Fabulous neck with just-right fatness. Distinctive tone profile. Smooth, stable vibrato. Ice blue metallic and aluminum look delish together.
Higher output pickups could turn off Fender-geared traditionalists.
$939
Eastman FullerTone DC’62
An affordable version of Eastman’s U.S.-made solidbody rolls with unique, well-executed features—at a price and quality level that rivals very tough competition.
Eastman’s instruments regularly impress in terms ofquality and performance. A few left my PG colleagues downright smitten. But if Eastman isn’t a household name among guitarists, it might be a case of consumer psychology: Relative to most instruments built in China, Eastmans are expensive. So, if you spend your life longing for a Gibson 335 and a comparable (if superficially fancier) Eastman costs just 20 percent less than the least expensive version of the real deal, why not save up for a bit longer and get the guitar of your dreams?
For some players, though, such brand-devotional hang ups are obstacles to getting the best instrument for the best price. Some just like having an alternative to legacy brands and models that live as dreams in a zillion other heads. As Eastman evolved as a company, they’ve paid close attention to both of those market segments—creating refined original designs like the El Rey and Romeo while keeping quality, execution, and playability at an exceptional standard. With the introduction of the FullerTone instruments, a series of Beijing-built guitars modeled after Eastman’s California-built, Otto D’Ambrosio-designed solidbodies, Eastman’s price/performance goals reach a kind of apex. Because the FullerTone guitars aren’t archtops or thinlines and use bolt-on necks, they range from just $799 (for the simpler SC’52) to $899 (for the more full-featured DC’62 reviewed here). That’s a competitive market bracket, to say the least, but Fullertone delivers the goods in ways that count to players.
Somewhere in an Alternate O.C….
You don’t need to be a certified Mensa member to suss the FullerTone’s design benchmarks. The name’s likeness to that of an Orange County locale where historically important electric guitar design took place is a less-than-covert tip of the hat. More tangible evidence of the DC’62’s Stratocaster inspirations exist in the shape of a bolt-on, 25.5"-scale neck, six-on-a-side headstock, a curvaceous double-cut body, and vibrato. (The more Telecaster-like DC’52 uses a T-style bridge and comes sans vibrato).
Many of these design nods, however, are distinguished by Eastman’s refinements. The patented neck joint, for instance, mimics that of the upmarket, U.S.-built Eastman D’Ambrosio. It employs just two screws, bolted into steel anchors in the neck itself. It’s a robust, clever design. The joint, which works in part like a long tenon, provides extra neck-to-body contact, making the effortless access to all 24 medium-jumbo frets all the more remarkable. (The fretwork, by the way, is impeccable).
“The neck’s profile will pique the interest of anyone bored with the sameness of generic, modern C-profiles.”
The neck itself—roasted maple, satin-finished, and capped with a 12"-radius Indian rosewood fretboard—uses an angled headstock design that differs from Fender convention, but the break angle is much shallower than a Gibson, which aids tuning stability. The neck’s profile, though, will pique the interest of anyone bored with the sameness of generic, modern C-profiles. Eastman calls it a medium-round profile, but that doesn’t do justice to its substance, which calls to mind Fender’s chunkier 1960s necks. It’s not a shape for everyone, and shredders and players with really petite hands might be less enthused, but it’s exceptionally comfortable, fills the palm naturally, and, at least for me, induces less fatigue than slimmer necks.
The Strat-style vibrato is a smart, functional evolution of a classic form. The arm sits securely in a rubber sleeve that keeps it precisely where you want, and the bridge itself is fixed to a substantial brass block and features individually intonatable saddles. The vibrato is so smooth and tuning stable that you will want to use it often. Really aggressive, twitchy vibrato technique can produce knocking against the body as you pitch up—at least as it’s set up at the factory. Otherwise, it’s fun and forgiving to use.
I would be remiss, by the way, if I didn’t mention how good the black limba body looks in satin ice blue metallic with a brushed aluminum pickguard. Though the DC’62 is available in black and desert sand (the latter with gold anodized pickguard), this particular combination is beautiful, elegant, and tasteful in a way that accentuates D’Ambrosio’s timeless lines.
Substantially Yours
The DC’62’s pickups are produced by Tonerider, and they include two stacked noiseless alnico 5 single-coils in the center and neck positions (measuring 7.9 ohms) as well as an alnico 2 unit, also measuring 7.9 ohms, that Eastman calls a “soapbar humbucker with gold-foil cover.” That’s a curious mash up of nomenclature. Traditionally, “soapbar” pickups are P-90s, which are single-coils, and though the gold-foil-style cover looks cool, it doesn’t lend any gold-foil-ness in terms of construction. Tone-wise it inhabits a unique place. Some aspects of its response evoke a Stratocaster bridge pickup rendered large. There are also hints of a Telecaster bridge unit’s meatiness. But of all the pickups I compared it to (at one point there was an SG, Telecaster, Wide Range-equipped Telecaster Deluxe, Stratocaster, and J Mascis Jazzmaster strewn about the room), it sounds most like a Rickenbacker Hi-Gain in an ’80s 330. That’s cool. I think Hi-Gains are underrated and sound fabulous. But the Tonerider unit is definitely not an S-type pickup in any traditional sense. The stacked single-coils, too, deviate significantly from the Stratocaster’s sonic mold. They are noiseless, as advertised, but have heat and push that make a vintage S-style pickup sound glassy and comparatively thin.
The Verdict
With a fantastic neck, smooth playability, and tuning stability that keep you glued to the instrument, the top-quality DC’62 is flat-out fun to play, which is good, given that at $899 it’s in a price class with Fender’s excellent Mexico-made Player II guitars and PRS’s superlative SE series, to name a few. But the DC’62 offers a unique palette of tones that don’t fit neatly into any box, and with a shape that breaks from tradition, it’s a competitively priced way to take sonic and stylistic paths much less trodden
Advanced
Intermediate
- Learn how to incorporate open strings all the way up the fretboard.
- Build velocity in your playing without practicing speed exercises.
- Discover an easy way to steal licks from the pros using YouTube.
It’s universally known in the guitar community that Brad Paisley isn’t just some guy that strums a guitar and sings country songs. He’s widely respected as one of the best players in the country music scene and takes an unusual approach to achieve the sonic insanity that spills out of his guitar. From Telecasters, G-benders, and cranked Dr. Z amps to instrumental records and wild guitar solos getting mainstream country radio airtime, Paisley has solidified his place in the discussion of all-time greats, and not just in the country world. In this lesson, we’ll dive into one of the cornerstones of Brad’s playing that makes him so unique: open strings.
A couple of prefaces:
Most of the licks in this lesson are exponentially easier when hybrid picked.
And in case you didn’t know, YouTube allows you to alter the speed of videos. This is a massive tool to take advantage of when learning licks, practicing them, and getting them up to speed. Simply click the Settings button in the bottom right corner of the video player and select Playback Speed. This will allow you to speed up or slow down the video to your liking without any changes to pitch. Transients will become an issue the farther away from the original speed you go, but not enough to keep you from slowing a solo down 50 percent to really learn and nail the nuances.
We’ll start by just dipping a toe in the water for Ex. 1, looking at a small part of the solo from Brad’s song “Ticks.” This section is found at the 3:06 mark of the video below. Brad really likes to use open strings to provide color to licks, usually with the note falling outside of the established scale. This little nugget is entirely in the E major scale (E–F#–G#–A–B–C#–D#) with exception of the open 3rd string. The use of the open string throws a b3 into the mix, while making it feel faster with little added effort. If you were to play this lick at half speed, the open G string does not sound great—but that’s the whole idea behind what Brad is able to do with open string licks. At tempo, the open string sounds like a natural inflection and the lick has more velocity than if it were omitted.
Ex. 1
Ticks
In Ex. 2 we’re still looking at the “Ticks” solo but focusing on the back half. This entire section of the solo is a smorgasbord of open strings. The first phrase uses sliding and open strings to create an almost bouncy and circus feel. The use of the open G string allows Brad to travel up the fretboard with some very interesting flair. Then he uses the open 1st string in measure 2 to create momentum again, but in this instance, the open-string pull-offs fall inside the E major scale rather than acting as color tones. It’s much easier to connect this section of the lick to the previous by using the third finger to execute the bend and the fourth finger to start the new descending phrase. Lastly, Brad takes the solo home with a simple descending three-note-per-string pull-off lick that combines inside and outside notes.
Ex. 2
If you’ve ever listened to Paisley’s “Time Warp,” you know that it’s a gold mine of licks to steal. In Ex. 3, I’m focusing on a lick Brad plays on the “Live on Letterman” version, which occurs after the piano solo at the 1:23 mark in the video below. It’s worth noting that this is not the same line featured on the album version from Time Well Wasted. This lick is a perfect example of how Brad uses open strings to create velocity and really get going downhill at breakneck speeds. The lick is not overly complicated, but it is extremely fast, especially if you are new to hybrid picking. I’m playing it at roughly 75 percent speed so that the notes are intelligible and not just a blur. The lick is mostly based in the A Aeolian mode (A–B–C–D–E–F–G), with flatted second being the exception.
Ex. 3
Brad Paisley - Time Warp (Live on Letterman)
In this example (Ex. 4), we tackle a fantastic phrase from the solo to “Water.” The lick I’m breaking down falls around the 1:43 mark in the YouTube video. What’s so interesting is that while the song is in F major, Brad utilizes the open A, D, and G strings to navigate the fretboard vertically and create energy. My favorite thing about the descending pull-off section of this lick is that it’s a tame bluegrass-style lick in G, but it’s the placement of the lick over the chord changes that makes it sound interesting.
Ex. 4
Brad Paisley - Water
Ex. 5 is where things get really exciting. It’s from a live performance of “Water” during the 2010 ACM awards. At the 3:40 mark Brad uses an open-string lick to build tension and work his way up the fretboard that caught my attention. As before, it sounds monstrous at tempo but really doesn’t make a ton of sense when slowed down. It’s a fairly simple pull-off lick that isn’t too difficult if you’re already used to hybrid picking, but it creates a ton of movement and excitement when sped up. I’m guilty of stealing both this lick and the idea behind it for “wow” moments in solos.
Ex. 5
Brad Paisley - Water (live ACM Awards 2010)
It’s undeniable how freakishly good of a guitar player Brad Paisley is (try grabbing some of the monster licks from the outro of “Water”). Because of how many tricks he has up his sleeve, he’s nearly impossible to replicate, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something that everyone can take from Paisley’s bag of tricks. Use this concept of using open strings in unconventional places to add spice, speed, and mystique to your playing.
This late-’90s Masterbilt was made to mimic the feeling and look of vintage luxury.
This collaborative effort between Japanese and American guitar builders aimed for old-school quality without breaking the bank.
I recently called a rideshare to pick me up from the airport and was surprised when the driver pulled up in a Jaguar. I’d never been in one and was stunned at how quiet it was, and how the backseat was as comfortable as a living room couch, but retained a refined look. This 1998 Masterbilt prototype reminds me of that airport ride.
Some guitars just feel expensive. Not in an “I shouldn't be touching this, lest I scratch it” way so much as simply exuding luxury. Maybe it’s the flawless ebony fretboard, making gliding up and down the neck feel like ice skating. Or perhaps it’s the slim, ’60s-style neck shape which felt instantly comfortable in my small hands. It may have something to do with the sumptuously low 2/32" action at the 12th fret, requiring hardly any effort to play.
Makes sense, considering this guitar’s origin story. Mac Yasuda was born in Nishinomiya, Japan. At 15, he discovered the music of Hank Snow and fell in love with country music and the guitar itself. He stole a classical guitar from his cousin (“He never played it,” said Yasuda) and started a band with his friends. Yasuda traveled to the States in the ’70s and after picking up his first vintage guitar from a pawn shop, he was hooked. He began scoping out gear for his friends, which eventually grew into a shop called Mac’s Guitar Gallery in Kobe, Japan. By the ’90s, he estimated he had owned between 4,000 and 5,000 instruments, and his collection was valued at $3 million. He has authored several books about vintage guitars and is widely considered one of the world's preeminent authorities on the subject.
Yasuda is also an accomplished musician. While in Nashville in the ’80s—perhaps for one of the half-dozen times he’s performed on theGrand Ole Opry—he met Greg Rich, an instrument designer who was then head of Gibson’s banjo division. Yasuda enlisted Greg Rich and another guitar maker named Mark Taylor to produce a line of high-quality, vintage-style instruments under the name Masterbilt. “Vintage guitars are fine, but they're limited,” said Yasuda at the time. His Masterbilt guitars would give us mere mortals the chance to get a taste of the luxurious feel of a fine vintage instrument. Masterbilt debuted at NAMM in 1997, and it’s still unknown how many guitars were actually produced. The trademark of the Masterbilt name was cancelled in 2005 and has since been used by other brands, like Epiphone.
“Some folks think anything from the ’80s or before is vintage, but perhaps the fact that time has continued to march on should be factored in.”
Fanny's House of Music believes this guitar to be an early prototype, one of six ever made. Three were sunburst and three were natural. Playing it feels like playing any fine vintage 335; funny when you consider that at 27 years old, some would consider this Masterbilt vintage itself. The notion of what is considered truly “vintage” is hotly debated on Reddit every few months. Some folks think anything from the ’80s or before is vintage, but perhaps the fact that time has continued to march on should be factored in. Some guitars from the ’80s are now 45 years old! We consider guitars from the ’90s to be vintage at this point, so this 1998 Masterbilt prototype fits right in.
This Masterbilt is now 27 years old. In your books, does that make it a “vintage” guitar?
Photo by Madison Thorn
It’s a good example of how history and passion can intersect to create something special. This guitar tells a story of dedication to quality and an appreciation for the feel of a well-made instrument. Whether or not a 27-year-old guitar qualifies as “vintage” may be up for debate, but the magic in this guitar definitely isn’t. If you’re ever in Nashville, stop by Fanny’s and take it for a spin. You might find yourself feeling a bit like I felt after my unexpected ride in a Jaguar: getting a glimpse into the world of understated elegance, where refinement isn't about flash but about experiencing something crafted to near perfection.
SOURCES: namm.com, Los Angeles Times, Blue Book of Guitar Values, Vintage Guitar, Guitar-List.