Eastman stops using Nitro switches to Truetone

[donovantyler]

I spoke with Mark Herring at Eastman Fretted Instruments.. He explained to me that Truetone is a water-based Laquer developed by Dana and that Dana has been using it on his guitars for > 10 years.  He said that it's thinner than nitro, has the same feel as nitro, produces a tone at least as good as nitro but is not nearly as toxic or dangerous to the planet or the humans that build the guitars.  He said that it will age just like nitro but won't crack or check due to temp changes, etc..
[align=start]Mark explained to me.. it can't really be Artisan's fault. Nobody was told really when they started using the Truetone at the factories in CH. also, "it isn't like they flip a switch and it all happens at once." I now see that Artisan in good faith thought that my guitar was nitro. I have apologized to Ellie for being upset.. i felt blindsided by this. I was very careful to read their spec sheet saying that my guitar was nitro - serial number shown. I wouldn't have bought it had it said something other than nitro. Bill told me on the phone prior to my purchase that it was nitro. Alas, they couldn't have known that Eastman was going to change their finish on that guitar.[/align]
[align=start]After talking with Mark H. i feel much better about Truetone and am still very happy with my AC822CE.[/align]
[align=start]They should put something out explaining what Trutone is, how Dana developed it, how it affects the quality of the guitar and sound and how it will age imo. [/align]