Description

Player’s Perspective

The Eastman SB59/v is a fully-loaded take on the legendary single-cutaway, double-humbucker “1959 Burst” guitar at an extremely reasonable price point. In addition to the gorgeous sunburst reminiscent of the instruments of that era and tasteful worn-in aging on both the hardware and the finish itself, the guitar features the tried and true combination of a mahogany body and neck with a maple top and gorgeous ebony fingerboard. Eastman also spared no expense on the hardware specs, going with Gotoh hardware across the board – the Tune-o-Matic bridge, tailpiece, tuning machines, and strap buttons are all high-end Gotoh offerings.The vintage-shape mahogany neck feels immediately reminiscent of the guitars this Eastman pays homage to, whilst remaining playable for the modern player – not too thin, not too thick.

At the heart of the guitar are two of the highest-end “PAF”-style pickups out there – the venerable Lollar Imperial humbucker set. These Lollar pickups have become nearly a “standard” in the boutique guitar world for a reason and are pretty much the perfect “PAF”. They capture the quintessential “1959” tone – clear, bright, and clean with a fantastic middle position on lower-gain settings, but are ready to rock hard when you dig in and turn up the gain. Add a vintage-style wiring harness with premium components like CTS and Switchcraft parts, and you have a top-shelf tonal formula.

For a contemporary take on a vintage guitar that checks all the boxes of what this style of guitar should be at a very accessible price, give the Eastman SB59/v a spin – you’ll quickly find out how underrated these guitars are.