Eastman E2OM-CD Guitar Review
I recently got a new guitar, the Eastman E2OM-CD. This guitar is an orchestra model, making it smaller than a dreadnought size. It’s super comfy to play on the couch given it’s light weight and size. You can check out all of the specs on Eastman’s website.
This guitar features a cedar top. This is supposed to make it more mellow. At the same time, it was the last guitar (of about 10) I played. These ten included a $2500 Eastman, a $1800 Eastman, and a couple of Martins. All of those guitars had Sitka spruce tops, one had an Adirondack top. The thing that stood out to me about this cedar top guitar was the single-note clarity up the neck. All of the other guitars lacked this. It does have a nice warm midrange too it, but the trebles are very very clear up and down the neck.
You can hear me play it in these videos:
Bluegrass Flatpicking:
Sapele Back and Sides
Here is a picture I took of the Sapele back and sides. I really like the striped look of this. From my understanding, Sapele is similar to mahogany in sound, perhaps a bit brighter.
I did notice it’s more porous and I could feel a bit of a rougher texture in spots on the sides.
Concluding thoughts about the E2OM
I feel like I haven’t played too many more guitars I liked better. I gave less than $675 after taxes for this guitar. It beat out 1500-2500 guitars. I preferred it over all of the more expensive Eastman small bodied offerings.
Given that it’s an OM and a cedar topped guitar, I will have to run light gauge strings. I am not able to beat on this guitar as much as my Martin D-18GE. However, that is to be expected with the setup.
One of my favorite aspects of the guitar is the dynamic/tonal contrasts available when moving from bridge to closer to the neck. Even my D18GE doesn’t have as wide of a range of sounds.
Literally, the only flaw I saw with the guitar is around the 14th fret on the D string, the intonation was just a smidget sharp. Had I not seen it on the tuner, I wouldn’t have really noticed. I went up and down the guitar with a fine tooth comb, checking intonation. Good intonation is something a professional musician can’t compromise on.
The finish and fit looks great and I am a huge fan of satin finishes.
The guitar does feature a slightly smaller scale 24.9. This makes it a bit easier to do wide stretches. The nut width is apparently 1 3/4th (the same size as my D18GE). However, this neck just feels smaller and easier on the hands. It is slightly smaller in feel than the other higher end Eastman guitars. It must have something to do with the profile/shape, but I truly loved it. I tried some guitars with 1 11/16th widths and they were all hard to play.
If you want an acoustic guitar under $800 to play fingerstyle on, I don’t see how you can go wrong with this. You will have to spend more money to purchase a hardshell case if you gig a lot as it only comes with a gig bag. I’m giving the Eastman E2OM-CD FIVE STARS. I look forward to using it in years to come!
If you’re looking for an acoustic guitar instructor, please feel free to contact me. I teach online anywhere in the world via ZOOM.
These are the strings I’m using on my Eastman these days. Click on the picture to purchase from Amazon (I’m an affiliate and earn a commission off of anything purchased via this link)
