I have several Eastwoods in my collection everyone of them is beautifully crafted. High quality. Just amazing instruments. If I have questions the guys at Eastwood are right on it. Personal service.
Most guitarists have known Mike Robinson of Eastwood for a long time now. Every guitar is set up before shipping. I have several and all are terrific. Even "b" stocks will only have the most minor, hard to find cosmetic flaw. Robinson has a real passion for retro guitars. Check into the evolution he has made from offering vintage guitars to designing and direct sales and more recently designing from requests/funding through purchase.
I owned a Gretsch Astro Jet back in the 60's -- Fast forward a few decades and I just happened to see Eastwood selling their version of the Astro Jet .... The original plan was to get it and replace their pick ups with some TV Jones Supertrons - but after playing it .............. The Gretsch style pick ups work just fine and I get the kind of sound I remember when I was playing it through my Vox Berkeley II ................... Build quality is great. Not going to let this one go. Looked at a few more Eastwoods in Nashville and they all seemed to be quality builds
I had an Eastwood Classic 12 string for a long time and it was a great guitar. Very well built, sounded great and even stayed in tune! It came with an Eastwood case that was very good quality. They build some wild guitars too! Thanks Phillip!
Hi Phillip. Another Az guy here.I've several Eastwoods. Wonderful, active company. Robinson is trustworthy. They sell tons of guitars worldwide. Dissatisfied customers are rare. Prices have gone past my window however. Still worth the money by any standard. Hard to imagine there is any enthusiast that doesn't know there history and "My Rare Guitars" site". Glad you found him.
OMG I love this channel so much! There's always multiple levels of knowledge to glean from every video. Today I learned the "djangly" warmth of a surfcaster actually provides a well articulated attack for hard rock and metal tones, didn't see that one coming, but I love it!
Love this brand! I have 4 Eastwood/Airline guitars currently (Baritone, 12-string and 2 6-strings, and have preorders in for 2 more). Great build quality, great selection and great price! Plus their customer service is killer.
Last month I bought an Eastwood Airline Coronado for $150. Buy of the decade I know. It has now become one of my favorite guitars. I prefer it over my Gibson Les Paul. Eastwood is doing some great things and is exactly what the guitar market needs to spice things up and add variety in rather mundane field. Very cool guitars that sound awesome.
You would be surprised at the different "sea foam greens" that are on color charts. Check with a paint company. I have worked with colors. Clients ask for a color and then flip out when I break out the 100 variations of that color.
True, either “that pedal show” or the Anderson’s channel had said something about that out a few months ago. It’s all about the year that it comes out. The 50’s style fenders and it’s more muted in color and the newer ones are more green than blue. And then back in the 90’s or early 00’s PRS made a special guitar for Relient K in seafoam and it was the perfect color.
The picture online matched the tele seafoam green (kind of a blue tinge to it). I wonder if they sent the wrong finish to Phil? Definitely Fender's seafoam green has varied over the years though.
The three Eastwood guitars I've bought over the past couple of years have been Korean made and excellent. I'm a Mosrite fan, from the time The Ventures were involved with that brand and the Eastwood Sidejack DLX PRO is a good substitute. I have the Spectrum 5 DLX PRO too; it's a Teisco Del Rey guitar copy. All of them play nicely, look good, and satisfy my need for gear. Thanks for your video, Phil.
I've had 3 Eastwoods, and liked 'em all. Two had mini-humbuckers, one had single coils, all sounded great. I don't know how "authentic" they are to the period(s) they represent, but, sort of like Danelectro, they don't look like every other guitar. The bodies often have unusual shapes or quirks, as do the colors. They provide exceptional customer service, as well. One of the Eastwoods I bought had an out-of-alignment neck. I took it to a dealer to ship back to Eastwood for repair, and they sent me a new guitar. I was impressed. Price points go from pretty inexpensive to not-so-much, but, as Phil said, they're unique, and except for the neck problem already mentioned has had no quality-related issues.
Glad to see that you have been introduced to Eastwood guitars and hope that you will keep track of and review their model premieres. They seem to release "updated" versions of classic rare guitars with modern modifications to be more stable and user friendly for today's player. I have a Classic AC, an Astro Jet and an RS-II. The AC is a very popular current model which is a spin on Malcolm Young's Gretsch. The Astro Jet is a re-vamp of a rare 60s Gretsch. The RS-II is an update of a rare Montgomery Ward Roy Smeck model circa 1960. I find in general that they are very well made on the outside and set up on delivery and very affordable for their quality. They seem to save money on hardware and electronics such as input jacks, switches and pots which are easily upgradable. All that I did with my Astro Jet was file the edge of the nut and the tunematic-style bridge low-E saddle because they felt uncomfortably pointy. On the RS-II I had a tech put a bend in the trapeze tail piece because the low E kept popping out. So far on the Classic AC I have installed Grovers because I found the stock tuners to be too stiff but have plans to upgrade and rewire the electronics to be more like a Gretsch with 4 knobs and a Gretsch switch and TV Jones pickups. With Eastwood if you snooze you lose because if they come out with a model you want and wait too long they are sold out and that's it. I wanted their version of a Harmony Jupiter with the blender knob but now they are sold out. If you are lucky they will do a reissue run.
@ 10:44 This Is my favorite KYG shirt picture ever! She's just like me, yesterday I had my guitar maintenance setup (that I assembled based on Phil's advise) on my dining room table with my strat, thinking its time for a fret polish. Its really cool to see someone on the same path taking similar steps!
Andrew DiMartino Thanks! That's me in the pic doing my first ever fret polish the other week. I'm taking baby steps to "know my gear" better. 😁 Phil's videos are the best!
Melissa B That's so awesome! Since guitar playing is such a personal thing, I think its really cool when someone wants to make it even more personal by learning how their gear works and how to work on it themselves so they can make it the best it can be. I hope your fret polish went well, keep up the good work!
I have eight Eastwood guitars and I love every one of them! Great company with great customer service. The company has been around for around 20 years and they keep getting better at it.
Love what Eastwood is doing! My current guitar lust is for the Bill Nelson Astroluxe Cadet, but the Surfcaster is super cool. The sharkfin inlays couldn't look more appropriate, especially with the cat's eye cutaway, in my humble opinion. Tired of dots on the fretboard. I'm also sick of Fenders and Gibsons, so the unique, wacky, imaginative selection to be found at Eastwood are so much fun!
I first encountered Eastwood when Bloomingdale's in NYC used a couple of dozen of them in a display window. I called the store and asked if they'd be selling them when the window changed and I was told the guitars were on loan from the distributor and I could call them. I looked them up on line and was amazed to see all these old 60s guitars, some classic, some (really) cheesy with modern features to make them actually playable. Quite a few models are based on Harmony, Silvertone, Airline, National, and other imports, some-low-end. I missed a Les Paul Special copy on the day of a big online blowout. Since then, the price point has risen and they've added more varieties of the Mosrite copies. My perception is that the quality is higher now. They look like fun guitars.
I've had mine 2 years now and it is a really nice playing and sounding guitar.It came with a hardshell case. I read an interview of Vince Gill and he played one at NAMM and it blew him away, and bought one. said it was his main studio rythmn guitar.
I have an Airline D2P. It is awesome. I bought it dirt cheap (relatively) on a bit of a whim. The guy selling it had bought it for his girlfriend, she gave up on it pretty quickly so it sat under the stairs. When I bought it it had no strings which was a bit suspicious, but once I strung it up I realised why she had given up on it. Basically it had arrived with almost no set up whatsoever, so a bit of trussrod and pickup height adjustment it was perfect. The strings were actually touching the pickup covers, which was just crazy. Anyway he thought he was selling me a dud, so it was cheap, but I made it into what it was meant to be. A rock machine, and I love it to bits. I don't know for sure that it came out of the box that way but I would expect any guitar to require some setup adjustment fresh out of the box, doesn't matter who manufactured it.
Thank you for doing this Phil! I've been following Eastwood for a while, since they make nearly everything left-handed, but I've been skittish on joining one of their group-buys because I couldn't really find enough information on their quality to make me feel safe ordering.
Fellow lefty here and I have been asking myself the same questions. I'm glad Phil had positive things to say about the one they sent him. I may just have to try out one of their lefty models here soon, maybe one of their short-scale basses.
I’m amazed that you have never had an experience with Eastwood guitars before! They’re not exactly a new brand :) Every single one that I’ve come across has been phenomenal. The earliest ones I remember were there airline and mosrite style guitars. Never found a bad one.
Habs247 That's because it is a copy of a mid 90's USA Charvel Surfcaster, then owned by Jackson. later models in the early 2000's were made in Japan, branded Jackson. 👍
@Ash You are totally wrong . The original 90's Charvel Surfcaster 6 & 12 string models were USA made. You either weren't around then or you're ignorant. I don't care either way.
Just found your channel a few days ago enjoying everything on it. Great work. I recently bought the 12 string version of this guitar in the flamed cherryburst and love it. I can finally play barre chords comfortably on a 12 string. Couldn't drop the $3000 on a Rickenbacker but at less than half the price its a great guitar. Try one.
I had a couple classic 4 basses from Eastwood (Semi Hollow). Each one I got were different in some way. All of the ones I had were white with gold hardware, but one one it had a black headstock. One had different inlays than the other. I got one with divers in the finish on the neck (painted neck). They sounded good, but what I am getting at is Eastwood isn't really consistent.
I have a real gem from Eastwood called "The Cosey." It looks like a mandolin! Re-issue of one of those "O My God" 60's guitars, done damn well, and all at an absolutely absurd price. It has two "staples" single coils, very similar to the PRS "type D" in my Vela. Superb, actually, I was really pleasantly surprised. Just watch the KILLER demo by RJ Ronquillo with this guitar; Cross-Eyed Mary goodness!! Hell yes I would buy Eastwood again. Great guitar, near-flawless build AND decent/awesome electronics and hardware. Should also mention it came set up perfectly, and plays like a dream right out of the awesome gig-bag it came with (included, no charge, maybe it's different for different models, but this was a sale, demo model). What it is, how it plays and looks, premium bag included? I FLAT-OUT STOLE THIS THANG!! :)
I'm getting a "Morris-The Cosey" or a 'Breadwinner' (which I've liked since I was 10, in 1970) next....I've bought 7 of their guitars already, only sold one.
I have an Eastwood Tuxedo, metallic red, and I like it a lot. Has a bit of a banjo sound to it. The pickups on it were not in line with each other, one of the posts on the p90 pickup is just barely under the string it's offset so much. But, it sounds great so I didn't mind too much. Liking that one, I ordered a more expensive Australian Wedgtail remake. Loved the look, but when I got it I noticed the bigsby was crooked and the strings on the headstock actually rested on the wood of the headstock. I sent that one back and lost money on the transaction. If considering one I would definitely try a showroom that carries them to inspect build.
Can’t wait to get an Eastwood guitar. They seem like a really enthusiastic & genuinely good company. Their Harmony hollowbody copies that are part of the Airline brand are gorgeous.
My Airline/Harmony H79 was heavier than a LP Custom, due to its huge center-block, but I loved the 'argyle' pickups so much that I bought a pair for another guitar....had to sell the H79, though.
I saw the eastwood stand on the Musikmesse a few years ago. I liked the quality. You can get what is either hard to find in decent quality or what isn't produced with the specs you want. So why not if you want that one guitar from your childhood but new in your favourite colour. If you ever wanted a Baritone Guitar...try some like the Eastwood Sidejack Baritone.
My Eastwood sidejack bass vi is the best instrument I've ever played, the neck feels amazing to the point where it feels like the guitar chose me rather than the other way around. It sounds amazing the neck pu being really plummy and the bridge having an awesome bight to it. I also out down a deposit on the Senn by Eastwood model t, an offset Tele that should be here in November and I can't wait for it!
Thanks a lot for the Review, Mate. I absolutely love the Mustangish Shape especially with the chambered Body and it also Sounds great, although I'd prefer it with Humbuckers or a more softer sounding Singlecoil in the Neck . Definitely noted the Brand.
Thanks for this great informative video! I saw one advertised on my local craigslist and was curious as to what the heck this even was. The price on the one I saw certainly looks great! Combined with your video, I think I’ll try it.
Great review regarding the feel of the guitar and the quality of the details. I have an Eastwood Breadwinner - it plays really well after a good set up. The weak link was its pickups (harsh, ceramics; not that the Ovations had great p/ups)... BUT they are a non-standard size!! Gawd knows why. You can't just swap them out and it has become a bit of a project to replace them.
That's what I thought too. Mini-humbuckers do not fit -- I'm looking at a pair of EMG minis right now! I bought them thinking they'd fit the Eastwood Breadwinner -- they don't!
Wow, then....I guess, if you feel industrious, you could open up the existing routs a little more with a Dremel-type unit. If that will mess up the adjustment-screw holes, you might use the pickguard as a pattern and cut your own (3-ply basswood is good for that); then you can cut whatever-sized pickup holes ARE proper for your p/us of choice, and place them where you want (relative to the bridge, et al)......paint it to suit. Hope that helps........
i think the coolest guitar they have on eastwood is without a doubt the Rivolta combinata! please do a review on that guitar Phil. Love your vids, as always.
Looked on their website, they appear have had a lot of lefties requesting stuff over the last year or two. They've lots! At least a dozen in my sort of budget.
Being a guitar dude in china taught me that the chinese companies always tweak the color for pics, and most of the time only take pics of their display pieces which have better quality material ( tuners, pickups, knobs, veneers, lacquer, paint). So far every guitar from mainland china I have would be a project guitar regardless of price.
After Eastwood intro'd a repro of the Acoustic Black Widow guitar several years ago, asked if they'd reproduce the Black Widow bass...and they did. I'm sure it wasn't just me, but they definitely consider your requests.
Hey, Phil! I think that's called a "C" hole. Could be wrong. Good to know that I could potentially get a brand new Charvel Surfcaster, like Bruce Cockburn!
I've been looking at this companies guitars for awhile. They have lots of cool designs. Numerous models that I'd love to buy. My problem is that I really have too many guitars and need to sell off some first.
Hey, nice review. I own original 6 & 12 string Charvel Surfcasters and one of the early Jackson Surfys (which tonally is pretty mind blowing). I've been tempted on the Eastwoods since the kick starter but the thing that puts me off is the bridge. The originals had lovely floating trems, the strat style is totally wrong and spoils it for me. But that's just me. It's also a shame that there's no hard tail option - I play hard tails and my 6 has the gorgeous chrome wraparound C. So for me the bridge is a deal breaker. Pickups sounds nice and i totally agree about them being warm. The original Charvels had Chandlers, Jackson, Kent Armstrong SLV. Looking today, the price point is actually pretty close to what you can pick up an original for, if you can find one. PS - I'm with you on the green :)
Great video Phil. Eastwood make some excellent Yamaha reproductions too. Guitars that Yamaha should still be making but for one reason or another decided not to and instead plod the same path as everyone else and make good quality, value for money but ultimately pretty uninspiring guitars. Eastwood have filled the void. Great quality matched with great looks and great prices. I'd say that's a pretty good combo :)
I have several Eastwoods in my collection everyone of them is beautifully crafted. High quality. Just amazing instruments. If I have questions the guys at Eastwood are right on it. Personal service.
Most guitarists have known Mike Robinson of Eastwood for a long time now. Every guitar is set up before shipping. I have several and all are terrific. Even "b" stocks will only have the most minor, hard to find cosmetic flaw. Robinson has a real passion for retro guitars. Check into the evolution he has made from offering vintage guitars to designing and direct sales and more recently designing from requests/funding through purchase.
Big time kudos to Philip, for playing great riffs to show off a 12 string. It's amazing to me how many 12 string demos fail.
Agreed, great riffs to show off the tone. However, this is a 6 string surfcaster.
I own a 12 string version and it's phenomenal.
I owned a Gretsch Astro Jet back in the 60's -- Fast forward a few decades and I just happened to see Eastwood selling their version of the Astro Jet .... The original plan was to get it and replace their pick ups with some TV Jones Supertrons - but after playing it .............. The Gretsch style pick ups work just fine and I get the kind of sound I remember when I was playing it through my Vox Berkeley II ................... Build quality is great. Not going to let this one go. Looked at a few more Eastwoods in Nashville and they all seemed to be quality builds
I had an Eastwood Classic 12 string for a long time and it was a great guitar. Very well built, sounded great and even stayed in tune! It came with an Eastwood case that was very good quality. They build some wild guitars too! Thanks Phillip!
Hi Phillip. Another Az guy here.I've several Eastwoods. Wonderful, active company. Robinson is trustworthy. They sell tons of guitars worldwide. Dissatisfied customers are rare. Prices have gone past my window however. Still worth the money by any standard. Hard to imagine there is any enthusiast that doesn't know there history and "My Rare Guitars" site". Glad you found him.
Wow!! I definitely didn’t expect a semi hollow to sound that good with dirt. That really sounds good.
OMG I love this channel so much! There's always multiple levels of knowledge to glean from every video. Today I learned the "djangly" warmth of a surfcaster actually provides a well articulated attack for hard rock and metal tones, didn't see that one coming, but I love it!
Love this brand! I have 4 Eastwood/Airline guitars currently (Baritone, 12-string and 2 6-strings, and have preorders in for 2 more). Great build quality, great selection and great price! Plus their customer service is killer.
Heavy overdrive surfcaster: It sounded better than I expected with the distortion dialed up.
I really like the nerdiness of your videos, and by that I mean the in depth knowledge you share. Great work!
Last month I bought an Eastwood Airline Coronado for $150. Buy of the decade I know. It has now become one of my favorite guitars. I prefer it over my Gibson Les Paul. Eastwood is doing some great things and is exactly what the guitar market needs to spice things up and add variety in rather mundane field. Very cool guitars that sound awesome.
You would be surprised at the different "sea foam greens" that are on color charts. Check with a paint company. I have worked with colors. Clients ask for a color and then flip out when I break out the 100 variations of that color.
Good to know, thank you for posting
True, either “that pedal show” or the Anderson’s channel had said something about that out a few months ago. It’s all about the year that it comes out. The 50’s style fenders and it’s more muted in color and the newer ones are more green than blue. And then back in the 90’s or early 00’s PRS made a special guitar for Relient K in seafoam and it was the perfect color.
The picture online matched the tele seafoam green (kind of a blue tinge to it). I wonder if they sent the wrong finish to Phil? Definitely Fender's seafoam green has varied over the years though.
Charvel SeaFoam is more the color of the Eastwood vs a Fender SeaFoam. But the pic Phil showed of the guitar vs the real were not the same color
Thankfully those things are easily sorted since we have the Pantone and RAL palettes.
The three Eastwood guitars I've bought over the past couple of years have been Korean made and excellent. I'm a Mosrite fan, from the time The Ventures were involved with that brand and the Eastwood Sidejack DLX PRO is a good substitute. I have the Spectrum 5 DLX PRO too; it's a Teisco Del Rey guitar copy. All of them play nicely, look good, and satisfy my need for gear. Thanks for your video, Phil.
I've had 3 Eastwoods, and liked 'em all. Two had mini-humbuckers, one had single coils, all sounded great. I don't know how "authentic" they are to the period(s) they represent, but, sort of like Danelectro, they don't look like every other guitar. The bodies often have unusual shapes or quirks, as do the colors. They provide exceptional customer service, as well. One of the Eastwoods I bought had an out-of-alignment neck. I took it to a dealer to ship back to Eastwood for repair, and they sent me a new guitar. I was impressed. Price points go from pretty inexpensive to not-so-much, but, as Phil said, they're unique, and except for the neck problem already mentioned has had no quality-related issues.
Glad to see that you have been introduced to Eastwood guitars and hope that you will keep track of and review their model premieres. They seem to release "updated" versions of classic rare guitars with modern modifications to be more stable and user friendly for today's player. I have a Classic AC, an Astro Jet and an RS-II. The AC is a very popular current model which is a spin on Malcolm Young's Gretsch. The Astro Jet is a re-vamp of a rare 60s Gretsch. The RS-II is an update of a rare Montgomery Ward Roy Smeck model circa 1960. I find in general that they are very well made on the outside and set up on delivery and very affordable for their quality. They seem to save money on hardware and electronics such as input jacks, switches and pots which are easily upgradable. All that I did with my Astro Jet was file the edge of the nut and the tunematic-style bridge low-E saddle because they felt uncomfortably pointy. On the RS-II I had a tech put a bend in the trapeze tail piece because the low E kept popping out. So far on the Classic AC I have installed Grovers because I found the stock tuners to be too stiff but have plans to upgrade and rewire the electronics to be more like a Gretsch with 4 knobs and a Gretsch switch and TV Jones pickups. With Eastwood if you snooze you lose because if they come out with a model you want and wait too long they are sold out and that's it. I wanted their version of a Harmony Jupiter with the blender knob but now they are sold out. If you are lucky they will do a reissue run.
I have a late 90's Jackson Surfcaster made in Japan. Lipstick at the neck, but a humbucker at the bridge. Love it.
Great review. It’s good to see something different and not just the same old designs like LPs or strats.
@ 10:44 This Is my favorite KYG shirt picture ever! She's just like me, yesterday I had my guitar maintenance setup (that I assembled based on Phil's advise) on my dining room table with my strat, thinking its time for a fret polish. Its really cool to see someone on the same path taking similar steps!
Andrew DiMartino Thanks! That's me in the pic doing my first ever fret polish the other week. I'm taking baby steps to "know my gear" better. 😁 Phil's videos are the best!
Melissa B That's so awesome! Since guitar playing is such a personal thing, I think its really cool when someone wants to make it even more personal by learning how their gear works and how to work on it themselves so they can make it the best it can be. I hope your fret polish went well, keep up the good work!
I have eight Eastwood guitars and I love every one of them! Great company with great customer service. The company has been around for around 20 years and they keep getting better at it.
My Gosh ! Eight ! And I was considering myself a guitar addict on the mere fact that I have now 4 Reverend guitars... (and pondering on a 5th !)....
I once owned a Charvel Surfcaster 12 string. Fixed bridge with intonation. Beautiful guitar. This looks really good.
think they used the Gotoh bridge (with 12 saddles) like used on the Pacifica and Strat XII?
I love it.i always wanted a Surfcaster and now I'm able to get a quality version of one
I've heard of Eastwood Guitars, but never took the time to check them out. Now I gotta say these are awesome!
I always wanted one of the Charvel Surfcasters with the humbucker back in the day. Scott Ian and Tommy Victor played them around 93/94.
Love what Eastwood is doing! My current guitar lust is for the Bill Nelson Astroluxe Cadet, but the Surfcaster is super cool. The sharkfin inlays couldn't look more appropriate, especially with the cat's eye cutaway, in my humble opinion. Tired of dots on the fretboard. I'm also sick of Fenders and Gibsons, so the unique, wacky, imaginative selection to be found at Eastwood are so much fun!
I've been intrigued by Eastwood's offerings for a few years now. I might have to make a purchase!
I think its awesome that a company would do that. I’m definitely going to check out their site!
I love that guitar and I’m a drop tuned metal guy! So they must be doing something right.
Eastwood’s business model is so cool! They make so many unique guitars, it’s truly refreshing. I really want the SurfCaster. Thanks for the review!
I first encountered Eastwood when Bloomingdale's in NYC used a couple of dozen of them in a display window. I called the store and asked if they'd be selling them when the window changed and I was told the guitars were on loan from the distributor and I could call them. I looked them up on line and was amazed to see all these old 60s guitars, some classic, some (really) cheesy with modern features to make them actually playable. Quite a few models are based on Harmony, Silvertone, Airline, National, and other imports, some-low-end. I missed a Les Paul Special copy on the day of a big online blowout. Since then, the price point has risen and they've added more varieties of the Mosrite copies. My perception is that the quality is higher now. They look like fun guitars.
I bought an Airline MAP Baritone DLX from them about a month ago. It plays good, sounds good, came set up quite good and looks cool to boot.
I've had mine 2 years now and it is a really nice playing and sounding guitar.It came with a hardshell case. I read an interview of Vince Gill and he played one at NAMM and it blew him away, and bought one. said it was his main studio rythmn guitar.
I have an Airline D2P. It is awesome. I bought it dirt cheap (relatively) on a bit of a whim. The guy selling it had bought it for his girlfriend, she gave up on it pretty quickly so it sat under the stairs. When I bought it it had no strings which was a bit suspicious, but once I strung it up I realised why she had given up on it. Basically it had arrived with almost no set up whatsoever, so a bit of trussrod and pickup height adjustment it was perfect. The strings were actually touching the pickup covers, which was just crazy. Anyway he thought he was selling me a dud, so it was cheap, but I made it into what it was meant to be. A rock machine, and I love it to bits. I don't know for sure that it came out of the box that way but I would expect any guitar to require some setup adjustment fresh out of the box, doesn't matter who manufactured it.
Sounds great right off. In tune. Well intonated.
Thank you for doing this Phil! I've been following Eastwood for a while, since they make nearly everything left-handed, but I've been skittish on joining one of their group-buys because I couldn't really find enough information on their quality to make me feel safe ordering.
Fellow lefty here and I have been asking myself the same questions. I'm glad Phil had positive things to say about the one they sent him. I may just have to try out one of their lefty models here soon, maybe one of their short-scale basses.
I love these guys. Their Sidejack Moserite clone is amazing as is the Map deluxe. This surfcasters look very tasty.
I’m amazed that you have never had an experience with Eastwood guitars before! They’re not exactly a new brand :) Every single one that I’ve come across has been phenomenal. The earliest ones I remember were there airline and mosrite style guitars. Never found a bad one.
Looks like a Danelectro with a Jackson fretboard.
You're right, it looks like a Danny with a Jackson King V neck with a little flavor of a Rick 300 series mixed in too.
Habs247 That's because it is a copy of a mid 90's USA Charvel Surfcaster, then owned by Jackson. later models in the early 2000's were made in Japan, branded Jackson. 👍
I’ve always wanted that guitar since charvel put out
@Ash You are totally wrong . The original 90's Charvel Surfcaster 6 & 12 string models were USA made. You either weren't around then or you're ignorant. I don't care either way.
@Ash Btw there wasn't Surfcasters until the mid 90's. I know , I was there.
Phil, I have an Eastman “Airline Mercury” with a chambered body and P90s that is awesome. All your comments ring true! Awesome guitar!
Man, another brand written down on my wish list. (I want one of every brand and every model 😀) really loved the overdrive part, sounds amazing.
Just found your channel a few days ago enjoying everything on it. Great work. I recently bought the 12 string version of this guitar in the flamed cherryburst and love it. I can finally play barre chords comfortably on a 12 string. Couldn't drop the $3000 on a Rickenbacker but at less than half the price its a great guitar. Try one.
I had a couple classic 4 basses from Eastwood (Semi Hollow). Each one I got were different in some way. All of the ones I had were white with gold hardware, but one one it had a black headstock. One had different inlays than the other. I got one with divers in the finish on the neck (painted neck). They sounded good, but what I am getting at is Eastwood isn't really consistent.
Got an Eastwood Airline for very little - quite happy with it.
I have a real gem from Eastwood called "The Cosey." It looks like a mandolin! Re-issue of one of those "O My God" 60's guitars, done damn well, and all at an absolutely absurd price. It has two "staples" single coils, very similar to the PRS "type D" in my Vela. Superb, actually, I was really pleasantly surprised. Just watch the KILLER demo by RJ Ronquillo with this guitar; Cross-Eyed Mary goodness!! Hell yes I would buy Eastwood again. Great guitar, near-flawless build AND decent/awesome electronics and hardware.
Should also mention it came set up perfectly, and plays like a dream right out of the awesome gig-bag it came with (included, no charge, maybe it's different for different models, but this was a sale, demo model). What it is, how it plays and looks, premium bag included? I FLAT-OUT STOLE THIS THANG!! :)
I'm getting a "Morris-The Cosey" or a 'Breadwinner' (which I've liked since I was 10, in 1970) next....I've bought 7 of their guitars already, only sold one.
Eastwood’s are just gnarly surf machines
My favorite instrument is an Eastwood. The Warren Ellis tenor 2P in Black/cream. Made in Korea. Great tenor guitar.
Good concept to get the guitar you want. This particular model sounds and looks great
I have an Eastwood Tuxedo, metallic red, and I like it a lot. Has a bit of a banjo sound to it. The pickups on it were not in line with each other, one of the posts on the p90 pickup is just barely under the string it's offset so much. But, it sounds great so I didn't mind too much.
Liking that one, I ordered a more expensive Australian Wedgtail remake. Loved the look, but when I got it I noticed the bigsby was crooked and the strings on the headstock actually rested on the wood of the headstock. I sent that one back and lost money on the transaction.
If considering one I would definitely try a showroom that carries them to inspect build.
Can’t wait to get an Eastwood guitar. They seem like a really enthusiastic & genuinely good company.
Their Harmony hollowbody copies that are part of the Airline brand are gorgeous.
My Airline/Harmony H79 was heavier than a LP Custom, due to its huge center-block, but I loved the 'argyle' pickups so much that I bought a pair for another guitar....had to sell the H79, though.
I saw the eastwood stand on the Musikmesse a few years ago. I liked the quality.
You can get what is either hard to find in decent quality or what isn't produced with the specs you want.
So why not if you want that one guitar from your childhood but new in your favourite colour.
If you ever wanted a Baritone Guitar...try some like the Eastwood Sidejack Baritone.
Eastwoods are awesome!
I used to work in a shop that had an eastwood come in.
The Breadwinner is sweet.
Eastwood make excellent guitats & I love their business model
Cool guitar, sounds old school...they do make great quality guitar
Once again great review. Kinda of reminds me of the old Dragnet TV shows, “ Nothing but the facts”.
I've been an Eastwood/Airline fan for several years now and they seem to be better and better ! Thanks for a great review Phil. :-)
I have an Eastwood Breadwinner and love it. Great guitar.
LOVE that tone! In spite of its surf vibe, I believe that guitar would be excellent for country picking (Owens, Gill, Yoakam, etc.).
So glad you did this video. I'm looking for a offset and I like this.
Eastwood is a very good company. I have their "Cosey" Mandolin style guitar. It is well built and plays great.
Been seeing a lot of Eastwood these last few months and I gotta say SWEEEET!
it's a 90's Charvel Surfcaster 👍
Same thing I thought at first.
Always wanted one but the prices are high for these Charvels.
how about in Charvel fluorescent orange?! and how about the 12-string with ricky-style headstock
They make it in a 12-string.......deal with the 'original' (Charvel) headstock.
th-cam.com/video/HnD5ElLGm_g/w-d-xo.html for the 12-string in action
My Eastwood sidejack bass vi is the best instrument I've ever played, the neck feels amazing to the point where it feels like the guitar chose me rather than the other way around. It sounds amazing the neck pu being really plummy and the bridge having an awesome bight to it.
I also out down a deposit on the Senn by Eastwood model t, an offset Tele that should be here in November and I can't wait for it!
Love my airline map, want more Eastwood guitars.
That axe just screams surf music!!!
Eastwood makes wonderful guitars. I have the Eastwood GP which is a really great version of the Ovation GP from the early 80s.
Nice review. Little more polished editing I noticed. But what I really enjoyed, and forgot about, was Phil's "eclectic" playing. Thanks.
Just bought the wolf replica ... won’t be here for a bit but damn am I excited!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot for the Review, Mate. I absolutely love the Mustangish Shape especially with the chambered Body and it also Sounds great, although I'd prefer it with Humbuckers or a more softer sounding Singlecoil in the Neck . Definitely noted the Brand.
Thanks for this great informative video!
I saw one advertised on my local craigslist and was curious as to what the heck this even was.
The price on the one I saw certainly looks great!
Combined with your video, I think I’ll try it.
As long as the craftsmanship is good I dig it.
i have a Eastwood 12 string that I like. Not bad for the price. i had to change the toggle switch. The original was like flipping a circuit breaker.
Better overdrive sound than I thought it would have. By the way nice N4 on the wall, I've never seen that color on one.
Thanks you for all you do!! 💪🏻
I can’t wait until I can afford an Eastwood!
Recently got a Sidejack DLX in a trade. It’s a real player. Eastwood’s P90s are killer.
I really like that guitar. I prefer that color as well. I have a Danelectro U2 in that color. Thanks for the review.
Great review regarding the feel of the guitar and the quality of the details. I have an Eastwood Breadwinner - it plays really well after a good set up. The weak link was its pickups (harsh, ceramics; not that the Ovations had great p/ups)... BUT they are a non-standard size!! Gawd knows why. You can't just swap them out and it has become a bit of a project to replace them.
Standard 'mini-humbuckers' fit the Breadwinner (and so will P-90s, actually)....
That's what I thought too. Mini-humbuckers do not fit -- I'm looking at a pair of EMG minis right now! I bought them thinking they'd fit the Eastwood Breadwinner -- they don't!
Wow, then....I guess, if you feel industrious, you could open up the existing routs a little more with a Dremel-type unit. If that will mess up the adjustment-screw holes, you might use the pickguard as a pattern and cut your own (3-ply basswood is good for that); then you can cut whatever-sized pickup holes ARE proper for your p/us of choice, and place them where you want (relative to the bridge, et al)......paint it to suit.
Hope that helps........
i think the coolest guitar they have on eastwood is without a doubt the Rivolta combinata! please do a review on that guitar Phil. Love your vids, as always.
I got one; sunburst 2 P-90s with a LesTrem. It's like its momma was a LesPaul Jr., and its daddy was that one Rickenbacker.......
You made it onto the Eastwood Website !
Always looking for a black charvel surfcaster with humbuckers, like Scott Ian had in the early nineties, from sound of white noise album🤘
I have their club bass. Great guitar .
Looked on their website, they appear have had a lot of lefties requesting stuff over the last year or two. They've lots! At least a dozen in my sort of budget.
I really like the color of the east wood guitar
Cool guitar, and I think the business model is pretty interesting too.
That guitar is amazing!
Got to like ....I am a MIJ Charvel fan \m/ Thank you Phillip .
Sounds and looks amazing, Great vid Phil! Gonna check them out soon
Being a guitar dude in china taught me that the chinese companies always tweak the color for pics, and most of the time only take pics of their display pieces which have better quality material ( tuners, pickups, knobs, veneers, lacquer, paint). So far every guitar from mainland china I have would be a project guitar regardless of price.
I had an Airline guitar in the '70's, with a neck made out of an aluminium tube , fibre body.
Sounds like a Great Video to Post !
Very interested in seeing and hearing it !
After Eastwood intro'd a repro of the Acoustic Black Widow guitar several years ago, asked if they'd reproduce the Black Widow bass...and they did.
I'm sure it wasn't just me, but they definitely consider your requests.
Eastwood makes some great stuff that’s criminally underrated. Part of the problem is that they tend to do copies and weird stuff.
Hey, Phil! I think that's called a "C" hole. Could be wrong. Good to know that I could potentially get a brand new Charvel Surfcaster, like Bruce Cockburn!
I've been looking at this companies guitars for awhile. They have lots of cool designs. Numerous models that I'd love to buy. My problem is that I really have too many guitars and need to sell off some first.
Nooooooooooooooooooo ! ! !
Tom Drake Fake news! No one can have too many guitars!
Looks and sounds great.
I'm surprised at how good that sounds. I'm going to have to check them out.
Hey, nice review. I own original 6 & 12 string Charvel Surfcasters and one of the early Jackson Surfys (which tonally is pretty mind blowing). I've been tempted on the Eastwoods since the kick starter but the thing that puts me off is the bridge. The originals had lovely floating trems, the strat style is totally wrong and spoils it for me. But that's just me. It's also a shame that there's no hard tail option - I play hard tails and my 6 has the gorgeous chrome wraparound C. So for me the bridge is a deal breaker. Pickups sounds nice and i totally agree about them being warm. The original Charvels had Chandlers, Jackson, Kent Armstrong SLV.
Looking today, the price point is actually pretty close to what you can pick up an original for, if you can find one.
PS - I'm with you on the green :)
My first guitar was an Eastwood! 😀
Albert Bouchard has a bunch of Eastwood guitars. He really seems to like them.
Wow not only is that awesome cause I love Eastwoods but damn I wasn't expecting anyone to mention the legend that is Albert Bouchard
Great video Phil. Eastwood make some excellent Yamaha reproductions too. Guitars that Yamaha should still be making but for one reason or another decided not to and instead plod the same path as everyone else and make good quality, value for money but ultimately pretty uninspiring guitars. Eastwood have filled the void. Great quality matched with great looks and great prices. I'd say that's a pretty good combo :)
I’d love one.
Nice. I've been wanting to get their Ovation Ultra GP tribute for a while.