HANDMADE TALES

  on an Eastman Guitar like the T64/v and T184MX models reviewed this issue (see page 82), and questions about their origins will probably go right out the window the moment you take the instrument from the case. Just as companies like Yamaha, Ibanez, Aria and others helped to establish a new high-quality reputation for Japanese-made guitars in the 1970s and ’80s, Eastman Musical Instruments has shown for several years that guitars made in their Beijing workshop can rival any large-shop producers for quality, tone and playability. Founded as Eastman Strings in 1992 by Chinese flutistturned-entrepreneur and Boston University graduate Quian Ni, the company was launched