David Catalfamo
Dec-18-2006, 8:31am
Anyone out there own an eastman mandola? , if so what is your impression of it? Has anybody done any comparison tests for tone , playability against old gibson mandola's like h-1 or h-2's
JEStanek
Dec-18-2006, 8:35am
The Eastman is an F holed mandola. Aren't the old Gibosons all oval holed? If so you'll get that difference to start with...
Here's a previous thread on the same subject. (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=13;t=39048;hl=eastman+and+m andola)
Jamie
allenhopkins
Dec-18-2006, 9:50am
And here's (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=16;t=34772;hl=eastman+and+m andola) another, with some extended discussion and a product reviews.
From a personal standpoint, I love my 615 mandola. It sort of bridges the gap between "bluegrass" style mandolins, such as my F-5, and the round-hole mandolas I've been using for Celtic and klezmer (the Sobell) and historical 19th-century (the bowl-back Washburn) styles of music. You can play it in a bluegrass jam and fit in, and you can use it for more general-purpose material.
Mine has a softer (varnish?) finish, and in the less than six months I've owned it, I've put a bit of wear on it. It seems well-made, attractively if simply finished; I had it professionally set up, and have no complaints there. I've done a bit of recording with it, and it came across well, and I've played it in both a bluegrass and a general folk context, and been pleased with the results.
Playing mandola is a bit different from mandolin, but it gives the player access to a very useful tonal and textural range, and you can work out nice harmonies and counter-melodies, as well as echoing melodies an octave below the mandolin or fiddle. The Eastman instruments are affordable, well-made, and I recommend them to mandolinists who are trying to extend their range and repertoire a bit, while still generally staying in familiar territory.