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  #31  
Old 09-18-2014, 03:51 PM
Teleman52 Teleman52 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Puddleglum View Post
I hope someone wins who wants/needs a good mandolin. I already have some nice ones, and if I win it I'm going to give it away.
well just make me feel bad why dont ya? if i win im going to sell it and put it towards my upcoming mandolin purchase.

I probably wont win anyway, ive entered alot of these things, so i know not to get my hopes up
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  #32  
Old 09-18-2014, 04:22 PM
Puddleglum Puddleglum is offline
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Originally Posted by Teleman52 View Post
well just make me feel bad why dont ya? if i win im going to sell it and put it towards my upcoming mandolin purchase.

I probably wont win anyway, ive entered alot of these things, so i know not to get my hopes up
Who knows, you might win and it will turn out to be the perfect mandolin for you. Either way, I hope you find the one you want and that fits your needs.
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  #33  
Old 09-18-2014, 07:42 PM
Teleman52 Teleman52 is offline
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Originally Posted by Puddleglum View Post
Who knows, you might win and it will turn out to be the perfect mandolin for you. Either way, I hope you find the one you want and that fits your needs.
Definitley possible. A Loar a model was actually my first mandolin, it was a great mandolin really
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  #34  
Old 09-28-2014, 02:21 PM
Puddleglum Puddleglum is offline
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Did anyone here win the Loar giveaway?
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  #35  
Old 09-28-2014, 09:30 PM
Twilo123 Twilo123 is offline
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i also decided to try out Mandolin so i researched and settled on Eastman. I wound up favoring the MD315 and got one shown in the pic below with hardcase included. hard case is decent. made in china also.

i took a couple of closeup pics of my mandolin. can't say enough about it. great instrument and well made (i am by no means a luthier). really love the finish too! like other comments/replies in this thread this is just my opinion...




Last edited by Twilo123; 09-28-2014 at 10:07 PM.
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  #36  
Old 09-30-2014, 03:46 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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well i don't own one so can't comment.But I have played one that i thought was rather dull sounding.Then I played one at a Greyfox Vendor.This mando was high end 4800.00 Gray finish if i recall.It was beautiful in finish and tone/playability ..so I guess you get what you pay for.
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  #37  
Old 10-01-2014, 05:21 PM
posternutbag posternutbag is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by varmonter View Post
well i don't own one so can't comment.But I have played one that i thought was rather dull sounding.Then I played one at a Greyfox Vendor.This mando was high end 4800.00 Gray finish if i recall.It was beautiful in finish and tone/playability ..so I guess you get what you pay for.
What is funny about this is that $4800 isn't really "high end" in the mandolin world. Someone once asked what the equivalent to a D-18/D-28 was in the mandolin world. The answer is probably a Gibson F5L, which costs about twice what a D-18 does. High end in mandolins is something like a Gibson F5 MM or a Gilchrist, both of which run $15-20k, used. And don't even get started on vintage Gibsons, a 1928 Fern will set you back $70k and a Loar signed 1924 F5 sells for about $180k, down from well north of $200K in the peak years.

But yes, a $4800 hand crafted mandolin will likely sound much better than any Eastman, but it doesn't mean the Eastman is a bad mandolin, particularly when you look at where beginner, sub $1k mandolins were a decade ago, before Eastman jumped into the market. Kentucky's were junk and MKs and Morgan Monroes were all but unplayable. Eastman forced Kentucky to up its game (the upper range models are now very good) and paved the way for small shop Chinese builders like Northfield.
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  #38  
Old 10-01-2014, 05:47 PM
Teleman52 Teleman52 is offline
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What eastman cost 4800?! Do they make a model that cost that much?

The 815v is their top of the line and it doesn't even cross 2000. Unless it was some sort of ltd edition I don't think it was an eastman
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  #39  
Old 10-01-2014, 07:28 PM
posternutbag posternutbag is offline
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Originally Posted by Teleman52 View Post
What eastman cost 4800?! Do they make a model that cost that much?

The 815v is their top of the line and it doesn't even cross 2000. Unless it was some sort of ltd edition I don't think it was an eastman
I took Varmonter to mean that he has played an Eastman, and he was not impressed, but he was impressed with a $4800 mandolin that he played (which was not an Eastman, but some other make).

And no, the 815V and the 915 are the most expensive Eastmans I have seen. Nice enough mandolins, but once you start touching $2000, there are a lot of nice choices.
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  #40  
Old 10-01-2014, 07:34 PM
Teleman52 Teleman52 is offline
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Originally Posted by posternutbag View Post
I took Varmonter to mean that he has played an Eastman, and he was not impressed, but he was impressed with a $4800 mandolin that he played (which was not an Eastman, but some other make).

And no, the 815V and the 915 are the most expensive Eastmans I have seen. Nice enough mandolins, but once you start touching $2000, there are a lot of nice choices.
Ah my bad, that makes sense. I think the only time that 4800 is high end is if your buying an a model. 4800 can get you a really nice a model that would be equivalent to about a 10 grand f model.
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  #41  
Old 10-08-2014, 10:15 AM
icuker icuker is offline
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There was mention above about the narrow width. They are a narrow fretboard at the nut. I'd like to try a mando with a wider nut width. I would probably like it better a little wider. I can't complain about finish or the sound of mine. I've compared it to others and it is very good to say the least.
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  #42  
Old 10-10-2014, 04:17 PM
hanknc hanknc is offline
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Good cheap mandolins. I picked a 505 out of a pile of them once back in 2006 and it is perfect for me. I did a gig with it last weekend.

The next time I go mandolin shopping, I'm going to get an old A Jr. snakehead, but I think I'll keep the Eastman.
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  #43  
Old 09-27-2018, 12:59 PM
George Henry George Henry is offline
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I recently bought an Eastman MDA 815 mandola. A really good instrument, in my opinion. Being a mandola, it has a satisfyingly wider neck and an attractive deeper voice. No annoying tinkly high notes!
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  #44  
Old 09-28-2018, 01:46 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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Old thread I know, but a mandolin is an instrument in and of itself. Left hand technique is very different, much closer to violin than guitar. You need to watch some of the good beginner lessons free on line. You need to come to the strings from a very different angle than a guitar.

All Eastman mandolins are a great place to start. They do not make a plywood mandolin, and many, myself included, do not perceive a huge tonal difference across the line. Nicer hardware, nicer finish, but tone not so much. Fine place to start.

So is a Kentucky KM 150 and above, and the solid wood Loars.

It is shocking what a good F style will cost, but A styles $1200 to $1800(used) will be very good.

Plain F styles from Collings and Gibson are around $4700 new. These are bare bones as far as binding and inlay are concerned. They take as much time to make as an archtop guitar.

But there is a far greater difference in an Eastman and a Gibson mandolin than an Eastman and a Gibson guitar.
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  #45  
Old 11-20-2018, 04:25 AM
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SalFromChatham SalFromChatham is offline
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I did end up buying an MD304. I think it sounds great. I am new to the instrument, and it sounds head and shoulders above the price point mandolins in Sam Ash...

I love the look. Installed a K&k. In a gig this past weekend, played six songs on it, so I am getting there. I have never been to a music shop around my parts that carries high end mandolins, and I think that’s a good thing! Let me be content with this good sound, and not do with mandolins what I have done with guitars...
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Last edited by SalFromChatham; 11-20-2018 at 06:37 AM.
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