Eastman md415 info.

[Loubrava]

Hi, I did a search & not much came up on the 415 I'm wondering if they have the same neck shape as 315, 515 Eastman's also wondering if there a little less bright sounding than some of the Eastmans I've played due to the Mahogany sides and back ? If anybody is playing one I'd like to hear what you think. There's a used one at a good price I saw and I'm looking for another mando I will put the K&K pick ups in that plays nice and I won't worry about it getting damaged at rehearsal or a gig.
Thanks

[Folkmusician.com]

There are very few in existence.

I can say with some confidence that the neck will be the same as a recent 515. The Mahogany will be a little warmer than Maple, but I suspect it will still have the basic Eastman voice to it, just a little muted. The top is where most of the action happens.

Of course this is just an assumption. I didn't try ordering any until a few months back.

[allenhopkins]

Robert et. al., what is considered the advantage of a mahogany-bodied mandolin?

I have a nice little Martin Style A with mahogany back and sides, and I'm very partial to it, but the "industry standard" is maple -- and, if you're not looking only for strongly-figured maple, there must be a lot of that around. And it doesn't need to be imported from the tropics.

Seems to be consensus that the sound of a mahogany body is "a little muted," as Robert says, and in a carved-top, f-hole instrument, presumably largely aimed at the bluegrass crowd, "muted" ain't a virtue. They want "bark," "woof," and a treble that overcomes the banjo player.

So why build 'em? We've pretty much seen the demise -- for a variety of reasons -- of the rosewood-bodied mandolin, although that was extremely common in the bowl-back era. Why not just stick to maple?

[pheffernan]

Why not just stick to maple?

Because there's birch!

[Loubrava]

There are very few in existence.

I can say with some confidence that the neck will be the same as a recent 515. The Mahogany will be a little warmer than Maple, but I suspect it will still have the basic Eastman voice to it, just a little muted. The top is where most of the action happens.

Of course this is just an assumption. I didn't try ordering any until a few months back.

Makes sense why I can't find any players input on them. I'm wondering if Eastman just made a few or they just don't sell ? Tone or voice of the mando puzzles me I was at a guitar show a few months back and there were some nice mandos there I finally got to play a few Gibsons surprise there is I played an real old F model they were asking 18K for I was afraid to play it but I did I wasn't impressed by it at all, then I played some newer Gibsons I think F9 and another F model they both sounded much better to my ear than the older one I would have bought one those in heartbeat. Then I played a brand new mando that was made from 100% redwood it looked beautiful and I thought that redwood would be a pour choice for "tone" but that thing sounded really good not something I would buy but I walked away from that redwood mando shaking my head at how good it sounded.

[Folkmusician.com]

Robert et. al., what is considered the advantage of a mahogany-bodied mandolin?

I kind of wonder this myself! Now on flat tops, it works rather well. There seem to be mixed results on carved arch-tops. Some players seem to prefer it though. I sell a fair amount of the 404BK. Of course, this is an oval hole.

I'm wondering if Eastman just made a few or they just don't sell ?

Just a few made.. Eastman does not churn out high numbers of mandolins. Many models are perpetually back-ordered.

[Bill Cameron]

Are mahogany bodies the specific differentiation of the 400-series across the line?

[F-2 Dave]

I have a 415. It sounds great. Eastman is making some really good stuff lately. I've been using it for my main mandolin for a couple months and it continues to surprise me. If it was the type of mandolin you were looking for, it would be hard to beat the 415 for a sub 1K mandolin. Honestly, this is the only 415 I've played, but I'd imagine they're pretty consistent.

[Loubrava]

I have a 415. It sounds great. Eastman is making some really good stuff lately. I've been using it for my main mandolin for a couple months and it continues to surprise me. If it was the type of mandolin you were looking for, it would be hard to beat the 415 for a sub 1K mandolin. Honestly, this is the only 415 I've played, but I'd imagine they're pretty consistent.

Cool, what is the neck shape like V or C or ? Just curious what other mandos your comparing it to tone wise. To my ear the 315,& 515 Eastmans I've played are a bit bright sounding. I agree the Eastmans are well made, priced right & play good I'd buy a 315 or 515 but I just haven't played one that I like the sound of that's why I'm wondering about the 415
Thanks
Lou

[Lane Pryce]

Lot of great examples of the 415 on Reverb. The gold tops sure are sweet. Lp

[jaybp30]

Played one in NYC. I'm quite the novice and to be honest it, the 315 and the 2 mid teen Gibson As I played were the first steps up from my Michael Kelly A solid I had ever played, so take this with a grain of salt. To my ears it was certainly nicer/fuller sounding than my MK, but not by a ton. That being said the 315 was a bit brighter and certainly louder than the 415. I don't know if I got lucky on my MK or this wasn't a great example of those two instruments but I paid $300 for the MK in 2004 and I don't think the upgrade to the 415 and 315 at $750 and $700, respectively, were worth that price. I'd rather save up and wait to drop a little more cash for a true upgrade. That being said, it did have a nice warm sound, I would say like a somewhat darker, quieter 315, so more or less what you thought..

[Loubrava]

Played one in NYC. I'm quite the novice and to be honest it, the 315 and the 2 mid teen Gibson As I played were the first steps up from my Michael Kelly A solid I had ever played, so take this with a grain of salt. To my ears it was certainly nicer/fuller sounding than my MK, but not by a ton. That being said the 315 was a bit brighter and certainly louder than the 415. I don't know if I got lucky on my MK or this wasn't a great example of those two instruments but I paid $300 for the MK in 2004 and I don't think the upgrade to the 415 and 315 at $750 and $700, respectively, were worth that price. I'd rather save up and wait to drop a little more cash for a true upgrade. That being said, it did have a nice warm sound, I would say like a somewhat darker, quieter 315, so more or less what you thought..

I'm also a novice in the mando world been playing for about 1.5 years and went down the road your on. I started with a Loar 600 used for $600 I really liked it but when it came time to upgrade I had a budget of 2.5k and got a used Weber Bitterroot and absoulty love it probably never sell it. Anyway now I'm downgrading & the descion seems to be just as hard as upgrading because I'm looking for something comparable to the Weber for 1/4 of the price and thats not going to happen !

[MikeZito]

I just got my 415 Gold Top from the Mandolin Store today.

Hardly a world-class mandolin, but a good serviceable instrument, nonetheless - especially with the nice set up from the guys at TMS.

I took me all of about 4 seconds to get used to the thicker neck; (hardly a problem or an old bass player, and someone who has had a few Les Paul's over the years), and the small frets were ZERO problem. The sound was 'tinny' at first, but once the strings got broken in, and the the mandolin started to open-up a bit, I have no complaints.

. . . and did I mention that the Gold Top is VERY cool!

[Jwblanton]

I played 3 - 415s yesterday along with a 615 and 815. One gold and two black. I will say they are more muted sounding and less bright than their maple brothers. The gold was more quiet with the black tops not being significantly more quiet except for the type of natural compression you would get from a harder attack. The 815 wasn't all that pleasant comparatively for single note, but loud as heck for chopping. I prefer the buttery sound of the 415 to the bright projection of the 6 and 8.

I did not however find the consistency between the 415s all that reliable. I vastly preferred the gold to black models both in play ability and uniformity of tone. Uniformity of tone may not be preferred by you purists, but to a guitar player with poor technique, a uniform and full note projection was desirable.

[pops1]

I would say if you could get it in a natural color instead of painted it would not be so muted. Even electric guitars that are solid color sound different than their counterparts with finish that shows off the wood.