My Rare Guitars Blog

David Celia - Best Thing Ever…

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:09:13 +0000

A customer and friend - David Celia - has a cool video that I thought you might like. I should have posted this on Monther’s Day, better late than never. Yep, Mom’s are the best… =)

Eastwood Guitars ARTIST PAGE

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:52:06 +0000

Thanks to all that have participated in the ARTIST PAGE in the past few weeks. We are already up to 120 ARTISTS, and there are HUNDREDS more that have not completed the application. Hey! It’s FREE PROMOTION FOR YOUR BAND…. Get on it. Here is the link.

If you are not an EASTWOOD ARTIST yet, here is the link to apply.

Guitar Review - Eastwood Sidejack DLX

Administrator — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:41:45 +0000

Every Sunday we are posting a single video demo paired with a recent review from HARMONY CENTRAL. This week it is the EASTWOOD SIDEJACK DLX- I have no idea who did this, but it is cool and entitled
Wankin’ on my Eastwood Sidejack.

Product: Eastwood Guitars Sidejack
Price Paid: $479
Submitted 04/28/2006 at 02:26pm by John W.

Features : 10
This is a follow-up to my review (John W. 2-28-05)

Same as review. Everything is working perfectly with no complaints. I am desparately trying to wear this thing out! I will perish before it does, place your bets now.

I didn’t know I would become accustomed to this flat (12.00″+) fretboard and slightly chunky neck (slightly larger than “standard thin”).I have gits from 7.500″ radius to 16.000″ and still play them and enjoy each one, but this particular set up at the 24.750″ scale is perfect for my hand @ 9.500″ hand spread (pinky to thumb).

I still dream about a Wizard neck with compound radius and a 24.750″ scale. Maybe someday I’ll throw some money at it. It would be soooo nice to have the best of both radius worlds! (I’m trying to get Warmoth to make one of these, but they don’t make a Wizard at shorter than 25.500″). Maybe Mike Robinson (Eastwood) will make us one??

One extremely nice change for the Sidejack has been loading it with D’Addario Chromes (ECG24). These are High finish ribbon wound that are ground FLAT. They call them jazz light gauge @ .011, .015, .022, .030, .040, .050″. These strings sound bright and clean and play so smoothly (NO FRICTION) that it is truly effortless which makes playing easier with obvious technique improvement. They bend very easily considering their gauge and chords blend so well it makes standard ribbon wounds sound terribly bad. Single notes have a quality that is clean with no overtones and they require LESS pressure to note, removing intonation sharping that can occur with light gauge strings.

I put a set of Chromes (ECB82) on my Bronco bass also. Perfect sound! Slap, flap, clean, mellow; it’s all in the tone knob and playing technique.

Sound : 10
You can get any sound out of this guitar with good amps, etc. It needs no mods or “hot rodding”. The pups are clear!

Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion
Constructed better than all the things I’ve played for years. I require extremely low action with no buzz. I have it with this guitar.

I always pay attention to the left or right of torso centering of the guitar’s scale. (Too far left of center chest, you have to reach abnormally far with the left arm as a RH player). It occurs on guitar models like the Mosrite and others. Just look at the amount of body real estate to the right of the bridge on some guitars (from playing position) and where the body relief shaping is located).

This guitar does shift the scale to the left 2.000″ more than my Fenders and Dano, so it would be a problem EXCEPT that it’s a mid-scale length at 24.750″. There is some extra reach but it’s ok with the shorter scale.

Reliability/Durability : 10
Durable period.

Customer Support : 10
Better than perfect. Just like my wife! (she will read this).

Overall Rating : 10

Bonus clip, The BASEBALL Projecton David Letterman - June 19, 2008, Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck and Linda Pitmon.:

Guitar Review - AIRLINE H44 DLX

Administrator — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:59:57 +0000

Who has the time to watch all the VIDEO demo’s at EASTWOOD Guitars?. For those who don’t, every Sunday we are posting a single video demo paired with a recent review from HARMONY CENTRAL. This week it is the Airline H44 DLX being taken for a test drive by April Wine guitarist, Brian Greenway. Enjoy!

Product: Eastwood Guitars Airline H-44 Stratotone
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 09/10/2007 at 06:24pm by daloco

Features : 10
The features should be well known from the reviews below. I bought two of them. A copper colored two PU DLX and a black one PU STD (black with two PU’s are sold out until december this year.)
I liked the slide sound of them so much but i’m not really a good slider.I’m a better lap steeler. So i customized one into a lapsteel (even a fake pedal steel). I mounted a higher nut and a “Duesenberg Multibender” bridge and it sounds amazing.

Sound : 10
I’m playing blues and if you do too, than this is the guitar to go for! The model with two pick ups is so versatile.
I’m playin them through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 4×10. Nothing special on the floor but a Ernie Ball Volume, a Whammy for octaving and a TS808. Compared to my Gibson Les Paul Std the sound is a bit warmer and got more bass. I could not say wich one sounds better… the 3000 Euro Gibson or the 300 Euro Eastwood. I actually bought it as a back up for the Gibson… it’s got my main guitar at the time… Amazing

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
I mailed with Mike from Eastwood a few times and he told me that the H44 is the only model in their program under USD500,- made in Korea.
No flaws, nice finish. Setup was fine. I used that little trick with the ducktape for the bridge wich is loose on the guitar like on the original, so i would not have to calibrate so often. Works great.

Reliability/Durability : 10
Sturdy workhorse… you can play shows, or baseball with it. You even could defeate conan the babarian with it and play on.
I do not have the feeling i have to watch out all the time to keep it in mint condition. I think this is the kind of guitar where one will like every scratch, dent and ding that happens during touring. I’ll do.

Customer Support : 10
Contact Mike… absolutly fast and friendly. When i wrote him the first mail concerning shipping to Europe i got an answer within two minutes. He must have a blackberry in his pocket ore something like that!

Overall Rating : 10
I started playing when i was five years old, thats 24 years ago now. I’m a professional since ten years now (former major recording artist now indiependend and more happy). Got a couple of other guitars from larivee parlor accoustics to sitars from india.
My current live set consists of a gibson les paul std hb, a epiphone j200 (’96 korea), a hoefner jazz guitar from the fifties and my two H44’s from Eastwood.
I came to the Eastwood Site cause of the replica of the airline 3p dlx. A friend of mine is playing a white original on stage. I wanted to check out the replicas and watched many video reviews on Eastwood Guitars. The H44 review and sound was so standing out, that i forgot about all the others and went for the H44. I might get a Tuxedo and a Airline sometimes but I’m not a lawyer hanging guitars behind glass in his office… so I’ll need a reason to purchase I’m shure I’ll finde one soon.

Bonus clip, Vince Lee and his H44 DLX:

Eastwood visit with R.E.M.

Administrator — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:19:22 +0000

Sunday June 6th was a fine day here in Toronto. We had the pleasure of spending some time with the guys from R.E.M. prior to their show at the Molson Amphitheatre. As many of you know, Scott McCaughey has been playing an EASTWOOD Sidejack Guitar for more than half of the songs on this tour (Scott is the long-time sideman for R.E.M.). In other news, Scott and Peter Buck have teamed up with Steve Wynn and drummer Linda Pitmon to make an entire record of baseball songs. Steve and Linda also dropped by Eastwood headquaters on Monday to say hello. A fine weekend indeed and triple thumbs up to Guitar Tech extrodinarre, Dewitt Burton. Thanks man! Here are some pictures:

1) hanging out on stage during sound check:

2) Hmmmm… The collection of toy dinasours is getting pretty big:

3) Pete and Scott rocking out during the show:

4) L-R’ Mike Mills, Peter McCracken, Jimmy Lango, Scott McCaughey, (Michael Stipe Background), Mike Robinson, Peter Buck.

5) A wee bit of video…

6) Steve and Linda dropped by Eastwood headquaters on Monday to say hello.

Guitar Review - Eastwood Classic 6

Administrator — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:00:52 +0000

Who has the time to watch all the VIDEO demo’s at EASTWOOD Guitars?. For those who don’t, every Sunday we are posting a single video demo paired with a recent review from HARMONY CENTRAL. This week it is the CLASSIC 6 being taken for a test drive by award winning guitarist, Wendell Ferguson. Enjoy!

Product: Eastwood Guitars Classic 6
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 04/05/2008 at 05:38am by grum

Features : 9
Eastwood Classic-6 double cut-away (similar to gretsch country classic style). Walnut finish. maple body & neck.
Chinese made
two filtertron style humbucker pickups. 3-way toggle switch, 2x volume 1x tone knob. tune-o-matic bridge.
case, cable & tools included.
finish on the guitar is great, really deep strong lacquer & nice binding.
Had one of these before that i modified with new bridge & bigsby but was stolen on me (filching gits!) that had a lovely abilone motif in the headstock that wasn’t present on my new one. but the bridge on this one is far superior to the old free-floating bridge so i can’t really complain!

Sound : 10
Beautiful range of tones available on this guitar, bridge pick up very bright & with the hollow body perfect for that gretschy twang. neck pick up lovely & warm round tone. great for jazzy/ country warmth. this guitar is great for my style, i play with various artists going from bluesy/gospel to country, rockabilly, rock n roll, and quirky rebo-esque stuff. its very playable & versatile.
I use a fender twin amp and the valves really help getting tones to ring pure. for the price i can’t fault it.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
Guitar was set up really well, it’s shipped with .10 gauge strings which i replaced with my usual heavier gauge. minimal adjustment needed to raise action slightly to accomodate heavier gauge, absolutely no problems with intonation & pick up distances.
binding & finish very good quality, lovely grain in the top & back body.
1 volume knob was slightly loose but allen key was supplied so easily remedied.

Reliability/Durability : 10
Played my last one live & in studio constantly. very strong construction and never had a problem, even travelling by air with temperature changes from being in aeroplane holds & ham-fisted baggage handlers! so i’m not expecting any trouble with this one.
again for the price i can’t fault this guitar.

Customer Support : 10
played another eastwood guitar in a studio and was impressed with the quality so I emailed eastwood directly and asked Mike loads of questions. he was, and still is very helpful and i never have to wait too long for replys and assistance from him. Guitar is warrantied under usual conditions. company support is great, got loads of stickers & a dvd with this guitar too.

Overall Rating : 10
been playing about 16 years, used to use a 62 kay & various other old things which were lovely but very unreliable on the road. the eastwood classic 6 is a great replacement. I’ve had one stolen from me & I had no hesitation in ordering another one. It looks cool as **** & sounds great, whats to fault?!, nuthin! again, for this price you can’t go wrong. ——

NOTE: (Jan 2008) All Classic models now ship with an upgraded FIXED tun-o-matic bridge.

Bonus clip, BUBBLES from Trailer Park Boys and his Classic 12:

Toronto Maple Leafs

Administrator — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:35:19 +0000

Sometimes pictures say more than words…

Korean Baby Singing Hey Jude

Administrator — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:36:09 +0000

What did we do before the internet? I guess watch bad TV shows. These days there is endless entertainment at our fingertips. If you have not seen this one yet, get ready for a good laugh. Quite the talent at such an early age… I’ll need to get her signed early to and EASTWOOD Guitars endorsement deal. Enjoy!

Eastwood STORMBIRD Sighting?

Administrator — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:30:20 +0000

I get a lot of EMAIL from customers that alert me to various EASTWOOD Guitar sighting around the globe. Last night I got one from a someone that was watching the Letterman Show. The band is Gossip. Was it an EASTWOOD Stormbird?

Nope, that is a GIBSON non-reverse Firebird. About FIVE times more expensive than our Stormbird - had me fooled for a moment too. So why am I writing about this? Because the band was awesome! What a great performance by Gossip! As soon as I saw this I went to ITunes and bought their 2005 release, Standing in the Way of Control. A great merger of Punk and Soul. Check out the video and you decide…

Private Jets for Climate Change

Administrator — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:10:28 +0000

One of the most forgettable events from 2007 was LIVE EARTH. I was clearing up my inbox today and found an article that I had clipped from the local Toronto newspaper, written by one of Canada’s National treasures, Rex Murphy. I got a real chuckle from this so I thought I should share it with you. For those who can’t remember, Live Earth was a series of worldwide concerts held on July 7, 2007 to combat climate change, spearheaded by Al Gore. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world and were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet.

As Rex observed, “NBC gave 3 hours of prime time and managed to stir up only 2.7 million viewers - a number that would be embarrassing for a re-run of Three’s Company. It featured such acts as Madonna, Shakira and other “cleavage climatologists”. It was a flop. Why? The spectacle of the world’s most wasteful people, rock star plutocrats with their cribs and bling, caravans and trailer trucks and 100,000 watt amps, taking a day out of their wealth-stuffed lives to preach about the moral importance of consuming LESS, set the hypocrisy bar so high that it put too great a strain on the digestion of ordinary people”. Private Jets for climate change sums it up.

For the whole story, click on this link: Live Earth? How about live irony?