








Eastman AC422CE Grand Auditorium Electro Acoustic Guitar w/ cutaway and LR Baggs VTC
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The Same - Just Better
Want a Better Guitar? Buy It From Richards Guitars - If you are serious about the guitar please do find the time to read this. I promise you that anyone offering you next day delivery are not offering what we do! Behind every guitar sold is our meticulous quality control and personalized setup service. We literally leave no stone unturned. From geometric to cosmetic - every aspect is checked and adjusted as necessary... |
We want your guitar to INSPIRE you.
In this first video I introduce you to a customers guitar which is about to go into our workshop for setup and I show you just how many modifications and improvements will be made to the guitar.
This second video shows the guitar going through the workshop process. This process takes around an hour but dont worry - its just highlights!
Its Not Always A Happy Ending
One of my favorite adverts was one by Honda which said at Honda they don't use the word "OK" and instead they use the phrase "What If". I LOVED that advert and found it so inspiring. This is the premise of every guitar setup we undertake. If that means rejecting guitars and starting again - that is exactly what we do.
No Time To Watch the Videos? Here Is the Summary...
If you have bought a guitar before you will know all too well that not every guitar feels or plays the same. You may also know that due to the nature of the major component of the guitar (wood) that they can feel great one moment and awful the next (say for example after traveling half way around the globe on a boat - from some factory in the far east to the UK!) Richards Guitars offers a unique service offering the more discerning/knowledgeable buyer a host of "players benefits" which will ensure that ANY guitar purchased will give you years of enjoyment - regardless of the price paid. I can demonstrate that a guitar purchased from Richards Guitars will... Sound Better Feel Better Play Better Stay In Tune - Longer Look Better Want more reasons to buy from Richards Guitars? After Sales support A second guitar setup to your new guitars standard for just £35 - Got a guitar at home that you think could be improved? Drop it in and we will do over £55 worth of work for just £35 6 & 12 month checks and "re-sets". A *FREE follow up service for any of my customers. We will ensure your guitar plays like the day it left our store (minus your own wear and tear of course!) saving you £££ on pricey guitar technicians bills. If we find any parts that are failing that are not due to normal wear and tear we will replace them free of charge! Over the past 20 years I have worked hand in hand with suppliers, reporting back with fault "trends" and ways to improve products supplied to us. Companys I have dealt with have been listening intently over the years and we know what value our input has brought to their brands. To summarise, a guitar supplied by Richards Guitars will not just feel like a new guitar, it will feel like YOUR guitar. * Due to the need to check your intonation & adjust accordingly you must bring in your guitar with BRAND NEW strings fitted (original guage as setup when sold) OR pay our technician to remove your old strings and fit new ones - guide price £16 including strings. It is impossible to check intonation accurately with old strings. Past 2 Years Of Customers (Image only shows some of the UK!) Every red marker represents someone who I have supplied a guitar to, possibly starting with guidance and advice online, telephone or in store. I have provided a guitar meticulously quality controlled and set up to their personal specification. I have personally play tested prior to dispatch and have continued to provide back up and support via my live chat service... |
- Call us during office hours (Monday To Saturday 10-4pm) on 01789 263333
- Why not book an appointment and spend a morning or afternoon in total peace and privacy? All the advice will be on hand whenever you need it
- Live Help is available which is run by Jon, Jake & Richard most hours of the day 7 days a week
- Richard has written many advice blogs relating to this brand, which can be found at the bottom of the page
- Richard has provided many hours of advice via our Youtube page at www.youtube.com/richardsguitarshop
- Special highlights are often featured on our Instagram
" Wow - wow - wow. Simply the most beautiful Eastman Electro Acoustic Guitar. If you want a mid size super versatile instrument, this is the one "
[FT]
AC422CE GRAND AUDITORIUM ACOUSTIC
Welcome to my new "best friend". Todays date is 18th July 2016 and whilst I have been a long term fan of the Eastman archtop guitars, it was only been since being fully emmersed in my dealership that my learning curve has reached new heights!
This electro acoustic encapsulates everything that is good about Eastman and I just hope I can convey this in a powerful enough way to convince you!
The best way to put this in context is to look at my current best selling models in this genre (and of course my most highly recommended too!) which would be the Faith FVHG and Faith FNCEHG both of which you will see the wonderful customer reviews for. Not only are these my personal recommendations by far in the electro acoustic market at this price but they are also multi award winning models.
The reason why the 422CE (and 322CE, its mahogany back and sided brother) is so relevent is that Eastman have taken everything to new levels at a price that fits beautifully between Faith and competing with Furch (World Class acoustics - You would need to look at a Furch G23SRC and at the cost of Fishman Electronics as the next step up in class but now you are looking at GBP1600+)
So what do you get for you money?
Eastman guitars are literally hand made. No machine is used in the production of an Eastman guitars whether it be acoustic or archtop. Picture chizels, sand paper, scrapers, polishing cloths and the most highly skilled luthiers in a traditional workshop and that is how this guitar is made. When you pick a guitar up knowing this - it takes on a whole new dimension and your appreciation for what is in your hands really does go up a notch.
Tonally - the 422CE is exquisite acoustically. It really chimes and resonates beautifully. Fantastic detail and lovely open tone. We really are looking at Furch territory tonally and I never say that of any other brand - other than Furch!
The woods used on Eastman are exquisite - check out the rosewood on that back! I have literally never seen such a beautiful piece of rosewood on a production priced guitar and whilst I cannot promise each one will look like this - it shows the quality of the wood suppliers they use (I am told they use the same supplier as Collings!).
Finally - the plugged in sound... well this is where it gets crazy... One of my pickups of choice when installing in any electro acoustic guitar is the LR Baggs Element! It is in fact the pickup I recommend to my customers when buying Faith guitars. I tend to recommend the standard acoustic model ad then offer the Baggs upgrade to ensure they get the very best electro acoustic tone.
The Eastman AC422CE however has the LR Baggs fitted as standard!
I do hope anyone looking to upgrade from say a Faith but cannot justify the price increase for a Furch will jump on the opportunity for a guitar literally head and shoulders above anything within double the price range by any other leading American brand (and they are mass produced of course).
Body Dimensions: 16″ X 4 1/4″
Cutaway: Venetian-style
Top Wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
Bracing: Hand-carved Scalloped X
Rosette: Inlaid Abalone
Back/Sides Wood: Solid Rosewood
Body Binding: Ivoroid
Neck Woods: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Nut: 1 3/4″-wide Bone
Scale Length: 25 1/2″
Frets: 20 Nickel – Silver
Inlays: Pearl Dot
Pickup System: LR Baggs Element VTC
Controls: Volume, Tone
Bridge/Saddle: Rosewood/Bone, 2 5/32″ Spacing
Tuners: Chrome-plated Gotoh
Strings: D’Addario EXP16 .012-.053
Available Finish: Natural Gloss Finish
Case: Hardshell Case Included
*Over £100 Of Added Value FREE With This Guitar Includes:
- Comprehensive Quality Control (prior to setup). We will reject a guitar that fails this process (geometric or cosmetic)
- Professional Setup, bespoke to your requirements including personal choice of string gauge
- Certificate of Completion, for evidence of work carried out
- 6 and 12 Month "Healthchecks". If you are in the area we will follow up with checks and resets at 6 and 12 months - all on the house.
- New Ownership Reset in the event you sell the guitar on. Improve the resale value of your guitar by keeping your certificate safe. Not only can you show the guitar has been set up already but the buyer has the opportunity to bring the guitar in to us for a reset too.
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