EASTWOOD tenor guitar " Warren Ellis" model...decent?

[rgp]

Howdy, Has anyone bought the eastwood electric tenor guitar? How's the quality and tone? Tried alternate tunings ? Like ggdd..Thanks

[Ed Goist]

Hi RGP; I just searched "Warren Ellis" on the Cafe and found this recent thread and saw you got no replies.

Anyways, here is another thread on this instrument that has some good, informative replies about this instrument.

By the way, the reason I'm searching "Warren Ellis" is that I've just discovered Ellis' work with Grinderman, and I'm loving what I'm hearing.

[allenhopkins]

There's a Tenor Guitar Forum down the page -- might be some posters there who've tried the Eastwood...

[rico mando]

great guitar for the money . the neck gets a bit wide down at the 12th fret . the pick up is hot but the pots are poor . I have had it tuned gdgd . but i seem to keep my acoustic cgcg and the electric gdae .

[Ben Milne]

I've just discovered Ellis' work with Grinderman, and I'm loving what I'm hearing.

just in time for them to call it a day... Though Warren is often working on projects with Nick Cave so I doubt you'll never hear from him again. Check out his fiddle work with the dirty three.

[Rosario]

I haven't had mine for very long, maybe two months. My first guitar was a Fender strat, and I broke it. I knew of Warren Ellis because of his work on my favorite '90s Bad Seeds albums, Murder Ballads; think he did a bit with Henry's Dream...perhaps? Took me a while to like Grinderman, but I wanted that guitar as soon as I heard Kitchenette; that was one of the main reasons I wanted to play it--that riff, man! I do agree with Rico about the twelfth fret, and the pickup is great; GREAT feedback, packs a lot of punch with effects and distortion; I like the tone of it, personally. Since it's the only instrument I have currently, I love it to pieces. I would suggest this to you if you're interested in it. I've done the traditional CGDA tuning and GDAE, and strung it to Warren's specifications; my gauges are 42, 28, 17, 11. in different tunings is where the magic really lies for me, has endless possibilities-- you will have to raise the saddles for this tuning, though. The body is well made, nicely weighted. I think it has a neat, Muddy Waters- sound too.

[Ed Goist]

Rico & Rosario: Thanks for the feedback.
Does the fretboard on the Warren Ellis have a radius?
Amazingly, Eastwood seems unable to tell me whether their instruments (this & the e-mandola) have radiused boards! (I've gotten conflicting reports from different people at Eastwood).
Thanks.

[rico mando]

yes it does have a radius .

[Ed Goist]

These videos are most definitely not assuaging my WETGAS

[Ed Goist]

I have one of these (in Cherry) on the way. Very much looking forward to digging in.
The stock strings (42-30-17-13) would appear to be fine for GDAE, but some have said they needed to change string gauges to go to OM tuning (?).
Are the specs regarding the stock string gauges incorrect?
Just hoping to hit the ground running in GDAE.

[MandoSquirrel]

Did you order the one off Mike's Demo page http://www.myrareguitars.com/demoguitars.html? Been watching that & a few other instruments there. It shows as still there.

[Ed Goist]

Hi MandoSquirrel:
Yes - I ordered the Cherry demo with the slight headstock overspray at the nut. Mike said the overspray was so minor it was hard to photograph. I'll report back on appearance, etc. once it arrives.
BTW, Mike said that he had also sold the Vintage Cream Warren Ellis tenor on the demo page, so now both of the demo models are sold. (The demo page just probably hasn't gotten updated since the sales).
Oh, and I just ordered some strings for it from Cafe sponsor Strings & Beyond. They have a nice selection of single D'Addario strings. I went with the same gauges I have on my Blueridge GDAE tenor (42W-30W-20-13). I also ordered a 46 to try on the G.
I was glad to find these singles since I like an unwound A string, and it's pretty hard to find those in any set of strings.
More to come.

[Ed Goist]

Below are some very nice, recent demo videos for the Warren Ellis Tenor that I just found. Enjoy. I'm really looking forward to the arrival of mine.

[Ed Goist]

My Eastwood Warren Ellis electric Tenor Guitar arrived this chilly morning, and, after 8 hours of patient acclimatization, I broke her out a couple of hours ago.

My initial response was...Wow; that is one beautiful instrument!
Appearance, finish, and build quality are all very good (the photos below do not do the instrument justice). The optional hardshell case is also very nice. After about 90 minutes with the instrument, I finally found the overspray. There is a small (1/8" diameter) teardrop in the finish on the peghead, but it is only visible in very bright light, and at a very specific angle. I see why Mike said he couldn't photograph it. Weird. Frankly, it seems almost like an optical illusion...Maybe a builder can explain how this could happen.

Anyways, the factory set-up is pretty good. It comes strung up CGDA, and contrary to the published specs, the stock strings are 36-24-13-09. I was very pleased to find a rather prominent fretboard radius (maybe 10"?), and the string action is very low - Maybe too low. I found a very slight buzz on the C string (that's weird to say) at the fifth fret. The buzz seems to only manifest itself if I don't fret the string just perfectly while picking pretty hard. I suspect the buzz will disappear if I raise that saddle a quarter of a turn. (Which I'm sure I'll need to do anyways when I change to GDAE tuning).

The wide string spacing at the saddle and the widening of the fretboard below about the 7th fret will take some getting use to, but, on the plus side, the instrument has very good balance, nice weight, and a fine feel in the hands. It is comfortable to play.

The tone is just fine: Sustain is excellent, and the instrument has a very nice voice, even unplugged. Through an amp it is raw and aggressive. The Eastwood (?) single-coil blade pick-up seems very hot to me. I have no problem with this! Actually, I kept looking at the channel switching pedal of my amp thinking I'd left the amp on the overdrive channel, only to find that I was on the clean channel! That's one Hot pick-up. Oh, and speaking of the overdrive channel, the Warren Ellis seems to perform best on the clean channel with a pedal for distortion, though it sounds okay through the modeled "Marshall-like" channels of my Fender Super Champ XD. (This is exactly how my Tele performs through the SCXD, so I'm guessing that's a characteristic of single coil pick-ups through this amp). Oh, and the single-coil does produce a little hum at high volume, but it's what I'd call perfectly acceptable. Overall, the simple electronics are very good.

Overall, I'm very pleased, and I very much look forward to getting to know this axe better. Heck, I might even leave it in CGDA for a while!...It's pretty nice playing those light gauge strings.

This is a fine electric tenor guitar and a great value. Definitely recommended.

[MandoSquirrel]

Thanks for the review, Ed. I looked in your pics for the overspray, & it sure ruins that axe, doesn't it?
I couldn't find it, either!

[Ed Goist]

Spent more time on the Eastwood today, and it's really growing on me.

Yes, that "overspray" is so minimal and "in the finish(?)" that it took me some time again to find it today even knowing where it was. I actually think of the overspray as a neat and unique thing, and something that enhances the character of the instrument and doesn't deter from its appearance at all. It's like a secret beauty mark.

I raised the saddle of the C string just a little and the buzz disappeared. When I did this the intonation actually improved to spot-on, and I think the string action is now more even (and still quite low) across the fretboard.

One downside to the CGDA tuning is that the strings seem to have a lot of tension on them, though their gauge is so light. This makes it tough to bend strings. Interestingly, I checked-out the comparable string tensions for CGDA vs. GDAE, and the overall tension would be very similar:

36-24-13-09 on 23in     42-30-20-13 on 23in
C: 24.62#                    G: 18.39#
G: 27.08#                    D: 21.45#
D: 17.18#                    A: 24.02#
A: 17.80#                    E: 21.63#
Tot: 86.68#                   85.49#

So, I'm thinking this will mean that I shouldn't need to adjust the neck relief at all if I change tunings.

I still haven't decided between CGDA & GDAE tuning (see this thread), but I think I'm now leaning more toward octave mandolin tuning (like on my Blueridge acoustic tenor).

[delsbrother]

These videos are most definitely not assuaging my WETGAS

I have neither the beard nor the shoes to pull off that look.

[Ed Goist]

I have neither the beard nor the shoes to pull off that look.

I have seen this instrument referred to in other forums as "The Rasputin Tenor Guitar".

[Ed Goist]

This instrument is really growing on me.
I just love the Retro Vibe!

[Ed Goist]

Quick update...
* This instrument impresses me a little more every time I play it.
* For now I'm keeping it in CGDA. I'm playing everything with the same GDAE fingering, just in the different key.
* I've found it fairly easy to adjustment to the unusual widening of the fretboard below the 7th fret. I believe this is because the instrument has a very low neck profile.
* Finally, the tone on this thing is incredible. It has great 'Shimmer', Power, and Sustain. It performs beautifully through pedals, and it provides a great variety of tones when the volume and tone knobs are adjusted.
* This is a great solid-bodied instrument and an exceptional value.

[Ed Goist]

Here is a clip from 'The Mastersons' featuring Eleanor Masterson performing on her Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature tenor guitar:

[Ed Goist]

I switched my Warren Ellis tenor over to GDAE tuning this morning (using gauges 42-30-20p-13). I was quite pleased to have absolutely no issues whatsoever with the nut slots, the set-up, or the intonation due to the switch-over.

Regarding the tone, the Warren Ellis really comes alive in GDAE! The thicker treble strings have much more 'punch' (especially the 13 gauge E string compared to the old 09 gauge A string). Moreover, these gauges on this scale just seem to be a better fit, providing a substantially improved feel under the fretting fingers.

Overall, more good stuff from this great little over-achiever of an instrument!

[Frank Russell]

My Ellis had been hanging up for months, due to a baby being born, picked it up two days ago and remembered why I liked it. I walked around the house for hours, only connected to one of those little cellphone-sized Smokey Amps sitting in my pants pocket, and had a blast. Reading Ed's posts reminds me how excited I was to get mine, and I'm happy to say it still lives up to my original excitement. What an easy to play instrument, and just the right weight. Son of a gun even stayed in tune all those weeks with no play. Best electric instrument money I've ever spent. Frank

[bobbytouche]

Would anyone mind taking some measurements from their Warren Ellis for me? I'd like to build a Tenor, but I never so much as been in the same room as one.

[rico mando]

the neck is too wide . copy a different tenor