# A notable acoustic under 600$ CAD : Eastman AC122ce



## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

As I seeked help here to find very affordable acoustics with cutaway and 1,75 in. nut width, here is my appreciation of the first I found. (I will also post a text about the second I also bought)

*** Eastman AC122ce

This "grand auditorium" body size (similar to Taylor xx4/GA or Martin GPC models) with cutaway comes with a well padded gigbag.

Solid spruce top (no pick guard) with laminated sapele back & sides (mahogany said the salesman, oops !), mahogany neck (dual action truss rod; wrench included) with rosewood fretboard, scale 25,5 in., bone nut (width 1 3/4 in.) and saddle.

I could replace the nut to increase string spacing a bit since there is clearly room allowing that but I am already comfortable as is.

D'Addario EXP-16 (0,012) strings suggested.

Factory installed Fishman sonitone pickup system with buttons in the rosace : volume and "mid dampening" (to avoid masking singer's voice said the salesman). No battery.

The "traditional even C" neck is comfortable. Action just prefect for fingerstyle and light strumming. It sounds great with store strings.

I dared compare to Martin OOO-18 (2014) and Taylor 512 (1995) I own though these are made of spruce tops as well but solid mahogany back and sides and generally considered great guitars.

Shape similar to the Martin but deeper. The Taylor is clearly smaller as expected (as a xx2 or GC is smaller than a xx4 or GA).

The intonation of the Eastman at twelfth fret is near perfect while Martin is perfect on the highs but Taylor surprisingly fails to get on pitch.

I will not get into sound description but I found they all sound great though the Eastman shows less sustain (laminated back). The action is well set on these three guitars and both are comfortable to play.

I plugged the Eastman in my Behringer 1800FX, controls in neutral position, without effects. The sound readily appears muddy, the mid muffling system aggravating the "muddiness" ! I heard about "quacks" coming from piezzo use, but I have now heard them! I would not recommend plugging this sonitone spiecies. Fortunately, upper grade Eastman models use another amplification system.

Well, 575$CAD plus taxes, who wants more ? 

Eastman AC122ce




*** Tell this guy he is playing a "cheap" guitar ! 8-/

Eastman vs Taylor :


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Eastman and Alvarez are just about the best bang for the buck in the acoustic world. The Alvarez Yairi's are pricier but they are fabulous guitars.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Nice review and nice score. I hope you get many hours of enjoyment from your new Eastman. 

I just went through playing several Eastmans at the 12th Fret recently and ended up with the E6OM, which is Sitka/mahogany (or maybe sapele) and I preferred the sound of this Eastman over several other guitars, both more and less expensive, that I tried over the course of a couple of weeks. I was tempted by the E10D and the E40D, as well. The E20om also impressed, but I preferred the E6om’s sound in the end. I briefly owned an E10om a while back and I regret trading it. They are really good guitars.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I tried a couple of Eastman dreads when I was looking for a less expensive guitar and really liked the sound of them although the necks didnt work for me. So I ended with a Sigma DR28V for $650 which is around what the tax is on an HD28V.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

jdto said:


> Nice review and nice score. I hope you get many hours of enjoyment from your new Eastman.
> 
> I just went through playing several Eastmans at the 12th Fret recently and ended up with the E6OM, which is Sitka/mahogany (or maybe sapele) and I preferred the sound of this Eastman over several other guitars, both more and less expensive, that I tried over the course of a couple of weeks. I was tempted by the E10D and the E40D, as well. The E20om also impressed, but I preferred the E6om’s sound in the end. I briefly owned an E10om a while back and I regret trading it. They are really good guitars.


Those are all very decent guitars. I had hoped to get down there when I was in Ontario a few weeks ago but alas, I didn't have time. I hope to get to the 12th Fret when I come up in the fall. Nice pick. Enjoy!


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

The problem with most acoustic necks is my hand, which could be lot more adaptable than it is. It doesn't care for the flatter radius, smaller frets and wider nuts on acoustics compared to electrics. It can't quite get around beefier profiles. Thinner and flatter profiles can also be awkward . It slightly prefers the shorter scale length, but that is not really an issue if the radius, fret size and nut width are good. I do not blame the guitars for this. I blame the pickiness on the hand. Oh, and the radius on these Eastmans is 12". A positive. And the Jescar fretwire is medium .080 x .043.


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