For those who purchased an APC from Moloney's did you buy a hardcase with it? If so, what's the quality of the hardcase? If not, what was the packaging like when shipped?
For those who purchased an APC from Moloney's did you buy a hardcase with it? If so, what's the quality of the hardcase? If not, what was the packaging like when shipped?
Were there customs and duty fees upon shipment arrival? I just checked the gov duty fees website and it says Ireland duty fees are 100% meaning whatever you paid for the mando you owe to the US gov. I am not sure of the context though and am not entirely sure how to find more information on this.
I ordered the M305 and got the cheaper case with it http://www.moloneymusic.com/Products...nstrumentcases
I guess you could say its like a "Gator" case.
Well packed in the case and then all that packed well in a shipping box.
A couple of months ago, I played an Eastman 305 octave at a local guitar store that sells a lot of Eastman products. I have owned a Weber 20" scale Octave and can only compare it to this. To my eye, I thought (though I could be wrong) that the Eastman was patterned after the Weber octaves. The were about the same size and looked very similar. The Eastmans are about $700 and the new Weber octaves now start around $3000.
To me, the Weber clearly had a finer tone. They are really no competition to Weber in that regard. However, the Eastman did have a good tone and did sound and play like an octave mandolin. As always, different strings and picks would alter the tone. So it is possible that the tone could even be better. A few years ago, I bought a used Weber 20" octave Gallatin for well under $1,700. Used Weber A style Gallatin octaves now go for around $2000 and up since Weber seems to have discontinued the lower priced A style Gallatin octaves, which (in my view) is a big mistake.
The Eastman octave would have been acceptable to me. At the time I made the purchase, I would have seriously considered the Eastman model had they be available and probably would have purchased it since it could be bought at less than half the price of a used Weber A style octave.
I bought the same case as Bret and also paid nothing in import duty. The case is more than adequate for my needs.
As the happy owner of a Weber Fern, I'm pretty sure the Weber octaves sound better than my APC. But for the money, for something I'm just messing around with. ...
I have no idea if it sounds better than the Eastman. They should sound wildly different. We're comparing a solid, carved, f-hole, spruce over maple instrument with one that has (probably) an induced arch, solid cedar over laminated mahogany or sapele and is an oval hole.
I'll say that I'm very impressed with it, and it's terrific for what I want to do with an OM, which is to play medieval, Renaissance and some Celtic music. I'd still rather have Brian Dean make me one, and I'd be delighted to own a Weber, but for less than a sixth of the price of a new Weber (and maybe a ninth of one of Brian's creations), this is a steal. Whether it's "better" than other low-cost octaves will be in the ear of the player.
Don't think that's right? I used this site https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/ and assumed a cost of EUR 600 for the instrument and EUR 200 for shipping and insurance and it came to $46.
As it's being exported to the US you shouldn't have to pay V.A.T. (sales tax), don't know about the U.S. but you might have to pay local state sales tax on import?
So is the Ashbury OM and Trinity College OM pretty comparable?
I've been wanting an octave mandolin for some time now. The main choices in my price range were the Eastman 305 the Trinity and maybe the Hora. I'd heard about the bridge on the Trinity and the thin sound of the Eastman, but I was favoring the Eastman due to the construction. In the meantime I picked up a recording king tenor guitar which I love tuned to octave mandolin once I installed the Irish tenor strings. I think it really sounds good with the proper strings for GDAE tuning. It has some nice low end. A couple of weeks ago I got a chance to play a Trinity College Octave in a violin shop and I was underwhelmed. Maybe it was the strings or the setup but I wasn't impressed. Now I'm not sure I want an Eastman either unless I can play it first. The Recording King tenor guitar has hit the spot for now anyway and at a fraction of the price (less than $200 new at a local guitar shop). Too bad they don't make an 8 string version of it.
I have Eastman and I love it. The tone rounded out nicely after about 10 hours of playing, initially I found it thin. My other mando is approx 6500$ and while the tone is not as sophisticated, I never pick up the Eastman and think it’s not a good instrument. I really enjoy it and would replace right away if needed. I looked at the Trinity but went with Eastman for the looks and Fholes. I play everything on it, and it does a serviceable job.
Another option:
https://donkawalek.com/octave-mandolin-details/
I got to play this one and while I don't have any point of reference for sound on octaves, I thought it sounded good, it was clearly very well-made, and the playability was good. $950 is a steal in my opinion!
I had both for awhile and they really seemed like very different instruments. Both very playable and nicely made, but the Eastman archtop with F holes vs The Trinity flat top oval hole tone were not similar at all. The Trinity was very resonant and a bit brighter than the Eastman to my ears. I sold the Trinity, figuring I only needed one Octave to play around with it. Could easily gone the other way, although the lop sided hard case on the Trinity was a pain.
" Give me some words I can dance to and a melody that rhymes" - Steve Goodman
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