As requested here is my "range report" on the 604 I bought from Gianna Violins. Pictures can still be found here.
First, the thing is gorgeous, the pictures don't do it justice. A couple of really good guitar players were in my office when I opened it up and I think some MAS germs were released because they had that look in their eye. One of them was sniffing it, the other bought my old mando...
The neck is not a V neck like most Eastmans I've seen, it is pretty narrow (which I like) but not drastic enough to be a V. This seems to work well with my hand as I am able to play smoothly and definately have an easier time chording.
It sounds really nice, and pretty well balanced. More bass than I am used to, but then again what I was used to was a Johnson 120. I like the extra sustain, makes my feeble attempts at crosspicking sound better and slow tunes, traditional, and celtic really shine on it.
Interestingly enough, it looks like it has tone bars instead of x bracing. This might explain why the chop was better than I was expecting from an oval. It doesn't have the chop that a quality f hole instrument has, but it would not be out of place in a BG setting either.
Overall I'm quite happy with it. Buying an instrument I had never held had me a bit nervous but this thing is great. Steve and Gianna do a great job with the setup and shipping, would buy from them again.
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