New Romantic

Increasingly, Eastman guitars are becoming the alternative choice to many longer-standing USA companies. The brand builds its guitars in Beijing, China, but uses a considerable number of consultants in Europe and America to design and constantly evolve its ranges. A recent tie-up with Dana Bourgeois, for example, promises a great deal for its acoustic programme. Eclectic maker Claudio Pagelli has his own Eastman-made design, while archtop maker Otto D’Ambrosio not only has his own El Rey signature models but heads up Eastman’s USA design and custom shop in California. Us rock ’n’ rollers might not have heard of Otto, but his involvement with Eastman dates back nearly two decades, just as he was starting out building archtops in New York.

This particular model, Romeo, started from a question, as Otto