Re: Sound: opinions sought on technique vs instrument, i.e. anti-
I have been playing an MD315 for over a year and I actually love the trebles - strong, loud, pure and sweet all the way up the neck. Part of that might be due to using heavy strings on the E and A courses (D'Addario EXP74CM) - that did help thicken the trebles. Choice of picks also made significant difference. (I like heavy triangle Blue Chip and Primetone, but lately am using Wegen.)
Lots of folks will tell you that getting a good solid G is a sign of better mandolins, and that might be true, but I bought a $1500 small-shop mandolin that had a good reputation for strong bass, and it does have a smoother bass, but it is weak in the trebles. The guys I play with noted that the more expensive mandolin just wasn't as loud as my MD315 and didn't cut through. In the end, the trebles were more important to me and my particular musical situations, so I'm back to the MD315. (I keep playing the more expensive mandolin regularly, hoping that it will "open up" or something, but no luck after four months. Maybe after another four or twelve? It's an interesting instrument, so I'm hanging onto it for one of my sons, when he gets out of grad school and has more space and time.)
I've played a hundred other mandolins over the past year, everything I can legally get my hands on, from other Eastmans to Northfields, Collings, Webers and Gibsons, and I am continually surprised just how well my Eastman keeps up. Yes, I WILL buy a more expensive mandolin, but I'm no longer expecting it to be earth-shatteringly better.
SO, as a fellow 300 series Eastman owner, I'd say that you shouldn't underestimate the capabilities of your mandolin. Try different picks, try different strings, work on your technique, and know that you have a very capable instrument. Then find every opportunity to play other instruments to educate your ear.
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
Bookmarks