New (to me) Eastman MD805D 2 Point

[colorado_al]

My new (to me) Eastman MD805D 2 Point arrived today! Turns out UPS Ground is only 1 day from Memphis, TN to St. Louis, MO!
Super nice.
It's a big change from the Breedlove Quartz KF that it replaced. Very different.

It needed a bridge adjustment and new strings.
I feel a bit bad for the original owner who owned it for several years and claimed that they just couldn't get it to sound good. It was their first mandolin and they said they tried to play for about a year and gave up. Turns out, the bridge was in the wrong position. Action was high and intonation was way off. The original setup was done by Stephen Perry @ Gianna, so I'm sure that everything was good when it left his shop, but either in shipping or from string changes or something, the bridge moved considerably. I wonder if they changed the bridge height to try to compensate or something.

When I got the bridge in the right position and lowered the action, it intonated perfectly. The bridge was about 5mm too far forward and about 2mm too far toward the bass side. Looks like it has been there for a while. The finish is scuffed from the bridge being there. I'll polish it up someday, but for now, I'm just going to play it!
Anyhow, it plays sweet now and sounds great with the EFW74 flatwound strings.

If any new mandolin players are reading this, and you're having trouble getting your mandolin to sound good, take it to a good shop and ask them to check your setup. Mandolins have a floating bridge and they can, and do, move around from time to time. If the bridge is in the wrong place, even a skilled mandolin player will have trouble making it play well.

Next step is to sand off the gloss on the neck.

PS- Any builders or repair people want to chime in on the best way to buff out the scuff from the bridge?
Thanks!
Al

[billy_v]

Ooh, pretty, congratulations! The unequaled thrill of NMD. I see it has the original headstock, so its got some seasoning to it, one of the reasons used mandolins appeal to me more than new ones. Being a Jethro fan, im a sucker for two points, anyway. Id been playing an OF and an FF, and their wide nut doesnt work for me as well as 1–1/8, so the move away from breedlove nut width was a positive for me. My 315 has 1-5/16 nut, and thats narrow! Nice one, man, enjoy!

[kurth83]

Congrats on the new instrument.

Sounds like they fiddled with the bridge at some point, probably on the first string change...

[Stephen Perry]

Must have early mandovoodoo. These things really cook with a current Cumberland modded in my shop. I really like the 2 points a whole bunch.

[colorado_al]

Must have early mandovoodoo. These things really cook with a current Cumberland modded in my shop. I really like the 2 points a whole bunch.

According to the serial number FAQ I saw at Eastman's site it is a 2010. So I'm guessing that must have been when you sold it. Has that much changed in your mandovoodoo process since then?
It is a great sounding mandolin. It's the second used Eastman that I've bought and both came from your shop, and both are really great. The mandovoodoo that you did on my Breedlove really was fantastic as well! If I ever have the money to buy a new mandolin, I know who I'm going to be getting it from. Many thanks!
Al

PS- What is the cost of the Cumberland that you're doing? Do you need me to ship my mandolin to you to fit it? I think shipping each way is roughly $50. Not sure I can afford that.

[Kip Carter]

Grats Al... enjoy my friend... By the way.. not nearly enough purgatory for you!! LOL UPS is saying it will be Thursday afternoon for my 515 to be here.. Alas! Play up a storm this weekend!
Kip..

[colorado_al]

Sanded the neck on it (and again on my Eastman MD505) with some gray scotch-brite pad to bring the gloss down to a satin. Much better for sliding on the neck. Here they are side by side.
On the left - 2010 Eastman MD805D 2 Point. On the right - 2011 Eastman MD505.


They feel very similar, to no one's surprise. The MD805D is weighted a bit more towards the headstock, and has a slightly more pronounced V on the neck near the headstock. Both have a 12" radius fretboard and saddle. Both now have the same strings: D'addario EFW74 flatwound.

They sound similar but have some pronounced differences. The MD505 seems to move more air on the low end, giving it more of a "woof" on chops, and a bit more echo-y sound.

The MD805D has a very clear high end and middle, with excellent sustain. The low end is thinner than the MD505. The MD805D just has a cleaner sound. It really sings in the mids and highs. I wonder how it will change when I install the McClung armrest from Doug @ Hill Country Stringworks? It could be that my forearm on my right hand is inhibiting the movement of the top some and damping the low end. I tried to play with my arm off of the instrument, but that wasn't much to listen too.

It's going to take a few days for me to adjust my picking hand so I don't keep clicking the pick on the fretboard extension. Glad it's scooped!

Next, install a strap button on the heel and we're off to the races!

It has the seal of approval from the youngest mandolin picker in the house. I'm going to have to put it on a high shelf so that it doesn't get co-opted.

[Kip Carter]

Good boy! My middle son can pick up any stringed instrument and in five minutes begin playing something on it. Makes me green with envy. I wish I could get him to focus his natural skills. Alas he is grown up and moved out so what will be will be. Yours seems to have a keen interest!
Kip...

[Stephen Perry]

According to the serial number FAQ I saw at Eastman's site it is a 2010. So I'm guessing that must have been when you sold it. Has that much changed in your mandovoodoo process since then?
It is a great sounding mandolin. It's the second used Eastman that I've bought and both came from your shop, and both are really great. The mandovoodoo that you did on my Breedlove really was fantastic as well! If I ever have the money to buy a new mandolin, I know who I'm going to be getting it from. Many thanks!
Al

PS- What is the cost of the Cumberland that you're doing? Do you need me to ship my mandolin to you to fit it? I think shipping each way is roughly $50. Not sure I can afford that.

The Cumberland installed is no problem while doing the other work - something like $80 additional including the fitting. Ms. Rebecca does all the billing and such now. That way I can't spend the money on pretty sparkly things to stick on my motorcycle.

Changes since 2010:

a) Extensive bridge reshape for distinctly faster response and greater clarity
b) More pronounced bridge to top shape differential to distribute bridge load more evenly
c) String balance detailing through iterative GDAE passes, addressing low end on first pass (breadth, bottom end volume), then mids for each course -- starting to look for overload on any course, and then getting the course to course balance smoothed out from adjusting highs.
d) consideration and adjustment of tone color variation from course to course

Still figuring this stuff out. I've got it cracked much more on violins. The single bar and sound post system has more-obvious levers and so on.

I really just do the mandolins for fun. They're way too much work and I should concentrate on violins and shopping for motorbike flair and leather goods.