New Romantic

Eastman might be better known in recent years for its solidbody range, but this Romeo calls on the brand’s archtop heritage. Love at first sight?

- Dave Burrluck

Increasingly, Eastman guitars are becoming the alternative choice to many longer-standing USA companies. The brand builds its guitars in Beijing, China, but uses a considerable number of consultants in Europe and America to design and constantly evolve its ranges. A recent tie-up with Dana Bourgeois, for example, promises a great deal for its acoustic programme. Eclectic maker Claudio Pagelli has his own Eastman-made design, while archtop maker Otto D’Ambrosio not only has his own El Rey signature models but heads up Eastman’s USA design and custom shop in California. Us rock ’n’ rollers might not have heard of Otto, but his involvement with Eastman dates back nearly two decades, just as he was starting out building archtops in New York.

This particular model, Romeo, started from a question, as Otto explains from his workshop: “What would the Telecaster of the archtop guitar world look and sound like? And how do we create a unique electric guitar that honours Eastman’s carved body archtop roots?”

He then goes on to list numerous criteria to answer these questions, not least a lightweight, resonance, a perfect balance, and a relatively small body that’s between 14 and 15 inches across its lower bout. “For a smaller semi-hollow electric we think 14.75 inches is about perfect. Small and nimble but not too small like a 13-inch solidbody.”