Post
by SignoftheDragon » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:02 am
Yeh- sorry it's been a while. I've been going back and forth about what I want to say about it, plus I'm LAZY.
First of all, it's a decent guitar for the price- has all of my 'must-haves' as far as features. (12-saddle adjustability is the big one there- most of the recent 12ers have neglected this feature) The build quality is on par or better than most mid-level guitars I've looked at lately. I'm a 12-string only kind of guy, so I'm thinking about Gretsch, Ibanez, and Schechter 12s that I've played with recently. It's not quite as stable tuning-wise as I would like- but that may just be the neck and strings settling in. I usually hear a bit of tune drift after 2-3 songs at rehearsal, and it is definitely farther out of tune than any of my other guitars after sitting on the rack or in the case for a week. (this is just a comparative observation- my Charvels stay in tune for weeks at a time, or close to it)
The main thing that sets this guitar apart from other 12s in the sub-$1K price range is the TONE. WAAAYYY better than my Schecter, and by far better than the Ibanez and Gretsch. It doesn't sound exactly like an original Surf12, but it's similar with a gorgeous voice all its own- loud and chiming with plenty of guts.
That said, I'm not entirely happy with the guitar- as a Surfcaster copy it certainly misses the mark on a couple key issues for me:
1) The neck. It definitely has the shorter Gibson scale length, and a comfortable-but-not-accurate beefy neck and wide fretboard. They also neglected the 23rd and 24th partial frets, just leaving the angled area blank.
2) The body. It has the same look, but it's a full inch wider and longer than the original. The feel is a bit alien when combined with the wider, beefier neck and shorter scale. I don't know where they got their measurements from, but it definitely wasn't an original Surfcaster.
A few smaller differences- they omitted the push/push phase inverter in the tone pot, but I'm not sure that I miss it as I rarely use that. The Gumby-shaped headstock is a bit wider as well, making the whole thing look a bit squashier than the originals. Look at the pics on the site and tell me if you see that too. All of the Eastwood surfcasters (6ers included) look a bit like they're attending their 20-year high school reunion.
All told, it's a great mid-level guitar. I'll keep it, and use it- but it won't ever supplant any of my originals.
When I get around to it, I'll post a new thread with comparison and pics, etc.
