Re: Looking for new F Style Mandolin
Originally Posted by
Johnny Rico
I upgraded from my entry level Loar to a MD515. I don't know if I got lucky and found a great one (bought it second hand here on the classifieds) but man, it sounds and plays great for the price. The only problem was that it was a gateway mando which made me want to upgrade even higher, so I bought a Northfield. My 515 has better projection and slightly more volume than the Northfield - sounds crazy, I know. You won't regret the Eastman purchase IMHO. Good luck with the hunt.
I have a 2018 Eastman MD315 and hoping for better I bought a step-up American made varnish mandolin last fall. The step up does have a richer bass, but the Eastman is louder and has a pure treble that just cuts through the other instruments I jam with. One thing I’ve noticed with my Eastman is that I can really dig into the strings hard and the mandolin responds a lot better than the more expensive mandolin does. The Eastmans can be real bargains. (I use heavy E and A strings on the Eastman (J74CM) and that helped thicken up the tone on those strings. The step up mandolin came with heavy strings (J75s) and I’ve continued to use them.)
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
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