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You've saved up somewhere under $1,000 for an all-solid guitar, you want a pickup in it, and you'd like it to look like more than a starter guitar when it's hanging on the wall at home. That's the exact spot the Eastman Deluxe series was built for. Eastman took its best-value models, the all-solid E1 dreadnoughts and orchestra models and the AC grand auditoriums, and added a full gloss finish, a Fishman pickup and new sunburst and goldburst colors for not much more money.
The question is whether those upgrades are worth paying for over the standard models, and whether gloss changes anything besides the shine. We had most of the line in the shop, scored it as a series, and played as many as we could get our hands on. Our short answer: this is the budget series other builders have to measure themselves against.
What the Eastman Deluxe series adds
The DLX models start from guitars we already rate highly. The E1 line is Eastman's entry point into all-solid guitars, and the AC122 and AC222 are its grand auditoriums. Here's what the Deluxe treatment changes:
- A full gloss finish. The standard models wear an open-pore satin. Gloss seals the grain and catches the light, and it's Eastman's Truetone finish, the same formula Bourgeois uses on its standard models now that the two companies work together. It's durable, it polishes out well, and it protects the guitar.
- A Fishman Presys VT pickup. The upgraded electronics come standard, so you can plug in at a gig or a church service without adding a pickup later.
- New colors. Sunburst on the slope shoulder and the cedar-top E2 models, and a goldburst on the AC222CE that we think is a knockout.
What stays the same matters just as much. The bone nut and saddle are still standard, the tops are still hand-voiced, and every one comes with Eastman's thick padded gig bag. Those are the things that made the standard E1 one of our favorite guitars in its price range, and the Deluxe version keeps all of them.
Watch us play the Eastman Deluxe series
- 0:14, what Eastman changed and why the gloss matters
- 4:06, our series ratings
- 7:55, ten minutes of tone samples across the line
Does gloss change the sound?
We think it does, a little, and in the right direction. The E1D has been one of our favorite guitars for a long time, and the Deluxe version sounds even better to us. On the ovangkol E3 models, we think the solid gloss finish actually tightened up the tone and made it a little better. Compared with other makers at the same price, Eastman knocks it out of the park on tone, and the gloss only helps.
The bigger change is how they look. Wet a piece of unfinished wood and the grain jumps out at you, and a gloss finish does the same thing permanently. Ovangkol especially benefits. On the satin E3 and AC222 it looked fine. In gloss it looks like a much more expensive guitar.
"Before, with the open-pore satin finish, it made it look a little bit more like a budget guitar. Now with that full gloss finish, it looks like their full top level."
That held up in the shop, too. When a customer asked one of us how an E6 differs from an E10, the E1 Deluxe was hanging right next to them, and at a glance it was hard to tell it from the E10SS. Up close, the E10 has mahogany back and sides where the E1 has sapele, and it costs about twice as much: an E10SS-TC lists at $1,799 today.
Our Eastman Deluxe series scores
Rating a whole series at once is tricky, but the guitars in the Eastman Deluxe series share so much that one set of scores covers them fairly. Two of us scored each category out of five:
| Category | Our two scores | What drove it |
|---|---|---|
| Tone | 4.75 and 4.5 | The E1D was already a favorite; gloss tightened up the E3s |
| Setup and playability | 4.5 and 4.5 | Very good out of the box, rarely needs more than a saddle tweak |
| Build quality | 4.75 and 4.5 | Closer to Bourgeois every year; we rarely find a build flaw |
| Aesthetics | 5 and 5 | The gloss and the new bursts are the headline upgrade |
| Overall value | 5 and 5 | Nothing else at this price checks as many boxes |
Setup is where we were most measured. It isn't the finest setup you'll ever see, but it's a really good one, and when these come in we don't have to do much. Every now and then one fails our check and we lower or raise a saddle a little. On build, one of us went to 4.75 because Eastman keeps stepping toward Bourgeois-level quality, and the other held at 4.5 to leave room, while admitting it's rare to find anything in the build we don't like.
"I think this is the series that other manufacturers have to compare themselves to."
Which Eastman Deluxe series model fits you
The Eastman Deluxe series covers more shapes than most people expect. These are the models and prices in our Shopify catalog today. Prices have moved since we filmed in April 2024, when the line ran from $769 to $889; it now runs from $789 to $999.
| Model | Body | Top / back and sides | Price today |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1D-DLX | Dreadnought | Sitka / sapele | $899 |
| E1SS-DLX-SB and E1OOSS-DLX-SB | Slope shoulder and 00 slope shoulder | Sitka / sapele | $899 |
| E2D-DLX-SB and E2OM-DLX-SB | Dreadnought and orchestra model | Cedar / sapele | $899 |
| E3D-DLX and E3OM-DLX | Dreadnought and orchestra model | Sitka / ovangkol | $999 |
| AC222CE-DLX-GB | Cutaway grand auditorium | Solid Sitka / solid ovangkol | $979 |
| E1D-12-DLX | 12-string dreadnought | Sitka / sapele | $999 |
To narrow it down, work through it in this order:
- Pick the body. A square-shoulder dreadnought, the slope shoulder (Eastman's take on the J-45 shape), a smaller orchestra model or 00, or the AC222CE if you want a cutaway grand auditorium.
- Pick the woods. Sitka over sapele is the E1 sound we've liked for years. Ovangkol on the E3 and AC222 has a midrange similar to mahogany with a touch more punch. The E2 models swap the spruce top for cedar.
- Decide on the extras. The E1 and E2 models are $899, the AC222CE goldburst is $979, and the ovangkol E3s and the 12-string are $999.
If you're torn on the slope shoulder, our Eastman E1SS and E1OOSS review covers that shape in depth, including the slot-through saddle and why the DLX is the version to buy if you need a pickup.
The catches
We gave the Eastman Deluxe series a lot of fives, so here's what keeps the scores honest:
- Dot inlays, not fancy ones. There's no elaborate inlay work. At this price, real inlay is rare, and the alternative is usually something like a hologram, so we'll take the plain pearl dots.
- The setup is good, not perfect. That 4.5 is real. Out of the box it's right for most players, and we can adjust it to your preference before it ships.
- Availability. Most of the line is sold through as we write this. If the model you want isn't listed, a pre-order is the way to get one.
Who should buy an Eastman Deluxe series guitar
Buy one if you want an all-solid guitar with a pickup already in it, you like the look of gloss, and your ceiling is about $1,000. You get the hand-voiced E1 and AC guitars we already recommend, dressed up enough to pass for the E10s on the wall.
Skip it if you'll never plug in and don't care about the finish. The standard Eastman E1D is $699, with the same Sitka and sapele in satin and no pickup, and our solid vs laminate guide explains why all-solid is worth stretching for. If you're ready to spend nearly twice as much, the E10 line adds mahogany and thermo-cured Adirondack tops, and our E10D vs D-18 blind test shows how far that step goes.
Eastman's North American guitars get a final setup in Pomona before they ship to us, which is a big part of why they need so little work here. You can read about that shop in our Eastman Pomona post. Every Deluxe still goes through our 23-Point Professional Inspection before it goes to you. We're proud to be the #1 Worldwide Dealer for Eastman Guitars & Mandolins.
Related reading
- Eastman guitars: handmade quality from the #1 dealer
- Acoustic guitar pickups for live performance
- Best acoustic guitar under $500
Find your Eastman Deluxe series guitar
Right now we have the AC222CE-DLX-GB goldburst at $979, a left-handed AC222LCE-DLX-GB at $979, and the E1SS-DLX-SB on pre-order at $899. For any other Deluxe model, ask us about ordering one. You can also browse everything Eastman makes that we carry, every Eastman guitar in stock, or shop acoustic guitars from every brand we carry.
If you want the most guitar you can get for under $1,000 with a pickup already in it, start with the Eastman Deluxe series, and pick the body that fits how you play.
