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  #1  
Old 06-02-2017, 04:52 PM
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BoneDigger BoneDigger is offline
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Default What a nice pair!!!

I mean a nice pair of mandolins, of course! I am kind of on a mandolin kick right now and purchased two Eastmans. The round hole is an Eastman 304 and the f hole is an Eastman 505. The f hole has more bite, like a good bluegrass mandolin should. The round hole is a bit more mellow and works great with my more folksy music. I'm loving both.

A few months ago I treated myself to lifetime access to Banjo Ben Clark's videos. He teaches guitar, banjo, and mandolin. I'm learning quite a lot from them and I love his style.



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Old 06-02-2017, 05:03 PM
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Nice! Eastman knows their strings. Good stuff!
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Old 06-02-2017, 07:28 PM
ziapack ziapack is offline
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Very nice pair indeed! I like the looks of that 304, surprised it doesn't have the volume of the f.
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Old 06-02-2017, 08:47 PM
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Pretty well known in mando circles, the oval holes tend to have more sustain and a sweeter more mellow tone. The f- holes have the percussive bluegrass bark. This is due to more than just the soundhole. Ovals will typically have a flush mounted fingerboard with a 12 fret body join, and a single transverse brace. F- holes typically have an elevated fretboard and have a 15 fret body join and a pair of tone bars for bracing. These are historic design features - they aren't hard and fast rules. Anyway those are all reasons why the tone is different.
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Old 06-02-2017, 10:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziapack View Post
Very nice pair indeed! I like the looks of that 304, surprised it doesn't have the volume of the f.
Oh, it has the volume, just not the same "bark" as the f hole version. It simply has a different tone. I'm liking them both quite a lot!

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Old 06-02-2017, 10:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart View Post
Pretty well known in mando circles, the oval holes tend to have more sustain and a sweeter more mellow tone. The f- holes have the percussive bluegrass bark. This is due to more than just the soundhole. Ovals will typically have a flush mounted fingerboard with a 12 fret body join, and a single transverse brace. F- holes typically have an elevated fretboard and have a 15 fret body join and a pair of tone bars for bracing. These are historic design features - they aren't hard and fast rules. Anyway those are all reasons why the tone is different.
Great info! Yep, I read up on a lot of that over at Mandolin Cafe before deciding what to look for.

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Old 06-03-2017, 10:54 AM
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Nice pair huh? That was a sneaky way to lure in readers. Works on me every time, though.

But it certainly is a nice pair. I love mandolin, and wish I could play it, but my fingers are just not mandolin friendly.

Enjoy!
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Old 06-03-2017, 06:11 PM
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Nice pair huh? That was a sneaky way to lure in readers. Works on me every time, though.

But it certainly is a nice pair. I love mandolin, and wish I could play it, but my fingers are just not mandolin friendly.

Enjoy!
Plenty of ham-handed, sausage-fingered mandolin players - Rich Delgrosso, Jethro Burns, Bill Monroe, and more.
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Old 06-04-2017, 09:11 AM
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Plenty of ham-handed, sausage-fingered mandolin players - Rich Delgrosso, Jethro Burns, Bill Monroe, and more.
Oh....so you've seen my paws.
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Old 06-04-2017, 09:42 AM
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I don't have small hands by any stretch if the imagination. I have to wear XL work gloves. I don't find the mandolin too cramped to play. In fact, in many ways it's easier than guitar. Right now, my focus is on learning the mandolin "chop" and getting the chords down. The chords aren't hard, but they are different than guitar or banjo.

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Old 06-06-2017, 09:25 PM
chicfarmer1 chicfarmer1 is offline
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Very nice! I plan to check out some Eastmans this week, will play both A and F styles.
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