Waiting on my Eastman 504 - Any owners to chime in?

[stevejay]

I am anxiously awaiting my 504. It looks great.:)

Saw a couple of comments on the web about "thin sounding." Imagine this could be a myriad of variables including human error, that part attached to the pick. Hope not though, thin sounding is never a good omen.

Seriously are you pleased? In any event I should make it sound the best I can, true lefty mandolins are rare, and I would have considered this mandolin regardless of my handedness.

I know there's stuff out there, just wanted to ask here. Eventually I'll send it for optimization if need be. Anyway I'm excited to receive it. I'm no Norman blake, but I make a nice pale imitation in my living room.

Thanks.

[yankees1]

Enjoy it for what it is and you can always upgrade when you think you are ready to move up !

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi Steve,

Most of the "thinner tone" comments are in regards to the 505 (or any of the F-holes). The 504 does have that tubby oval hole tone to it. Although the term "thinner" describes the 505 accurately in my opinion, it does somehow come off as negative when it is not (or at least when I use it) meant that way. An instrument can be too full sounding at which point it sounds muddy and lacks definition. The F-hole Eastman's are not as full sounding as many other mandolins, but they do have a very pleasing tone. In this case, thinner does not mean inferior. It means crisp and more articulate with nice subtle overtones that add to the voice without the mandolin losing clarity. :) Eastman's are also much tighter when new compare to other mandolins. They tend to have a more dramatic break in period.

[allenhopkins]

My experience with Eastmans (I own four) is that the f-hole instruments tend toward a treble emphasis. One could say "thin," or one could say "clear and ringing." I've been playing my DGM-1 (the Giacomel clone) quite a bit, and while I don't get that "whomp" when chopping chords, I do get a lovely "singing" tone playing up the neck, especially using tremolo on slower songs.

The only Eastman oval-hole I have is the DGM-2 (the Bacon clone), and it has plenty of mid-range. Don't use it much for bluegrass, so I'm not chopping on it often, but there's lots of tonal richness there.

Definitely is an "Eastman sound," and one has to decide if it's the sound one likes, or not.