Kentucky km 505 vs Loar lm 300 vs Eastman md 305

[UkuleleAl]

Hi all,
Would like to see your opinions of these mandolins in a competitive manner. I am still suffering MAS and looking to upgrade around christmas time.

Thanks, Alex

[blueron]

This is one of those comparisons where your own personal taste in terms of the appearance of the candidates might be as good a way as any on which to base your choice.

Any one of the three, if well set up with good strings installed, would make you happy. The differences between the three in terms of quality and/or playability are going to be very slight and very subjective, so it might be better to concentrate on getting your hands on one that has been well set up and not even worrying about what the other two are like.

ron

[Mike Bunting]

They are all the same. Pick one you like to play. Or play one you like to pick.

[Fstpicker]

My understanding is that the Eastman necks are just ever so slighly narrower at the nut width (like 1 & 1/16") as opposed to Loar's 1 & 1/8" width. I think Kentucky's are 1 & 1/8" also.

Jeff

[Johnny60]

I'll throw another one into the ring - an Eastman 505. I've never played a Kentucky 505 or any Loar, so I can't comment there. But when I bought my Eastman 505 I also tried out a 305. The 305 and 505 had very similar tones, but the 505 has a different finish, different tuners and a cast tailpiece. The 305 was lovely (and I thought the matt spirit varnish looked great) but I bought the 505.

The Eastman 505 is very similarly specced to the KY 505. And, whilst I haven't played a KY 505, I have played several other Kentuckys and all the examples I played were very nice.

[UkuleleAl]

Thanks for the replies guys, making me really think...

[Astro]

Al, I would go with the one that has the best set up. Make sure your dealer or seller fit the bridge foot correctly, cut the nut slots correctly, and file down the nut correctly. This takes a lot of time and attention that most dealers can't give. And I think this is more important than which of the 3 you choose as they are close enough to the same. I have the Eastman md 305 and I love it. But it was not set up that well so its off getting tweaked as we speak. Thats an additional cost and loss of time that you must consider when you buy.

Can you really wait until Christmas? Man you plan ahead. Good luck !

[EdHanrahan]

There's also neck and fretboard profile to consider (round in back, or arch, or V? Flat vs. radiused?). My recollection is foggy, but they can't all be THAT identical! How well it fits your hand can only be determined by your hand. (Or I could be wrong and they ARE that identical?)

Some folks have strict requirements while others easily adapt to a variety of shapes - either way, it's a good thing to know. For example, I really like the feel of the KM-505, but haven't had the urge to actually own a radiused fretboard. It's simply a preference, not a requirement or a limitation. But still, a good thing to know.

[Folkmusician.com]

I have all three of these models here now. They are all nice and in the same basic quality range. I would agree with Ron and Astro in saying that I would choose whatever was setup best as my first choice. Assuming equal setup, all three of these have different voices. The Ketucky having the driest tone, The Eastman the most articulate tone, and The Loar having a fuller tone. The Eastman nut is 1-3/32. All of these are really close in nut width. Not really enough difference to worry about. They do have different string spacing though, and this is probably the thing you are concerned with more so than the nut width (unless you plan to have a new nut made). In this case it can vary by production run. You want to ask about the particular mandolin you are getting. In most cases the Eastman has string spacing at least as wide as the other two and often wider. The KM-505 and Eastmans have a radiused fingerboard, the Loar is Flat. The Loar has larger frets than the other two. The Loar neck feels the largest in your hand with the Kentucky second and the Eastman feeling the slimmest. This is due to the neck profile rather than the nut width.

Being in Australia, it is going to be hard to find all of these to test, but don't worry about making a wrong choice. All three are good.

[UkuleleAl]

Thanks all, yes I can wait until christmas Astro, It will be my third mandolin and Robert do you ship internationally?

[Folkmusician.com]

We do ship internationally. I actually have a mandolin going out to Australia now. It runs $90-$100 for USPS Express mail. If you keep the purchase under $1000AUD, there is no tax or duty when you receive it.

[UkuleleAl]

Your good repuation has been spread around, so thankyou. Also what is the difference between the kentucky km 500 505 and 550?
-alex

[Rob Ross]

Just as a passing note, I fly for a living and bought a Kentucky KM 505 in August 2008, with a Boulder gig bag. That mandolin has averaged about 12 travel days a month since, being chucked into the cockpit closet or overhead bins of up to 3 different airplanes a day. In between flights, it gets hung off the handle of a roll-aboard bag as I walk from gate to gate. I fully expected to see serious damage by now, but the Kentucky is unscathed, and it holds tuning remarkably well. I'll go from Minnesota to Miami to New York to Fargo and it takes very little adjustments to tune up and go. The sound is very good, and it plays very nicely. Can't comment on the other mandos, I only have a Flatiron and a very old pawn-shop Suzuki at home. I can say that you will get a very good, very reliable mandolin if you buy the Kentucky.

[UkuleleAl]

I don't particularly like the appearance of the eastman so it's between the loar 300 and kentucky 505

[LopsidedTiger]

I tried all three in my search for an upgrade from my first mando, a Rogue(!). I ultimately chose the Eastman 305. It was really no contest for me. I fell in love with its voice as soon as I heard it. It was also set up beautifully, with lovely low action that still produced a clear tone. The Kentucky 505 was definitely the runner up, sounding more like a mandolin (for lack of a better description; the Eastman's sound is lovely, but the least like what you expect from a mandolin of everything I tried) and seemed more substantial and solidly built than the Eastman. Tried a few other Kentuckys and The Loars in the same price range, and they didn't do much for me. Including The Loar lm400, with which I had expected to be blown away, from all the glowing reviews. I think it boils down to personal taste and quality of set up. The Eastman I purchased came from a different shop than the others I tried. Perhaps I would have had a higher opinion of the other mandos if they had been as carefully set up.

[Folkmusician.com]

Alex:

Also what is the difference between the kentucky km 500 505 and 550?

The KM-500/550 are made at a different factory than the 505. The quality on the 500 and 550 have improved since they first came out. They have been going through some very minor changes. All are the same basic quality range.

[UkuleleAl]

So I am goin to add a few more to the list: Eastman md 315 and The Loar lm 500

[Fstpicker]

So I am goin to add a few more to the list: Eastman md 315 and The Loar lm 500

Excellent choices as well. I have the Loar LM-520VS that is an excellent sounding, quality-made mandolin, that will rival others costing more $$. Made in the same factory as the LM-400, LM-600, & LM-700 Loars. It sports less fancy appointments, and rather focuses more on the tone quality.

Jeff

[almeriastrings]

Are you really going to wait until Christmas to buy this thing? Five more months to ponder the options?

I doubt you have MAS. That craving demands rapid satisfaction. You certainly do have patience!

FWIW, recently worked on an LM520VS and at the same time had an LM400 here. The 520 was (to my ears) quite harsh and coarse sounding, while the 400 had quite a bit more volume and "depth" to it. Obviously, individual instruments from any maker vary... this will always be a problem when you cannot physically "try before buying", and for international purchases, returning something if it fails to live up to expectations is often not viable either. Hence, my advice would be to go for something with a long-established record of consistent performance and QC, as your options after purchase are rather limited (unless you can find something locally). Some good mandos do appear on Ebay.AU from time to time. I would keep my powder dry, and finger on the trigger, ready to pounce when it does.

[NG53]

My suggestion is to try the Eastman MD305 or Kentucky KM-505 of KM-550. I like the radius fingerboards on these. You need to think about ease of playing, as well as tone you want. However, I also like the larger frets on the LM-400. I f I had my choice I would go for a mandolin with a radius fingerboard and large frets.

BTW I also live in Australia in North-eastern Victoria anytime you want to talk about it some more or send me a private message.

[UkuleleAl]

I have a samick mf1 and a samick sm30, so I'm guessing any of these would be a quantum leap

[UkuleleAl]

Would a Rover rm 75 compare well to any of these?

[John Flynn]

I have never played a Rover I was very impressed with, but I haven't played that one. An F-style under $500 is kind of a running joke here on the Cafe', but who knows? Without playing one first, I personally wouldn't consider it. There is another thread running now where somebody bought one and liked it.

I have played a KM 505. I thought the fit and finish were great, but found the instrument I played a bit thin on tone. However, that could have been setup. As people have said, that makes a huge difference and instruments in stores sometimes have bad setups. Personally, if I were in your situation, I would go for highest A model Eastman you can afford, from a dealer who has good reputation for setups. With F styles in that price range you are paying more for woodworking that does not improve performance. But that's just MHO.

[Steve Ostrander]

I have owned several Kentuckys, including a km505, km855, and now a km900. I prefer the dry woody tone of the Kentucky. You should try to play them all and draw your own conclusions.

[shawnbrock]

Hi Alex,

As many have stated, each of these mandos are different. To me The Loar 220, 300 and 400 are great mandolins. I have yet to play a 520, so can't offer any thoughts on that one. If you want to move up to an F, then I can give positive feedback on the 500, 600 and 700. If you need assistance with getting a deeper/ darker tone, then the 400 or 700 will certainly help you with that. Otherwise, the 220, 300, 500 or 600 may be more what you need.

I proudly own and play a 500, I like scooped fretboard extensions, and the 500 features that. This is not to say that fretboards can't be scooped on any of the others, if you wanted such a thing.

I have owned mandolins which costs 10 times the amount of The Loar 700, and I can say that The Loar has not disappointed me in any way.

I am doing some videos of different mandos in The Loar line, and haven't got to post all of them yet. I will have videos posted tomorrow of my 500 if you would like to check them out. In the meantime, here are 2 videos of me playing the 220. I know you are not looking at the 220, but this is the lowest priced mandolin they are making, and this will give you a good idea of just how high the bar has been set by The Loar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhevlqaVdLw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieCoLIMn7sE

This was an off the rack LM 220 VS at Guitar Center, and yes I'll admit, it could have been set up a little better. I can honestly say though that the setup wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. If you buy from Robert over at Folk Musician, he will take care of all of this for you, and your The Loar will play like a dream out of the box.

I had never liked X bracing much in lower priced mandolins, but these sound killer right off the bat. When I first played The Loar, I knew that I had to have one, and I went with the 500 and haven't looked back. You can't go wrong with them man...