Adirondack top, Mahogany back and sides, under $1000. Easily one of the best deals around.

If you’ve been following our blog for a while or checked out our store site, you’re already are hip to the fact that we love Eastman Acoustics for their great value (flattops are under $1,000) and exceptional build quality. It’s not a stretch to say that almost everyone in the store has purchased one. These are seriously good buys, made by folks who know what they’re doing and most of all, they sound fantastic. As John points out, they won’t take the place of a top notch Collings, but they are incredible instruments at unbelievably reasonable prices. We just received a few new ones in the store and thought you might like to know why we personally love and purchase these guitars for ourselves too.  Our staff, on their own Eastmans:

John Flynn on his AC312CE: Well, after owning and playing my Eastman AC312ce for a couple months I have to say (CLICK ‘Continue Reading’ below to read more of our Eastman kudos–>). that I am totally shocked by this guitar. Tonally it is absolutely fantastic. Rich, but still very clear and extremely dynamic. Playability is exceptional as well. This guitar has to be a serious contender for the player looking for an outstanding value in the under $1000 price point. Will this replace my 24 year old Collings OM-1?  No, that guitar has aged to acoustic perfection, but I will say that should I break a string live I have no reservations about picking up the Eastman. Granted, I do use this guitar predominately as a live instrument but I feel it would record beautifully and plan to use it on a project we are working on at The Art House. It’s also just a great guitar to sit on the couch with.

Jason Jones on his Eastman E10D: “This E10D is an absolutely amazing guitar for the money. Far and away one of the best sounding guitar under $1000.”

Matthew Khomsi on his AC320CE (he also bought an AC312!): “I love this guitar so much I bought one myself. It is one of the very best sounding acoustics for under $1K. If you want to upgrade your acoustic and what you want is an amazing sounding/feeling guitar, where you aren’t concerned about logos, get an Eastman.”

Brian Soden on his AC312: I bought an AC312 (without cutaway or pickup) and it’s been such a joy to play. There are a ton of guitars that come and go, but this one will be with me for a while! I also like the cutaway version, the AC312CE…the Fishman pickup system on the CE makes it an incredibly great guitar for live performance.”

Matt Christenot on his Eastman E10OM: “I couldn’t say no – it’s  just a great value with fantastic sound.”

In addition to the flattops, we also carry Eastman Archtops, mandos and occasionally stand up basses too.

Fender American Special Strat in classic Candy Apple Red

The Facts Jack

There was a lot of hype when we first heard about the new Fender American Special Strats and Teles – the series sounded good: American made, classic design, Texas Special pickups and less expensive – so what’s the catch? We set our own Jason Jones, Matt Christenot, and Matthew Khomsi to the task of checking these out from stem to stern.  Here’s what they had to say:

Jason: Aesthetically pleasing, the American Special series was a sensible move for Fender. These give you  many pro features with cost effective attributes that, all in all, create a great instrument for a reasonable price.  Borrowing the gloss Urethane finish from the American Standard series, and incorporating Fender’s most popular pickups, the Texas Specials, the American Special series functions as a sort of hybrid of the Standard series produced in Mexico, and the American Standard series that was rehashed in January 2008.  It also draws from the Highway 1 series  (with its Greasebucket tone circuit) that preceded it.  It addresses, in its revisions, some of the aspects of the Highway 1 that were less popular (most notably, the matte finish).

In regards to the neck, one of the cost effective scale-backs is in the truss rod, which is more akin to the Standard series.  They also have the satin urethane finish on the back of the neck as on the American Standard, but not the rolled fingerboard edges nor the gloss finish fingerboard.  They feature a really comfortable medium/slim “Modern” C neck and jumbo frets which, combined with their 9.5″ radius, make for a quick playing instrument that feels modern, yet traditional. They have a number of slick color schemes too (with more rumored to be on the way).  The Telecasters and the HSS Strats have black pickguards,  adding a touch of style and uniqueness.

Tonally, the Strats have a great, full tone with plenty of warmth in the neck position, spank in the bridge, and all the prerequisite ducky-ness you would expect from the 2nd and 4th positions. The Teles, when in the neck position, have a warm, yet articulate tone, balanced and usable, and the bridge provides all the power and twang you’d expect from a stock Telecaster. Out of the box they are well set-up, with a low action without buzz and a very smooth feel, thanks to the satin finish on the neck.

All in all, it is what it is – a series of well-built instruments containing the essence of the guitars they represent,  laden with features that warrant their price.  Would have been great to have a hard case, but the deluxe gig bag is nice. They’re priced at a level that gives you a professional-level instrument at an intermediate price.

Nice, gloss burst on this American Special Strat

Matt C: Overall the American Special Strat has a nice playability because of its slim neck profile and the fact that the neck is lightly finished rather than caked on.  This feels like one step closer to the American series.  The Texas Special pick ups are a nice touch too.  This is a great choice for folks wanting an American but really want to save some cash.

Brian: The weight is really nice -  I think they made good choices with the wood. It’s inexpensive, but it feels like quality materials. The neck profile is really nice – great playability.

Matthew K: The finishes on these are great – I think it’s a steal. An American made Fender with a high gloss finish for $799? A steal. I think the neck is great too -  feels great and is easy to play.

Straight Talk

Fender raised more than a few eyebrows last year with price changes, but they’ve made real amends with this American Special series. This is a great guitar, straight up. Texas Special pickups, well-built with quality finishes, a synchronized trem system on the strat, and a great, comfy neck.  And it’s made in the USA – a few more jobs is all good news in our book.

Fender American Special Tele in Olympic White

Noise. It can be beautiful, and the manipulation of it is part of the essence of what it is to be a musician. However, when you are dealing with extraneous operating noise that can occur with tube amps, noise can become very frustrating. The tube amplifier itself will always have some sort of operating noise, but the severity is hard to denote without having a knowledgeable tech hear it in person. However, if you feel it is excessive, there are some things you can check on your own to reduce extraneous amp noise:

1) Take a pencil with an eraser, and while the amp is on and a guitar is plugged in, ready to play, take the eraser end and tap each of the preamp tubes (the smaller ones). If you hear an audible ping through the speakers, you most likely have a micro-phonic preamp tube. This can contribute to noise both when you are playing and not. Replace the offending tube and you should have less noise (and definitely better tone). We stock a variety of tubes here at Mass St. Music.

2) Make sure your amp is plugged into a power conditioner, or at least a surge protector. The difference is that a power conditioner has the electrical equivalent of a filter to help clean the power, and a surge protector simply protects the amp from voltage spikes. Power conditioners nearly always have surge protection as well. Plugging in to a power conditioner will filter out excess noise in the power your house supplies to your amp, which can be made more noisy by a number of factors (certain electrical devices, how they are grounded, bad wiring, etc). I recommend the Furman AC-215 ($199), or if you have a rack, the Furman PL-8C ($179) – both of which we’ll soon be stocking at Mass St.

3) Another issue could be your guitar. Your guitar’s grounding and shielding can have a direct influence on the amount of operating noise you perceive coming through your amp. If you have a particularly noisy guitar, you can take it to a good repairman to check the grounding and shielding of the instrument and correct any irregularities. If you have multiple guitars, I would try plugging each of them in, paying close attention to the amount of noise heard with each. If you think this might be an issue with your guitar, email our friendly repair shop (repair@massstreetmusic.com).

4) Of course you can always get a noise gate for when you are recording or in other situations where excess noise is less then desirable. The only issue with this is finding a gate that is non-intrusive to your original un-gated tone. I would check out the  issues listed above before pursuing this particular avenue. If this is the best solution for you, I recommend the TC Electronic Nova Dynamics ($169) – available soon at Mass St.

The unfortunate thing is that standard operating noise is a subjective issue, and to compound the problem, all amps have different levels of noise to be regarded as “normal”. But in troubleshooting and addressing your particular noise problem, you can at least be confident you are not significantly contributing to the issue.

Log in here to add your comments or questions, or email me directly at jason@massstreetmusic.com

Matt C, Jason, Eric and Matthew K rockin' the special Groshes

Tuesday morning Brent and Yoshi from Don Grosh Guitars stopped by Mass St. Music and brought some very cool one-off guitars and prototypes for show and tell (and some bagels). What a morning…more than anything else it just confirmed why we love these guitars – not only do they have incredible playability and tone but they are some of the coolest looking guitars around. In the photo below, John checks out the 293 – fully hollow. We’ve got a 193 in the store right now, and it’s phenomenal – come check it out while it’s still here.

John checks out the exquisite fully hollow Grosh 293

We also got a chance to check out the very first ElectraJet – one of our favorite models, and Grosh’s bestseller. This seriously is a new standard in guitars – we think it’s only going to continue to grow in popularity. It was a real treat to play the very first ever made and everyone gave it a spin. One of our shop luthiers, Matt Harmon even said this model is the first he’s ever thought about purchasing since he’s learned to make guitars himself.

Matt C plays the very first EJ ever made

Luthier Matt Harmon takes a turn

“Getting to play the first ElectraJet was awesome,” Matt C. said. “It’s hard to make a really new guitar that doesn’t weird people out – the EJ is completely new but familiar too – it’s here to stay.”

More than anything we all learned more about the differences in the Standard versus Custom necks including how the double action truss rods and thicker necks on the Customs all lend to even more tonal transfer. “It was nice to see the actual parts – see and feel the differences in the necks,” said Matthew K.

Bent Top and Retro Classic bodies

Brent showed us both a Bent Top and Retro Classic unfinished body – the craftsmanship is impeccable. Originally cut with the ultra-precise CNC machine, then completely hand finished. We already knew Don has a hand in each and every guitar, but wow – he’s really in the trenches….whether shaping the Bent Tops or fitting each and every neck to the bodies, or doing some of the incredible paint jobs (Bo Ballinger is the other painting master at Grosh). Even before construction begins, the woods are acclimated for 4 – 6 months rather than kiln dried like some other folks – this insures the wood is more stable. Kiln dried wood tends to try to suck moisture back up after it’s dried out. They fit the frets to radiused fretslots so there are absolutely no gaps, giving you even more tonal transfer – that’s what these guys are all about – as they say “Tone, Looks, Playability”. The Grosh attention to detail and innovation is just outstanding. How about that double action truss rod? I held one and it is heavy. It not only allows you more adjustment, but that added mass does give you more of that sweet tonal transfer. They’ve got every base covered.

Brent shows off a killer Bent Top

Yoshi and one of the 'cadillacs' of Retro Classics

They showed us a special Retro Classic with a Mary Kay type finish, gold hardware and Birdseye Maple Neck, loaded with 50s style pickups – “A nice piece of Ash” as one of our guys said.

Jason’s favorite? The ‘raw’ EJ demo guitar, unfinished, loaded with Grosh humbuckers. He said “I want one.”

The raw, unfinished demo EJ loaded with Grosh humbuckers!

Jason (center) with raw EJ, Matt C (left) w/ prototype RC Standard and Eric (right) with the tricked out Retro Classic

The most exciting news from Grosh was two fold – More pickups (look for a review in an upcoming issue of Guitar Player magazine) and the new Hollowtron – we’re really excited about getting this guitar! Thanks to Brent and Yoshi for a great visit! Come back anytime.

Yoshi checks out Flynn's late 90s Retro Classic burst while Brent checks out Eric's own Retro Classic T

Yoshi rocks Flynn's RC and former MSMer Brian Soden checks out the RC Standard

John Flynn – Don Grosh Retro Classic S Shape

This is a fantastic instrument and now that Birdseye necks are going to skyrocket in price, this is a great time to get one at the old price. This guitar plays and sounds amazing. Definitely a brighter “Robert Cray” type tone. The neck is super stiff and just has a great vintage feel about it and Don’s new pickups are just as amazing.

This Grosh has been taunting John - he can see it from his office

Isaac Flynn - Don Grosh Retro Classic S Shape

Like father, like son…Isaac had this to say on the RC, “It’s so easy to play, the Grosh pickups are the best I’ve heard, and the guitar just looks awesome!”

Eric Mardis - Ome Sweetgrass Banjo

This banjo is so gorgeous. The fit and finish are second to none, but the real payoff is when you put on some picks and let loose on this thing. Â The tone is bright without being an “icepick in the forehead.” Bright yes, but also full and pleasant at the same time. Â I’m truly impressed with this, our first OME Bluegrass banjo!

Sweetgrass Ome Banjo

Matthew Khomsi – Mogami 12′ Right Angle Platinum Cable

I thought I would see what all the hype is about with these high-end cables. Well, the jury is in and let me just say, from the first second I plugged it in, my bass sounded substantially more massive. I was genuinely shocked at how big a difference replacing my instrument cable had on my tone.

Worth the hype? Matthew gives a resounding thumbs up

Jason Jones – Fender Hau’oli Tenor Ukelele

I choose the new Hau’oli Ukulele from Fender. Hawaiian for “happy”, this ukulele lives up to its name with its rich tone, stable tuning, and great price that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

O Happy Day, the new Fender Tenor Uke!

Matt Christenot – Fender American Vintage 52 Tele Reissue

This 52 tele reissue is a must have for tele lovers. Very cool.

Fender 52 Tele Reissue

Anne Tangeman – Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Tele

That’s right…I said Squier. Honestly the past two years they have been making some very cool guitars and basses and I think this Classic Vibe line shows them off at their best. This tele has a retro eye on the past, it’s well made and it’s inexpensive. Twang!

Squier (that's right) Classic Vibe 50s Tele

L to R: Fender Road Worn 50s Tele, '58 Fender Tele, Seuf OF-20

1958 Fender Telecaster $20, 499.

The vintage 1958 Tele

Note – this tele’s bridge pickup was rewound at some point by Charlie Davis one of ‘the’ Fender guys who probably wound it when it was made in the ’50s.

Jason: The sound on this is the best of all three – the bridge pickup…it has the most body, most bite. The neck pickup is warmer with a lower output – it was geared towards jazz at the time it was made, so it’s much mellower and it’s kind of …not really geared for modern music. This one plays the worst of all three guitars, it’s harder to play. The frets are shorter, smaller. The bridge pickup is ‘the’ sound though. I’d be afraid to take it out to play though.

John: Hard to beat the sound on this, the bridge pickup is just incredible. It’s ‘the’ tone. The frets are small.

Eric: It’s a given – this is a super cool guitar. You’re holding a piece of history. The bridge pickup is the magic tele sound.

Mike: This has surprising output. The bridge pickup has really great presence. I love the way it responds. The playability is ok…it’s got low fret height though. Doesn’t have a modern tele feel – you can feel the fretboard. No complaints, it’s just not a feel I like.

Fender Road Worn 50s Telecaster $950.

Fender Road Worn 50s Telecaster

Jason: This is great. The Tex Mex pickups aren’t the best of the three, but it’s the best priced. The neck feels great, it sounds alright. I think for the price, it’s great.

John: The pickups are pretty darned good – but not as good as the others here. For the money this guitar is a bargain. Any guitar is going to sound anemic next to that 58 Tele!

Eric: The sound is comparable to the Seuf. I think the Road Worn might be the coolest tele for the least amount of money that Fender’s ever done. The fretwork is comparable to the Seuf too.  It’s nice Fender noticed other relics – they probably had a ‘Duh’ moment when they realized they could do it with their own designs. They nailed down their own history. Nice.

Mike: Not bad. It’s more akin to a Nash. The playability is good. This is a better made guitar than the Nash. Plays great and the fretwork is well done, but not as highly polished as the Seuf. It doesn’t have the sound of the ’58 or the wide range of the Seuf with its Fralins. It’s more one dimensional, but it’s good. The signal output is just lower than the other two.

Seuf OF-20 $1699.

Seuf OF-20

Note: These are new relic’d guitars, made by Dave Seuferling in Kansas City and we just received them last week.

Jason: Great playability. The pickups are good – just not the total essence of the real deal. This is the best player technically. Aesthetically it’s more authentic looking. It’s handmade, not mass produced like the Road Worn. Great quality.

John: Playability is great on this. The sound of the Fralins is fantastic, but I’d use a Katana Boost. Again, any of these are gonna sound anemic next to that ’58.

Eric: I love the finish checking on this. It’s one of the best relic jobs I’ve ever seen. It feels really good. It sounds good- the Fralins are great.

Mike: The playability is good. The fretwork on this is excellent. You can get a wider range of tones than the ’58 due to the Fralins, but you don’t get the same ‘oomph’ of the ’58. Definitely one of the better relic jobs I’ve seen – not perfect, but a whole lot closer than most I’ve seen.

Eric putting the Fender Road Worn 50s Tele through its paces

Here’s where the chips fell when the battle ended:

Jason: The Seuf OF-20: Just because, all told, the price, the availability, the quality…this has the most usage potential for me.

John: Seuf OF-20: It just played great. I’d still add a Katana Boost.

Eric: Fender Road Worn 50s Tele: It’s not just budgetary. Aesthetically I like it a lot. Maybe there’s some subconscious thing about that Fender mojo versus copycats, and having the Fender name on the headstock. Like I said, it’s nice they’re nailing down something from their own history.

Mike: The ’58 Fender Tele: The bridge pickup sounds better than any tele pickup I’ve ever heard.

Suef 2, Road Worn 1, ’58 Tele 1.

Mike checks out the '58 Fender Tele

A good battle was had by all

Eric Mardis – Eastman AC320

Eastman AC320!

Anyone who hasn’t picked up on the value of Eastman guitars needs to pull their head out of the sand. Â This is a handmade all solid wood dreadnaught, with full gloss (lacquer) and hard case for $599. Â You will not get more guitar for this kind of money. Â Seriously.

John Flynn – Pete Cornish Cables

Cornish Cables!

Absolutely the best sounding cable I have ever heard. It is immediately noticeable. Big but tight low end and beautiful highs. At first I thought this was nonsense but we compared these cables to several other high end cables and it was amazing the difference. These are also bomb-proof. They might be expensive but they are the most inexpensive way I know to greatly improve your tone. Big thumbs up.

Jason Jones – Fender Road Worn Series

Fender Road Worn 50s Tele in Two Tone Burst

The 50s Strat, the 60s Strat, the 50s Tele, 60s Jazz Bass, these are great quality guitars with an attractive aesthetic. See my Fender Road Worn Series Review for more info!

Matthew Khomsi – Acu-Life Impact Noise Reducers

Noise Redu...uh... Earplugs

These are the best pre-made earplugs on the market! They sound very clear and do not distort frequency reception the way other earplugs are known to do. They’re $13 and they come with a little case. What better of an investment can you buy into than protecting what makes us enjoy music in the first place!

Matt Christenot – Mogami Platinum Cable

Mogami Platinum 12 Foot, Right Angle

Is there really a guitar cable worth more than $100? Yes. Electric players obsess over tones and whether or not our pedals are sucking our tone. Rarely do we think about the cable. Besides being and extremely clean and very well shielded cable, the Mogami platinum is a wonder of physical engineering. It never gets tangled. Ever! That’s almost worth the money just by itself.

Anne Tangeman – Ovation Preacher Deluxe

Used Ovation Preacher Deluxe

This is a cool chunk of Mahogany with humbuckers, a hint of LP Special and a dash of Melody Maker. I love it. Very cool and pretty dang unique.

Fender Road Worn 50s Tele in Two-Tone Sunburst

After a few years of others “cashing in” on the popularity of Fender designs being “relic’d” and offered at a much cheaper price than the Fender Custom Shop equivalents, Fender is now offering the Road Worn Series, a new 2009 series of relic’d guitars and basses made in Mexico that sell for $949 (basses start at $1200). Christened the “Road Worn” series, they sport a distressed look, Tex-Mex pickups, and a thin Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish, and they give the more expensive (by at least $500) Nash guitars a serious run for their money in terms of quality, playability, sound, and vibe.

However, as the saying goes, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The only drawback to this slashing of price, is the slashing of options. Where for around $1500 one can purchase a number of Nash models with a plethora of available customizable options and aging levels, the Fender Road Worn series offers a straight up 50s Strat in two colors (Black and 2 Color Sunburst), a 60s Strat in two colors (3 Color Sunburst and Olympic White), and a 50s Tele in two colors (2 Color Sunburst and Blonde) with a relatively congruent ageing pattern throughout the different models.

In short, there is a warranted price disparity in regards to options and the Fender Road Worn series provides a relatively affordable, full sounding, nicely relic’d instrument for the guitar player with an eye on the past.

As most of you should know, the 40th anniversary of the release of the Beatles landmark album “The Beatles” (universally known as “The White Album”) is tomorrow (Nov. 22nd). The album proved to be a stark contrast aesthetically to the psychedelic look of its predecessor “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and featured a plain white cover embossed with only two words, The Beatles. The first pressings of the album featured a serial number that made each copy of the album unique. The first four were given to the Beatles themselves along with twenty or so of the earliest numbers to each of the Beatles for giving out to friends. So to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite albums, I thought I would canvass for donations to purchase a special vinyl copy of the album that is up for sale on the UK counterpart of eBay. No. 0000005 is the lowest number White Album ever to be put on the market, given to a “prominent musician” by John Lennon in 1968 while the musician was visiting him at his apartment in London. It eventually traveled its way through the hands of a few collectors and is now up for auction. Currently the going price for the album is about 28,000 US dollars…bleh.

If you are interested in donating to the Jason Is Pining For A One Of A Kind White Album Relief Fund (or JIPFAOOAKWA in acronym form) time is of the essence (2 days left!) and I can be reached at jason@massstreetmusic.com

The new Line 6 LD15 bass practice amp is an affordable, yet tonally powerful practice amp for bass players who want professional tone…even during practice. It includes three effects (Filter, Octave, Chorus) that you can utilize one at a time, and a myriad of compatible ins and outs which allow for not only headphone usage, but an auxiliary 1/8″ line in for simultaneous CD or mp3 player usage. A must have for beginners, I believe the LD15 is going to take the entry-level bass amp world by storm, just as it’s guitar predecessor has in recent years. We have half a dozen due to arrive any day, and I’m excited! WEHOO!