 See the video review of the Eastman AC320
The Eastman Music Co., which built its first instruments in Beijing in 1992, rose to prominence on its reputation for making fine affordable violins, violas, cellos, and strings, as well as traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa. But in 2002 the company ventured into the archtop guitar market, wowing budget-minded jazz guitarists with its AR810-CE—a top-quality, handbuilt archtop that delivered heaps of sweet tone at a fraction of the cost of an American-made jazz box. Eastman went on to create a full series of archtops, mandolins, and thinlines (both acoustic and electric) that were similarly well received. More recently, the company added a line of flattop acoustics including orchestra models, jumbos, and dreadnoughts—among them the AC320 reviewed here.
BUILT WITH CARE
Eastman's archtops are distinctive in the affordable jazz guitar market in large part due to the company's attention to detail and commitment to construction methods like hand-carving of tops. That sense of craft is immediately apparent in the AC320. From the handsome grain in the solid Sitka spruce top and red-hued mahogany back and sides to the flawless, silky, and inviting nitrocellulose-lacquer gloss finish, the AC320 has an air of quality that suggests careful materials selection. Construction is meticulous inside and out. Each of the 20 frets are smoothly polished and cleanly seated. The neck block, scalloped X-bracing, and kerfing are all smoothly sanded and devoid of excess glue.
Handsomely Spartan, the AC320 has a minimum of adornments—small dot position markers on the fretboard, a simple black and white rosette around the soundhole, and a script logo inlay on the rosewood-overlaid headstock. Ivoroid fretboard, body binding, and heel cap, as well as chrome Gotoh tuners, add to the classic and functional feel of the whole guitar.
RICH AND RESPONSIVE
With its mahogany back and sides, the AC320 has a fundamentally warm and bright sound. But the guitar's spruce top complements the rounder mahogany hues with more penetrating highs and a snappy responsiveness that make for a broad and highly usable tonal palette. String buzz is virtually nonexistent; chords and harmonics (natural and artificial) ring clearly in all registers; and single-note lines possessed a commanding presence from the nut to the highest registers. The guitar's
all-around balance made chord voicings that combine fretted notes with open strings sound particularly nice. And the same qualities also lent authoritatively strummed passages and tunes in lower open tunings a powerful, sustained, and even, if somewhat compressed, voice. The Eastman's responsiveness makes it equally well suited to delicate fingerpicking, strumming, or flatpicking in straight and legato styles, and it's easy to imagine the muscular tones of the AC320 working well in a country or bluegrass context.
The AC320's medium-size, C-shape neck, and 13/4-inch nut width are comfortable for all types of fret-hand positions and grips, particularly in first position. And I was able to play strings of barre chords and long scalar passages without feeling any hand strain. The action, however, was a bit on the high side, making the guitar feel a little stiffer than it needed to be. Such issues could be easily remedied with a setup (though the bold voice of the AC320 makes the prospect of any tinkering with the action less appealing). The good news is that the considerable break angle at the saddle would permit a significant saddle shave, which would improve the action without any adverse affect on the guitar's tuning stability or sustain.
THE WRAP
Eastman's AC320 is a well-built and terrific-sounding guitar suited to styles from the precision picking of brisk bluegrass to the strumming of introspective pop. And though the guitar's voice possessed a compressed quality, it has a wide enough sonic spectrum to expect the guitar to bloom into a more overtone-rich instrument over time.
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