Eastman Mandolins: What can you tell me

[jakecokely]

Hello hello,
Well the title pretty much says it all, but I was wondering what you can tell me about the mandolins from the good folks at Eastman. Quality of the build, sound, consistency? Never been able to play one so anything you guys can tell me is awesome.

Thank yall so much

Sincerely

Jake

 

[gpasq]

I play an Eastman.

Quality of build is excellent, playability is excellent. Sounds great to me, though I've read on various fora that they don't sound good. What do I know. I think they're a good mando, but a bit pricey.

Mine was once borrowed by Howard Leese for a Bad Company show, so I guess they sound OK

Here's a sample:

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/gpasq/run-rough-mix[/SC]

[Edit] I should add that I have an external pickup mounted on mine.

 

[dog fart]

Everyone of them I have picked up has been an exceptional instrument in every way. That's starting from the 505 all the way up to the 905 which was about 1/10 the cost of a comparable Masterbuilt Gibson. But that was 10 years ago and they were just getting their factory up and running. The 905 was a monster, I'm not certain that they still make that model under that number. I haven't seen any seen any slack in quality.

The higher the number the higher the cost and quality.

 

[cnlbb]

The higher the number the higher the cost and quality.

Kinda... I used to work at a shop that sold eastman and dealt with the company a lot, they're fantastic. I can recommend their mandolins without fault, but will pass on my advice that the best deal is the 604/5. The 800 & 900 series are mostly cosmetic upgrades, but are certainly wonderful.

I will additionally pass this on... while 99% of the instruments we got from eastman were spot on we occasionally got one that was a bit off. They were perfect and happy to replace it without complaint (once even when we couldn't find a physical defect (and we tried!) but the guitar just sounded "dead".) so do not buy online. Get to a store and play one. Also - and please don't run with this too far - eastman isn't gouging the dealer like some companies ::coughmartincough:: are, so there's usually a little more wiggle room on the price.

In summary, anything from 500 series up is great (the 300 feel really aren't as good of a deal), but I think the 600 with solid quality front/top/sides contains all the important sound upgrades, but leaves the bling off for the best price. That said... some people love their bling.

 

[brookdalebill]

Good, cheap, solid wood instruments.
I sold em' for years.
Never had an issue with them.
What's not to like?

 

[gpasq]

Good, cheap, solid wood instruments.
I sold em' for years.
Never had an issue with them.
What's not to like?

I dunno where you get "cheap" from. Many of them are > $1000.

 

[cnlbb]

I dunno where you get "cheap" from. Many of them are > $1000.

Compared to other mandolins of similar quality they're amazingly cheap.

 

[dog fart]

Compared to other mandolins of similar quality they're amazingly cheap.

+1 If I was in the market for a new Asian mandolin Eastman would be my first and last stop.

 

[jakecokely]

Thanks so much for yalls input. Really gonna look in to eastman for my next mando!

Jake

 

[brookdalebill]

Thanks so much for yalls input. Really gonna look in to eastman for my next mando!

Jake

I bet you dig it.
Good luck!

 

[Stefanovich]

I've played a few of the low end models (305 and 505) and they were all great value. Sound nice, good playability and cosmetically fine. The dealer was a bit snobbish saying he could never pay so much for a Chinese made mandolin, but the reality was that they were miles above the other "cheap" mandolins in the shop. I have played many a vintage Gibson A-style that did not sound as good as these ones.

They are not heirloom instruments and will not compare to the best hand made mandolins, but for the money, they cannot be beat. If you can play one, instead of buying one online, I would do it. While all the ones I played sounded good, they didn't all sound the same. There is some variability.

 

[cnlbb]

They are not heirloom instruments...

My thought it to leave the museum pieces to other people who will care for them. I'm all about decent instruments that can come camping with me.

 

[JuneauMike]

They are really well regarded Pac Rim mandolins. Their "F" style should hover around $1,000 (not terribly expensive for that style of mando). There are thousands of words written about them over at Mandolin Cafe, most all of them positive. These are supposed to be excellent quality intermediate mandolins. If I ever get fed up with my Kentucky 700, I'd get an Eastman.

Again, Mandolin Cafe is the best source for some unfiltered reviews.

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

I agree with the suggestion above to play first before buying. When I was shopping for a mandolin, Eastman was the best value, but some of them were better than others within the same model. If you can, go to a well-stocked store with more than one example of each model so you can find the right instrument.

 

[PastorJay]

I played bunches of mandolins, including some good quality Eastmans, last fall before eventually my lovely wife (the best wife in the world) bought me a Collings MF5.

I found that there's generally a big quality jump at about $1,000.

So an MD 604 (an A style with a round sound hole) or MD 605 (an A style with F holes) are likely much better instruments than the less expensive 504, 505, etc.

 

[PastorJay]

This sounds like good advice:

Kinda... I used to work at a shop that sold eastman and dealt with the company a lot, they're fantastic. I can recommend their mandolins without fault, but will pass on my advice that the best deal is the 604/5. The 800 & 900 series are mostly cosmetic upgrades, but are certainly wonderful.

I will additionally pass this on... while 99% of the instruments we got from eastman were spot on we occasionally got one that was a bit off. They were perfect and happy to replace it without complaint (once even when we couldn't find a physical defect (and we tried!) but the guitar just sounded "dead".) so do not buy online. Get to a store and play one. Also - and please don't run with this too far - eastman isn't gouging the dealer like some companies ::coughmartincough:: are, so there's usually a little more wiggle room on the price.

In summary, anything from 500 series up is great (the 300 feel really aren't as good of a deal), but I think the 600 with solid quality front/top/sides contains all the important sound upgrades, but leaves the bling off for the best price. That said... some people love their bling.

Also look at quality build and sound v. cosmetic upgrades, as suggested here. The 604/605 may sound as good as any of the more expensive models--there may be no significant difference in the construction. I couldn't tell the difference in sound between the Collings MF5 that I got and an MF5 Deluxe V, their "top of the line" model.

I also found, unfortunately, that F style mandolins tended to sound better than A styles from the same manufacturer, even though they should be highly similar in quality of construction. Maybe they got more attention because they generally command a higher price.

 

[cnlbb]

I also found, unfortunately, that F style mandolins tended to sound better than A styles from the same manufacturer, even though they should be highly similar in quality of construction. Maybe they got more attention because they generally command a higher price.

I've bought into the mojo that the F & A shapes have slightly different sounds. I tend to like the sound of the A mandolins, while others go for the F. Something about that extra wood effecting how the top resonates... but perhaps you just need them voodoo'd. (For note, we actually sent one off for the voodoo process and got it back, didn't sound any different to us (and we made recordings!), but then again we were biased against the idea.)

 

[dog fart]

Back when I wanted to be a mandolin player I was all in to that F style thing. It had to be F style or nuttin. Then as I got back into playing my guitar and my F style fascism calmed down I started to realize that all that scroll work was just a really ornate/ overpriced strap button

 

[jayyj]

I've sold literally hundreds of Eastman mandolins over the years, and I'd echo what others have touched on: It's definitely a brand where it benefits you to find a dealer where you can try a good few. Even the weakest I've played weren't in any way bad but some are brighter and thinner than others and they do vary a lot from one to the next and it's nice to know you got a good one. I also don't think price is a big deal, having played some storming 3 series and some mediocre 8 series. I actually bought the first 8 series I ever played and thought it was a great instrument at the time - after six months of playing them as they passed through the store I began to regret being so hasty, and I ended up selling it on. They do make some exceptional instruments though.