yamaha was twice my budget new and impossible to find used – these are magnificent guitars to play but beyond what I was prepared to spend. The AS153 is probably the most equivalent to the T486, but a very warm jazzy tone, which I already had covered. Also in the price range were various thinline Gretsch Electromatics and Streamliners – the Electromatics in particular are great well made instruments – but not the tone or vibe I was after.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Now the Eastmans are unique guitars. Some might ask what’s so different about yet another 335 type semi-hollow, and I would answer “the finish”. My T486 is the Classic finish – I have not seen another brand with a finish like this, it is brown with a touch of red to it that has a very subtle burst. The finish grades a little lighter near the peaks of the ‘ears’ of the cut-aways. The flame on the front and back is vivid without being overdone. The gloss lacquer is not a nitro – it’s their new less hazardous to apply finish, I’m guessing it’s a very thin poly. [Frankly, I don’t buy into or value the tone difference of nitro vs poly when it comes to a solid or semi-hollow guitar with layered/ply top. I do believe it is relevant to the unamplified sound of full hollows with carved solid soundboards – but in those cases a violin varnish would be a better choice over nitro or poly.] Whatever the varnish is that is applied to the T486, in any case, it is stunning and thin enough to show where it has ‘sunk’ into the grain. The overall effect of the finish is a hint of vintage whilst being clearly new. It does not feel ‘plastic’ to the touch.
The binding is also unique for a mass produced guitar. It not only multi-ply black and ivory along the front, but multi-ply across it’s thickness too. So seen from the side it has ivory and ivory with a slight green hue stripes. Same at the heel, along the fretboard, and the headstock. All beautifully applied and gorgeous.
The fretboard is a tight grained wood, specified as ebony, stained black. It is super smooth, and feels almost like glass to the touch. The split inlays are mother of pearl (not pearloid) and were accurately and cleanly applied – they look great and I can’t fault them. The overall impression of the guitar is of superior quality and – there’s no other way I can describe it – pure class. I love this finish.
In addition to this, the hard case it is supplied with is lovely. Well made, solid and wrapped in a faux leather textured covering that impresses.
HARDWARE:
The Gotoh bridge and tail, the pots and knobs and switches are all excellent and considerably better than on my Epi or the Gretsch. The tone knobs have a very linear and noticeable effect. All the pots are smooth and secure when used. The Switchcraft pup selector switch is solid. By contrast, I had to replace the switch on the Epi after a year and it always felt sloppy, and the tone adjustment is not very linear. I had to replace the volume pots on the Epi too. The Gretsch tone control has a very narrow band goes rapidly from thick wooly sock tone to sparkle in a fraction of a turn. It’s no competition really.
Where the Epi does trump the Eastman though are the tuners. The Joe Pass has 18:1 Grovers which are a joy. Fine, predictable, reliable. The Eastman has what I think are proprietary ‘Ping’ 14:1 tuners. Smooth – sure – but I miss the fine adjustment of the 18:1 the ratio. The Gretsch tuners are, well, ordinary – let’s leave it at that, not terrible but far from great. With that said, I don’t feel any need to change the tuners on the Eastman.
The bone nut on the Eastman is great but needs a little adjustment as it grabs in tuning. To be honest, the Graphtec nut on the Epi is probably as good in practice.
PLAYING:
A really interesting journey. I have had the guitar now for 3 weeks. I use Thomastik Swing 12s (flatwounds) on the Joe Pass. I had the T486 prepared with Thomastik Jazz Bebop 12s (round wounds). The T486 was much brighter than I expected with these on neck and bridge, too much for what I wanted. After a few days hoping it would settle down, I swapped for the Swing flatwounds but in 11. That darkened the tone a bit, but I was also getting a slight phasing sound (best description for it) and it seemed harder to play cleanly than my Epi. I put it down to me getting used to the neck – but it did not make sense – the neck is a thinner section than the Epi which should suit me better. I loved the instrument but I was slightly disappointed. Then, 2 ½ weeks in something dawned on me as I was going between the Joe Pass and the T486...
The action. The action was much higher on the T486. I did not question it as I had the shop set the guitar up, but now I checked it. Much much higher. I checked the relief and set it to about 0.5mm at the 8[sup]th[/sup] fret. Dropped the bridge height to get a low action of about 1.75mm on 6[sup]th[/sup] string and 1mm on the first. Tuned and intonated and tuned again. A quick fret buzz check and (to some relief) not a sign of any buzz anywhere – these frets are perfect. Wow. The moment I played it again, it was a completely different instrument. Gorgeous full tone on the neck, bell like on the bridge. No sign of any phasing like sounds. Super easy to play with a light touch. It is now without question my favourite to play plugged in. The tone can be bright or warm, but it is always articulate. It is very responsive and quick single note runs or comping is a slick exercise. In terms of tone I put it between the sparkly Gretsch Filtertrons and the warm Probuckers, a ‘PAF’ style humbucker. In terms of the tone quality, the SDs of the T486 are superior to either of the others to me.
Unplugged, well it’s a semi-hollow, so other than some quick quiet practice it is not really worth considering. Better than a solid body for sure, but it’s not really what a 335 type is for. The full hollow, full bodied Joe Pass is the go-to instrument for me when playing at home unplugged – warm and clear, very rewarding and a very underrated guitar.
SUMMING UP:
Now, I really enjoy all of my guitars. I love that they each have their own sound and style. If we come down to the dollars I would say the Epiphone Joe Pass is pitched at the same price point as the T486 once you account for the case. The Epiphone has similar fancy appointments and a couple of extra features – coil splitting mainly and the lovely flower-of-life headstock inlays. The build of the Epiphone itself is great. It does it’s thing very well (for me) and I am very happy with it – it delivers what I expect for the price.
The T486 has something else – it’s a little intangible really, the combination of the quality parts, the finish, the lovely choice of materials, the feel of it, the quality of the tone. Together these things make me feel like I have received a quality guitar intended for a price point twice it’s actual price. This Eastman lifts the bar in this price range. I can’t compare it to a Gibson – I’ve never played one, and I’m not motivated to either – but let me put it like this, I don’t feel like I am missing out. It is just an excellent package beautifully made. At some point I am now sure to also try the Eastman jazz archtops, given my experience with the T486.
