Eastman FullerTone SC’52 review – all the quality for half the price?
$899/£799, eastmanguitars.com
For the last decade it’s been abundantly clear that Eastman Guitars founder Qian Ni is what those tedious marketing people like to call a ‘disruptor’. But not in a ‘show up at your birthday party, pop all the balloons, sit on the cake and spill everyone’s drinks’ sense of course. More that his brand’s approach to producing high-end instruments in Asia has redefined expectations of what an offshore-built guitar can offer. And the FullerTone SC’52 might well be his most disruptive launch yet.
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Eastman’s guitars are mostly made in China, but they don’t follow the stereotype of undercutting the big names with mass production at super-low prices. No doubt, since we hailed the Eastman SB59 as a Gibson “Giant Killer” on the front of Guitar Magazine back in 2017, it’s rare that we’ve not been hugely impressed by their craftsmanship. However, as the brand has ventured into making more overtly original electric guitars in recent years, they’ve also come at a price – usually well into four figures. Still good value instruments, yes, but don’t those on more conservative budgets deserve a piece of the action?
Well, yes, says Eastman – a new and much cheaper range of solidbodies taking inspiration from the down-to-earth instruments that first brought the electric guitar into the mainstream. With the tagline “This one’s for everyone”, is the FullerTone Series about to make life even tougher for Eastman’s rivals?
Image: Adam Gasson
Eastman Guitars FullerTone SC’52 – what is it?
While the early Eastman electrics were little more than Gibson copies, the recent Romeo, Juliet and D’Ambrosio Series models – all designed by American luthier Otto D’Ambrosio – shook things up with more than a dash of originality. And this guitar is basically an affordable take on the US-built D’Ambrosio Series SC’52.
So while there’s a cheeky historical pun in the name of the range – Fullerton is where Fender was founded, and where the Telecaster and Stratocaster were born – the two FullerTone models are far from straight Tele and Strat wannabes. The SC’52 is definitely the T-type of the pair, from the single-cutaway shape to the bridge with three compensated brass saddles and a traditional-looking pickup mounted within; but that body shape has an offset waist, the pickup is a ‘noiseless’ stacked single-coil, and the neck unit is a full-fat humbucker. Both pups are made by the Anglo-Chinese brand Tonerider.
Aside from the 25.5” scale, everything else is distinctly un-Fendery too: the contoured body is made of roasted black limba, the guard is a sweeping anodised aluminium job, and there’s a separate tone control for each pickup. And then there’s the neck join: a two-bolt long-tenon design that creates, we’re told, three times more surface contact than a standard four-screw type. That should be good for resonance, and it also allows the heel to be carved away in an elegant curve for easier access to the top of the 24-fret roasted maple ‘board.
Orange Drop capacitors, CTS pots and a smart padded gigbag complete the picture – a picture that looks altogether fancier than you might expect for this kind of money. As ever, though, the proof of the pudding is in the plunking, twanging and thrashing.
Image: Adam Gasson
Eastman Guitars FullerTone SC’52 – playability
I shan’t detain you too long in this section – because every guitar is a joy to play until you find something you don’t like… but there simply isn’t anything to not like about this one. It’s a nicely balanced instrument with a high quality of build and finish, and a satin-finished neck with a full, rounded profile that couldn’t be more huggable if it had big floppy ears and a tail.
Pearlescent dot markers on a pale board are not exactly high-contrast, but the frets themselves – relatively wide and low, somewhere in the ‘vintage jumbo’ zone – are well fitted all the way up to the top of the second octave.
Image: Adam Gasson
Eastman Guitars FullerTone SC’52 – sounds
I’m not saying there’s sorcery in that extra-long neck join, but this thing certainly has bags of natural resonance and sustain. Hit a big open chord, go away for a weekend city break – I’m told Lisbon’s very hip this year – and it’ll still be ringing out when you get back.
Plugged in, the main headline is that the Telecaster resemblance is more than just superficial. On the bridge pickup at least it’s very much in that territory, with no shortage of sizzle and chime, but there’s a rounded-out smoothness to the bottom end that takes us somewhere altogether new and more sophisticated. It’s twangy but it’s not perky, which for some players will represent an extremely likeable hybrid of classic single-coil and humbucker qualities.
The neck pickup sounds more familiar. Sticking a bit of gold foil into the top of a humbucker seems to be almost obligatory these days, but what’s going on underneath that stylish cover is less radical. In vintage PAF style, it’s full and warm yet articulate and, once again, smooth – if you think those ultra-refined Steely Dan solo tones are all about the amp, the FullerTone SC’52 might change your mind.
That remains the case in the middle position, which jangles things up nicely but remains buttery and supremely well controlled. This is not a boring guitar by any means, but it’s certainly a grown-up one – and that’s just as true with overdrive, either British or American-flavoured, as it is in sparkly clean mode.
Image: Adam Gasson
Eastman Guitars FullerTone SC’52 – should I buy one?
If you’ve been casting mournful glances at the Eastman D’Ambrosio guitars and their boutique price tags, bagging one of these instead looks like a very easy decision to make. The FullerTone SC’52 may be made in China but, as we’ve already seen with this company, that doesn’t mean it can’t be a high-quality piece of kit – and the compromises that have been made to bring that price down, notably in the choice of pickups, are smart ones.
Other downsides? Well, it’s all subjective of course, but personally I’m not hugely enamoured with the appearance of this guitar – although the ice blue metallic finish option does look quite tasty. It’s not going to fit the bill if you’re after a pure T-type; but you’ll struggle to find anything else that can offer this kind of refinement for this kind of cash.
Image: Adam Gasson
Eastman Guitars FullerTone SC’52 – alternatives
If you’d prefer to stick with the classic T-style body shape, the Sire Larry Carlton T7 FM ($605/£619) is a twin-humbuckered model from an Indonesian-made range that definitely punches above its price range. An offbeat British alternative is the excellent Ancoats Guitars Stage Granada (£949); but if you want an actual Tele with the Eastman’s combo of noiseless bridge pickup and neck humbucker, your best option might be the Fender Player II Modified Telecaster SH ($1,079.99/£949).
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
