I can’t help myself. I’m an especially big fan of old Airline guitars. I’ve owned many over the years and have always dug their quirky shapes and sounds.

Eastwood Airline H44 DLX Guitar

Catching my eye in particular was an Airline H44 DLX in a copper finish, reminding me of the old 50’s Harmony/Kay Stratotone, which in those days was considered kind of a poor man’s Les Paul.

The H44 sports a really cool small bodied, single cutaway shape with two mini-Humbuckers, a short trapeze tailpiece, three way selector switch and a master volume & tone control. When I got home after NAMM I kept thinking about it and ended getting one a month later.

When I unpacked it, I was immediately struck by how beautiful it looked in its copper finish with just a hint of sparkle to it. I took it out of the box and immediately began twanging away. True to the original Stratotones, this guitar came with a fat “baseball bat” type neck. The advantage of a fat neck is that it’s very stable and practically un-warpable. Also like the originals, these guitars have a movable non-adjustable wooden bridge with a fixed compensated saddle. With a set of 10’s the action was good, and the intonation was pretty darn close.

I noticed the bridge moved around a bit whenever I would bend the strings (just like the old ones), so I remedied the problem with an old bluesman’s fix; I just put a few short strips of double stick tape underneath the bridge and voila! It held like a champ even on my wildest bends.

The tuners are open-faced, again just like the old ones. Some people think open faced tuners “slip”, but that’s a load of hogwash. I always wrap the string around itself against the tuning post, which kind of “locks” the string, and when I do that along with stretching the string a few times it always stays in tune. No problems with the tuners here.

The string slots on the nut were a tad on the tight side, “pinging” now and then when tuning. A little bit of Big Bends Nut Sauce lubricant took care of the problem. Note: Tight string slots at the nut is the number one reason guitars don’t stay in tune. Always keep some lubricant handy and you’ll be a happy (and in tune) camper.

So how did it sound plugged in? Very cool indeed! Mini humbuckers typically have a darker sound than single coils, plus they’re more powerful, so it’s important to set an amp’s controls accordingly. I first revved it up through a small Roland Microcube amp. It was quite at home here. There were plenty of modeling amp settings that I could find to make it sound good. Then it was on to a Line 6 POD in my studio, going direct into the recording console. With a few little tweaks I had some very bluesy sounding tones happening through the studio monitors. Nice!

Next it was on to a Rivera 45 watt 1-12 Clubster combo amp. There was no problem dialing up a nice, slightly overdriven Mike Bloomfield “Super Session” kind of sound. I liked it mostly clean, but with just a hint of amp distortion. And finally, I ran it through a 15 watt Fender Blues Junior amp and it sang out like it owned the joint!

Will Ray with his H44 DLX

Here’s my take on guitars like the H44 ‘ they’re specialty instruments meant to create unique guitar tones that normal Strat, Tele and Les Paul guitars can’t do. I use guitars like this a lot in the studio when I’m looking for something different to add character to a track, or on a live gig to give a different mojo to a song. I find that when a guitar sounds a little different, it will make you play a little different. I already know what I sound like with my usual guitars. But what can I paint with a different paintbrush?

Conclusion? I like my H44. It’s built like an old guitar, but without old guitar hassles. It’s very cool looking and stable. Plus my wife digs the color. What can I say? She’s a keeper.

Post by: Will Ray

Guitar Review: Eastwood Airline H44 DLX Electric Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Peter McCracken and me after the booth setup

Dumb Luck Wins in the End – for our first 5 years we decided not to exibit in the NAMM show. Most companies would think this was a mistake – a new product, a new audience – damn, you have to get out there and tell the world!! But for five years we stayed at home and just serviced our customers on-line. In hindsight, (dumb luck) I think we were right to do so. By the time we hit the NAMM show last week, we had an army of friends and followers that were beating down the door to meet and greet us! It was a genuine Eastwood love-in. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life to finally meet face-to-face with so many customers that have supported us through the first few years.

We were espeically happy to expand the dealer network in USA and Europe with some of my favorite guitar stores picking up the Eastwood line. Although the list is too long, some of those new dealers include Rudy’s in New York City, True Tone in Santa Monica and McKenzie River Music in Oregon. Check the Eastwood Website for a full listing of new dealers in the next two weeks. Thanks to all the new dealers for joining us, and we look forward to a fun and profitable 2007!

I was fortunate to enlist the help of some friends and customers at NAMM to work the booth with us, we all had a blast! Thanks again to Pete McCracken, Don Mackrill, Phil Meyrick, Rob Roberge and my brother Peter for his on-booth Surf Cinema entertainment.

Who has more fun than Eastwood?

Peter Robinson from Surf Cinema entertains on the MAP guitar:

Peter Robinson from Surf Cinema

Danny Amis from Los Straitjackets takes an AIRLINE 3P DLX for a test drive:

Danny Amis from Los Straitjackets

Not sure who this guy is, but he dropped by the booth and posed for some pictures with our new AIRLINE MAP BASS prototype:

Our new AIRLINE MAP BASS prototype

This is a 30″ scale model that will be available in April.

Before heading home we did the Hollywood tourist trek. Here I am having a quick snooze beside Clint EASTWOOD mark:

Hollywood tourist trek: Here I am having a quick snooze beside Clint EASTWOOD mark

Report from NAMM 2007: Wow! What a Trip! from MyRareGuitars.com

We will be exhibiting at the 2007 NAMM show in Anaheim California

For the first time since we started Eastwood Guitars in 2002, we will be exhibiting at the NAMM show in Anaheim California. For those who don’t know, NAMM is the National Assc. of Music Makers. This trade show is a once a year event where music industry people meet to share their knowledge and check out “what’s new” in the world of music.

NAMM 2007 in Anaheim, CA

For many store owners and guitar dealers, this is their once-a-year trip to stock up their shelves for the coming year with some new and improved goodies. Although predominately a North American event, dealers come from all over the world to this 4-day convention. Since we have never exhibited at the show, this will be the first opportunity for most dealers to check out EASTWOOD. We will have most of our 30+ models at the show, including some new releases. Here are some sneak peaks at the new stuff:

Eastwood EEB-1 Bass (like the Ampeg AEB-1)

Full 34″ scale tribute to the AMPEG AEB-1 from the late 1960’s. Yes, those F-holes go right through the body! Available this month. Black or Sunburst.

Eastwood Red Special: our tribute to the beautiful Brian May model

Here is our tribute to the beautiful Brian May model. Set mahogany neck, bound mahogany body, replica switching system. Red or Sunburst. Available this month.

Nice huh? We also have a few other goodies up our sleeves for NAMM. We finally gave in to the pressure, and have created a “correct” 30 1/2″ scale model of the Hi-Flyer BASS. This might be the most powerful short scale bass on the market. Also, we are ready to release the production model of the MAP guitar. It will have all the standard components of the other AIRLINE models in that family, and will be available in Black, White, Red or SEAFOAM Green. $799. We will have the pictures ready in 2 weeks. Here is a picture of the LIMITED EDITION version that SOLD OUT last year:

Eastwood Airline Map Guitar (Surf Green)

NOTE: The new MAP production model will NOT include the case or the upgraded VVSC pickups.

So, if your are planning to attend the NAMM show this year, please send us an EMAIL to schedule an appointment or just drop by booth #`1151 to say hello and to test out some of these new beauties!

See you at NAMM!

Preview of NAMM 2007 in Anaheim, California from MyRareGuitars.com