Eastwood swinger on sale $299

[eskmsaul]

I remember the dude from Parenthetical Girls had one.

[FIREBOT]

I got it today, and quickly checked it out, but haven't had a moment to really evaluate. I'm cranking on a work deadline. I'll bring it home from the office tomorrow, plug it in, and give some detail. I'll take some photos next to my real swinger over the weekend if anyone cares.

First thoughts kinda fall into this camp:

I know Eastwoods have a streaky record for QC, but I'm guessing this Swinger should be alright.
You'd have to really be trying to fuck up with such a simple design.

The neck seems nice, fit and finish are pretty good at a glance, pick guard is bad, frets and bridge seem good, and its oddly meaningfully heavier than a real Swinger, but real Swingers are hyper-light, so its still a pretty light guitar.

[FIREBOT]

... its oddly meaningfully heavier than a real Swinger, but real Swingers are hyper-light, so its still a pretty light guitar.

Thinking about this, the body seemed thicker (like a tele, not a Fender student model), and the body-edge radius are smaller, and the contours are not as deep as the real one. It will be interesting to compare them.

[BoringPostcards]

Thanks for the info FIREBOT! I'm really considering one of these. Looking forward to your review once you've clocked some play time.

[FIREBOT]

Just quickly...

[FIREBOT]

The overall general shape is actually pretty close, including the headstock. The contours are not, and neither is the body-edge radius. Body paint is pretty good. Color is a pretty good Dakota Red. The neck is way too tinted. Fingerboard is super-flat, with big-ish frets that are pretty good. Clean fret-ends. No sprouting. The body is about .25" thicker than the 69. Its about 1/2 lb. heavier. Pick guard is rough, and is the worst part of the guitar. Just rough sloppy pickguard routing. One strap button is not screwed in all of the way. The knobs are weird super-tiny versions of the Jag-type knobs found on an original. Tuners are pretty good. Bridge is style-less, yet more than functional. It sounds pretty good actually. I'll probably tidy up the pickguard, but honestly...

...the original is a pretty simple beast, and this isn't a terrible approximation of sound and feel. It's no reissue, but its got a good chunk of the vibe. For as strange as a 12" radius feels, the 22" scale is more defining of the feel differences from a typical Fender. I'll shoot some details this weekend.

[simonhpieman]

I know Eastwoods have a streaky record for QC, but I'm guessing this Swinger should be alright.
You'd have to really be trying to fuck up with such a simple design.

Anyone know of any well known musicians who used a Swinger on stage besides Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads? I know Rick Nielson owns one, but haven't seen any evidence that he used it onstage.

I've never played a 22.5" neck before. Curious what it's like. I've played the Rickenbacker 325 with the 20-3/4" scale and that was playable, but odd.

I might jump on this just for a laugh, since actual Swingers are elusive as all get out.

Ben Kweller has one. I remember reading somewhere that he paid an absolute fortune for it as well, although he stood firmly by his father's advice that anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If you Google Ben Kweller nosebleed you'll see him emptying his coke-filled nose all over it.

[memeow]

This headstock... To bad cause the body shape is really cool

[Pacafeliz]

doesn't look too bad but MAN that bridge is painful to look at!!!

[memeow]

doesn't look too bad but MAN that bridge is painful to look at!!!

IMO the headstock looks like a painfool sextoy

[FIREBOT]

As I think about this guitar (and I still haven't spent a ton of time playing it... very busy work week), I realize I've been judging it as a $299 guitar. If I think about it as a $499 (its non-closed-out price) guitar, it really sucks. For the same money ($499) I bought a Mexican Mustang (the olive duo-sonic-ish one). It is so far superior to this guitar in every respect.

[FIREBOT]

Yeah, spent some time playing i this weekend. Its fairly priced at $299, but not really a bargain. It would have been horrendously disappointing at $499. Its very charmingly playable and sounds alright, but the fit, finish, and attention to detail are generally at par with sub-$300 guitars. I recently got a new Danelectro 59 NOS, and while equally inexpensive, it is just a much more satisfying guitar. It is way more accurate to its source material, and only changes things that would be silly to not improve in 2017. I'll probably record with it some day. The Swinger is the opposite. It seems to be made by people who never got their hands on an original, and changed a lot of things that would have been free to have made more accurate. It is Squire VM quality on a less demanding design. Hardtail bridge and no pickup switching make for a low performance bar, and it meets it. It tunes up, stays in tune, and sounds like it should. Its just a coarse interpretation of the original with some rough fit and finish. I think I will keep it in my office at work.