Results 1 to 24 of 24

Thread: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I just released my new Eastman MD305 from Covid19 isolation, tuned it up, and had a plunk for an hour or so. I'm completely happy with it, which doesn't happen with many of the many musical instruments I've owned. Thanks to all here who recommended it, you were absolutely right!

    What I wanted was a value well made plain looking woody sounding and easy playing mandolin, and that's exactly what this is - but there's more than that. I didn't expect this to have a three piece neck, but there it is - a narrow sandwich of some visibly 'other' wood between the outer layers, maybe that will add some stability. Then there's the alloy tailpiece common to a number of Eastmans and now even on this base model. What they don't bother telling you in the spec. is that this tailpiece depresses the strings slightly, and has a rubber or foam plastic piece on the inside which (I think) has a harmonic supression effect. The machines are, as someone else said on another thread, stiff, but they seem to work OK and don't stick and slip.

    Straight off it sounded a bit hard with a brassy G, but after maybe 20 mins playing it started to loosen up and sound more woody, with more 'pop' to each pick stroke and the initially tight sounding Es opening up. By that time I'd messed with picks and settled (for now) on a 1.0 Dunlop Ultex Sharp - I''ve ordered a selection of thicknesses of these to see what works best. It also sounds like it's starting to sustain longer than straight off - of course it may be playing me in

    I intended to get a Tone-Gard device, so for the moment I fitted a Wolf 'Forte Secondo' viola (not violin - much wider) shoulder rest I have, and I think that's doing the same job. It stays on the mando surprisingly well, it keeps the mando back maybe 1.5" off me and (I think) improves the sound.

    This one's a keeper - even if I get a better mando sometime in the future, this is a good honest instrument that works well, that you can leave on a bar table while you get a drink without worrying about it. Thanks again for the recommendation!

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to maxr For This Useful Post:


  3. #2
    Registered User J Mangio's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Willow Spring, NC
    Posts
    563

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Your happiness is what matters.
    2021 The Loar LM700 VS

  4. #3
    Likes quaint instruments poul hansen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Danmark
    Posts
    725

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Pictures or it didn't happen
    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  5. The following members say thank you to poul hansen for this post:


  6. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Pictures?...well, a brown mandolin, just like every other Eastman MD305 If this picture attach works, though, it'll show the viola shoulder rest, which surprisingly, enables me to play it standing up with no strap. Why would you do that - because you can?

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Eastman 305-1.jpg 
Views:	154 
Size:	498.1 KB 
ID:	191735
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Eastman 305-2.jpg 
Views:	135 
Size:	548.1 KB 
ID:	191736

  7. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to maxr For This Useful Post:


  8. #5

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    A good choice!

  9. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    High Peak - UK
    Posts
    4,172

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Don’t confuse short term “settling down” with long term “playing in”. You’ll likely experience the former with every string change.

    There are about as many people who say Tonegards don’t work as there are who claim that the sound of mandolins don’t improve with time. I now have 3 of them so you can tell which side of the fence I’m on; just make sure you buy the right size. I think an Eastman will need the larger “vintage” one but you need to check. There was a UK one for sale in the classifieds the other day but the seller wasn’t clear about the size. (They also said that it originally cost $35 postage - mine was $25 at the end of November).

    Play the hell out of it!

  10. #7
    Registered User Nick Gellie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Orgiva, Spain
    Posts
    1,439

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I am amazed As to how the Eastman 305 is keeping people sane during these Covid times. I take my hats off to the luthiers in the Eastman factory who are making such quality instruments for so little money. They deserve a pay rise even if the price of the Eastmans go up a bit
    Nic Gellie

  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Nick Gellie For This Useful Post:


  12. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    Don’t confuse short term “settling down” with long term “playing in”. You’ll likely experience the former with every string change....Tonegards... There was a UK one for sale in the classifieds the other day but the seller wasn’t clear about the size. Play the hell out of it!
    Good point about strings settling down vs instrument playing in. I saw that ToneGuard on Ebay, but at £80 I could order one from the US maker with a guarantee for about the same. If the viola shoulder rest works out for me instead (depends on how much it falls off), they're something like £30.

  13. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    High Peak - UK
    Posts
    4,172

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    If you order direct (as I did) don’t forget to factor in VAT and the £8 Royal Mail commission. I don’t think ordering 1 will take you above the duty threshold.

  14. The following members say thank you to Ray(T) for this post:

    maxr 

  15. #10
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,526
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Congrats... Glad you like it..... enjoy. And start putting money away for your upgrade. The more you know, the more you know you don't know. Enjoy the journey. R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  16. The following members say thank you to UsuallyPickin for this post:

    maxr 

  17. #11
    Registered User Pappyrich's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Williamsburg, VA
    Posts
    237

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    You summed up my feelings towards my Eastman 305 very succinctly. Glad you like it. I've had my for about 1.5 years now, and still think it is a very adequate mandolin. No plans to upgrade, yet.

    Enjoy!
    Richard

    Eastman 305
    Gibson A1 (1919)
    Martin D16 guitar
    Great Divide Guitar (Two-Old-Hippies)
    OME 11" banjo (1973)
    Pisgah 12" banjo

  18. The following members say thank you to Pappyrich for this post:

    maxr 

  19. #12
    I really look like that soliver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Marietta, GA
    Posts
    1,745

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Congrats Maxr, I loved my 305!... great little mando!
    aka: Spencer
    Silverangel Econo A #429
    Soliver #001 & #002: A double stack of Pancakes.

    Soliver Hand Crafted Mandolins and Mandolin Armrests
    Armrests Here -- Mandolins Here

    "You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
    to lose sight of the shore, ...and also a boat with no holes in it.” -anonymous

  20. The following members say thank you to soliver for this post:

    maxr 

  21. #13
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    Winnipeg, MB
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I love the chinrest as a tone guard! That's brilliant

  22. #14
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    San Tan Valley, Arizona
    Posts
    271

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Quote Originally Posted by Canoe Captain View Post
    I love the chinrest as a tone guard! That's brilliant
    That's a shoulder rest he's using in place of a tone-gard, not a chin rest, says this unrehabilitated violinist.
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  23. #15
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Time will tell whether the shoulder rest will stay on well enough to do the job of a Tone-Gard. So far as sound goes, it works.
    Eastman MD305 mandolin
    Kentucky KM250 mandolin

    2 x Fiddles, 1 x 5 string viola, 1 x 5 string octave viola, 2 X nyckelharpas
    2 X 12 string guitars, 3 x 6 string guitars, 1 x Cuatro de Puerto Rico
    5 x recorders - descant, alto, tenor
    1 X Highland bagpipes
    1 x Garvie 'Session' mouth blown bagpipes in A

  24. #16

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I have an Eastman also, and I really like it (also!).

  25. The following members say thank you to Stacey Morris for this post:

    maxr 

  26. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    4,787

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Congrats, maxr! And, nice bit of ingenuity with the shoulder rest...
    Chuck

  27. The following members say thank you to CES for this post:

    maxr 

  28. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Quote Originally Posted by CES View Post
    Congrats, maxr! And, nice bit of ingenuity with the shoulder rest...
    Cheapniss is the father of ingenuity...and I'm Scottish.

  29. #19
    Registered User maxamy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
    Location
    Pulaski VA
    Posts
    17

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Nice... Congrats

  30. #20

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Ingenious idea about the shoulder rest.
    "your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."

  31. The following members say thank you to Mandobar for this post:

    maxr 

  32. #21

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Quote Originally Posted by J Mangio View Post
    Your happiness is what matters.
    In addition to his happiness mattering, it also matters that he's found a good mandolin at a reasonable price, which others on the board might also enjoy.

  33. #22

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I just opened mine up as well yesterday. The figuring on yours is more pronounced than mine, I think. Congratulations!

  34. #23
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    San Tan Valley, Arizona
    Posts
    271

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    I got my MD 305 in late September (or early October?) of last year, and by December I added an MDO 305. Yeah, I like mine.

    Congratulations to both of you!
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  35. #24
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: Eastman MD 305 unbox - thanks all, I'm a satisfied customer.

    Quote Originally Posted by neverenoughtea View Post
    I just opened mine up as well yesterday. The figuring on yours is more pronounced than mine, I think. Congratulations!
    Might just be the photo. Mine has some figure on the back (none on the neck), but it's not bookmatched, so I think it's just chance rather than design. It also has a bunch of narrow vertical lines running up and down the back, which I suspect might be toothed plane marks which haven't been completely taken out with a scraper before being filled with stained filler then varnished. The joins in the three part top are easy to see also. If this was a $3000 mandolin that might be some cause for concern, but hey, this is a budget instrument for the sound quality, so for me it's all 'character'. Have fun with yours, I expect they all sound as good as each other.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •