Playing Changes
Our Signature Archtops honor both our tradition of building handcrafted instruments and the artists and luthiers who put their names on them. There’s no greater honor than being trusted to build guitars that meet the standards of legends like John Pisano or master builders like Ryan Thorell.
The passion evident in John’s playing extends to his attention to detail for the instruments that bear his name. From the voicing of the pickups, to the choice of carved and laminate tonewoods that make up these fine instruments, his involvement in every step of the production leads to guitars that possess not only the look, but the sound & feel worthy of this iconic musician.
The virtuosic playing of Frank Vignola demands an instrument that can keep up. It’s an honor and a privilege to partner with Thorell Guitars to produce such a guitar. Frank’s signature Eastman is equally at home in a jazz club or at a bluegrass festival.
"Eastman builds guitars like I build guitars. We create instruments with our hands. I was always attracted to the craftsmanship of small shops and thought it was impossible to manage a big production shop on a small studio model. Eastman proved me wrong."
Claudio Pagelli has been designing and building guitars since 1977. On our partnership — “We are proud with the fact that Eastman is producing our guitar. It turned out just perfect.”
Crossing Boundaries
The first archtops were made to accompany orchestras and provide a chunking rhythm that was felt more than heard. By those standards, what our hollow bodies do today is quite different. Our vision for the archtop is to maintain traditional build methods while providing a new sound and image that appeals to players of multiple musical disciplines.