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The tailpiece is firmly secured with the help of the chrome strap button, and even though it floats above the body of the guitar, it is set close enough to the bridge that the string tension is not affected when resting your palm against the bridge. The guitar features a pair of well-placed black “top hat” style Volume and Tone knobs for each pickup.Īdding to the vintage vibe of the Tuxedo is the chrome trapeze tailpiece, with stamped diamond inlay and ABR-1-style tune-o-matic bridge assembly. Another nit is that the pickguard itself could use an additional mounting screw to more firmly secure it to the body. This necessitates removing the pickguard in order to adjust the pickup height. One drawback to the design is that the pickguard covers the adjustment screws for the treble side of both pickups.
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As with most single-coil pickups, there is a discernible hum from the pickups, even in the middle position consistent with the vintage vibe, the pickups are not wired in a reverse-wound configuration. The pickups feature Alnico magnets and are fully potted. The Tuxedo comes dressed with a pair of white Dog Ear Eastwood Hi-Output P-90 pickups wired to a traditional three-way pickup selector switch. The white plastic veneer headstock features a 3+3 tuner design and pairs well with the black “Eastwood Guitars” truss rod cover. The neck is maple and is topped off with a 12" radius rosewood fingerboard, which contrasts nicely with the 19 polished, medium-jumbo frets and pearloid block fret markers. The binding around the neck did show some minor “bleed” from the fretboard in a few spots. Both the back of the guitar and neck feature a strip of cream binding that adds to the retro look. The body is double bound with a strip of 5-ply cream and black binding along the top, which nicely complements the black appointments. No tone blocks or F-holes are used in the body design. The single-cutaway body shape features a maple back and top, mahogany sides, and is completely hollow except for a post under the bridge. The Tuxedo, true to its name, is also available in black, as well as sunburst with a flame maple top.
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The Tuxedo oozes retro vibe with its striking copper-metallic finish, white plastic veneered headstock with raised black metal Airline logo and white pickguard-complete with a 1950s Airline “Coat of Arms” imprint. The Airline Tuxedo is modeled after the 1950s Kay Barney Kessel guitar, which was also was offered under the Airline brand name as the Tuxedo model (Eastwood guitars acquired the rights to the Airline guitar models in 2004). You Owe it to Yourself to Live a Little, Harry It is apparent that Michael Robinson’s entrepreneurial vision is being achieved, as Eastwood now offers 45 models (and growing), including the Airline Tuxedo model reviewed here. This lofty vision is achieved in part by using overseas manufacturing (Korea and China), and in part by retaining customer service and final setup operations at its Ontario, Canada headquarters. His vision for Eastwood was straightforward: to combine the retro styling of these long-lost classics with modern playability, to offer them at a price far less than their original counterparts, and to emphasize customer service. This site soon provided Robinson with a large email database of fellow enthusiasts to give him the confidence to form Eastwood Guitars in 2002. It soon became an online source for all things vintage bizzarro with the formation of his website. After the well-timed sale of his California-based technology company in 1999, Robinson leveraged his collection and passion for low-budget eclectic vintage guitars from the ‘50s and ‘60s into a prolific eBay store. An example of this phenomenon is the story of Mike Robinson, founder of Eastwood Guitars, and his pursuit to produce Radical Vintage Remakes with modern playability at an affordable price point. Make Me Play I love stories about entrepreneurship, particularly ones that lead to ways of enhancing the guitar playing experience.