Need style help for Eastman MD 315 F-style Grover tuner choice

[Green Phlash]

Hi All,
Completely New Mandolin player with my Eastman MD 315 F-style coming in today. I've read and seen on line the the Proline J-105 tuners that are used on the 315 are stiff and a bit hard to keep the strings in tune. I'll of course experiment with my mandolin to verify if it is true on mine, but in all likelihood I'll want to swap them out.

What I've heard is that the best tuners to get, without breaking the bank, will be the Grovers. So I've shown the choices that they offer below. I can't figure out what is the appearance difference of the Vintage versus Standard, so I need help with that. Also my wife thinks I have questionable taste in design so while I'm partial to gold and black, if I decide to sell it in the future, that may not be the best choice as the MD 315 uses Nickel and pearloid.

Any and all help/comments appreciated!!

Here are the Grover choices:

409FN Nickel For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Pearloid Buttons

409FG Gold For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Pearloid Buttons

409FNB Nickel For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Black Buttons

409FGB Gold For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Black Buttons

409FNW Nickel For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with White Buttons

409FGW Gold For Standard 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with White Buttons

409FVN Nickel For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Pearloid Buttons

409FVG Gold For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Pearloid Buttons

409FVNB Nickel For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Black Buttons

409FVGB Gold For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with Black Buttons

409FVNW Nickel For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with White Buttons

409FVGW Gold For Vintage 4 + 4 “F” Style Mandolins with White Buttons

[MikeEdgerton]

For anyone interested in actually looking at the choices the Grover page that actually shows the colors is here.

[Charles E.]

The tailpiece will be nickel so stick with that for the base plates. As for the buttons, my least favorite is pearloid, favorite is black.

[Green Phlash]

Good point Charles E. Thanks for your insight.

[Charles E.]

Years ago I had an Eastman 315 and did upgrades to it. Put Grover tuners on, Allen tailpiece, Cumberland Acoustic bridge and a speed neck. It was a good little mandolin that I enjoyed very much before selling it to help fund my Girouard mandolin. The new owner was thrilled that I did all the work before he got it.
Enjoy your new 315!

[Walt]

Speculating here, but the VINTAGE vs STANDARD distinction is probably worm UNDER vs worm OVER gears.

[Green Phlash]

Thanks Charles E for the good wishes!
I'll have to check out those other upgrades that you mentioned, the Cumberland Acoustic Bridge and whatever a speed neck is. I do intend to do a Rosa Stringworks paper slip test on the bridge, and get it perfectly level if it isn't already perfect. I may also do some fret leveling if necessary though I'm hoping that the set up I get from the Amazon seller is good. The only other thing I'm planning on doing right now is a black felt stick-on, top and bottom, of the end piece, which is another Rosa Stringworks recommendation.

I'm curious though about a deer horn saddle. I'm trying to figure out is it would make much of a difference or not.

[Green Phlash]

Thank you Walt for your reply. You have either a good eye or a lot of knowledge here. I never noticed the difference between the two. Probably why my wife doesn't think I'm expert Detective material :-) Would that make any difference at all besides appearance?

From the pictures the Proline J-105 are under (Grover Vintage style which makes me lean towards 409FVNB or 409FVGW or 409FVG. So thank you a bunch in helping me narrow down my choices.

[Walt]

Thank you Walt for your reply. You have either a good eye or a lot of knowledge here. I never noticed the difference between the two. Probably why my wife doesn't think I'm expert Detective material :-) Would that make any difference at all besides appearance?

From the pictures the Proline J-105 are under (Grover Vintage style which makes me lean towards 409FVNB or 409FVGW or 409FVG. So thank you a bunch in helping me narrow down my choices.

I’d order whatever configuration comes on the mandolin. It looks like from pics online that the stock tuners are worm under (so vintage configuration). I’d worry that the standard configuration plates would be situated differently on the headstock.
As far as differences besides appearance: it affects which way you turn the button to tune the instrument. Vintage (worm under) is backwards from most instruments, but it won’t take long to get used to. I have a mixture of both configurations.

[Charles E.]

Thanks Charles E for the good wishes!
I'll have to check out those other upgrades that you mentioned, the Cumberland Acoustic Bridge and whatever a speed neck is. I do intend to do a Rosa Stringworks paper slip test on the bridge, and get it perfectly level if it isn't already perfect. I may also do some fret leveling if necessary though I'm hoping that the set up I get from the Amazon seller is good. The only other thing I'm planning on doing right now is a black felt stick-on, top and bottom, of the end piece, which is another Rosa Stringworks recommendation.

I'm curious though about a deer horn saddle. I'm trying to figure out is it would make much of a difference or not.

Don't feel the need to add many upgrades at first. Play the mandolin and enjoy the ride.

[Green Phlash]

Thanks Walt and Charles E. It just came in and it is set up really well. No gaps for paper to get under the bridge, though it is a bit sharp on the saddle corners and the action is a bit high. And so far the sound is good from my inexperienced mandolin ears.

One curious thing though on this 315 is that in the back it has some really thin parallel grown rings that go up and down as you would hope.

But oddly the front has a bunch of quilting / curly going on here and there. Here is an image of what I see near the bridge

There is more of this going on elsewhere on the top too.

What is odd is that my understanding is that while chatoyancy isn't common in Spruce, it is relatively common in maple. The 315 is supposed to be a spruce top, with a maple back, but looks like the reverse to me.

What do you think?

[Walt]

Thanks Walt and Charles E. It just came in and it is set up really well. No gaps for paper to get under the bridge, though it is a bit sharp on the saddle corners and the action is a bit high. And so far the sound is good from my inexperienced mandolin ears.

One curious thing though on this 315 is that in the back it has some really thin parallel grown rings that go up and down as you would hope.

But oddly the front has a bunch of quilting / curly going on here and there. Here is an image of what I see near the bridge

There is more of this going on elsewhere on the top too.

What is odd is that my understanding is that while chatoyancy isn't common in Spruce, it is relatively common in maple. The 315 is supposed to be a spruce top, with a maple back, but looks like the reverse to me.

What do you think?

I think it all looks normal. The back looks like quartersawn maple—that’s why you have the straight grain lines. And a lot of maple is unfigured, in which case you wouldn’t see much, or any, chatoyancy. And I think the cross lines you see in the top are some kind of medullary rays which is normal in spruce. Some of the proper wood experts may correct me on that.
Enjoy!

[Charles E.]

What Walt said, totally normal.

[Charles E.]

Thanks Charles E for the good wishes!
I'll have to check out those other upgrades that you mentioned, the Cumberland Acoustic Bridge and whatever a speed neck is. I do intend to do a Rosa Stringworks paper slip test on the bridge, and get it perfectly level if it isn't already perfect. I may also do some fret leveling if necessary though I'm hoping that the set up I get from the Amazon seller is good. The only other thing I'm planning on doing right now is a black felt stick-on, top and bottom, of the end piece, which is another Rosa Stringworks recommendation.

I'm curious though about a deer horn saddle. I'm trying to figure out is it would make much of a difference or not.

Green Phlash, you were wondering what a "speed neck" is. It is the process of removing the finish from the neck between the heel and the headstock. Then sanding it down and applying a light oil finish. The finish on my 315's neck was reacting to my sweat causing it to get sticky. Here is a thread that I did on the process ten years ago.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...an-Eastman-315

[Green Phlash]

Thanks for the information Charles E.! That change you did makes a lot of sense to mel There does seem to be a bit of grab on the back of the neck as I slide my fingers up and down. Whenever I go into a Guitar Center, I'm always impressed at how silky smooth some of the guitar necks are.

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Oh good! Thanks Walt.