Weber Aspen I or Eastman MD305?

[MosquitoXEL]

I visited my local music shop today and there were two mandolins that caught my eye. An Eastman MD305 for $395 and a Weber Aspen I for $995. Both of these are new instruments and both sounded good to my ear. The Aspen had much greater sustain and overall tone in my opinion. I would play mostly classical music and almost no bluegrass. My mandolin collection composes of a $49 rogue, and two solid body electric mandolins. I am in a metal band and I play the electrics for that, but I want a good acoustic mandolin.

Are these good prices that they are offering and if so, which one should I get?

[JeffD]

I love the Aspen. I have an Aspen II, the difference being cosmetic. It has incredible sustain and a beautiful sound. Very un-Gibson. It is capable of doing everything well, with the exception that it is not a bluegrasser.

The Eastman, being an arch top with F holes will be better suited for bluegrass. I will let others comment on it, but from your post I think you would be very very happy with the Aspen. I love mine. I also think it would be a better mandolin overall.

IMO

[pheffernan]

Are these good prices that they are offering and if so, which one should I get?

The Eastman is a good price, provided that it is set up, as it goes for $479 at Elderly: http://elderly.com/new_instruments/n...ag--MD305C.htm.

The Weber is probably the better mandolin and also better suited to your applications, although I'd have a hard time paying a thousand dollars for a flattop when alternatives can be found for half that figure.

[MosquitoXEL]

I love the Aspen. I have an Aspen II, the difference being cosmetic. It has incredible sustain and a beautiful sound. Very un-Gibson. It is capable of doing everything well, with the exception that it is not a bluegrasser.

The Eastman, being an arch top with F holes will be better suited for bluegrass. I will let others comment on it, but from your post I think you would be very very happy with the Aspen. I love mine. I also think it would be a better mandolin overall.

IMO

Thank you for your quick reply. Do you think that $995 is a fair price for it? I know that the list price is $1299. What other mandolins should I look for in that price range?

There is also a used Weber Hyalite on craigslist in my area for $950. Which of these three would be the best purchase for me?

[multidon]

The Aspen is fairly priced if it is truly new with Weber warrantee. If it is new it is NOS. Weber ceased production on their flat top line a couple of years ago.

[MosquitoXEL]

The Aspen is fairly priced if it is truly new with Weber warrantee. If it is new it is NOS. Weber ceased production on their flat top line a couple of years ago.

The salesman said that it is in fact new and has been in the shop for several years. It was stored behind a glass display in a humidified room and when I first picked it up it was still in tune. When I sighted down the neck, there was absolute no warping and the intonation was perfect. It included a lifetime warranty with Weber as well as a lifetime warranty with the shop.

[dang]

If you think you will keep it long term, an Aspen I is a good instrument that adds variation to a collection of mandolins. Not great for bluegrass but very sweet sound. I played a number of hyalites and owned one but traded it in long ago, not bad for under a grand but it left me wanting more of that arched top mando sound - like the instrument was almost there. I believe if I had bought an Aspen instead I would have kept it, since it fills a different niche in tone (assuming you want that niche). As stated above, it is a lot of money considering other great mandos in that price range, but this is one of the better non-bluegrass options in that range.

If you played the eastman and are happy with the tone and playability it may suit your needs, and many out there are content with them. But if it were ME I would already be dreaming about my next instrument - the eastman seems more like a stepping stone rather than a destination (again, for me).

[nickster60]

I have a Weber and am very happy with it. If the Weber has been there for a long period of time I am sure the owner would like to move it. The Eastman is priced nicely, the 305 is a nice little mandolin. Have you considered buying both in a package deal. You would have two pretty nice mandolins with very differant voices that should cover just about any type of music. And I bet you could get a pretty nice package deal if you pressed the issue.

[Frank Russell]

See if you can get him down a bit, and grab the Weber. As mentioned earlier, if it's been there a while, he may be open to a deal. I've had at least a dozen Webers over the years, from flat tops like the Y2K to their f-hole F models(had a bad case of MAS for several years, in remission now). It will keep its value better than the Eastman if you need to move it later, and likely comes with one of their excellent cases, which are worth the price of many cheap mandolins. It's a good fit for the music you listed. I just traded for a used Aspen, and it was a good move. Great little instrument with more sound than you'd expect. Can't beat Webers for build quality. Frank

[Dan Hulse]

I have an Aspen1, & love it. I have never met an Eastman mandolin that could compare. I also play many styles, but not much BG. I would note however that I have played many Eastman guitars that I would have liked to own, I'm just not partial to their mandos and I have played no less than 15, probably 20. I would buy another Aspen in a second.

[JeffD]

That is a good price for the Aspen, but if you can get a better price, by all means do so. But I would not walk away at $995.00 for a Weber Aspen I new with original HSC.

[MosquitoXEL]

Well I did it guys, I got the Aspen! Not only that, but I was able to talk the salesperson down to $799. It is the best sounding mandolin I've ever played and the tone is just incredible. I will be keeping it for a lifetime. Pictures to follow (of course)!

[nickster60]

Congratulations, you will love your Weber.

[Frank Russell]

Good job! I paid about the same in trade plus cash for a used 2006 model, so you definitely scored. Only had it a few days, but it sounds better every time I play it. A new set of J62s really seemed to wake it up, tons of volume but still very sweet tone. Enjoy it, you've done well. Frank.

[ccravens]

If it's been sitting that long, it's only going to sound better in the coming days/weeks/months.

Great score - enjoy it in good health!

[spufman]

Nice, you will never experience buyer's remorse with this one!

[dang]

Well I did it guys, I got the Aspen! Not only that, but I was able to talk the salesperson down to $799. It is the best sounding mandolin I've ever played and the tone is just incredible. I will be keeping it for a lifetime. Pictures to follow (of course)!

Congrats! I should get you to negotiate my next purchase

[Bob Clark]

Well I did it guys, I got the Aspen!

Congratulations! Good for you. Great mandolin at a great price. As the owner of two Webers, each of which I consider to be permanent members of my very small collection, I hope you will be as happy with this Weber as I am with mine. Sure, I have other mandolins I also love, but my Webers are, for me, as good as it gets.

[JEStanek]

Congrats and enjoy it.

Jamie