View Full Version : My first mando arrives today !
It's about 15 degrees here in Mich. and my new Eatman 615 Varnish is arriving today from The Mandolin Store in balmy Arizona. I'm worried wether the finish will have survied the 4 day road trip it's been on. I know the routine, wait till the instrument has aclimated to it's new home before opening it up. I'm sure going to have fun staring at a brown box all day !
Dave
Rick Schmidlin
Feb-19-2009, 11:28pm
Congrats,enjoy,way cool
Eric Hanson
Feb-19-2009, 11:31pm
An-ti-ci-pa-a-tion. Its making me wait.
Just repeat after me grasshopper.
Yes, I know I can sleep. I know I can sleep.:sleepy:
I just finished up work and have the weekend off. Perfect timing for this to arrive. Now all I have to do is convince my Wife !
Dave
Rod_Neep
Feb-20-2009, 4:02am
I'm sure going to have fun staring at a brown box all day !
Dave
You can safely take it out of the brown box and stare at the case instead. All the box will do is add extra insulation to keep the contents cold in your warm house.
Rod
Tim2723
Feb-20-2009, 7:06am
Congrats Dave! Don't worry, it will have survived the trip. Manufacturers wouldn't even make varish finishes anymore if they couldn't be safely shipped all over, as nobody stays in business by delivering damaged instruments. Let her warm up gradually then heat her up playing!!
JEStanek
Feb-20-2009, 7:24am
When the box is as warm as your house open the box and take out the case. When the outside of the case is as warm as your house you can open it. If you want to be extra careful let the case sit out overnight (still closed) and open it up like Christmas morning presents with the dawn. Congratulations and enjoy your new mandolin.
Jamie
Patrick Hull
Feb-20-2009, 9:52am
Congratulations. A lifetime of fun...
Dragonflyeye
Feb-20-2009, 1:44pm
You'll love it, Dave. I got an Eastman 605A about a year ago - sweet! Make sure you deal with the lack of humidity in the winter, in the midwest. I'm in Western WI, and have learned that it's something I'll have to deal with daily, from now on out.
Anita
Thanks everyone. It appears to have arrived in tact. Now the waiting begins. Several tags on the outside stating wait 24 hrs. before opening. I bought it from Dennis at the Mandolin Store so I will wait and honor his expertise, even though I'm sure it would be fine. Yep dry here in Mich. in the winter. I have a whole house humidifier set at 42% and Case humidifiers for all my instruments including my new Mando. Wow I wish I had xray vision so I could look at my new mando.
Dave
Talk softly to it while it's in the dark place. Play music for it. Read to it. Let it get to know the sound of your voice.
No wait, that's for a baby still inside the mother.
Come to think of it, the same things apply < s >
Nighttrain
Feb-20-2009, 7:05pm
Congrats Dave on your New Eastman. May it bring you many years of true enjoyment.
Happy Playing !
It's been hard but I decided as everyone suggested to wait till tomorrow to open my new Christmas present ! Dennis at the Mandolin Store made me a great deal on my new 615 varnish mandolin and I feel like part of a very special group of people here. Thanks everyone for your congrats.
Dave
Not to tempt you, but my first guitar came to Charleston, SC, in June...opened it right up ...of course, it was bought as a second with finish checking already, but...fortunately, no damage...wouldn't do it again, though!
Bltprf502
Feb-20-2009, 9:51pm
I am excited for you! My new Eastman 505 was just brought to her new home this week... I just picked her up Wednesday and I took her to a Bluegrass jam session tonight! I cleaned it up really good with a set up and she is just great! Enjoy yours... Iknow you will love it! Congrats!
Well I finally broke down about 2 hr's before the 24 hr. waiting period and checked out my new mando. I may have made a mistake but the instrument had been sitting in the house along with all my other instruments next to an interior wall away from the heat register. It looked great. Yes a few flaws being hand varnished and no lacquer or buffing, but still beautiful all the same. Well as I'm playing it and admiring it a hour or so later I notice quite abit of crazing in the finish just under the strings. I called the Mandolin Store and they assured me that this would happen sooner or later. It just may have happen sooner with the weather and new location. I knew this when I bought it just kind of wished it would have been alittle later. Well the good news is it plays and sounds great and just looks alittle older than it really is.
Dave
I doubt the 2 hours of cheating made any difference in the crazing...I think that's just a part of the varnish, but also one of the things I like about that finish. Still, it's like getting that first scratch on a new car...
For the record, my guitar incident was many years ago and it was shipped from Fla (so humid as all get-out on both ends), but arrived at the end of a long day in the back of a Fed Ex truck about 130 degrees. I waited probably 6 hours before breaking it open. Thankfully nothing melted/warped/broke loose, and it was a second because of the crazing...apparently the manufacturer was having laquer problems, hence the great price. She's still my main 6 string, though, and looks great despite the checking...hope you get as much/more enjoyment out of your new Eastman!!
Chuck thanks for the input. Yeah it's nice to have things look nice when you buy them brand new, but I got a great price as you did on this Mandolin and was told the finish was less than perfect. So I will enjoy waking it up and not hurting the finish.
Dave