NGD: Eastman Fullertone SC'52

[voodoorat]

I've got more Stratocaster-like guitars than I really have any use for, but the only Telecasters I have are an old MIM Standard (with a Buddha bridge pickup and a GFS fatbody neck) and a blacktop Baritone. I have my very first guitar that I got back in 1987 or so which is a little Telecaster-esque, a hard-tail Peavey Patriot (it's a double cut, but sonically it reminds me of a tele more than anything else).

So I was thinking about a MIA Fender Telecaster, but I saw some internet chatter/videos about the Eastman SC'52 and it piqued my interest. I have several acoustic Eastman guitars (E6OM, E10D, E20D-TC, AC-630-BD) but have never even played an Eastman electric. I figured they would be good though, the acoustics are all very good (especially for what they cost). I wanted the blue one (I have a few blue guitars) but it was out of stock and I didn't want to wait to see what happens with international trade in the coming weeks or months, so I ordered in in the Sand/Cream color. It came last week.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with the neck, but it's noticeably fat compared to pretty much all my other guitars. It's not baseball-bat round which I suspect I wouldn't love and might have some trouble getting used to, but it's definitely chunkier than most, significantly fatter than the neck on my PRS SE Zach Myers which is probably the second fattest electric neck I have right now. It did take a few minutes to get used to it but once I did it's very comfortable, more so than I think really thin necks are for me (like the Ibanez Wizard--that's too skinny/wide/flat for me to really feel comfortable with). It is flamed roasted maple fingerboard on a flame roasted maple neck.

The pickups seem good, it's a stacked "single coil", t-style in the bridge. The bridge looks like a tele ashtray but it tapers down so it's more comfortable to play with. Saddles are brass and compensated, I didn't have any intonation issues. The neck pickup is a humbucker but it's dressed up like some kind of gold foil and shaped like a P90. It's a cool looking combination, and the styling overall is very retro-futuristic, it looks like a guitar from an alternative universe's 1960s. The witch hat knobs I don't love, they are white and soft-ish plastic, I'd rather they were harder and cream, but they look alright and work fine. Pickguard is that anodized aluminum, it looks good to me.

Finish is a matte satin. The body shape is kinda round, and it looks bigger than it is. It's also quite light, body wood is limba. Everything is very vintage-y aside from the roasted maple and the pickup choice, but under the hood there is a technical innovation: The neck join to the body is done wit
HTTP error.h a proprietary kind of connection they call I think a bolt-on long tenon that goes under the neck pickup and actually joins the neck to the body with just two bolts. It seems to work well, the body is noticeably very resonant for a solid body electric. No fancy electronics, just a vanilla 3-way switch that works as you'd expect.

Sound-wise, it is warmer than a Telecaster. I am debating if I want to modify the electronics to add either lower-value caps (especially for the neck, which is borderline too dark for my taste at anything under maybe 8 or so) and/or a treble bleed since it definitely sounds brighter and better to my ears with the guitar volume up.

They also make a Strat-ish version for $100 more with 3 pickups (HSS) and a trem, but I got plenty of those.

Not the best pic, but this is what it looks like. I was getting errors trying up upload the pic, not sure if something busted.

[tlarson58]

That's a nifty guitar. From what I can see, the music rooms looks pretty nice as well.

I have an Eastman 335-type guitar. The neck is rather fat but I've grown used to it. I think that there is a groundswell of interest in Eastmans because I've seen a few guitarists using them when bands roll through town.

HNGD!

[tonebender]

Congrats on the new guitar! Eastman makes some fine instruments. The shop where I get my acoustic guitar luthier work done is an Eastman dealer. I have had many of them in my hand, both acoustic and electric. Their electric offerings that are straight up Gibson copies are price the same as the Gibson. They do seem to be on par though. I was dropping off one of mine for some work and I played an Eastman acoustic that was all mahogany. I loved the tone/voicing and the way it played. It was actually reasonably priced. I was thinking I would buy it when I picked up the one being worked on but the one that was in stock on my return did not sound the same so I took a pass. Acoustics are all so different no matter the brand.

I owned an Eastman back in the day. When I ordered it I thought it was a 335 copy but when it arrived it was a 339 size semi. I still liked it okay but like Tommy said the neck was wide and fat. I could not get used to it so I let it go.

[voodoorat]

That's a nifty guitar. From what I can see, the music rooms looks pretty nice as well.

I have an Eastman 335-type guitar. The neck is rather fat but I've grown used to it. I think that there is a groundswell of interest in Eastmans because I've seen a few guitarists using them when bands roll through town.

HNGD!

Oh that’s the bedroom/home office. The music room is way cooler or way less cool depending on your perspective.



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[tlarson58]

^ Drool.

What's the Mobile 1 oil container for?

[golem]

The USA built ones are on my radar.



I'm never going to pay full retail for one but if I see a killer deal you can be sure I'll grab it.

[voodoorat]

The USA built ones are on my radar.



I'm never going to pay full retail for one but if I see a killer deal you can be sure I'll grab it.

Yeah those have got to be fantastic, and honestly one of the best things about Eastman is that they can be had secondhand for a song. I wasn’t patient enough for that with this one though.


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[voodoorat]

^ Drool.

What's the Mobile 1 oil container for?

Oh, that’s for the freak-offs


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[Rollin Hand]

^ Drool.

What's the Mobile 1 oil container for?

Oh, that’s for the freak-offs


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10W30? Asking for a friend.