I played an Eastman mandocello today

thefsb · #1 01-17-2023, 04:40 PM

The shop I visited today happened to have one so I asked to play it. What a lot of fun that was!

If I had a lot of space at home for a collection of weird instruments (a Mike Oldfield fantasy) I could see having one. But fretting the huge fat string pairs required me to play with my finger pads rather than tips so this made playing chords difficult. Perhaps it's not meant for that. And if it's just a melody instrument than I'd rather play something without frets, like my oud.

Otoh, I was well impressed with the instrument and now I want an Eastman archtop.

llew · #2 01-17-2023, 05:11 PM

I don't play mandolin or mandocello but this Sarah Jarosz cover of Dylan's "Ring Them Bells" makes me wish I did!

thefsb · #3 01-17-2023, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llew

I don't play mandolin or mandocello but this Sarah Jarosz cover of Dylan's "Ring Them Bells" makes me wish I did!

Good lord, that's a huge microphone. Must be intimidating to have that in your face.

slooky · #4 01-17-2023, 06:13 PM

I would like one too. They sound great. It would be nice to find a cheaper one as it seems only Eastman and Gold Tone make them.

Mandobart · #5 01-17-2023, 06:30 PM

I have an Eastman MDC805 mandocello. I bought it in 2010 or 2011. Great fun, great tone. The fret markers are identical to what they put on their archtop guitars rather than at the positions mando-folks expect them.

Still it's a great carved top and back instrument. I think I paid $1400 for mine.

Anyway I've posted before how a few years later I commissioned a 10 string (5 pairs) F4 style 25" scale, 3-1/2" deep body mandocello. I pretty much quit playing my Eastman once I got the custom. After unsuccessfully trying to sell my Eastman I realized it's basically an archtop guitar with a different set of tuning machines, nut, bridge and tailpiece. It is probably braced differently to accommodate 8 heavier strings vs 6 medium strings.

There are multiple examples I've seen where people have modified an old archtop guitar into an 8 string octave mandolin or mandocello. This gave me the idea to go the other way. I carved a new bone 6 string guitar nut and bought a 6 string archtop guitar bridge which I fitted to the top. Then I strung it up using monel 13's and only 6 of the tuning machines and tailpiece slots.

It is a good sounding, very playable archtop guitar that is 100% convertible back to a mandocello with a new set of strings and going back to the original nut and bridge.

Probably no market for the concept ("convertible" mandocello or guitar) but I went ahead and showed it to the Eastman reps at Wintergrass one year. They humored me with polite interest.

FingahPickah · #6 01-17-2023, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llew

I don't play mandolin or mandocello but this Sarah Jarosz cover of Dylan's "Ring Them Bells" makes me wish I did!

I'm a fan of Sarah, too.. She's playing an octave mandolin in this video. She masterfully brings octave mandolin to Americana.

She may well play mandocello, too. It's pitched a fifth lower than the octave mandolin.

I play mandolin (GDAE), octave mandolin (GDAE an octave below standard mandolin) and a custom conversion of a Yamaha FS800T to a mandocello (CGDA - same frequencies as a cello).

llew · #7 01-17-2023, 07:19 PM

Thanks for clearing that up...I never knew the difference!

patchmcg · #8 01-17-2023, 08:18 PM

I had an Ovation converted to a custom mandocello years back. I love the instrument! Nothing else sounds quite like it.

FingahPickah · #9 01-18-2023, 06:06 AM

Wow! Beautiful ... a conversion so well done it looks stock. Bet it sounds awesome

Bob Womack · #10 01-18-2023, 06:52 AM

That mic is a Blue Bottle tube mic. More HERE.

Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics.

Bob

Bob from Brooklyn · #11 01-18-2023, 06:59 AM

I picked up an Eastman MDO305 Octave Mandolin last year. It's a lot of fun and much easier to finger than a mandolin.

thefsb · #12 01-19-2023, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Probably no market for the concept ("convertible" mandocello or guitar) but I went ahead and showed it to the Eastman reps at Wintergrass one year. They humored me with polite interest.

Thanks for the story!

Do you have a photo of the custom 10-string?

thefsb · #13 01-19-2023, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FingahPickah

Wow! Beautiful ... a conversion so well done it looks stock. Bet it sounds awesome

I know. It's like, I can guess how the bridge was done but the pegboard?

FingahPickah · #14 01-19-2023, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefsb

I know. It's like, I can guess how the bridge was done but the pegboard?

Re: the headstock, I do know that for my own conversion - Yamaha FS800T to mandocello (I dubbed the "Yamacello") - the luthier removed the tuners, filled the holes and redrilled to accomodate 4 tuners per side, then refinished the headstock face plate.

Mandobart · #15 01-19-2023, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefsb

Thanks for the story!

Do you have a photo of the custom 10-string?

Yes but I don't normally post pictures here. I know there's a helpful "how to" post but it hasn't clicked for me, at least on my phone or tablet.

Maybe when I return home from this business trip and get back to my desktop box...