I have to tell you, the Eastman's build quality is absolutely outstanding for its price tag. I have an SB55/v and it blew the Gibson LP Jr. out of the water. The Gibson might edge the Eastman out here, but at 2x the price, you ought to just match the Gibson's pickups for an extra $200 and call it a day.
Honestly, the T4 86 is a sweet guitar for the money. I definitely want to upgrade a few things on it but there’s no doubt it will make a phenomenal guitar when I’m done. It certainly needs some boutique pick ups, some really nice locking tuners and a few other things but I just don’t care for those tuners. Personally either way still fantastic guitar fantastic demo thank you for the shoot out. I am sitting here leaning between the T4 86 and a heritage H535 that is from the 90s that some guy was holding and now they’re selling for 2500 and it was a custom shop dirty lemon man. It looks fantastic too either way thanks again, great demo 2:39
Upgrade is not a good choice of word. I have this model of Eastman and the tuners are fantastic and the pickups are awesome as well (I mean they are the Duncan’s nearly everyone puts in their LPs that want to change pickups). The better choice of word is “change” because what ever you will put in there will not be an upgrade, just a change to your liking. Highly suggest playing one for a few weeks before wasting your money. It really would be a waste, as the guitar uses all high quality parts. I have all custom shop guitars to compare to.
@@FinstaDaMinsta I can appreciate that and certainly I can see that you certainly love this guitar. The good news is I did order one. I also ordered a pair of tone specific jazz pick ups. If you check out J Leonard, I’m not spelling that correctly but tone specific pick ups I think if you check those out you might see that Seymore Duncan is definitely not the end or custom shop and I do think between that and the second one that I bought because I did actually buy two I ordered a set of lust for tone Lucille pick ups in it, so I am going to put those pick ups in the two guitars so for me I think those are an upgrade if you compare the pick ups truly but you are right about the guitar every video I have watched has been consistent in the fact that the guitar has fantastically performed you have certainly done the best playing demo. I’ve seen of it yet though truly and I can see that you have a passion for the guitar based on your words but honestly, I also ordered a couple of sets of tuners but maybe that’s just my preference the tuners I prefer, I put them on all my Gibson and on these guitars too but truly you did sell me on the guitar if nothing more than your passion in your comment I did not have time to get back a reply to you, but I did want to make sure I told you like I said I bought two of them so you can definitely say that you’re a demos are working but your passion, for the instrument is what sold me on it the most I am looking forward to taking these on the road with me, and I think they will be a great addition I tell you I really love the throwback repro guitar pick ups as well, and I may put a set in one of them later down the Road I like having a multitude of choices and at this price range you can do that my custom shop LP guitars are so damn expensive that although I have nine of them this certainly gives me a great alternative and I’m also not as worried about them getting damaged although I did buy an inky case so I’m not sure if you’re familiar with their custom cases, but since I will be traveling with these transit, it will come in handy thanks again, and I wish you the best for a very, very happy holiday and like I said, your passion, for the music is clear as well as your love for the guitar I hope that it takes you very far in music. Thanks again for taking the time to communicate with me.
Seeing as a 335 of that vintage will sell for 10+X the price of the Eastman, unless you're a collector the Eastman has better bang for the buck. FWIW, 2 years ago, I went to my local guitar center and played all the 335s they had in stock. All were $2800+ and not one of them would stay in tune worth a damn. I wound up getting a 339 for less than half the price of the 335. I eventually sold the 339 - it's slightly neck-heavy and the space between the horns and the neck is narrower than on a 335 and access to the frets above high C was problematic. I'm now trying to decide between the Eastman T486 and T59/v. The T59 is $550 more than the 486 and the primary differences are the pickups, tuners and the aged hardware / relic treatment of the T59. So, you could buy the 486, swap out the pickups for Duncan Antiquities ($270 for the pair) and you'd still save ~$250.
@@pizzarand I went with the T59/v and I'm very happy with it. It has the Duncan Antiquities pickups and it just sings. The build quality is exceptional. The fretboard is wider than on my other guitars - 2 G&L ASATs and a Strandberg - but I'm used to it now. Definitely better than any of the Gibsons I tried at GC.
I bought my T486B-BK with Bigsby and equipped with the Phat Cat 90's about 2 months ago. I've been playing about 50 years and have to say, this is the nicest sounding and playing guitar I've ever owned. And I've owned a ton of them. Go for it!
A newer Gibson 335 (Modern Collection)? would have been a closer/fairer comparison..The Mojo that a well-cared for 60's ES imparts (aged wood, light finish over time, overall playing wear) will likely trump a newer model of the same design..However, quality assurance overall will reveal that Eastman is on the mark/better built than today's Gibson.
Totally Agree! This was at the beginning of lock down so I made what I could with what I had access to. Plans to revisit this soon though on a fairer level!
The Gibson seemed to have some extraneous noise coming through. Like others here I would have liked to hear some clean tones but I enjoyed your comments.
I would definitely add clean if I reshoot this video but they are far from only a jazz guitar. Even Dave Grohl has his signature model of a 335. Great guitar for rock and blues.
@@RamonaMusicCenter I understand this but pickup output and other stuff will affect the response of od and really the only way to really evaluate the tone of a guitar and especially to compare them is clean. I can make my acoustic sound like a shredder.. Well not quite, but you understand
Certainly a good reason to compare clean tones. I do clean now on all other videos since this but thanks for the suggestion. Guitars and pickups can take gain very differently and sometimes it can actually accentuate differences in resonance and sustain.
@@RamonaMusicCenter Clean is always best to bring out the best and even the sonic anomalies....a bit of drive at the end is fine , best of both worlds.. Regards...
I thought I compared lots of things but let me know what I missed. Build quality is wonderful on both and tones are surprisingly similar. The biggest difference for me was the neck profile. I actually preferred the neck of the Eastman because the Gibson was too small for my hand. I can always do part two so let me know! thanks for the feedback.
@@RamonaMusicCenter I thought it was a good video. I think the air of the mic (guessing a Zoom-style field recorder) is a little much, though. Kind of boxy.
WTF would anyone compare a bigsby style vs a fixed tail piece? I mean, how fucking stupid! Of course, the Eastman sounded fuller and richer. Bad review.
Hey great shootout! For me, the Gibson Wins. I like the clarity of the 335. Thank you posting this.
Thanks for watching! More cool shoot outs to come!
I have to tell you, the Eastman's build quality is absolutely outstanding for its price tag. I have an SB55/v and it blew the Gibson LP Jr. out of the water.
The Gibson might edge the Eastman out here, but at 2x the price, you ought to just match the Gibson's pickups for an extra $200 and call it a day.
Honestly, the T4 86 is a sweet guitar for the money. I definitely want to upgrade a few things on it but there’s no doubt it will make a phenomenal guitar when I’m done. It certainly needs some boutique pick ups, some really nice locking tuners and a few other things but I just don’t care for those tuners. Personally either way still fantastic guitar fantastic demo thank you for the shoot out. I am sitting here leaning between the T4 86 and a heritage H535 that is from the 90s that some guy was holding and now they’re selling for 2500 and it was a custom shop dirty lemon man. It looks fantastic too either way thanks again, great demo 2:39
Upgrade is not a good choice of word. I have this model of Eastman and the tuners are fantastic and the pickups are awesome as well (I mean they are the Duncan’s nearly everyone puts in their LPs that want to change pickups).
The better choice of word is “change” because what ever you will put in there will not be an upgrade, just a change to your liking. Highly suggest playing one for a few weeks before wasting your money. It really would be a waste, as the guitar uses all high quality parts. I have all custom shop guitars to compare to.
@@FinstaDaMinsta I can appreciate that and certainly I can see that you certainly love this guitar. The good news is I did order one. I also ordered a pair of tone specific jazz pick ups. If you check out J Leonard, I’m not spelling that correctly but tone specific pick ups I think if you check those out you might see that Seymore Duncan is definitely not the end or custom shop and I do think between that and the second one that I bought because I did actually buy two I ordered a set of lust for tone Lucille pick ups in it, so I am going to put those pick ups in the two guitars so for me I think those are an upgrade if you compare the pick ups truly but you are right about the guitar every video I have watched has been consistent in the fact that the guitar has fantastically performed you have certainly done the best playing demo. I’ve seen of it yet though truly and I can see that you have a passion for the guitar based on your words but honestly, I also ordered a couple of sets of tuners but maybe that’s just my preference the tuners I prefer, I put them on all my Gibson and on these guitars too but truly you did sell me on the guitar if nothing more than your passion in your comment I did not have time to get back a reply to you, but I did want to make sure I told you like I said I bought two of them so you can definitely say that you’re a demos are working but your passion, for the instrument is what sold me on it the most I am looking forward to taking these on the road with me, and I think they will be a great addition I tell you I really love the throwback repro guitar pick ups as well, and I may put a set in one of them later down the Road I like having a multitude of choices and at this price range you can do that my custom shop LP guitars are so damn expensive that although I have nine of them this certainly gives me a great alternative and I’m also not as worried about them getting damaged although I did buy an inky case so I’m not sure if you’re familiar with their custom cases, but since I will be traveling with these transit, it will come in handy thanks again, and I wish you the best for a very, very happy holiday and like I said, your passion, for the music is clear as well as your love for the guitar I hope that it takes you very far in music. Thanks again for taking the time to communicate with me.
Seeing as a 335 of that vintage will sell for 10+X the price of the Eastman, unless you're a collector the Eastman has better bang for the buck. FWIW, 2 years ago, I went to my local guitar center and played all the 335s they had in stock. All were $2800+ and not one of them would stay in tune worth a damn. I wound up getting a 339 for less than half the price of the 335. I eventually sold the 339 - it's slightly neck-heavy and the space between the horns and the neck is narrower than on a 335 and access to the frets above high C was problematic. I'm now trying to decide between the Eastman T486 and T59/v. The T59 is $550 more than the 486 and the primary differences are the pickups, tuners and the aged hardware / relic treatment of the T59. So, you could buy the 486, swap out the pickups for Duncan Antiquities ($270 for the pair) and you'd still save ~$250.
Working the system! Totally agree!
And? How did it turn out?
@@pizzarand I went with the T59/v and I'm very happy with it. It has the Duncan Antiquities pickups and it just sings. The build quality is exceptional. The fretboard is wider than on my other guitars - 2 G&L ASATs and a Strandberg - but I'm used to it now. Definitely better than any of the Gibsons I tried at GC.
Great quick demo, garbage comments.
The T486 speaks to me. I'm getting one.
I bought my T486B-BK with Bigsby and equipped with the Phat Cat 90's about 2 months ago. I've been playing about 50 years and have to say, this is the nicest sounding and playing guitar I've ever owned. And I've owned a ton of them. Go for it!
Just ordered one, can’t wait
A newer Gibson 335 (Modern Collection)? would have been a closer/fairer comparison..The Mojo that a well-cared for 60's ES imparts (aged wood, light finish over time, overall playing wear) will likely trump a newer model of the same design..However, quality assurance overall will reveal that Eastman is on the mark/better built than today's Gibson.
Totally Agree! This was at the beginning of lock down so I made what I could with what I had access to. Plans to revisit this soon though on a fairer level!
The Gibson seemed to have some extraneous noise coming through. Like others here I would have liked to hear some clean tones but I enjoyed your comments.
Appreciate it!
Great video, great playing, but hard to tell the differences with all that distortion on...
You're absolutely right! I switched to a different setup after this video.
Is there a reason why the inlays on the Eastmans do not extend all the way?
How can you compare tones using distortion. They are jazz guitars, so I did not get any insight whatsoever into their natural clean sound
I would definitely add clean if I reshoot this video but they are far from only a jazz guitar. Even Dave Grohl has his signature model of a 335. Great guitar for rock and blues.
@@RamonaMusicCenter I understand this but pickup output and other stuff will affect the response of od and really the only way to really evaluate the tone of a guitar and especially to compare them is clean. I can make my acoustic sound like a shredder.. Well not quite, but you understand
Certainly a good reason to compare clean tones. I do clean now on all other videos since this but thanks for the suggestion. Guitars and pickups can take gain very differently and sometimes it can actually accentuate differences in resonance and sustain.
It's not a Real jazz guitar...
Es 335 style ,is blues and Rock légend
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Eastman
Agreed!
Tnx, but I would have liked to hear clean sounds compared.
Next time! Thanks for the feedback. I have been doing both ever since
Also doing a much bigger shoot out for 335s and I'll make sure there is also clean.
@@RamonaMusicCenter Tnx, I’ll keep my eyes open 👍🏻
Are you demoing a fuzzbox or a guitar.....
Lol Just whatever is suggested but appreciate feedback. Thoughts on a better play through?
@@RamonaMusicCenter Clean is always best to bring out the best and even the sonic anomalies....a bit of drive at the end is fine , best of both worlds..
Regards...
@@enlightenedchristian3183 Appreciate the feedback! Will use this in my next shootouts!
It may have been a better idea to skip the amp distortion so you could actually show what the guitars sounded like.
Yeah I've picked that up since for all recent videos. Always good to get feedback tho!
The snare is a distraction.
Great call - downsides of my old setup in the music store. Thanks for the feedback
does the Eastman have good tuning keys? my eastman was shit when it came to stay in tune....compared to Gibson
Great tip! I'll check them out tonight during a setup. Felt good day of but I'll put them through their paces.
I believe it has Grover tuners. My SB55/v stays in tune exceptionally well, but it's likely different from the T386.
maybe set your guitar up correctly
@@mskcrc No, Eastman use Gotoh tuners, which I personally think are better than Grover
I have the T386, and it can stay in tune for weeks on end.
Comparing these two isn’t a fair comparison
Gibson is insane. An ES 335 should be no more than $2,500
Agre e100%
to bad these guitars don't have a clean tone.
Great suggestion! Working on part 2: clean
We learned NOTHING!
I thought I compared lots of things but let me know what I missed. Build quality is wonderful on both and tones are surprisingly similar. The biggest difference for me was the neck profile. I actually preferred the neck of the Eastman because the Gibson was too small for my hand. I can always do part two so let me know! thanks for the feedback.
I learned much! Thank you!
@@RamonaMusicCenter I thought it was a good video. I think the air of the mic (guessing a Zoom-style field recorder) is a little much, though. Kind of boxy.
Thanks ! Used my iphone and I'm learning a lot. It's hard trying to find an easy setup that sounds right. Thanks for watching!
WTF would anyone compare a bigsby style vs a fixed tail piece? I mean, how fucking stupid! Of course, the Eastman sounded fuller and richer. Bad review.
haha Because that's what I had. Some of us are just trying to have some fun. Thanks for the view :)