Post by Martin on Apr 18, 2013 12:54:35 GMT
I bought this mandolin while looking for something more 'bluegrassy'. Something with a good percussive bark and the ability to cut through when playing with others, which my flat top struggled to do.
I think it was actually a birthday pressie from the missus
Anyway, I tried a couple of different types, including a 'better' Eastman MD 514 and some other makes, but I kept coming back to this one - it had the sound, the look and even the price was not too bad.
Manufacturer & Model: Eastman MD305 Mandolin
Year Purchased: 2011
Sound:
It has a percussive, snappy, punchy sound, which can be quite sweet, but has a fast decay allowing for quicker runs with less blurring of notes.
Quite loud for its size/weight, and projects extremely well, cutting through nicely.
Sound Rating: 8
Setup:
It was set-up pretty well when I bought it - the shop staff had adjusted the bridge to provide a low-medium action, which suits me fine. It had a problem with the tailpiece, and the cover was causing the strings to buzz. I took it off and it was fine for a while, but now the bottom of the tailpiece is touching the strings causing more buzzing. I will either fit some padding around the tailpiece to stop the buzzing or install a new cast tailpiece, like an Allen or equivalent (I have since fitted an Allen tailpiece).
Setup Rating: 7
Appearance:
It looks very old timey, understated and lovely. I was attracted to the looks because it is not flashy, or high gloss. It does not have any fancy trim, or inlays at all, and the components are quite cheap, but the woods are good quality and look nice.
Appearance Rating: 7
Reliability:
A few tuning issues, but nothing major. They may be down to the fluctuating temperature and humidity in our unpredictable summer, or a combination of this and cheap tuning machines, but it's no big deal.
Reliability Rating: 7
Components:
Cheap tuners, a cheap stamped tailpiece and a plain satin finish are the compromises I've made to buy this mandolin at a reasonable price, but the quality of the spruce and maple used on this instrument is high, so it was worth it, and money has not been saved on the important stuff. Even so, there's no denying the components could be better, and I'm already thinking about upgrading the tailpiece.
Components Rating: 6
Pre-sale Customer Service:
CC Music were very helpful and knowledgable, and the two owners made me feel very welcome on the two separate occasions I visited to evaluate this mandolin, and I was offered the chance to compare it against most of the other mandolins they had in stock, which was good. The only down point was that I wasn't offered a discount because of a few scratches - ah well, I'd only put them on myself anyway!
Pre-sale Customer Service Rating: 9
Overall:
This instrument gives me the playability and sound of a much more expensive mandolin by compromising on things such as quality of tuning machines, bridge, tailpiece, bindings, inlay and finish.
It sounds so good because Eastman kept in the important things - hand carved spruce top, hand carved maple back, flamed maple neck and ebony fingerboard.
This instrument is particularly suited to the bluegrass music style.
I'd recommend this mandolin to anyone who wants a really high quality start in the bluegrass mandolin world, or to a gigging bluegrass musician who wants a nice mandolin but doesn't want to worry about damaging his prize Gibson!
Sound Sample
I think it was actually a birthday pressie from the missus
Anyway, I tried a couple of different types, including a 'better' Eastman MD 514 and some other makes, but I kept coming back to this one - it had the sound, the look and even the price was not too bad.
Manufacturer & Model: Eastman MD305 Mandolin
Year Purchased: 2011
Sound:
It has a percussive, snappy, punchy sound, which can be quite sweet, but has a fast decay allowing for quicker runs with less blurring of notes.
Quite loud for its size/weight, and projects extremely well, cutting through nicely.
Sound Rating: 8
Setup:
It was set-up pretty well when I bought it - the shop staff had adjusted the bridge to provide a low-medium action, which suits me fine. It had a problem with the tailpiece, and the cover was causing the strings to buzz. I took it off and it was fine for a while, but now the bottom of the tailpiece is touching the strings causing more buzzing. I will either fit some padding around the tailpiece to stop the buzzing or install a new cast tailpiece, like an Allen or equivalent (I have since fitted an Allen tailpiece).
Setup Rating: 7
Appearance:
It looks very old timey, understated and lovely. I was attracted to the looks because it is not flashy, or high gloss. It does not have any fancy trim, or inlays at all, and the components are quite cheap, but the woods are good quality and look nice.
Appearance Rating: 7
Reliability:
A few tuning issues, but nothing major. They may be down to the fluctuating temperature and humidity in our unpredictable summer, or a combination of this and cheap tuning machines, but it's no big deal.
Reliability Rating: 7
Components:
Cheap tuners, a cheap stamped tailpiece and a plain satin finish are the compromises I've made to buy this mandolin at a reasonable price, but the quality of the spruce and maple used on this instrument is high, so it was worth it, and money has not been saved on the important stuff. Even so, there's no denying the components could be better, and I'm already thinking about upgrading the tailpiece.
Components Rating: 6
Pre-sale Customer Service:
CC Music were very helpful and knowledgable, and the two owners made me feel very welcome on the two separate occasions I visited to evaluate this mandolin, and I was offered the chance to compare it against most of the other mandolins they had in stock, which was good. The only down point was that I wasn't offered a discount because of a few scratches - ah well, I'd only put them on myself anyway!
Pre-sale Customer Service Rating: 9
Overall:
This instrument gives me the playability and sound of a much more expensive mandolin by compromising on things such as quality of tuning machines, bridge, tailpiece, bindings, inlay and finish.
It sounds so good because Eastman kept in the important things - hand carved spruce top, hand carved maple back, flamed maple neck and ebony fingerboard.
This instrument is particularly suited to the bluegrass music style.
I'd recommend this mandolin to anyone who wants a really high quality start in the bluegrass mandolin world, or to a gigging bluegrass musician who wants a nice mandolin but doesn't want to worry about damaging his prize Gibson!
Sound Sample
