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Location: NJ | They ARE very nice guitars.
The Palen's look interesting, as well . . .
Since I don't play jazz, I have no need/desire. |
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Location: New Jersey, USA | The oval hole, acoustic 604 is so cool... it can be used for any style of music. Like Ovations, acoustic archtops have a very midrangey, strident, punchy tone. It's from the old days when they were played acoustically with a big band; their four-to-the-bar rhythm had to be heard over the din.
In learning to appreciate the uniqueness of the Adamas 1587 that I own, I have come to find that it is very similar to an archtop in this way. So that is why I am really bonding with it. I just love that kind of sound. |
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Location: Scotland | I first became aware of Eastman at the Shanghai Music Messe a few years ago. It was obvious they were a cut above. They have a lot of experience with carved-top instruments as they've been making violin family instruments for a long time. I was especially impressed with their mandolins.
From a couple of years of working with a number of Chinese instrument facories I think the only real problems occur when western distributors/manufacturers demand that the factories produce at the lowest possible price. Give them free reign to produce a quality instrument without having to build to a specific (low) price point and see what you get. Eastman are a perfect example. When working on my last manufacturing project the factory would come back with a unit price and were surprised when I said, "no, too cheap, use better materials, use nicer tuning machines" Every tweak I made they came back with "that will cost another 2 dorrar per unit" or whatever, expecting that $2 a unit may have been a deal-breaker. Eventually I said this is what I want, make it as well as you can to these specs and charge me a fair price. Apparantly that doesn't happen too often. Admitedly I was working with relatively small unit numbers, but you get my point.
The only other problem is overcoming the general public perception that Chinese production means low retail cost. Having said that, Bose don't seem to have a problem with the L1, and that's made in China. |
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Location: New Jersey, USA | Very interesting anecdote Paul.
Regarding the perception issue, I think Eastman overcame it by brute force: put the guitars in shops; get them reviewed; get them played; and it became obvious that they were a serious contender and that their country of origin was not a factor.
They apparently did have some improvements over the years and they've proved responsive to their dealers' feedback. They supposedly have a great rep in the US who has helped to share their story and provide a "face" to the buying public.
Anyway, I didn't mean for the thread to go off on an Eastman tangent, but here we are! Another inspiring type of guitar to play. |
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Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
The only other problem is overcoming the general public perception that Chinese production means low retail cost. Having said that, Bose don't seem to have a problem with the L1, and that's made in China. -------------------------------------------------
...or JBL speakers, FENDER amps., etc. etc. .. |
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Location: NJ | Roger;
We'll have to get t'gether sometime & I'll let you take my 1187 for a spin . . . |
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Location: New Jersey, USA | Sounds like fun. Yours is a '78 original? I am hoping to meet up with some local OFC folk at some point. Too bad I missed the gathering earlier this year. I'm totally game! |
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Location: NJ | Once the CO trip's over, and the gig-thing is figured-out, I'll shoot you a PM . . |
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Location: Scotland | Originally posted by Solid Top aka Enfant Terrible:
...or JBL speakers, FENDER amps., etc. etc. .. Which Fender amps apart from the relatively inexpensive entry-level stuff are made in China?
That aside, my point was that if a product is made to a consistently professional standard, with excellent quality control, then the country of origin/price point should be a non-issue. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
Which Fender amps apart from the relatively inexpensive entry-level stuff are made in China?
That aside, my point was that if a product is made to a consistently professional standard, with excellent quality control, then the country of origin/price point should be a non-issue. [/QB] ..I would hardly describe the G-DEC`s as entry-level stuff, I know of those, who use them for club gigs, small places, but nevertheless, money is being earned,..and with a mic. in front, the sky`s the limit,...Good Sound, No Hum, No Hiss, Usable Effects, Highly Reliable,... Effective Little boxes... |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by Solid Top aka Enfant Terrible:
Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
Which Fender amps apart from the relatively inexpensive entry-level stuff are made in China?
That aside, my point was that if a product is made to a consistently professional standard, with excellent quality control, then the country of origin/price point should be a non-issue. ..I would hardly describe the G-DEC`s as entry-level stuff, I know of those, who use them for club gigs, small places, but nevertheless, money is being earned,..and with a mic. in front, or headphone out ( stereo signal ) the sky`s the limit,...Good Sound, No Hum, No Hiss, Usable Effects, Highly Reliable,... Effective Little boxes... [/QB] |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | What on earth..??.. |
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Location: Scotland | Originally posted by Solid Top aka Enfant Terrible:
..I would hardly describe the G-DEC`s as entry-level stuff, I know of those, who use them for club gigs, small places, but nevertheless, money is being earned,..and with a mic. in front, or headphone out ( stereo signal ) the sky`s the limit,...Good Sound, No Hum, No Hiss, Usable Effects, Highly Reliable,... Effective Little boxes... [/QB]
Highly reliable, effective little boxes, that cost a coupla hundred dollars. Regardless of who may actually buy them and how they are used the target market is "entry-level" and the G-Dec is intended as a learning/practicing tool for the hobbyist. However when you get that much bang for the buck nobody realy cares where they're made, you just buy'em and enjoy 'em. When you put out a Chinese made product such as the Bose L1 which are a couple of grand, or an Eastman guitar in the $4K range, then the selling points and thier percieved place in the market become somewhat more sophisticated. |
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Location: SoCal | Boy, I remember a couple of years ago using a G-Dec to play "Stump The Temp"..... |
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Location: Scotland | That was fun, until it stumped me and Kim called me something unpleasant. |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
That was fun, until it stumped me and Kim called me something unpleasant. Sounds pretty much like every evening at my place... :rolleyes: |
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Acoustic Roundup, Part II
