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Fantastic straps, fantastic customer service. I have several of his straps, and I love them; they are my goto straps, except for my F style mandolin. I have a custom strap for A style mandolins...

I had one of the very first Eastman mandolins; it was one of the prototypes that they took to NAAM in either ‘04 or ‘05. It didn’t even have “Eastman” on the headstock (and yes, I did confirm that...

NFI, I would jump on the Flatiron A in the classifieds.

I have played at lots of Farmer’s Markets and Foot Truck Rallies in the sweltering summer heat of coastal South Carolina where the temperature was in the 90s and the humidity was in the 80% range. ...

Maybe for the best, most expensive mandolin mandolin they offer, they want their best people doing the final graduation, the sanding and the varnish work, and maybe, just maybe, they think the best...

I think only the flattops, the Calhoun and the flattop Octaves, are built completely in the US (excluding parts like tuners). I suspect that, as has been said before, if “Made in the USA” is high on...

That KM 270 from Amazon Warehouse is used, but unless it’s broken and unplayable it is a stupid good deal. I thought about buying it, but I would rather see a beginner get a good deal on a good...

Honestly, if you can play along with the first violins, I don’t think you really need lessons. You are really looking to build repertoire, and there are probably better ways to do that.

I am enrolled in the Artistworks class right now. I think it would be challenging, but not impossible, if you did not read music, specifically treble clef. The first few pieces are confined to a...

Signature confirmation is hit or miss. I have sent things with sig confirmation that were just left in an open garage, and I have had things that I was supposed to sign for just left on my porch.
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I don’t know what tunes are on the 3 series vs the 5 series, I just know that I gave my friend a 305 as a wedding gift, and the one thing I would swap on it are the tuners. My local music store had...

My experience is that Eastman are good mandolins. A lot of people recommend the 315, and it is fine, but the 515 gets you better tuners and (debatably) a better tailpiece. I think it should also...

I find it very interesting that sustain is so high on your list of priorities for an instrument; because, it’s something I have been thinking about a lot. If we look to other instruments,...

When I posed the original question, I was actually thinking about Baroque music, but I don’t think LL had Baroque in mind when he designed the F5. I think he was thinking about late 19th, early 20th...

I have wondered this for a very long time, how well do Loar era Gibson F5s serve their original, intended purpose as classical mandolins? I understand all the usual caveats apply, “Each mandolin is...

I am certain it does. I have played several. They were all excellent to extraordinary. I actually find the nexus between bluegrass and swing/jazz manouche absolutely fascinating. In particular, I...

I have said it many times, the single greatest bluegrass mandolin I have ever played was a Kimble. I have described it as being able to go from sounding like a dentist’s drill to sounding like a...

Thank you all for the suggestions. Whatever I end up going with, I have a luthier/tech who has done lots of work for me over the years.

I recently acquired a Gibson A9 with a bridge pickup. If I wanted to remove the pickup and replace the bridge, what would be a good choice for a replacement bridge?

Maybe people only buy “the good ones”. Why would someone buy an instrument that they thought was mediocre in the first place?

The tuners on my mandolin are loose (for lack of a batter term). When tuned up to pitch they fine. When raised to pitch they are tight and hold tune, but when I down tune or remove a string, the...

I live and play in Charleston. I think I could list every mandolin for sale in town from memory (NFI in any of these). Ye Olde Music has 2-3 entry level Eastman mandolins, I think they are 315’s. ...

If I wanted to play bluegrass and had $1k to spend, I would jump all over that Gibson A9 (NFI). I have played a couple of A9s, they were all great mandolins, not just great for the price. One of...

I play a good bit of bluegrass mandolin. I bought an Eastman 305 for a friend as a wedding present. It is a fine mandolin for bluegrass. I would have no issue playing one in a jam. The main...

I agree with both of these posts. I am basically a one instrument musician. I have often said, "The wand chooses the wizard." I play my Dudenbostel almost exclusively. I own a Breedlove Quartz as...