I bought this guitar just over a year ago and posted a very quick review within hours of owning it so I thought it might be helpful to post a few more thoughts in greater detail after owning it for a year.

This is actually the second guitar I have bought from Richard, the first being my first proper acoustic, a Faith Venus, back in 2007. A while back I started trying to master fingerstyle blues guitar on a Vintage V300MH guitar, which is a surprisingly good all mahogany parlour considering it is under £200. Even though this guitar was probably more than sufficient for my skill levels I had a significant birthday coming up and decided I wanted a quality acoustic to mark the occasion. Initially, I was looking at an Auden parlour but after having a telephone conversation with one of Richard's staff he convinced me that Eastman might be a better choice for the style of music I had in mind. Most of the Eastman range are, if I recall correctly cheaper than the Auden I was looking at so this was clearly a recommendation based on my needs rather than an attempt to upsell.

The E20p TC that they had on their website looked ideal and at a price that was almost too good to be true. Actually after ordering it online it it turned out the price was an error on the website! The price quoted was for the non-TC version (torrified top) which was the one they had in stock. The TC version was not in stock and a bit more expensive. Well, mistakes happen but it's how they are handled that is important. In this respect, Richard's guitars get five stars. They gave me three options: a full refund, The non TC version that they could despatch immediately or if I was prepared to wait they would order a TC version for me at the lower price I had already paid. Given that I was in no rush for the guitar this is the option I went with! They did warn me that it could be quite a long wait and it was indeed several months but when it did arrive Richards Guitars even gave me a £120 Walsall leather guitar strap as a thank you for waiting so long. What with the reduced price and the free strap Richard can't have made much money out of me in this instance (sorry Richard).

But what of the guitar? Well it's said to me a copy of a Martin Marquis Collection 000-28VS. A guitar I am probably never going to be able to play in real life because it is now discontinued (or 'retired' as Martin prefer to call it) and even second-hand examples are going on Reverb for between £3600 - £4800. I'm led to believe that the Martins just have a sitka spruce top as well whereas the Eastman has the superior Adironack Spruce. When I think of Chinese guitars I think of the cheap Gibson copies (or Chibsons) with overly bright colours and varnish and cheap-looking components. All a bit tawdry. The Eastman is the exact opposite. It is the most restrained and tasteful guitar I own with beautiful, flawless inlays and binding, a superb satin neck with ebony fingerboard and such a beautifully resonant tone. I cannot yet do justice to the guitar but every time I pick it up I am blown away by the sheer quality and inspired to try harder.

I am aware that many people are wary of buying Chinese guitars but I would urge you to set aside such doubts. If the name on the headstock is really important to you (and I'm not saying that's wrong) then by all means buy a Martin but be prepared to pay at least double for a second-hand guitar (I believe even now Richard is only asking about £1600 for the Eastman). All I would urge you to do is at least try an Eastman before you make that decision. I am sold on Eastmans and looking for to my next purchase from Richard which will probably be a T186 or T59/V

Esta es una guitarra increíble para el precio. Muy recomendable incluso para los jugadores experimentados.

Hermosa guitarra con un tono encantador

La guitarra ha llegado hoy sana y salva y estaba afinada. Es una belleza. La acción, el sonido, la construcción y la experiencia de juego en general son todos hermosos. Tanta guitarra por un precio tan asequible. Jon, Richard, Chris y el equipo fueron increíbles y muy serviciales, y me mantuvieron informado durante todo el proceso de búsqueda y venta. También cumplieron mi petición de entrega anticipada, ya que la guitarra es un regalo para mi hija. Muchas gracias y sin duda volveré a por más. No puedo dejar de recomendar esta maravillosa tienda.

Una de las mejores compras que he hecho nunca. Me ayudaron desde el principio hasta el final ayudándome a elegir la guitarra adecuada y después a montarla y entregarla. La guitarra me hizo sonar bien a un principiante. Gracias

Son très rond, bon sustain, j'adore, ma meilleure OM

Busqué asesoramiento sobre la compra de una guitarra de excelente calidad a un precio razonable para que mi hija aprendiera con ella.
Jon y Jake son asesores de confianza en todo lo relacionado con la guitarra. Me guiaron a través de las opciones con paciencia y sagacidad, pero sin ningún tipo de presión. Esto me llevó tiempo, ya que quería hacerlo bien.
Elegí este modelo Eastman PCH.
Elegí que me la entregaran por comodidad y a un precio extremadamente bajo.
La guitarra llegó sana y salva, y montada a la perfección absoluta.
Es una guitarra preciosa. Muy por encima de mis expectativas.
El montaje marca una gran diferencia y el control de calidad de RGuitars es muy estricto.
Una experiencia maravillosa de principio a fin.
RGuitars son de primera clase y la Eastman hará que mis hijas disfruten de la primera clase.
Muchas gracias.

La Juliet de Eastman me pareció "perfecta" desde el momento en que la recogí. Llegó perfectamente montada de Richards Guitars, y aún afinada a pesar de los cambios de temperatura y de los golpes del mensajero. Es casi mi guitarra eléctrica ideal, tan cómoda y precisa de tocar, con pastillas muy bien articuladas y un Bigsby muy estable para añadir sutiles destellos. Tiene una vibración totalmente única que me gusta mucho, y sin embargo parece una guitarra que he tocado durante años y es un instrumento de confianza.

¡Excelente servicio! ¡Mandolina preciosa!

Una gran guitarra por su precio. La calidad de construcción es estupenda, la instalación fue rápida y el sonido está a la par o por encima de lo que he visto en este rango de precios. Muy recomendable.