Re: Lets Talk Eastman Line.
I have an MD404 (a bit of an outlier in the the Eastman range in that it has Mahogany back and sides rather than maple, and a black gloss finish to the spruce top). It is very easy to play (albeit some may find the neck a bit narrow),and has a sweet tone - especially since I put Thomastik strings on it. I have to say that it struggles a bit to be heard when I play (or rather try to play, as a beginner) in local pub sessions, even when it had D’Addario strings; but then it is an oval hole, and at the time I bought it primarily for learning classical on Caterina Lichtenberg’s Artistworks course.
So like it a lot. It was the one I thought sounded closest to what I imagined I wanted out of the instruments I was able to try in various stores here in Scotland, including other Eastmans. But subsequently having tried a few higher end mandolins at mandolin weekends , I suspect eventually I will want to trade it in when I can afford to and when I won’t feel too embarrassed to play an instrument way better than my skills justify (well that probably already applies to the Eastman)!
Looking at what I just wrote, I see I said ‘I like it a lot”...so I guess I don’t really, really love it. I hope that mandolin and I will meet one day!
"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable". Beethoven
Eastman MD404
Angara e D'Isanto 1895 Bowlback
Eastman MD505 CC
Paul Hathway Mandocello
Bucketful of picks...still looking for the Magic one 🦄
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