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I can give a thumbs up for Bob. He can handle diffucult Jo's like converting bar to modern frets.

You could strip the mandolin of strings and attachment and use rubbing compound to gloss the whole thing. A lot of folks have done this with their satin Martin's.

Well, I found a very slightly used MD-305 with a very straight neck and snatched it. I now have a beater and/or HS graduation gift for a grandchild.

So it seems that the conclusion to my original post is that the design or installation of the Eastman truss rods is not optimum. Is there any practical.method of repairing these truss rods?

My two mandolins are a 1920 Gibson A-4 and a 1929 Martin Style 20. Neither have adjustable truss rods. Both are dead straight. Which is better? No truss rods with straight necks or non functional...

I don't know for sure, never having disassembled an Eastman neck, but I wonder if the rod has enough curve, with a filler piece glued on top, to make the neck straighten when the nut is tightened. ...

I owned a newer MDA-815 mandola. When I attempted adjusting, it reached its thread limit and I stopped. The neck was not perfectly straight, but functionally straight enough. I have traded off that...

On one of these adjustment resistant Eastmans (which I owned at the time), I turned the nut past its limit. I heard a snap! Turns out the rod did not break, but the brass nut stripped. So I found a...

Ran across another Eastman today with same. An old Eastman dealer friend of mine suggests a "design flaw".

I have encountered several Eastman mandolins with which I been unable to adjust the neck to adequate straightness. In other words, the nut bottoms out. Is it that the rod is installed incorrectly? ...

Since most old Gibson As vary in sound one from another, the Eastman MD-404 fits right in the family, kind of like a double first cousin. I've owned a MD-504, a MD-514, a Gibson A, an A-4, and...

I'm a lover of oval holed mandos, particularly old Gibsons. The first imprint itself on me was was a 1917 F-2. It was perfect tonally. Next was an Old Wave A that sounded great except for a...

My personal favorite so far is the Martin. It is an absolute joy to play solo, like when I'm in the practicing on the couch. The Martin sounds so clear and bell like, and is so easy to play. The...

I carefully typed "flatwound slickness" in my post, but Mr. Helpful Autocorrect jumped in to assist me. I know that for sure because it did it again while typing THIS post. I hate it when I have...

I replaced the 80/20 strings on the Martin with Thomastic. Objectively, it is much easier for me to play, with their flatwound sickness. I also like the tonal difference. The mandolin seems more...

The Style 20 is nothing like the Martin Bowl backs or flat backs with chanted tops. It's a fully carved top and back looking more like the Lyon and Healy carved mandolins with 2 points.

I've...

I now have two vintage oval hole mandolins - 1920 Gibson A-4 and a 1929 Martin Style 20. Both are in excellent condition for 100 and 91 year old instruments. The Gibson has a well repaired and...

I encountered another 515 in similar straits. I was able to repair it satisfactorily for the owner and he ended up selling to GC. I hope it's still doing well.

I've continued to play it with original wire and it sounds good and plays okay. Then I go to the refretted Style 20 and notice such a marked difference. But there's also a difference in scale...

No classical. Celtic and old time, primarily in lower positions. My playing utilizes as many open strings and open chords as possible.

I recently secured a this A-4 in "excellent" condition from Carter Vintage. And it really is in amazingly pristine condition. Save for one thing. The original frets are quite small. It's still...

I would assume that originality of original hardware is nearly as important as an original finish on a vintage instrument. A new or as new tailpiece just wouldn't look right on a vintage piece.

My A-4 has the fuller, wider neck with pronounced V. I like that better than the trim neck of the truss rod era. My only problem so far is the teeny fretwire.

I let my Larrivee SD-60 go because, although I loved the tone, I hated the neck shape and found it uncomfortable. My Eastman mandola was essentially a novelty instrument which I put away in the...

I had found myself in possession of several instruments that I was mildly dissatisfied and/or bored with. Looking at the Carter Vintage website, I spied something which caught my attention; a 1920...