The Eastman E10 OOSSV has a big sound for a small body and super cool vintage vibe with its antique varnish finish. This body shape is very compact and comfortable with its curvy waist and 14 ¾” lower bout. It sits tight to the body when in a seated position and your strumming arm remains at a very comfortable angle which will allow you to enjoy this guitar for hours of play time. Tonal production on the Eastman E10 OOSSV is provided by the lovely wood pairing of Adirondack spruce and mahogany along with the hand carved scalloped x braces on the top. Adirondack spruce has loads of clarity and a high ceiling of volume.
Antique Varnish
The Eastman T59 V is a take on one of the most successful and influential of Ted McCarty’s innovations, the thinline, semi-hollow archtop electric guitar. Around 1957, Gibson was looking to update its product line to address a number of issues, one of which was the rise in amplified stage volumes causing feedback. While the engineering team is credited with most of the design, it was apparently president Ted McCarty’s idea to put a solid Maple block through the center of the guitar.
Based on the 1960s Verythin design, the Hofner Verythin John Stowell model was built until for a short time to around 200 pieces in Hagenau, Germany. This example, dating to April 13 2007 and signed by Master Luthier Thomas Stulheim features a German Spruce top and flame maple for the sides back and neck.Based on the 1960s Verythin design, the Hofner Verythin John Stowell model was built until from 2001 to 2008 in Germany. This was not a mass produced model and perhaps 200 examples were made.
The Eastman SB59 V reflects the classic late 1950s design for a single cutaway, Flamed Maple on Mahogany solidbody with humbucking pickups. While it follows the formula, it’s not a precise copy and Eastman uses their own designs. As a ‘Vintage’ style model, this guitar has undergone an treatment process to simulate the wear of decades of use – except for fretwear.
The Eastman E10 OOSS is a modern version of a classic – the OO body shape with an Adirondack Spruce top and Mahogany back, sides and neck with Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. This design comes from the 1898 Martin OO18, which was built until 1995, and again since 2006 with a few variations. The OO body is a bit larger and louder than the ‘Parlor Guitar’ size, and closer to the volume of a classical guitar body. These are known as being tonally very well balanced, with good clarity and separation between notes. They make excellent fingerstyle guitars.
The Eastman T486B Thinline is an excellent take on the classic semi-hollow design introduced by Ted McCarty, president of Gibson, with the 1958 ES-335. Like most other versions of this design, the Eastman T486B uses pressed Maple Laminate for the top, back and sides, with a Maple block running down the center of the body. The top has a pair of F holes, and here they are bound. On the Eastman, the neck is Maple with a bound Ebony fingerboard sporting Split Block Parallelogram inlays (similar to an ES-345).