Eastman vs Edwards vs...? Gold top search

[soliloquy]

So, I'm after something specific, and not sure if I'm looking at the right things.

What I like in a guitar are:
1) light weight
2) 24.75 scale
3) bone but
4) resonant!!
5) acoustically loud
6) clear when plugged in
7) single cut shaped guitar
8) a warmer hue in gold top (closer to orangeish brown, rather than green. Epiphones gold is closer to green).
9) chunkier necks are great, or skinny necks with taller frets are great)
10) p90s? Preferably?


That kind of brings me to Edwards golf top Les Paul guitar, and also Eastman sb56. I get that they are not apples to apples, and Edwards is about half the price of Eastman. But they have such unique things that I love, and I'm stuck between them.


What I like about Eastman:
Light weight (supposedly?); Ebony board; nitro finish; it's aging and greening really nice from what I'm seeing online; supposedly comparable to Gibson custom shop built (based on online reviews); supposedly very clear sounding when plugged in.

What I like about Edwards:
True(er) LP shape!! I do have an Edwards LPC and love that guitar, so I'm familiar with how Edwards will play, and think they are great. It has a beautiful warm gold color. Acoustically very loud and resonant. Super light weight too.




Now, I'm not sure which way to go.
I'm not liking that the Edwards has a poly finish which won't age. I may slap a bigsby on it.

What I'm not liking about Eastman is that it's shape is weird looking. Though I am a fan of the Agile AL shapes, so maybe Eastman will grow on me? I've also not played any Eastman, and not sure if I should believe the reviews. Also not sure how a bigsby would look on an Eastman sb body shape?

Edwards does save me some money which I can use towards a Strymon BigSky pedal along with some other? Where as Eastman may not give me the option of getting pedals.

So I'm not exactly saving money, if I go either way.



Anyone here have experience with either/both? What would win over the other for you? Or even towards Maybach Lester?



Not related; I know I could buy a Gibson Les Paul classic or traditional or even Standard. I just don't want to....maybe convince me?

 

[noodlingguitars]

Never seen an Eastman in person.

FGN has a gold top available that might fit the bill. It's got a rosewood board too instead of the pau ferro that Edwards uses. It's also poly.

If price isn't a huge factor, maybe do consider just going for a Gibson? 50's standard P90s will give you a chunky neck (but vintage style frets). Or you could probably get some good deals on pre-Chapter 11 Classics/ Deluxes (you could swap out the mini hums for P90s of your choice if you go Deluxe) - imho those have pretty comfy necks too.

 

[Neffco]

I have an Edwards GT. Nice guitar, prefer my tokai over it though. Better finish, nicer gold color, and I prefer the neck carve, it’s closer to my Gibson carve. Eddie has more of a D shape.

Don’t know about Eastman, other than the China built. I’d go Japanese personally. So I say go Tokai

 

[Mr French]

Never heard of Eastman. If you can, play both guitars and choose the one that sounds and feels the best.

I have an Edwards Jimmy Page model and truly love the neck and frets. Never played anything remotely close to it.

 

[Neffco]

Here’s a couple pictures of the Eddie and tokai. You can see the tokai has a good gold to it. Thin poly on the tokai.

 

[Grenville]

I have owned an Eastman, an LP Jr type, and it was a beautifully put together guitar.

IMO, the instrument you're considering is a much classier deviation from the LP shape than Agile.

It was loud acoustically, resonant and also very bright sounding when plugged in.

The neck was a bit wider than I'm used to. I really really liked it, maybe even a bit enamoured, but didn't actually love it so I only kept it for a year.

Which is to say, try an Eastman if you can and make up your own mind.

 

[smk506]

Here’s a couple pictures of the Eddie and tokai. You can see the tokai has a good gold to it. Thin poly on the tokai.View attachment 638460View attachment 638461View attachment 638462

I have a twin Tokai. It even has gold reflectors now too.

My humble gold top collection

OP, I’m biased on the subject but I would be looking really closely at Tokai, especially if you want a fuller neck. My last 3 have all had adequate heft and they feel like individual guitar necks, not cookie cutter D shapes.

 

[none2low]

I can't speak to the specific models you are contemplating, but I love my Eastman SB55DC/V.

Eastman guitars are a lot of guitar for the money and are already upgraded in many ways. If you can play both models in person that'd be ideal, otherwise maybe try to find a dealer with a good return policy and give the Eastman a go first.

 

[soliloquy]

I have owned an Eastman, an LP Jr type, and it was a beautifully put together guitar.

IMO, the instrument you're considering is a much classier deviation from the LP shape than Agile.

It was loud acoustically, resonant and also very bright sounding when plugged in.

The neck was a bit wider than I'm used to. I really really liked it, maybe even a bit enamoured, but didn't actually love it so I only kept it for a year.

Which is to say, try an Eastman if you can and make up your own mind.

Thank you for this. Just curious what didn't click with you for the Eastman?
And yes, the Eastman would be a significantly higher end than Agile. I just mentioned that as the body of the AL doesn't bother me much. And if the AL doesn't bother me, 8 won't be surprised if the SB looks better in person than the images.

For what it's worth, I did buy an LTD EC1001T, as it was an 'ideal' guitar for me...until it wasn't. Not really feeling any metal oriented guitars (though I'm a metal head), thus seeking a classier version of whatever my guitars are.


EDIT: just realized you have a navigator LP in your collection. I get the navigator is a head above the Eastman, but curious about the navigator. I could just save for a year (or more) and get the navigator eventually



And folks, sadly I won't be able to try either.

 

[Grenville]

Not a Navigator, a Tokai LS80 from 1980.

When I sold the Eastman I bought a more recent Tokai, an LS212f from 2017.

The Eastman was a lovely guitar and I played it every day. The neck was slightly wider than my other guitars, and it was a lot brighter sounding. In the end, the neck was what led me to move it on. I tried an Eastman SB59 in a shop recently and the neck on that was not as wide.

The old Tokai has been my #1 for ten years. The new one is louder acoustically, is more resonant, has the same neck shape (although 37 years apart) and has a spectacular veneer flame top. It might become my #1 at some stage, but I'm not gigging right now. a spectacular instrument. Not cheap though.

 

[OllieWhite]

I've had two Eastman SB59s and they're exactly how you've described. Lightweight and CLEAR, it was the one thing that stood out to me most about them. Build quality seemed great and the SB59v is pretty unique with the violin finish, really felt like a classical instrument. Only sold them because I got them so cheap off of classified sites and I could put to profit towards a Gibson 50's standard LP (hadn't owned an actual Gibson LP yet).

 

[soliloquy]

I've had two Eastman SB59s and they're exactly how you've described. Lightweight and CLEAR, it was the one thing that stood out to me most about them. Build quality seemed great and the SB59v is pretty unique with the violin finish, really felt like a classical instrument. Only sold them because I got them so cheap off of classified sites and I could put to profit towards a Gibson 50's standard LP (hadn't owned an actual Gibson LP yet).

Granted they are apples to oranges, but if you are to remove the enigma of owning a Gibby, how would the Eastman compare?

 

[none2low]

Granted they are apples to oranges, but if you are to remove the enigma of owning a Gibby, how would the Eastman compare?

Speaking for myself as the owner of both, Eastman is every bit the guitar as a Gibson. In fact, I would put them build wise between a standard US production and CS level. I know, I know, this is primarily a Gibson site and I love my Gibson guitars, but outside of CS or vintage, Gibson didn't and still doesn't offer what I was looking for. A Les Paul Jr double cut w/50's neck

I get the stigma with lower end MIC guitars, and I was hesitant given the higher price tag Eastman charges, but once I had my SB55dc/v in hand and plugged it in, that all went away. It's an incredibly resonant guitar with exceptional sound and playability.

And like I said previous, Eastman offers many of the hardware and pickup "upgrades" as standard for less than what the big G charges. Do they feel identical in hand, no they don't, but my Eastman doesn't feel like any less of an instrument.

Here is a really nice-looking limited edition SB56/V on TGP Eastman SB56/V

 

[WannaLesPaul]

Speaking for myself as the owner of both, Eastman is every bit the guitar as a Gibson. In fact, I would put them build wise between a standard US production and CS level. I know, I know, this is primarily a Gibson site and I love my Gibson guitars, but outside of CS or vintage, Gibson didn't and still doesn't offer what I was looking for. A Les Paul Jr double cut

I get the stigma with lower end MIC guitars, and I was hesitant given the higher price tag Eastman charges, but once I had my SB55dc/v in hand and plugged it in, that all went away. It's an incredibly resonant guitar with exceptional sound and playability.

And like I said previous, Eastman offers many of the hardware and pickup "upgrades" as standard for less than what the big G charges. Do they feel identical in hand, no they don't, but my Eastman doesn't feel like any less of an instrument.

Here is a really nice-looking limited edition SB56/V on TGP Eastman SB56/V

What he said...

I can't compare my Eastman to a Gibson. Never owned one... and to be honest, I wasn't really a fan of LPs until the past few years.

But I can say that my SB55DC/v is the best guitar I've ever played... bar none!

 

[CoolRene]

I've tried Orville (heavy) and Faber: very good but no brand image...
The Springer Seraph is a very nicely built guitar by a French Luthier: Michael Springer.

exists with humbuckers as well.

I'd go for a good pre-owned R6 or R4 goldtop. With patience, they come up every once in a while on Reverb.

 

[alainguitars]

Weird shape, but I like it. Combien?.

 

[Ph03n1x]

Why not consider getting a vintage Greco with a messed up top and refin? Refinishing only the top of a guitar isn't super hard but there are plenty of ways to screw it up. There is a guy on here that turned a Greco (it think it originally had a clownburst finish) into a goldtop. He also added checking to the finish and it looked awesome. (Can't remember his MLP username).

I assume the OP is American because he didn't specifiy what country he is in. The USD is super strong right now so I would look at either buying direct from Ischibashi or using an intermediary service to buy a guitar off the YJ auctions. Even with the extortion level shipping charges there might be deals because the USD is so strong.

BTW, Eastman customer service sucks. Its all CNC and they refuse to make thick necks even at request (I personally emailed them long ago).

 

[jimmyjames]

@Ph03n1x, Is this the Greco?

• DIY Workshop: Converting a 1989 Greco into a 1954-style Les Paul Goldtop

 

[soliloquy]

Why not consider getting a vintage Greco with a messed up top and refin? Refinishing only the top of a guitar isn't super hard but there are plenty of ways to screw it up. There is a guy on here that turned a Greco (it think it originally had a clownburst finish) into a goldtop. He also added checking to the finish and it looked awesome. (Can't remember his MLP username).

I assume the OP is American because he didn't specifiy what country he is in. The USD is super strong right now so I would look at either buying direct from Ischibashi or using an intermediary service to buy a guitar off the YJ auctions. Even with the extortion level shipping charges there might be deals because the USD is so strong.

BTW, Eastman customer service sucks. Its all CNC and they refuse to make thick necks even at request (I personally emailed them long ago).

I'm in Canada. So yes, I was looking for direct japan shipping, or if a used one comes up for a decent price.

And that isn't a bad idea to have it refinished. Just I don't have the expertise for that, and locally, I don't have anyone that deals with nitro finishes.

Is this the Greco?

• DIY Workshop: Converting a 1989 Greco into a 1954-style Les Paul Goldtop

There is this Edwards with similar rework. It was a burst before. The poster didn't say who the refinishers was though

My Edwards Goldtop

Hi All, I wanted to post some photos of my Edwards all nitro finish refinished as a gold top. I love this guitar and it’s a keeper for me. It stated life as an ALS model in a pretty nice but modern sunburst finish but to me the colour was neither something or anything when compared to the...

www.mylespaul.com

 

[Puck Luck]

It would definetely be cool to get an older guitar on the cheap and fix it up to your liking. There are plenty of them out there all the time on the sites. A lot more options if you go the p90 in a humbucker route if you want p90’s and don’t care about it looking like p90’s or sounding exactly like a soapbar p90.