Yet Another Newbie with a New Eastman Mandolin

[Groundcoat]

Hi all! My first post. Today, I received a very nice Eastman 515 mandolin from the good folks at Backstage Music in Mississippi. I live in New Hampshire. Prior to this morning, I never even held a mandolin so I am a full blown newbie for sure. I have however been busy flat picking the guitar for the last 41 years. I just figured it was time to learn a new instrument. I chose the Eastman because I can't afford the American made mandolins. My Eastman mandolin is gorgeous and sounds good to my ears. I can't wait to get started. I also ordered a Lakota strap, a K&K pickup and a Hercules instrument stand. This forum appears to be a wealth of useful information and I thank you all for your insight and help.

[Trav'linmando]

Groundcoat, welcome to the café. Lots of great information here. I think you made a great decision on the Eastman , however, I might be a bit bias. You can find the newbies group under social groups with the listen/learn tab. Happy Picking.
Larry

[Folkmusician.com]

Welcome to the Cafe, and good choice on the mandolin!

[HonketyHank]

Welcome. I've never owned an Eastman but I am pretty sure you'll like yours. Most folks do. Good choice.

I'm active in the Newbies group too. Check us out.

[Mark Gunter]

Hi Groundcoat, welcome to the forum! Good choice to play mandolin, and I think you'll be pretty happy with that Eastman.

[Stacey Morris]

Welcome to the forum! There are several guitar players here (not me, though) so you will be in good company.

[Denny Gies]

Welcome to our wild, wacky world. You are in for a lot of fun. Good luck.

[Elliot Luber]

Play an Eastman for ten years now. Started the same way you are.

[Paul Busman]

Welcome! You're in for a ton of fun. What types of music do you think you'll play on the mandolin?

[indexless]

Welcome....great place, pull up a chair

[Groundcoat]

Thank you all for you very encouraging words. I am excited to be here. I play music in church and someday, I will do so with the mandolin. I also am a bluegrasser from way back and look forward to future jams. Question: What do Eastman owners think of the tailpiece? I think I may someday want to upgrade that to something a bit more substantial but I understand it's not an easy swap. All in due time. Thanks again!

[musicology]

Eastman is a great choice, I play the MD315 and I've received quite a few offers for it... wouldn't sell it for the world, though:)

[Trav'linmando]

If I remember correctly, the 515 has the upgraded tailpiece. If my memory is flawed (much of the time) someone else will point it out. Seems like the 3xx series are low cost tail pieces.

[red7flag]

I had the pleasure of playing a wall of Eastmans at the Eastman Booth at IBMA-Nashville a couple of years ago. I first gravitated to the high bling high number Eastmans. I was a bit underwhelmed, not but not with the fit and finish, but with a lack of strength and depth in the voicing. I then moved to the lower numbers and what surprised at the improvement in both volume and tone. The best sounding instrument, you my ears, was a pedestrian 304 oval A model. It was a very strong instrument. As one post stated, the matte vanish instruments seemed more impressive than the gloss finishes. The Eastman have more of a "modern" sound. Had I had the funds, that 304 would have come home with me.

[Randi Gormley]

welcome to the café and the mandolin!

[allenhopkins]

Re: upgrading the tailpiece -- consensus seems to be that the tailpiece has very little influence on the sound of the mandolin. If the tailpiece seems flimsy, or is hard to cope with when restringing, those would be possible reasons to consider an "upgrade" replacement. Remember, Gibson mandolins for more than a century have functioned pretty well, with stamped tailpieces not exactly examples of superior metal-working.

There's a particular mindset that crops up here often, that as soon as a person acquires a new (or used) mandolin, the first -- or second -- impulse is to start replacing parts: bridge, tailpiece, tuners, nut etc., in the name of "upgrading." Ends up, sometimes, with more invested in the "upgrades" than in the instrument itself.

My somewhat more conservative attitude, is to play the new mandolin for a few months, and then ascertain whether in fact there are issues with sound, playability, ease in restringing, appearance, whatever -- and then start investing in "aftermarket" parts to improve whatever deficiencies may exist. Personally, I've done very little "upgrading," figuring that the reason I obtained a particular instrument, was because its design, construction, acoustics, appearance, and history/provenance appealed to me.

I know that some Cafe members and sponsors have businesses manufacturing and selling "upgrade" replacement parts, and I'm not putting them down, or trying to impair their revenues. Just saying that I'd get more familiarity with the mandolin as is, before starting to replace parts.

[Groundcoat]

Good advice allenhopkins. I'm thinking about the tailpiece because I bought a K&K pickup for this mandolin. To install, I must drill out the tailpiece and mandolin so that the input jack fits. I'm in no hurry, just considering all my options. Thanks! On another note, I'm anxious to experiment with different types and gages of strings for this Eastman. The adventure should be fun or at least interesting. Kind of like tasting micro brewed beers. Some work, some don't.

[RodCH]

I have an MD504. Really nice instrument. Welcome to the Cafe.

[Br1ck]

I found my 505 somewhat hard to restring, but some blue tape while bringing the string up to tension works fine. The tailpiece on the 500 series is already upgraded from the 300, so I see no point to changing it.

Money spent on a tone gard however, will reap big dividends, and an armrest will add comfort and perhaps greater playability, with the added bonus that you can take it with you when you move on.

[Kris N]

Welcome Groundcoat! I'm also a Eastman 515 owner, and love it! The tailpiece is nickel cast, which is an upgrade from the nickel stamped on the lower models. And as others have said above, it won't really make that much of a difference.

Happy picking!