jazzalicious Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Hi I have a 575 Mahogany and a 525 and am interested in knowing about the playability (particularly the stiffness/tension of the string feel)of 555 and how it compares, assuming one uses the same gauge of string.... I recently bought an eastman t486 (es335 style semi hollow ) and while it's an amazing guitar in most respects (gorgeous cherry flame maple top and back and very good workmanship) I find it stiff compared to my heritages ... I can't make peace with the feel...never a problem with my heritages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Since each of the Heritage models you name are the same scale length (24.75) they should each respond similarly in terms of tension. The obvious difference is your string gauge on them. If all are strung with the same string types, then there shouldn't be much difference at all. If you use thicker gauge or flatwounds on your 575 or 525, that would affect tension as well as tone. The bail tailpiece might affect it a bit, since there isn't as much down force behind the bridge as a stop tail. Not sure if that answers your questions, but I hope so. Sorry, but I know nothing about your Eastman model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I have or had all three models you mentioned, but since playability is such a subjective issue I can't know what you consider playable. I can say I found them all equal in playablity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzalicious Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 I tried the eastman with stoptail and found it stiff. Got one with a bigsby and didn't dig the bigsby so converted to trapeze...with 10 guage still not as easy as my 525 and 575 with 11 gauge. Thinking of selling my 575 mahogany to get the $$ to buy the 555. Any ideas on value of a 2008 mahogany 575...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimsoloway Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Isn't the Eastman a 25" scale length? That would make it a bit stiffer. Beyond that, a good setup might also make it play a lot looser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzalicious Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 No the eastman is 24.75 I can't figure out why its a stiff feeling guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzalicious Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 I had a heritage golden eagle with 14 gauge when I got it that felt easier... The eastman has 10's It feels like the strings are too tight ... I don't get it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Don't ask me to explain the physics (although we once had a post on HOC that did explain the physics), but break angle of the strings at the bridge is a major contributor to how stiff strings on a guitar feel (as Tim suggested in earlier post) ,and overall string length also matters. Less break angle, longer string length = less stiffness, if all else is constant (which, of course, it never is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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