Eastman Players

[mangorockfish]

I haven't been around here for awhile and was wondering if the Eastmans werestill a pretty hot item around here or has most everyone graduated up?

[Steve Ostrander]

I just bought a md804 from The Mandolin Store and I'm waiting for delivery. No FI here but big Eastman sale at TMS right now.

[allenhopkins]

Eastmans are still often discussed, and from the discussion, often purchased. I like my 615 mandola and 805 mandocello; couldn't get anything as well-made and nice sounding for anything like the price elsewhere. When I first tried one of Eastman's mandolas, the salesperson at the Music Emporium in Lexington said, "I get some people saying that the Eastman mandolins sound thin, but that's surely not a problem with their mandolas."

"Graduating up" is an interesting perspective: for everyone moving up from Eastman to Gibson, Collings, Weber or a smaller builder, there's someone moving up from Rover, Fender, low-end Kentucky, etc. to Eastman. Continuous process. What's interesting is the arrival of Jade, The Loar etc. to compete with Eastman in the mid-range. It's all good.

[BiscoMando]

Still loving mine! I have a 615 that I bought almost 2 years ago, I play it with my band and I've had tons of people tell me it sounds amazing (playing through a nice condenser mic, of course).

I've thought about saving some money and "Graduating Up" to a Collings or some such, but then I realize it would mostly be for the name on the headstock. I'm so completely satisfied with the playability and tone of my mandolin, it's gonna take a pretty sweet deal on a great sounding high-end mando to make me cough up the dough for and upgrade.

(yet strangely I still long for a Collings...:confused:)

-BiscoMando

[BiscoMando]

Quick qualifier:

I've played at jams alongside a couple of Gibsons and Collings, and they all were shocked at how much louder my Eastman was than any of their mandos. Their tone was nice, too, but my Eastman just seemed to cut right through the whole circle.

[JEStanek]

Bisco, where they comparing thiers to yours from their perspective or did you play both at them? The latter is the real test as the f hole mandolin projects away from the player and the mandolin you're playing sounds quieter to you than the person in front of you.

Jamie

PS I had an 814 that was great and now have an 805D two pointer with F holes. NFI for me, but if you have some extra money that sale at the Mandolin Store has some real deals going on... Luckily my MAS is assuaged and even if it wasn't, I'm broke!

[Ken_P]

I just "graduated" from an Eastman 515 to a Collings MT2. I was always very happy with the Eastman (and still would be had I not gotten incredibly lucky), but the Collings makes me feel like a completely different player. Just my experience, but I think I've improved more in a few days of having a great instrument than in the 8 previous years of mandolin playing combined.

[MikeEdgerton]

I loved my Eastman 615, it was a great mandolin but it couldn't hold a candle to my Gibson. If it speaks to you it's the right one no matter what name is on the label.

[Caleb]

My Eastman seems to lack a bit on volume and low-end, but it has an overall nice tone. I have a friend who plays a 515 and he stripped the finish and gave it a "distressed" look, which in turn also boosted the volume and tonal qualities of the instrument. I'm thinking of doing that to mine. Not really for the look, but to get more volume.

But I guess for me, a Gibson is the ultimate mandolin and I hope to own one someday. But until then, the Eastman will do just fine.

[Arve Hermundstad]

I'm very happy with my 605. Nice, woody tone, and loud enough to be heard in a session, even among a couple of banjos. Of course I'll probably "upgrade" at some later stage, but for now it's the right mandolin for me.:)

[lgc]

I have and E. and I got it about 4 years ago. I like it well enough but I haven't played an Eastman built in the past 2 years that I thought was worth what one pays or one that played well at all. I've played more $400 kentuckys that have a better BG sound than and of the last bunch of Esatmans I've played. Just my preference though.

[Dragonflyeye]

Got my E 605A six months ago and really like it. Graduated up from an unmentionably cheap, laminate f-hole model (wasn't sure I was going to stick with playing). It's beautifully finished (violin brown), very well made, easy to play, and really rings, with lots of volume (considering it's an oval hole), to both player and listener. Since I started playing it though, I've developed a taste for a woodier, more damped-down, drier sound. In about another year (when my husband's memory fades on this purchase), I'll start looking around for an older oval hole Gibson, or similar. No plans to give up the E, though!

[Michael Cameron]

I don't have an Eastman mandolin;but,my Eastman, AR605,Fisch,archtop guitar
does it all for me(guitar-wise). I've played Eastman mandos that are wonderful.

These days...so many great instruments.

Baskin-Robbins;choose your flavor.

[jim_n_virginia]

Quick qualifier:

I've played at jams alongside a couple of Gibsons and Collings, and they all were shocked at how much louder my Eastman was than any of their mandos. Their tone was nice, too, but my Eastman just seemed to cut right through the whole circle.

Maybe you just play louder than them? The real test is if YOU play the others AND yours then make a decision.

Louder is not always the best. I have played at some jams where a new mandolin player has discovered the joys of banging on 2 finger chords as hard as they can... definitely loud (I've had to move away) but not very pleasant to listen to

That said... I know several people who own Eastmans and they sound great. Really good mandolin for what you are paying BUT...

I have yet to heare one that can even touch my Fern :grin:

[djidaho]

I've had a 505, A style with F hole for almost 2 years. It's a keeper and the one that's always an arm length away around the house and the one that I take with me when I'm not. I have other Mandos but this one is special.

I may have just been lucky and got a really good one, but for a $500ish mandolin I'm happy ;)

Dave

[pager]

I currently play my Eastman F most of the time. I suppose you could say I graduated up to my Collings F ... except I still prefer my Eastman over the Collings. I owned a Gibson F9 and a Gibson A in my past and they did not do much for me. I love Gibson instruments (my jazz guitar is a Gibson Byrdland), but the two Gibbys were not what I was looking for. I believe I have a fantastic Eastman. I don't always buy the line "great insturment FOR the money", which implies more money will ALWAYS buy you a better instrument. Well, in my case the Collings cost about 4 grand more and it is NOT four grand more instrument. The Collings is a great instrument, but the Eastman I own does not take a back seat to the Collings F. I play the Eastman most of the time. I realize some folks here will be puzzled by that. For our group and the bluegrass/jazz that we do, the Eastman just cuts through better than anything else I have owned or tried up to this point. For the jazz stuff we do, the Eastman is just the ticket. That little hummer is a beast.

[allenhopkins]

IMHO, Pager's post just reaffirms that the variations among individual instruments sometimes completely overwhelm the generalizations we make about this brand vs. that, this model vs. that, etc. I would guess that 95% of Cafe mandolin aficionados would say that a Collings or a Gibson F-9 is a "better" mandolin than an Eastman. But not for this person, who's played all three and prefers the Eastman for the kind of music he/she is playing.

Which is why I find these "what make is better?" threads a bit misleading. Of course we have to generalize to some extent, but I've had the experience of playing two "identical" instruments -- same make, same model, near-consecutive serial numbers -- and having them sound distinctly different. So I for one am careful about saying Eastmans are this, and Collingses are that, and Webers are something else. "All generalizations are wrong, including this one" -- some wisdom there...

[Jim Nollman]

Great comment, Allen. I play an early Eastman 515 in a traditional music band twice a week, and just about everyone agrees it sounds better than the mandolin of a guy who occasionally sits in with his 915 Eastman. Meanwhile at home, I almost never play the Eastman, always picking up the sweet sweet sounding Kay 2 point with the low low action I bought on EBay ten years ago for $200. But I can't imagine playing that Kay at a Contra dance.

[Mike Bunting]

The music store where I teach carries Eastmans and I often just grab one off the wall to use. I found that they are really good mandos "for the money" as they say. But, I found that they were pretty inconsistent in sound quality from instrument to instrument. The one that caught my ear in terms of fullness and richness of tone was the lowest end Eastman, the 505. That being said, I would not trade my Collings MF5 or my old Gibson A Jr. for one even if they were all the same price.

[Mike Bunting]

P.S. I realize that it was a fairly small sampling of Eastman mandolins and I did buy an Eastman mandola that I quite enjoy.

[pager]

Hi gang! I guess I should clarify my other post. I don't want to come off sounding like Estaban. I heard that guy last night ... "This $100.00 guitar sounds like a 5,000.00 dollar guitar and it is made of wood!" ERRR. That guy makes my teeth hurt!

What I wanted to say was for the music I am now playing, my Eastman is just the ticket. It sounds like I shrunk my Gibson Byrdland. Ha. So for jazz, it has this wonderful tone I am looking for. When I am playing bluegrass, I prefer my Collings. I also loved my Gibson A5 for bluegrass too. I think what is important is to pick an instrument that works for you in the setting that you are in. What works for you may not work for the guy setting next to you. It comes down to who you are playing with, what kind of music you are playing and the sound you are after in your head.

[Caleb]

what kind of music you are playing and the sound you are after in your head.
This is an interesting point. I've only heard one instrument that fit into that catagory. It was some sort of Kentucky F-style I played in a shop about a year ago. That thing nailed the sound I wanted. But I wasn't in the market at the time, so I let it get away.