Furch/Eastman

menamestom

How do they compare around the £1k mark?

I’m trying to plan a trip down to Richards Guitars but it's not really happening time wise so may end up buying unseen. 

BigPaulie

You'll get a fancier Eastman than Furch @ £1k.

Whether it not it'll be "better' depends what you're after.

They'll both be very good instruments.

tomjax

Quality wise, they are both superbly finished, but they're not really comparable guitars tonewise. The Eastmans are modeled on traditional Gibson and Martin styles, the Furch tend more towards carving their own sound, the same way that Lowden do. You can't go wrong with either, but you'll have to decide what sort of tone you're after.

BigPaulie

tomjax said:

Quality wise, they are both superbly finished, but they're not really comparable guitars tonewise. The Eastmans are modeled on traditional Gibson and Martin styles, the Furch tend more towards carving their own sound, the same way that Lowden do. You can't go wrong with either, but you'll have to decide what sort of tone you're after.

I've only played 1 Eastman. It's was the E1SS-SB and it did sound pretty much as you'd expect, being based on a J45.

I played 3 Furches. Green D-SM, Green DC-SR and Vintage 1 D-SR. They all sounded like dreadnoughts. The Vintage 1, whether by chance or design, sounded more "traditional" but the others didn't sound remarkably modern.

I've never played a Furch in the £1k range. That would probably be Blue or Indigo level I'd imagine. They may well be voiced differently to the examples I played, but you can be confident they'll sound great.

Soupman

The only Eastman's I've tried had a rather narrow nut, whereas Furch were 45mm.
May not bother you of course, but a deal breaker for some - just saying as you mention buying unseen.
 
 

BigPaulie

Soupman said:

The only Eastman's I've tried had a rather narrow nut, whereas Furch were 45mm.
May not bother you of course, but a deal breaker for some - just saying as you mention buying unseen.
 
 

Current Eastman AC, D and OM models all seem to have 1 3/4" 45mm nuts. 

The slope shoulder dreadnoughts have a standard (not narrow  ) 1 11/16" 43mm nut.

Airmiles

I tried a (lower price bracket) Eastman at Richard's, and they were very complimentary about the Dowinas in your price bracket, so do consider those as well.

Seconded on (at least some) Eastman nuts being wider - that -and especially the 12" radius fretboards - were what lead me to them in the first place.

menamestom

Soupman said:

The only Eastman's I've tried had a rather narrow nut, whereas Furch were 45mm.
May not bother you of course, but a deal breaker for some - just saying as you mention buying unseen.
 
 

Definitely want a wider nut. Eastman have a wide variety, but grouped by type.  So OM are 44.5mm, 00 either 43mm or 46mm for the 14 or 12 fretters respectively.   The 14 fret L-00 types sound great from the clips I have seen but I don’t want a skinny 43mm nut.

45mm on the Furchs sounds ideal.  

Tannin

Furch necks are divine. You'd think a V-neck, even what they call a "soft V" would be strange and quite possibly unpleasant. But no - the instant you take hold of it it feels so natural and comfortable it's like an old, old friend. You are at home.

MartinB

menamestom said:

Soupman said:

The only Eastman's I've tried had a rather narrow nut, whereas Furch were 45mm.
May not bother you of course, but a deal breaker for some - just saying as you mention buying unseen.
 
 

Definitely want a wider nut. Eastman have a wide variety, but grouped by type.  So OM are 44.5mm, 00 either 43mm or 46mm for the 14 or 12 fretters respectively.   The 14 fret L-00 types sound great from the clips I have seen but I don’t want a skinny 43mm nut.

45mm on the Furchs sounds ideal.

I know the Gibson style Eastmans have the slimmer nut, but then so do most Gibsons, so I can see what they were going for. My E1OM is 45mm, and sounds great - you can see where corners were cut on finishing and cosmetic details but then it is the bottom of the solid wood range.

menamestom

Tannin said:

Furch necks are divine. You'd think a V-neck, even what they call a "soft V" would be strange and quite possibly unpleasant. But no - the instant you take hold of it it feels so natural and comfortable it's like an old, old friend. You are at home.

I played a Stonebridge OM yesterday and that had a slight V.  It was very nice. I almost bought it but it was a cedar top which was not what I was looking for.

menamestom

So looking at options around budget:-

Furch blue OM - All mahogany
Furch Blue OM - Sitka / Walnut
Eastman E6 - Sitka/Mahogany
Eastman E8 - Sitka/Rosewood
Eastman E10 - Adirondack/Mahogany

Eastmans generally the Thermocured versions.

I Was also looking at Eastman 00’s but played a parlour with the same spacing and it is pretty wide.  Since I only have a dread, I think an OM may be the best option. 

Honestly, all are great guitars but just want to make sure I get it right.

There’s an E10 sunburst at Richtone, I may order that as it’s only an hour away if I need to return it.  Other option is the 4 hour round trip to Richards next weekend.

strtdv

If you're looking for a "traditional" sounding OM I think you'd do well to find something better than the Furch Vintage series. They really are very good (though a bit over budget if you're looking at the ~£1100 mark)

ditchboy

I can’t speak for Eastman but the few Furch guitars I’ve owned have been superb. Particularly the OM model I had which was equivalent to their blue range now. 

Gmd85

I have 2 Furchs and an Eastman. 

Quite different in style but in terms of build quality I think the Furchs are slightly better, I find them to be nearly flawless. Even the blue Furchs are exceptionally well built and I like the matte finish.

Sound, well that's personal preference but I'm glad I have both. 

guitarjack66

Really nice to see nut widths being discussed. They are crucial for comfort for me. I dont have fat fingers but my finger pads are quite wide and dont narrow too much at all. This does prove awkward on narrow nut widths.

menamestom

guitarjack66 said:

Really nice to see nut widths being discussed. They are crucial for comfort for me. I dont have fat fingers but my finger pads are quite wide and dont narrow too much at all. This does prove awkward on narrow nut widths.

Yeah, it's a big consideration.  So many guitars look perfect then you find the nut is 1 11/16" 43mm.  I'm looking for more like 45mm.

On the plus side it's stopped me getting the credit card out and getting an Atkin or something as they are mainly skinny nut widths.

Soupman

For that budget have you considered a decent used guitar that would otherwise be out of your price bracket?
One advantage is that it's already had  'playing-in' time.
Your choice is more limited, but again, even new you are at the mercy of dealer stock.
 
 

menamestom

Soupman said:

For that budget have you considered a decent used guitar that would otherwise be out of your price bracket?
One advantage is that it's already had  'playing-in' time.
Your choice is more limited, but again, even new you are at the mercy of dealer stock.
 
 

Yeah, I've been looking.  Eastman's on ebay for example but they tend to be not massively under the retail price.

Also been looking in the classifieds here.

As long as structurally sound I'd be happy with used definitely. 

menamestom

Booked in to Richards tomorrow.   A 4 hour round trip, but an hour playing is more valuable that weeks of viewing online.

Tannin

menamestom said:

Booked in to Richards tomorrow.   A 4 hour round trip, but an hour playing is more valuable that weeks of viewing online.

Good plan!

Take your current guitar with you. Playing it side-by-side with the ones you are looking at will callibrate your ears and give you a much better idea of what you might be buying.