Eastman Guitars continue to build their brand reputation with impressive high-quality acoustic instruments. And among their lineup, another premium looking parlor guitar caught my attention, the Eastman E10P. This parlor is as traditional as it gets, featuring all-solid wood construction and impressive handcrafted build quality.
There is simply no substitute for quality workmanship and all-solid wood construction, and this reality applies even to parlor guitars where the expectations are usually lower. There is really something about vividly resonating top, back and sides that results in great ringing tone and more importantly, provides great playing experience. As such, it is excusable for guitar builders to make premium versions of parlor guitars, especially if the price is still reasonable like the Eastman E10P.
The Eastman E10P’s body features solid Adirondack spruce top that is supported by hand-scalloped X-bracing, a feature usually only found on guitars that are priced much higher. Add to that the solid mahogany back and sides which forms its slim-style parlor guitar body, further increasing the value of this guitar. This particular combination of tonewoods are preferred by many guitarists for its woody and articulate tonality, which should allow this parlor guitar to go beyond the usual bluesbox duties to handle modern fingerpicking and even strumming duties.
Equally of premium quality is this parlor guitar’s neck which is crafted from mahogany and topped by a 19-fret ebony fingerboard. It has a slightly shorter scale length of 24.9″, while the nutwidth is 1.825″, which makes the playing feel not too different from regular sized acoustics. The E10P comes with a slotted headstock, which to my eyes looks really great with parlor guitars.
Ensuring tuning stability are chrome vintage open-gear Gotoh tuners, while the opposite end of the string are held in place by the bone saddle and ebony bridge. The nut is also crafted from bone following traditional builds. Interestingly, Eastman opted for a black body binding instead of the usual white.
The Eastman E10P is currently retailing for $1,349. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced premium parlor guitar, then you should check this one out, although I would probably keep this safe in a case rather than leave it on the couch because of its price tag and appointments. For more information, visit Eastman Guitars.
For further reading we also have information on the left handed version of the E10P.
