Eastman Semi Hollow @ 2.25" Rim Depth =TONE

[Robertkoa]

Same Guitar ...

I don't want this Guitar to be missed under the Radar ...because I want a 2 pickup version or similar ( without placing a custom order $$$$).

I have suspected that a 2.25" thick Semi hollow [ unless it's a Marchione ] is where you and especially the listener ] really hear the air inside even with a stoptail bridge ( for sustain , tuning stability etc.) -
But NOT with a full center block - just the small 3" to 6 " block for the bridge and tailpiece..



Here is two examples of a special order based on the 165MX ( I think ) but 2.25 rim depth with Spruce top . I suspect that the Eastman 184MX 185MX 186MX sound fatter than most semis is that they are mostly hollow , and maybe the carved woods help .

Most Luthiers say that a Spruce Top is deeper / darker so that may help...

I am not splitting hairs so much as saying and trying to get semis available as a 2 or 3 pickup Model with a 2.25 " depth so I can hear the air etc...especially to kill the brightness and mellow the Tones ...stoptail and extra sustain is for singing long tones, legato etc.

There is always parallel and single coil switch options for more transparent sounds... I prefer a deep tone without needing to roll the treble way down ( for my ears chords sound bad that way ...and turning down tone does not equal fat and warm often ).

Anyway - check out the even tones from low to high strings and all over the fingerboard on this thing .

Reminds me of the Benedetto Bambino and even on chords a little like the Marchione ( different scale etc . but still does ).
It's kind of a ' neutral ' Archtop Tone ...in the middle of thin bright semis and true Phatt Archtops ...but I love this sound .
Special pickup switching can get a LOT out of a tonally even Guitar like this IMO and it has enough body to be played fingerstyle/ pick & fingers / piano ish etc.. 335s sound all over the place uneven for that - IMO. The high strings stick out .



I want a two pickup version with switches of a 186MX with this rim depth ...

I hope Eastman makes a 205 (15 inch wide , 2.25 " depth )
And a 206 ( 16 inch wide 2.25" depth ) just continuing the Series...OR maybe just replacing and let the thinner feedback resistant semis be the inexpensive ones.

I think the stoptail tiny block thing used on this Guitar and the El Rey and the 185 186 MX and the Marchione is widely underestimated because of the fanatic compulsion to copy the 335 ...lol.
Why some of my Posts are so long is because even I am *fanatically copying the 335 when I type into my phone ..lol.

*Not really

[BigMikeinNJ]

Look at the different Jazz Elite models floating around for sale used. Perhaps one of those might float your boat. Guitars N Jazz special ordered them and there's 16 inch versions, 17 inch, 6 string and 7 string ones. Eastman makes a doggone fine guitar.

Good luck

Big

[Sam Sherry]

I have suspected that a 2.25" thick Semi hollow . . . is where you and especially the listener really hear the air inside even with a stoptail bridge . . .

IME if there is a block that's big enough to support a stop tailpiece the guitar is going to sound like an electric guitar.

If you want a 2.25" Eastman that moves air (and if you don't balk at a post-modern design) consider the El Rey 4. If you're set on adding a pickup that's your call but it won't sound more lively when you're done.

[ESCC]

I believe the Jazz Elites are hollow, not semi.

[BigMikeinNJ]

I think the OP would find the Jazz Elites might float his boat if he did more than use stats, in other words actually try one out. Now another poster suggest the ER4 model, those are perhaps more to his liking stats wise. A great big thumbs up to Sam Sherry's suggestion. Eastman doesn't make a 3 pickup guitar to my knowledge. And more pickups will deaden the tone.

Best of luck on your search.

Big

I believe the Jazz Elites are hollow, not semi.

[ESCC]

I stand corrected, I just went to GnJ's site and saw the Jazz Elite Semi-hollow, wasn't aware of it before this thread.

[Robertkoa]

I should ask also - those of you who have the T186 MX- does it sound very close to the 2.25" deep Jazz Elite Semi-hollow above ?

Except for the Marchione Semi- I don't think I have heard a Semi like that.....Jazz Elite SH

[don_oz]

that guy can play

[GNAPPI]

That's the first time I have seen that "Jazz Elite" and I wouldn't mind seeing a 2 pup version with a pickguard :-).

I'd like to make some observations... a single cut semi like the Howard Roberts Fusion or "almost" semi hollow like the T-165 MX (of which I have both) have never been (or all of the MX series for that matter) what I call anything close to a commercial success.

From the Eastman fan site: "the T18x models only sold 52 units in the US last year (got that # directly from Eastman)". That's fifty two, and ALL MX models.

That being said, even looking at the ES-135/137's while a bunch were sold, I wouldn't exactly call them hugely popular either. I think that even the new semi hollow ES-275/ES-235 's are doomed from the get go because they are:

A. Not a 335

B. A single cut and

C. Not a Les Paul

Also...

"I should ask also - those of you who have the T186 MX- does it sound very close to the 2.25" deep Jazz Elite Semi-hollow above ?"

Like many or even most online "demos" the amp (and or effects) used were not mentioned in the video, which makes a LOT of difference.

There are enough MX demos out there to get a "rough idea" how they sound, but there is one of Jack Zucker playing the T165MX in which IMO it doesn't sound anything like the demo you posted, neither does my T165MX with Lindy Fralin pups through my Polytone 102V. Mine is a LOT mellower sounding than Jack's but it's for sure more the amp than the git and Fralins.

[helios]

I have the Eastman Jazz Elite 17 (Carved Spruce/hollow). I think they sound great and am surprised I don't see more of them in the hands of others!

[Robertkoa]

OK - some responses...
There is a 'new ' breed of SemiHollow that only has a very small block 2inches X 3 inches or slightly larger leaving the body open- these when properly done seem to create a real Hybrid Semihollow - like the one I posted.

Not from reading spec sheets but hearing demos or sometimes playing or owning a SemiHollow:

There are exceptions but generally where I really hear it is when the depth is 2.25"deep.

I heard the demos on 165MX and the one I posted here sounds different in some ways that a speaker or studio monitor would not cause.

When I check out a Guitar ' live' I can usually learn a lot by playing it unplugged in a very quiet place - pickups can be changed but the general nature of the Guitar is usually present and will remain so.

The reason I mentioned the 2.25" is- that is where the sweet spot appears to be for Semihollows- not the 1.6" 1.7" ES335 .

The Guitar I posted is 2.25" deep.
PM 120 -2.25" probably would sound similar with a small block. H525, ES 137 etc. etc.

ElRey ..2" .

I think a 335 with a tiny block at 2.25 " deep would probably be a very different Guitar ...spruce top or even laminate spruce...I don't think many Manufacturers understand this yet.

15 inch .....2" deep Semi


2.25" Semi Hollow Guitars are rare, unfortunately less than one in a thousand probably.

Online Demos despite the limitations are still useful- often there are no 'specimens ' of a specific model available to try...



Most Dealers in my area only carry Eastman Acoustics.

[wound3rd]

Yes! 2.25"!!!

Try to find one that also includes your other specifications!

Good luck!

The Elite SH looks great, despite the inlay and lack of a pickguard.
Yes, I am somewhat traditional.

I have played the T186MX and was impressed by the "better than 335" tone.
I have also played the AR580 and it just lacked something so I hesitate to try out the carved-top Jazz Elite 16.
No, there's not a lot of JE16 players out there, apparently.

The SH model is intriguing after playing the other Eastmans.

Maybe this is what I'm looking for....but why does everything else have to change on the SH model?

[Robertkoa]

Not saying everything has to change .



I just want more options in the marketplace .

I also prefer tech installed switches for versatility on a Guitar- rather than owning 7 different Guitars.

If he had the Spruce one still - I would probably get it as soon as I check the neck feel/ string spacing on another Eastman .

Looks like they used a neck/fingerboard from an El Rey for that custom Model - or maybe Lou specced it that way.

To get a 2. 25" nearly hollow semi at $2000 I can forget much of what I want ideally and take the known qualities that will work....

[wound3rd]

I'm saying that there's the standard Jazz 16 so why radically redesign the "SH" model?

I'm not thrilled with the fingerboard inlay.

If the SH model resembled the standard JE16 I would not hesitate.

[Robertkoa]

Just for more versatility especially more sustain so the Guitar could be used for non distorted legato type stuff .

About 1.5 years ago I asked which Archtops sustain like a good 335 - and was told - none .

So I want sustain but a bit more acoustic quality than a thin semi or a Solid Body can give me.

I do get more acoustic quality from Koa ( originally suggested to me in the 80s by Luthier Michael Tobias as a versatile , highly resonant wood ( he was right - you can feel it vibrate and hear it).

But these new 9/10ths Hollow Semis with just the tiny block will go much further.

I would prefer an added small Middle PU -to not mess with the tone but raise the versatility factor - BUT - as soon as I do that- I triple or quadruple the price so bad idea .

But that Guitar in the Video already exists- If I could get a Spruce Top like in the video - and first double check the neck width / string spacing they use by playing an Eastman Acoustic first- I would order it .

Now that the Spruce is out of stock - it will take up to a year (!) to get it = bad...