Narrowed it down to three

[DevinG]

Thanks, CWRoyds,
That was what I was looking for. I did get a pdf on doing a set up myself but if I can get a real pro...

[Johnny60]

Mark, I think Eastman have changed their neck shapes at some point.

About 8 years ago I bought an Eastman 505 - it had a slim, V-shaped neck and a narrow nut width (which was giving me a ton of tendon issues). I sold it around 5 years ago to partially fund a Northfield F5S which had a slightly wider nut width (1 and 1/8”), a more pronounced radius and larger frets.

When one of my sons was looking for a new mandolin a couple of years ago, we tried out a fair number of Eastmans, and they all had a fuller, more C-shaped neck with a 1 and 1/8” nut width. So something’s obviously changed in the intervening years.

Cheers

John

[Mark Gunter]

Thanks for that info, John. I’ve been playing mandolin less than eight years, so the one I bought & newer ones I’ve sampled at Fiddler’s Green all had the bulkier necks.

[Bill Cameron]

Of those three, Kentucky. If availablr on same-level deal, Eastman. MD505, used or with as good discount, is the sweet spot of value.

Epiphone has a long and varied history but their current mandolin line, while widely available, is not good quality, fit and finish, feel and sound are well below what they should be for a mid-price-range model.

[DevinG]

So, after so many of you brought up Eastman in your writings I finally found a place that sells Kentucky, Loar and Eastman. I found an md605, which I thought was fantastic. It was out of budget. However, after hemming and hawing for a week, I broke down and bought it anyway. I really appreciated everyone's input.

[CES]

Congratulations on an excellent choice! Glad you were able to play a few and pick what felt/sounded the best...definitely the way to go!

[samlyman]

I generally recommend the Kentucky but it looks like you found something you like so congrats! When my Collings mandolin stays home I play a Kentucky KM-500. It has beautiful woods and sounds amazingly good. It is strange to consider that the tuners on my Collings from Waverly cost me more than the Kentucky.

[Steve Ostrander]

Without having a chance to play them, I’d go with the Kentucky.

[DevinG]

I generally recommend the Kentucky but it looks like you found something you like so congrats!

Thanks! I'm already thinking about an f-style, though I have something I really like now.

[HCooke]

Another vote for the Kentucky!