Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Larsongs
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Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Larsongs » Sun Aug 09, 2015 11:09 am

Not sure if this has been posted but thought I'd pass it along.

Lucky

https://eastwoodcustoms.com/projects/ea ... caster-12/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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mderieux
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by mderieux » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:09 am

Nice looking guitar!

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Domm
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Domm » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:33 am

The black one is awesome

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UlricvonCatalyst
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:58 pm

Picture of a Charvel Surfcaster again?

I think the Surfcaster's a nice guitar, but the proposed cherryburst does nothing for me. I got rid of my Hagstrom Viking fairly quickly because it had that same hideous PRS look. Stripey maple is the worst look ever, after photoflame. Should come with a matching bandana.

The fact that Eastwood favours that look before Surf Green or a nice, dignified Black speaks volumes. And the price being so close to the cost of the real thing makes it strictly for da boids.

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burntumber
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by burntumber » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:52 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Picture of a Charvel Surfcaster again?

I think the Surfcaster's a nice guitar, but the proposed cherryburst does nothing for me. I got rid of my Hagstrom Viking fairly quickly because it had that same hideous PRS look. Stripey maple is the worst look ever, after photoflame. Should come with a matching bandana.

The fact that Eastwood favours that look before Surf Green or a nice, dignified Black speaks volumes. And the price being so close to the cost of the real thing makes it strictly for da boids.
couldn't agree more.

forget eastwood.

save a couple more paycheques and track down the real deal.

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SignoftheDragon
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by SignoftheDragon » Sat Aug 15, 2015 12:54 pm

Haha- the "group shot" pic on their site is actually one of my family shots from several years ago. I'm slightly interested to see how they pull it off- purely as an academic curiosity. Surf12s are (obviously) my 'one and only' guitar love, so I'd hate to see it done wrong.

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Larsongs
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Larsongs » Sun Aug 16, 2015 2:03 pm

Why all the dislike for Eastwood Guitars?

I haven't seen or played one so I can't comment on anything other than their Website & Videos. It looks like they have a lot of cool Guitars. The Surfcasters look very cool. They say they're Tributes to Charvels.

The Videos of several of their Guitars make them appear to play & sound good?

Aren't they built in the same Asian Factories as most of the other Asian Guitars that Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Hofner, Gretsch etc. offer?

I'm curious as to what I'm missing!

Thanks,

Lucky

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UlricvonCatalyst
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Mon Aug 17, 2015 1:18 am

Larsongs wrote:Why all the dislike for Eastwood Guitars?
....Aren't they built in the same Asian Factories as most of the other Asian Guitars that Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Hofner, Gretsch etc. offer?
I think the main problem people have with them are the same ones that dog most guitars coming out of Chinese factories: quality control is at best hit-and-miss and the quality of components used isn't that great.

I'll take the leap and assume you won't know what I'm on about if I cite Asda and Waitrose as examples and instead draw on my limited knowledge of US retailers; imagine Target sell fruit and veg - Eastwood charge Wholefoods prices for Target quality.

In the case of the Surfcasters - they don't come up every day of the week, but there are still plenty of them out there and they're far better quality that what Eastwood is likely to offer and if you're lucky you might find an original one for the same price or less than Eastwood are charging for a pale imitation.*



* Alright, the Strat-type model isn't the most sought-after, but look at the price of the only (electric) MIJ original on eBay UK just now and compare it to the price of a new Eastwood.

I did the math(s) so you don't have to!

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Larsongs
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Larsongs » Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:08 am

I've been watching Ebay & all the Charvel Surfcaster 12 strings I've seen are in the $1600.00 range. About twice the price.

I get what you're saying though. But what new cool sub $900.00 Electric 12 string is there. I tried a New Dano but it started falling apart right after I bought it. Talk about cheap. Fender doesn't seem to want to make the XII?

Any recommendations?

Thanks

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Musjagjazz
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Musjagjazz » Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:56 am

This is an older article but the Burns looks good.

http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guita ... ars-256479

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Johnny Burrito
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Johnny Burrito » Mon Aug 17, 2015 9:21 am

I think that price is laughable for a non-Japanese import, 12 string or not. Look at the Ibanez Artcore line. They make a 12 string, and I would bet anything that the quality would be light years ahead of Eastwood.

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Larsongs
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Larsongs » Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:17 am

After a bit of research.

Very cool Reissue Guitars that drool with vibe.

30-60 day Return, Exchange Policy.

Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Made in Korea & China. Like most other Guitar Imports today.

Utilize components by Bigsby, Tone Pros, Wilkinson & etc.

Am I missing something? Are they really junk?

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repoman
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by repoman » Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:56 pm

I had a Eastwood LP Jr. It wasn't a lot of money, about 450 bucks, but it felt more like an 'intro' level guitar (the ones that are more like 200 bucks) than the kind of beginner intermediate territory like Epiphones. Really plasticy finish, junky feeling hardware all over.

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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by SignoftheDragon » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:23 pm

I'm seriously thinking of jumping on the wagon with one of these- if they'll bump up to the surf-green one. I'll post a review when I get it, or if the attempt falls through....

Anybody know if the "Eastwood Custom Shop" is different from their production-run guitars?

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Kent
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Re: Eastwood Surfcaster 12 String

Post by Kent » Sun Sep 20, 2015 11:22 pm

I've owned two Eastwoods:

A Guyatone copy
Image

and a Joey Leone Signature
Image

The Guyatone was quickly sold due to every reason that one could think of that would prevent a person from bonding with an instrument.

The Joey Leone Signature, despite the enormous "E" and thin gold-plating, has remained with me and the quality is on par with an American Standard instrument. The pickups are from Kent Armstrong and sound wonderful.

The Surfcasters could be good guitars. We'd have to hear and read some reviews in order to ascertain this.

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