Eastman MD305 vs 505

[JackCO]

Hey folks! I want to start by thanking this community for all of the great information I've taken from this site over the last couple years!

Tl;Dr: is there more of a difference between the construction, bracing, etc. on the MD 305 and 505?

I bought a Michael Kelly legacy festival to learn on a few years back. I have nothing but good to say about that mando! It was a great instrument to introduce me to the mandolin and I'm going to keep it around as a travel/camping instrument.

I'm on the hunt for an upgrade one of these days, and I really liked the Eastman MD 305 I played at my local shop. In my research I've gathered that the real difference between the 305 and the 505 is the finish, tuners, tailpiece, and bound fretboard. My question is are there and differences in construction? How the top is carved, bracing, etc. I could afford the 305 pretty soon and I would be happy to upgrade the tailpiece and tuners as the money comes in. Would that effectively give me a 505 (minus the bound fretboard and gloss finish of course), or is there more to it than that?

Any other suggestions for mandolins in the sub 900 dollar range (new or used) are welcome as well! I would like to keep cost on the lower end of the spectrum. Im interested in mostly bluegrass and jazz.

Thanks folks!

[WoodyCTA102]

I think you've pretty much summarized the differences. I played the two back to back for quite awhile and ultimately choose the 505. I actually think the 305 might have sounded a bit better, but decided replacing the tuners and tailpiece would be a hassle I didn't want to deal with. Some here have posted they had difficulty finding replacements that did not require filling/redrilling holes. Not sure about that. Truthfully, I'm not sure you actually need to replace them, but they are not as nice as the ones on the 505. Remember, the 305 sounded, played just as well as the 505.

I did like the looks of the 505 a little more because the wood had some nice flames, it was finished quite nicely in a sunburst, and I liked gloss on that mandolin. It looked much like a Flatiron A5 Artist I had years ago. But that's not that important unless you will want to upgrade within a few months for those reasons.

If you would have to wait months to get a 505 -- and don't have another decent mandolin now -- I'd go for the 305 and have something to play. If you could find a used 305, chances are that if you ever wanted to upgrade, you could sell it for about what you paid. For what it is worth, the 505 was $649 new last summer and I've seen them used under $500.

Good luck.

[Bill Cameron]

Nope, it would give you an upgraded 305. Not because I think there are actual construction differences, but because it will always be a 305 and if you hand-select a great 505 it will be a superior instrument and worth more in the long run. You can upgrade the 505 too...and I think the 505 has better-quality tonewoods. (go for the red finish not the sunburst. They just sound and look better.)

A good 505 just has more "it" than a 305.

I see people asking what I see as ridiculous prices for upgraded 305s, I wonder what they end up getting....

[Charles E.]

I remember one time my wife and I were in the local guitar store and I was trying out the mandolins on the wall. At some point I took down an Eastman 505 and started playing, my wife turned around and said "honey, keep it down! That mandolin is really loud!"

I should have bought it.

[Milky2390]

My experience is with an MD315 (the f style version of the 305). I see no reason to change the tuners. Fitting an Allen TR-1 tailpiece was a simple, no drilling needed upgrade. No more rattling/buzzing tailpiece cover. If you'd rather have a gloss finish wait for a good used 505. If you like the matte finish, a 305 will work fine. If the tailpiece doesn't buzz or rattle, no need to replace it.
Other suggestions:. I played one of the new Kentucky 505's at a shop recently, looked great, fit, finish and wood figure was impressive for that price point. If you can find one to test it'd be worth checking if the sound and feel suits you.

[Kalasinar]

If you really liked the MD305 you played, then you might have hit on a winner there. If that same shop had the MD505 for you to try, you could go back and compare the two. If not, and you have no way of trying a 505, then the choice is between an MD305 you have played (and liked) or an unknown MD505... I know which i'd pick.

For argument's sake, I doubt you'd go wrong either way as the differences aren't that huge between them. They're both carved solid woods and both excellently made. I have the 504, the oval hole version, and i love it to pieces. I remember briefly considering the 304, but i wanted something that was more of an upgrade from what i started with (my Tanglewood with generic tailpiece and generic not-so-great tuners). To be fair, the Eastman MD305 tuners and tailpiece are probably far better than what my Tanglewood has anyway, but I personally wanted that cast tailpiece. I can't afford £1000s for a mandolin on my wages so the 504 is going to be my keeper for a long long time. I also find matte finishes more frustrating to keep in good shape, though i still think the 304/305/315 look very sophisticated. Sound is the most important thing though... i know some players report that heavy lacquers and gloss can 'dull' the sound somewhat. Don't know about that first hand, but my 504 has plenty of punch.

Whichever one you get, you might want to change the bridge - the posts were leaning/bent on mine so i upgraded to a Cumberland and haven't looked back. Let us know what you decide on in the end and good luck!

[colorado_al]

I'd go for the MD-505. I have played many Eastman mandolins and I think the 505 is the best value of all they offer. The tuning machines are far better than on the 305. Case for the 505 is better than the gig bag for the 305. Same with tailpiece. If you're paying to upgrade those on a 305, it will cost you at least what a 505 would and the instrument is still a 305. You can find used MD 505 for $500-$600 most of the time, sometimes for less.
Here's one. Seller asking $630. Bet you could get it for $550
https://reverb.com/item/2539825-east...classic-finish

Here's a new one for $595 with coupon ROB15
https://reverb.com/item/3315055-east...d-coa-included
This one is from a good shop here in Colorado. They include a setup in the purchase price. I'd go for this one

PS- if you have $900 to spend, I'd pick up this Eastman MD-815V for $895. That's a sweet deal, but sounds like you were hoping to keep it well below $900.
http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/106092#106092

[gtani7]

Tl;Dr: is there more of a difference between the construction, bracing, etc. on the MD 305 and 505?

Any other suggestions for mandolins in the sub 900 dollar range (new or used) are welcome as well! I would like to keep cost on the lower end of the spectrum. Im interested in mostly bluegrass and jazz.

Thanks folks!

If you're buying used the recent Eastmans have much nicer bridges than mine, which were 2011 605 and 2006 505 models, and which really needed to be upgraded.

I would suggest a road trip to try other makers, if that's what it takes to try Kentucky 500 and 505's and also flattops. The thing with Kentucky is that they've sold a lot of instruments made in different factories/workshops, some weren't so great, and some of hte older 500's might fall into that category, but i loved the KM505 i got used.

If going to more shops isn't feasible, watch the classifieds here and The Mandolin store in Phoenix and folkmusician.com sometimes have blemished instruments that folks have reported they can't find the blemishes on.

[Astro]

I have an MD305 and it sounds and plays great for the money. I dont think I'd bother upgrading anything on it. BUT if you have 900 to spend you could just about get a used
Kentucky KM 1000 which I think would be a bigger upgrade from what you have as the ones I've heard sounded better. http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/106511#106511

[Elb2000]

I played both the MD 305 and 505 and bought the MD 505. The Eastman’ s retain their value so well, it is the only mandolin that I bought new. Both sounded fine. I liked the MD 505 upgrades and case which is light, tough and great for traveling.

[Br1ck]

Geez, you had to mention you have a MK Festival. Opens up a wole new world of MK posts. LOL.

Back to the question, I had a 505 for a while as my first mandolin, and recently bought a Festival when they were blown out for a couple of hundred bucks. Fit and finish are far superior on the 505. There are things I like better on my Festival, now that I've got it set up to play really well. It's very bright which lends it to bluegrass better IMHO. The Eastman is a better all around sound. You need to play one and see for yourself.

There have been some really tempting used mandolins come up for sale in the classifieds recently in the $1000 range. Are you looking for a semi permanent fix, or a temporary step up the ladder? I think $1000 used will postpone the next purchase longer.

[soliver]

I have and play daily an MD305 and love it!... I can't speak to the 505 as I've never played one, but I can tell you that I've never been disappointed with my 305.

[Caleb]

I guess there are at least a couple different ways of looking at doing upgrades.

If you care much about the money spent and ever recovering it down the line, upgrades are a bad idea. Just look at all the lower-end mandolins that go through the Classifieds where the seller takes a hit on his/her CA bridge upgrade, etc.

But if you see it as money spent on your hobby that you enjoy and don't care about making it back, then getting a 305 and upgrading it isn't a bad move.

Having said all that, I don't recall seeing people here who do these upgrades and end up with the life-long player they are hoping for. But I see them do the upgrades, get excited about it, and end up selling off the mandolin for something else anyway. No real harm done (I've done this myself with my old CA-equipped 505), but just an observation and something to consider.

As for the hardware on a 505, the tuners on mine were better (much better) than the StewMac Golden Age tuners that came on my Collings MT. The factory bridge was ok and would have been fine, but I got too curious about the CA and had one (full-contact) fitted later on. It did beef up the sound, and it just looked cooler being full-contact. I also took the gloss off my 505 which beefed up the sound too. I think that's one reasons so many people like the 305, the fact that it's matte and will have the fuller sound from the get go.

[colorado_al]

Here's another MD 505 that popped up for $500.
http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/106573#106573
That is about the going rate for a used one. Seller didn't post any pictures, but I'm sure they would send you some if you contact them

[Bob Buckingham]

So I teach in a local music store and one day a couple of years ago we got some Eastman mandolins in and the 315 was a brand new model then. One had a great looking back wood and then we noticed that the peg head was broken like Bill Monroe's was. To make a long story short I snagged that sucker at a good discount so the store would not have to send it back. I put Grover tuners in it and an Allen tailpiece. But the biggest change and the one that took the instrument to the next level was replacing the frets with medium Martin guitar style frets. Whoa what an improvement in tonality and playability. The rep was impressed and told me that everything else with a 300 series is the same as the other levels for wood and construction. I have had lots of compliments on it.

[CrystalB]

I have a 305 and like it a lot, BUT when I first got it, I hated the tuners that came on it. I finally replaced them with Grovers and have had no more problems.