Eastman

[Sweetpea44]

Cafe Readers~

What are your opinions on Eastman mandolins? Are they good for beginners? How's the construction? Would you all recommend that brand? Thanks! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

~Sweetpea

[James Sanford]

You will get a lot of opinions on this but I recently bought an Eastman 815 and am well pleased with the quality and tone. #Playability is excellent as well. #If you purchase new it may need a bit of set up.

The lower cost 5l5 or even an A style will certainly be a good beginners mandolin and will serve you for years to come.

I traded an MK dragonfly on the Eastman and have not regretted it at all.

Good luck and enjoy.

[northfolk]

I will agree that the Eastmans are a good mandolin for the money. I've had three now and have been satisfied with all of them. I think Eastmans are much better instuments than the M.K., Washburn or Kentucky I've had. They do however need to be setup and played for a while to really open up.

[MikeEdgerton]

I started out with an Eastman 615, they make decent mandolins. Play the less expensive models. They generally will sound as good or better than their more expensive cousins.

[Andrew Lewis]

I'll second Mike's point. I have received many compliments from pros and non-musicians alike on my 515. I have played a number of mandos, and I feel its a great value for the price point. I'm starting to itch for a high end mando, but I won't have it in me to get rid of the Eastman. I will say this, though: I think most of them are fine in fit and finish, but I think they let a few out with some relatively minor finish issues. Mine's one of these, but I don't really care that much because it sounds so good.

[allenhopkins]

Hard to beat for the price, IMHO. I have a 615 mandola, and I couldn't get the same quality in a domestic instrument without going maybe 50% higher. Did have a finish problem, though, with the "soft" violin varnish; I anchor two fingers on the top, and on a hot day, I wore right through the finish. Doesn't bother me (I consider it "distressed" now), but if I ever want to sell it...

[Stephen Perry]

Construction is standard, strong, hand done. Spacing between the strings of the courses at the nut and bridge are wider than I like, so I often recut the bridge slots and fit a new nut. Benefit from a better bridge. I use the Cumberland Acoustics. Finishes are fairly soft at best, which is good, but delicate. Cases are pretty good, upgrades aren't a waste of $$$.

A couple of things. They're tight when new, very green sounding. This is good for long term sound after breakin, but they will sound green. Setup is merely "OK" in stock trim. Pro setup highly recommended. Some places provide a good setup. From what I see sent in, many don't, even some that claim to be setting things up. Any instrument needs to have the action set, frets checked, bridge fitted. There are effective techniques for reducing breakin time and opening up the sound even in a new mandolin.

Regardless, I sometimes get in competing instruments to see what happens. Almost always the Eastman line gets selected. So I'm happy selling them. They get a good setup here, of course.

If you have specific questions I might be able to help. 866 884 6546

Steve

[Steve Ostrander]

I have an Eastman 615 that I got from Dennis at The Mandolin Store and I love it. I just put new J74s on it and it was really singing! For less than 1K you can't beat Eastman, and you can get a 500 series A-style for a lot less than 1K. Look for a nice used one if you are on a budget.

Can't say enough about Dennis and TMS. Good people, good set-ups, good instruments. I also bought a MK Dragonfly III from them and despite the prevailing opinion of MK on this forum, it sounds almost as good as the Eastman and it's improving the more I play it. But if I could only keep one, it would be the Eastman.

[ALog]

I'm with you mad4mandos...I put MK right there with Eastman's....I've played both and little if any difference ( I actually preferred the MK). except possibly price. Both would be good for a beginner.

[Kevin Briggs]

I've played a good Eastmans and good MKs. You can also get a Weber Gallatin for not much more than most MKs and Eastmans, and a little less than some MKs and Eastmans.

[Santiago]

Denis at the Mandolin Shop did right by me -- if you're not near a dealer where you can play it and see it. I'm quite happy with my Eastman, but "your mileage may vary" because anything handmade has individual characteristics and proper set-up is as important as the craft and materials -- but of course it's the element that can be fixed.