Kentucky 250 vs. Eastman economy (small budget)

[laurenV]

Hello,

I am buying a mandolin as a surprise for my husband and with my small budget, I am wondering where to start. I have identified Kentucky 250 and Eastman Economy model (305?) as good quality beginner mandolins for just under 400$. Do you agree and, if so, is one significantly better than the other? Should the shop where I buy the instrument do the set up on either? Thank you for your help. This is a wonderful forum. I hadn't realized that mandolin was a lifestyle!

[actaylor]

Buying a mandolin for your husband? Hereby nominated for "Wife of the Month"!

Regardless of what you buy, setup is very important. So, make sure you buy from someone who knows how to set up a mandolin. There are lots of good dealers here on the cafe who you can deal with.

I think you've chosen two good mandolins for consideration. For economic reasons, I recently had to part with an expensive (at least to me) mandolin. After a lot of research and listening to mp3's of various models, I've ordered the Eastman 305 as its replacement. It's getting pretty good reviews.

But, there are folks here who know much more about both models. I'm sure they'll be chiming in soon. Good luck!

[Barry Platnick]

Buying a mandolin for your husband? Hereby nominated for "Wife of the Month"!

Regardless of what you buy, setup is very important. So, make sure you buy from someone who knows how to set up a mandolin. There are lots of good dealers here on the cafe who you can deal with.



Cant second that enough! I would MUCH rather pick up someones well set up $400 mandolin at a jam than a poorly set up $4000 mandolin. A bad set up is unplayable, so include about 75 bucks in your budget for the set up and get it done by someone who sets up mandolins not the heavy metal guitar universe guy ( unless they are one and the same which they might be)
good luck and I might just have to p.m. my wife's email to you.

[laurenV]

Thank you, guys! I hope he loves it!

The local store where I am planning on buying it says (on its website) that they do a full set up on the kentucky but does not mention anything about set up for the Eastman (50 dollars cheaper or so). Might they consider the Eastman too basic to warrant a set up? Is a set up ever included in the price? I know these are questions to ask the store but I want to go into the conversation prepared so I know what to ask and expect. Thanks again.

L.

[Ron McMillan]

Right now is a great time to be buying a budget instrument that is still good enough to satisfy any beginner and keep him or her happy for a long time to come. Apart from the Kentucky and the Eastman, there are two models of The Loar A-styles, the LM220 and LM300, both of which get very good reports indeed.

Earlier comments about set-up are correct, but it is not strictly necessary to budget extra funds for the set-up if you buy from a good dealer who carries out good set-up work on every instrument before it goes out the door. Some of the companies who advertise here and whose owners and managers provide a lot of information and advice on the Cafe forum are among the ones I would target. For example, FolkMusician.com have the LM220 at $340 and the LM300 at $420. I hear only good things about both instruments, and Folk Musician are sticklers for providing good set-up.

rm

[robert.najlis]

I am not familiar with the Kentucky 250, but I am familiar with the Kentucky's in general. I have not tried the Eastman 300 series, but I have tried lots of other Eastman's. That said, I would go with the Eastman. In fact I am considering an Eastman 305, and the only Kentucky in that price range that I would consider is the 505.

If your local shop won't do a setup on the Eastman, call the Mandolin Store (themandolinstore.com), or Folkmusician (folkmusician.com). They will (I don't know if Folkmusician carries the Eastman 300 series...)

[laurenV]

Thanks. I was wrong: my local store carries the kentucky 505 (w/ full set up included, it seems), not the 250 and it's 450$ vs. 400$ for the Eastman 305. So, would you still pick one over the other or can I really go for either safely?

[John Kinn]

The Kentucky 505 is consistently well thought of here at the Cafe. I would go for that one.

[Ron McMillan]

Lauren - you're in a fortunate situation, with a local store that has decent stock and carries out proper set-ups. I have no personal experience of either instrument, but from all the many chats on this topic here, it's pretty clear that either one would suit your needs perfectly. If I were you I'd take the store owner's advice regarding the choice.

rm

[Barry Platnick]

505 is a great instrument.

[robert.najlis]

I would still go with the Eastman 305, but most importantly, I would recommend:

go to the store and listen to both of them. Have someone at the store play it for you. They don't have to know how to play, they can even slowly strum each string. Stand in front (not behind) the instrument and listen carefully. You want a nice full tone, not too thin, not overly bright (some less expensive can be mandolins thin and sharp sounding). Remember, you will be listening to this sound a lot! So this is a very important consideration. Each time you tell him to stop playing, it puts your wife of the year status in jeapordy :)


Also, what is the stores policy on returns? Many music stores give a 48 hour trial period.

And finally, make sure whichever instrument you buy gets a full setup.

[laurenV]

[QUOTE=robert.najlis;889704] Each time you tell him to stop playing, it puts your wife of the year status in jeapordy :)

How true!!Thank you so much, everyone. I will go to the store tomorrow and will listen to both and ask for the owner's advice. You've all been very helpful!

L.

[Rick Cadger]

As others have suggested, If your budget will stretch to the Kentucky KM-505 then that is about where the real balance between price and quality starts to get impressive.

Kentucky and Eastman both make excellent value mandolins. Provided you do buy from someone who will do a good set-up (Big Joe, Gianna Violins, Folkmusician, The Mandolin Store etc) I think you'll find that you get something pretty good for your money if you go for the Kentucky KM-505 or the Eastman MD-305.

The lower spec Kentucky mandolins are still ok, but just a little disappointing when compared to the KM-505 and up.

[mandofarmdog]

I purchased an Eastman 305 from Gianna Violins in December. The set up was amazing. The tone of this instrument is so much better than the Kentucky 150 I was playing before. The Eastman is very sweet sounding, while my Kentucky was sort of harsh. You really can't go wrong with a well set up Eastman 305.

[actaylor]

I ordered mine from Gianna Violins as well. It's on order and I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival..

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Just adding another vote for the Eastman. The Eastman 315 (economy F-style) I recently picked up is a much better mandolin than the Kentucky KM675 I had been playing previously, both in playability (on account of the radiused board) and tone. If it's any indication, I think the Eastman 305 will be a tough choice to beat.

[pager]

I have played both side by side. No comparison. Go with the Eastman. The two Eastman 305's I played were both little cannons. I was very impressed with the sound and playability. I almost bought it, but I could not justify a 4th mandolin right now. The Kentucky was OK, but the Eastman was louder, sweeter and had a lot more chop.
jillian