boutique flattop market
BY ADAM PERLMUTTER Solid Adirondack spruce top Orchestra model size
company produces guitars of all sizes, inspired by prewar classics.
The E10OM-LTD is an OM (orchestra model), inspired by the 14-fret guitar that Martin introduced in 1929 to extend access to the upper frets. Unlike many imported instru- ments, it’s constructed from all-solid woods. The back and sides are made of beautiful mahogany (the review model even boasted a hint of curly figuring on the back), but more noteworthy is the instrument’s Adirondack spruce soundboard—a wood rarely seen on imports and usually reserved for high-end domestic guitars. This is the real deal, the tone- wood that Martin, Gibson, and others used for the tops of their great prewar guitars.
In terms of cosmetics, the E10OM-LTD has an interesting mix of Spartan and fancy appoint- ments. The body binding is plain black, like on a lower-end Martin, as are the end strip and heel cap; the rosette is made of simple black and
H
aving a preference for boutique guitars made much closer to home than East Asia,I’m not necessarily predisposed to like Eastman’s E10OM-LTD. But removing this smart guitar from its arched hard-shell case, I have no choice but to like it. I can tell before I even play it that this flattop has an impressive resonance, based on the way it seems to vibrate. A few cursory fingerpicking patterns find the instrument to have a rich, warm voice and a spongy respon- siveness—a mahogany-bodied guitar at its best. Some cowboy strumming with a thin pick shows that the guitar has ample headroom, making it a well-rounded player.
Eastman, which started as a maker of affordable violin-family instruments in the early 1990s, entered the flattop market through the backdoor, as it were. The company offered acoustic and electric archtops before delving into flattops in recent years. In its Traditional Series, which includes the E10OM-LTD, the
AcousticGuitar.com 83
BODY
Orchestra model size Solid Adirondack spruce top with hand-carved scalloped and forward-shifted X bracing Solid mahogany back and sides Ebony bridge with bone saddle Natural gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish
EASTMAN
E10OM-LTD
AT A GLANCEVIDEO REVIEW
ACOUSTICGUITAR.COM/GEAR
NECK Mahogany neck 25-inch scale length 1.75-inch bone nut Chrome vintage open-gear Gotoh tuners Satin finish EXTRAS D’Addario EXP16 coated phosphor bronze strings (.012–.053) Hard-shell case PRICE $1,650 list; $1,319 street Made in China eastmanguitars.comcrème rings. However, the slotted headstock sports an elegant vine inlay, and the fingerboard is studded with floral motifs for position markers. (Both the slot-head design and fret- board inlays are new additions to the model.) The rosewood endpin, as opposed to the custom- ary plastic, adds a touch of class as well.
WELL BUILT, WELL BALANCED
Faults are few and minor in terms of craftsman- s h i p . T h e 2 0 n i c k e l - s i l v e r f r e t s a r e w e l l polished, with just a hint of jaggedness at their ends, and the nut and saddle slots are cut cleanly. On the body, a nitrocellulose lacquer finish—another vintage-approved aspect—is fairly thinly applied and buffed smoothly and evenly. Things are tidy inside the box, too, with only the subtlest hint of excess glue.
The E10OM-LTD is well balanced between
its neck and its body. Aside from the action being slightly high at the 12th fret, at least to Orchestra
model size
my liking, the guitar plays well. Its relatively thin, subtly V-shaped neck has a decidedly more high-performance feel than the larger necks typical of a prewar example. It’s easy to play barre chords all along the neck for extended periods. At 25 inches, the neck’s slightly shorter scale, relative to 25.4 inches on a standard OM, makes it comfortable to play stretch chords, while the 1.75-inch nut makes for ample string spacing when it comes to fingerpicking.
In standard tuning, the E10OM-LTD offers an even and highly adaptable voice. It sounds ter- rific for everything from traditional approaches like Carter strumming and Travis picking to less idiomatic fare, such as chord-melody soloing inspired by the cluster voicings favored by late jazz pianist Bill Evans. The guitar fares just as well when subjected to single-note excursions, be they in a bluegrass or an atonal mold.
The guitar’s open-gear Gotoh tuners have a vintage look but the smoothest feel, making
nonstandard tunings a breeze. While the instru- ment maintains its lush and vibrant sound when placed into tunings like drop-D and DADGAD, things do get slightly muddy when it’s played in standard tuned down a whole step (D G C F A D) or lower—not enough, most likely, to trouble most ears.
With a price tag of about $1,300, Eastman’s E10OM-LTD is far from inexpensive for an imported guitar, and its country of manufacture will no doubt be a deterrent to some. On the other hand, it’s priced at a fraction of a compa- rable US-made instrument. These things aside, the E10OM-LTD is a honey of a guitar, a beauti- ful interpretation of a Golden Era classic that is sure to blossom with age. AG
Contributing editor Adam Perlmutter
transcribes, arranges, and engraves music for numerous publications. See his website at adamperlmutter.com.
Mahogany neck Chrome
vintage open-gear Gotoh tuners 1.75-inch
bone nut
84 August 2015