My new Eastman 305 arrived today from the Mando Store. So excited! I dont think Ive ever received and instrument by mail or bought one off the shelf that was set up this perfectly and plays so amazingly from the get go. I cant believe how great this plays and sounds. It also arrived on what would have been my Dads 89th Birthday so I shall name the Mando "Bill" after him. He was also a Bill Monroe fan so it makes it even better!
I really appreciate all the info I got from this forum over the past few weeks as I researched the best Mando to get for the price.
One tip that stuck out and definitely rings true I saw posted by JeffD
After playing this Eastman and comparing it to the Greg Bennett Samick I started with and their higher quality "F" style one (still only $300 or so) and a few others i tried out including Epiphones and a Fender; I really dont think that you can skimp out and be happy with a budget priced mandolin and have it sound or play decently. This Eastman is night and day compared to those others. So if you are hoping to find a mando for $250, expect it to play and sound like $100 guitar.
For any beginner or just someone wanting a decent Mando, Id say just save up the extra money and get one of these or maybe a Kentucky of the same price range. Anything less will be a major disappointment once you’ve played one this good. The money you will spend on setups and adjustments will surpass what you would spend on a new one of these and it still wont compare. I probably had over $500 in the Samick I started with after multiple set-ups, new tuners, fret leveling etc and it was still light years behind what this one is.
The setup and play-ability on this one is so amazing that now I'm wondering and dreaming of what a $1200 Eastman would play and feel like!!
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