REVIEWS > EASTWOOD GUITARS
It Ain’t No Banjo!
Burly Little Beast
I tested the Ellis tenor through a Fender
Champ and a Vox Pathfinder, and it yielded
a world of surprises right off the bat. First,
the guitar was shipped tuned to proper
tenor tuning—a set of fifths, C-G-D-A.
The string spacing is also much wider than
what you feel under hand on a 6-string, and
the neck is slightly wider than your average
tenor—a design that Ellis felt would better
suit modern bass players and guitarists.
But string spacing accounts for only part
of the odd feel. Unlike the fourth string on
a 6-string—which is typically around .025
mm—the lowest string on a tenor is a .042,
and on a short scale tends that tends to
have a very elastic feel and perceptible sonic
heaviness. The rest of the strings are on
the heavier side too—with a .013 on top,
and .017 and .030 on the second and third
string, respectively.
