Does anyone here play Eastwood guitars? If so, what are your thoughts on them? Any good?

I have a Classic 12. It's OK for the money $500. I wanted an electric 12 string but I didn't want to spend big bucks. I had the toggle switch replaced. The original was rough and loud. Almost like flipping a circuit breaker. The first time I replaced the strings the nut was never glued on. The action and sound are very good. I've had it for about two years now and the neck has been stable. Hardware is little on the cheap side. Laminated ply top.
For the most part you get what you pay for with these guitar I didn't think the price was bad for an electric 12 string. It was worth what I paid for it new.

I play the Clint model.

Actually, never heard of these. According to Wikipedia, there are two copanies making Eastwood guitars - [en.wikipedia.org]

If you check out the reviews, the Eastwood guitars made by the Canadian company are knockoffs and such of other guitars and are made in China and Korea. I have not seen any of them in Guitar Center or other music stores here in Arizona. I would have to actually play one and compare it to other guitars to determine if it was a decent axe or not.

If you're looking at getting an electric guitar, look at Fender, Epiphone and such for good lower cost electrics. I have a Mexican made Strat, about 20 years old, which is a great basic Strat, along with the James Burton Standard Telecaster from Fender, which is an excellent guitar for the money. Replace the tuners on the Burton with Sperzels and you're good to go.

Quote
dmay
I play the Clint model.

Actually, never heard of these. According to Wikipedia, there are two copanies making Eastwood guitars - [en.wikipedia.org]

If you check out the reviews, the Eastwood guitars made by the Canadian company are knockoffs and such of other guitars and are made in China and Korea. I have not seen any of them in Guitar Center or other music stores here in Arizona. I would have to actually play one and compare it to other guitars to determine if it was a decent axe or not.

If you're looking at getting an electric guitar, look at Fender, Epiphone and such for good lower cost electrics. I have a Mexican made Strat, about 20 years old, which is a great basic Strat, along with the James Burton Standard Telecaster from Fender, which is an excellent guitar for the money. Replace the tuners on the Burton with Sperzels and you're good to go.

Yeah thanks dmay. I just have only actually played a couple of eastwood models. Their guitars are actually pretty good sounding. Jack Ehite plays them. But I wonder about the hardware. they look plastic.

It's weird you mentioned the JB Tele. I have that one too. It's all the way in the back always though.

IMHO, the JB Standard Tele, not the paisley one with three pups, is an overlooked gem from Fender. The Texas Special pups are wicked. The neck on this guitar is incredible. People who have played it have told me it's the best playing neck they have played. I know them well enough to know they weren't blowin' boosheey past me. I liked the JB neck so well I had a similar one put on a hand made Tele a friend gave me when the original neck on the hand made went awry. My JB is black with a white pickguard. You won't find these on the Fender website. My daughter named the JB "The Black Pearl" after the ship in the Pirate's movie. We call it Pearl for short. She named the hand made Tele "Cherry Baby" because of the hand tinted reddish/sunburst cherry wood body my friend made for the guitar. The JB is what I generally use for rock/blues stuff. Cherry Baby is generally used for jazz/jazz blues.

I know what I just wrote has nothing to do with Eastwood guitars. It's just a comment on the guitars we own and love. And, re the names for the guitars, if you play an instrument, you should give it a name that's special to you. Play it often. It will reveal its secrets to you over time.

Yep, you get an autographed pix of Clint with every Eastwood guitar, along with a recording of Clint saying, "Go ahead, punk, make my day, and show me you really know how to play."

My 50th birthday is coming..........and i have dudes between a Epiphone Casino Gary Clark Jr model vs Gretsh Electromatic 5420 vs Guild Starfire V

Quote
KeithNacho
My 50th birthday is coming..........and i have dudes between a Epiphone Casino Gary Clark Jr model vs Gretsh Electromatic 5420 vs Guild Starfire V

Go for the Gretsch! Here's mine.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Sunburst will be my choice

With all the computer aided manufacturing and design these days, almost anyone can make a good guitar. I've played Mexican strats that are as good as anything from the Fender USA shop. Don't know much about Eastwood but I'll bet they have some good ones and has been said you can always set them up for your playing style and with better hardware, if necessary.

Not that all guitars are going to be good... and I swear there are a few Hawaiian manufacturer's that have magic voodoo women in the back room adding juju to the instruments before they are shipped.

My 50th birthday is coming..........and i have dudes between a Epiphone Casino Gary Clark Jr model vs Gretsh Electromatic 5420 vs Guild Starfire V

My advice is don't be sold on the model, play 'em both and a few more and let the guitar pick you. Nothin' better than picking up a strange guitar and having it start whispering sweet somethings into your ears. "I'm loaded with songs, I'll never talk back to ya with a bad tone, my fretboad was made for your fingers, chicks dig me "..... peace

Quote
Naturalust
With all the computer aided manufacturing and design these days, almost anyone can make a good guitar. I've played Mexican strats that are as good as anything from the Fender USA shop. Don't know much about Eastwood but I'll bet they have some good ones and has been said you can always set them up for your playing style and with better hardware, if necessary.

Not that all guitars are going to be good... and I swear there are a few Hawaiian manufacturer's that have magic voodoo women in the back room adding juju to the instruments before they are shipped.

My 50th birthday is coming..........and i have dudes between a Epiphone Casino Gary Clark Jr model vs Gretsh Electromatic 5420 vs Guild Starfire V

My advice is don't be sold on the model, play 'em both and a few more and let the guitar pick you. Nothin' better than picking up a strange guitar and having it start whispering sweet somethings into your ears. "I'm loaded with songs, I'll never talk back to ya with a bad tone, my fretboad was made for your fingers, chicks dig me "..... peace

Good advice but without playing them I'd go for The Starfire. I know many hits were played on Casinos but they are not well designed guitars, especially for solos. Yes Gary Clark uses one but I've seen him hampered by his a few times plus they're really handful at loud volumes unless you stuff them like Lennon and I suspect Clark does. Truth be told the modern Casino is miles from the Casinos Lennon and Richards played. When I was a kid I could buy Casinos and ES 330's for $200 all day long and I filled my room with them at one point. The old ones are much warmer while the modern ones are bright and thin. A Gretsch may look pretty but they are first and foremost eye candy. When I recorded Brian Setzer he joked about how even his vintage ones were junk and he played Schecter Who style Telecasters for the majority of the time unless he needed a tremolo. A Guild Starfire however is a great guitar although I would guess more expensive even from Korea. I own a 66 Starfire III and it is a better instrument than any of the dozen or so fancy Gretsch guitars that have passed through my collection.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2015-02-27 06:04 by DoomandGloom.

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
Naturalust
With all the computer aided manufacturing and design these days, almost anyone can make a good guitar. I've played Mexican strats that are as good as anything from the Fender USA shop. Don't know much about Eastwood but I'll bet they have some good ones and has been said you can always set them up for your playing style and with better hardware, if necessary.

Not that all guitars are going to be good... and I swear there are a few Hawaiian manufacturer's that have magic voodoo women in the back room adding juju to the instruments before they are shipped.

My 50th birthday is coming..........and i have dudes between a Epiphone Casino Gary Clark Jr model vs Gretsh Electromatic 5420 vs Guild Starfire V

My advice is don't be sold on the model, play 'em both and a few more and let the guitar pick you. Nothin' better than picking up a strange guitar and having it start whispering sweet somethings into your ears. "I'm loaded with songs, I'll never talk back to ya with a bad tone, my fretboad was made for your fingers, chicks dig me "..... peace

Good advice but without playing them I'd go for The Starfire. I know many hits were played on Casinos but they are not well designed guitars, especially for solos. Yes Gary Clark uses one but I've seen him hampered by his a few times plus they're really handful at loud volumes unless you stuff them like Lennon and I suspect Clark does. Truth be told the modern Casino is miles from the Casinos Lennon and Richards played. When I was a kid I could buy Casinos and ES 330's for $200 all day long and I filled my room with them at one point. The old ones are much warmer while the modern ones are bright and thin. A Gretsch may look pretty but they are first and foremost eye candy. When I recorded Brian Setzer he joked about how even his vintage ones were junk and he played Schecter Who style Telecasters for the majority of the time unless he needed a tremolo. A Guild Starfire however is a great guitar although I would guess more expensive even from Korea. I own a 66 Starfire III and it is a better instrument than any of the dozen or so fancy Gretsch guitars that have passed through my collection.

The Gretsch is also ear candy. At least my 5422 is

Thanks for your suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Gretsch is also ear candy. At least my 5422 is I have played a few of the recent Gretsch guitars and I have to admit they are actually better than many of the original vintage ones. For me a Gretsch still is a guitar that you sit on the couch with and retune for every chord... One of my homes is in Williamsburg Brooklyn directly across from the old factory. When I moved there 25 years ago Gretsch had already been gone for a decade but the building still said Gretsch. Every local thug's "uncle" had a Gretsch for sale as they used to break into the factory or rob them from the loading docks back in the 1960's. BTW the best way to keep that bridge from moving on the top of your 5422 is double sided scotch tape. A trick that I learned from Izzy Stradlin who played ES 125's in the "Appetite" days of Guns and Roses.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-02-27 16:49 by DoomandGloom.

Quote
KeithNacho
Thanks for your suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I were buying a "cheaper" semi hollow I'd have to consider these Gibsons... [www.ebay.com]

Quote
DoomandGloom
The Gretsch is also ear candy. At least my 5422 is I have played a few of the recent Gretsch guitars and I have to admit they are actually better than many of the original vintage ones. For me a Gretsch still is a guitar that you sit on the couch with and retune for every chord... One of my homes is in Williamsburg Brooklyn directly across from the old factory. When I moved there 25 years ago Gretsch had already been gone for a decade but the building still said Gretsch. Every local thug's "uncle" had a Gretsch for sale as they used to break into the factory or rob them from the loading docks back in the 1960's. BTW the best way to keep that bridge from moving on the top of your 5422 is double sided scotch tape. A trick that I learned from Izzy Stradlin who played ES 125's in the "Appetite" days of Guns and Roses.

Lol on the re-tuning for every chord part. My experience with Gretsch guitars is that they are all over the map, even with the same models. I've played ones which are just fantastic then picked up a duplicate model and found total crap.

As far as that trick with the scotch tape for the bridge I've no doubt it keeps the bridge more solidly in place but I'd be a bit concerned what the tape would do to the top of the guitar and even possibly the small difference adding plastic (probably mylar) would make to the pure tones I get from my vintage hollow-body Gibsons. That wood to wood connection seems an important part of the whole equation. I just play 'em with a lighter touch and am really careful to setup the bridge and intonation after string changes. peace

A True Arc bridge does the trick with the Gretsch.

Incredible that this thread went over to the Guild Starfire. That is exactly the guitar I am paying off at this moment. I am stoked about it. Starfire III.
It's strange: for years and years I played nothiing but Fenders. Strats.
And then I went Gibson' and hollowbodies too.
I am searching around for guitars though, that are not Gibson/Fender/Gretsch. That's why I was asking re. Eastwood. Or even 'Italia'.
I don't get attached to gutars. use them - sell them, shelve them. Try to always have like 5-6 working.

Quote
Naturalust

Quote
DoomandGloom
The Gretsch is also ear candy. At least my 5422 is I have played a few of the recent Gretsch guitars and I have to admit they are actually better than many of the original vintage ones. For me a Gretsch still is a guitar that you sit on the couch with and retune for every chord... One of my homes is in Williamsburg Brooklyn directly across from the old factory. When I moved there 25 years ago Gretsch had already been gone for a decade but the building still said Gretsch. Every local thug's "uncle" had a Gretsch for sale as they used to break into the factory or rob them from the loading docks back in the 1960's. BTW the best way to keep that bridge from moving on the top of your 5422 is double sided scotch tape. A trick that I learned from Izzy Stradlin who played ES 125's in the "Appetite" days of Guns and Roses.

Lol on the re-tuning for every chord part. My experience with Gretsch guitars is that they are all over the map, even with the same models. I've played ones which are just fantastic then picked up a duplicate model and found total crap.

As far as that trick with the scotch tape for the bridge I've no doubt it keeps the bridge more solidly in place but I'd be a bit concerned what the tape would do to the top of the guitar and even possibly the small difference adding plastic (probably mylar) would make to the pure tones I get from my vintage hollow-body Gibsons. That wood to wood connection seems an important part of the whole equation. I just play 'em with a lighter touch and am really careful to setup the bridge and intonation after string changes. peace

Well the scotch tape could hurt the finish but if it's under the bridge I wouldn't worry. You can have a light touch but if you were in Guns and Roses on stage and you whacked the bridge it would be a headache... I did have one great Gretsch, a doublecut 6120 like the "Paperback Writer" guitar. It was the loudest guitar I can remember having and was very playable. That one had 2 tiny nails put through the bridge mount to keep it stable. Epiphone has done a disservice to the models they feature, although their LP's are fair the hollowbodies and ES's look amazing but do not come anywhere near the sound of the 60's Epi's which were more or less made by Gibson in Kalamazoo. Those old Epiphones are magic and in some ways superior to the Gibsons at the time... Gibson had just re-machined so The Epiphone factory had much of the older equipment that made the 50's versions..



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015-02-28 17:42 by DoomandGloom.

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
Incredible that this thread went over to the Guild Starfire. That is exactly the guitar I am paying off at this moment. I am stoked about it. Starfire III.
It's strange: for years and years I played nothiing but Fenders. Strats.
And then I went Gibson' and hollowbodies too.
I am searching around for guitars though, that are not Gibson/Fender/Gretsch. That's why I was asking re. Eastwood. Or even 'Italia'.
I don't get attached to gutars. use them - sell them, shelve them. Try to always have like 5-6 working.

In the end what you want is a great ES 335, 345 or 355. There's a great model from the 70's, an ES 347 which is similar to a 355. Because no collectors care for "Norlin" 70's Gibsons they can be had for under 2 grand. Anyone who's played one knows the secret that it's one of the greatest Gibsons ever made. Ebony fingerboard and solid maple neck like a Byrdland, it does all the Keith "Chuck" stuff plus it has a factory coil tap and in that mode sounds like a Casino. You may think I'm exaggerating but it also can honk like a good Gretsch. I have a black one and it sends me telepathic nods if I'm not playing her enough. So yeah if you want a semi hollow that can do it all look for a ES 347. [forum.gibson.com]

Italia guitars look so cool!! The Fiordano one with Bigsby is a killer one

I thought we were talking about Eastwood Guitars?

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
Incredible that this thread went over to the Guild Starfire. That is exactly the guitar I am paying off at this moment. I am stoked about it. Starfire III.
It's strange: for years and years I played nothiing but Fenders. Strats.
And then I went Gibson' and hollowbodies too.
I am searching around for guitars though, that are not Gibson/Fender/Gretsch. That's why I was asking re. Eastwood. Or even 'Italia'.
I don't get attached to gutars. use them - sell them, shelve them. Try to always have like 5-6 working.

In the end what you want is a great ES 335, 345 or 355. There's a great model from the 70's, an ES 347 which is similar to a 355. Because no collectors care for "Norlin" 70's Gibsons they can be had for under 2 grand. Anyone who's played one knows the secret that it's one of the greatest Gibsons ever made. Ebony fingerboard and solid maple neck like a Byrdland, it does all the Keith "Chuck" stuff plus it has a factory coil tap and in that mode sounds like a Casino. You may think I'm exaggerating but it also can honk like a good Gretsch. I have a black one and it sends me telepathic nods if I'm not playing her enough. So yeah if you want a semi hollow that can do it all look for a ES 347. [forum.gibson.com]

D&G - thanks for this info.

The 347 and 355 are not similar. The 347 and the 355 are different in many ways. The 355 had a Bigsby tail piece the 347 has a T-9. The 355 has a mahogany neck the 347 is maple. Different pick ups also. The 347 has a coil tap switch the 355 has a stereo switch. The early 347 had a brass nut the 355 never did. Two different animals.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015-03-03 17:49 by More Hot Rocks.