Thoughts on an Eastman MD-515 Mandolin as a first scroll

[colemole]

Hello all
I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on the Eastman MD-515 instrument. I have been playing around with a few A type instruments but I am curious about the Scroll.
Thanks

[GMorgan]

I can only comment on how it sounds and how it feels to play. My Eastman 515 was my first mandolin, and it was a great instrument for me to initially play. I now have a new primary, but I learned to love the mandolin by playing my Eastman. I'm an old violinist and found the Eastman 515 to produce good tone throughout the spectrum and to feel good on my lap and in my hands. There are a ton of good instruments out there and the Eastman 515 is one of them.

[RobP]

I have a 515/V that I love the sound of - it's my main instrument and I perform with it regularly. I played a standard 515 at a music store first - I was surprised how much I liked it. I was ready to buy that, but they had sold it as I wallowed in indecisiveness. I found the 515/V used-like-new here in the classifieds. I say go for it.

[Bill Cameron]

A scroll is handy to hang a strap on. That”s really the only functional difference from a carved-top A-style body with f-holes.

And I guess it provides some comfort and security to Monroe-style purists and anyone who wants to have the general public recognize the instrument as a mandolin.(an uphill struggle in any case.)

The physics minded like to point out that the slightly larger air chamber created by the scroll theoretically creates a very slight increase in sonic volume.

Always nice to see a new Canadian dans Le Cafe de Mandoline. Bonjour!

[dwc]

My experience is that Eastman are good mandolins. A lot of people recommend the 315, and it is fine, but the 515 gets you better tuners and (debatably) a better tailpiece. I think it should also get you an upgrade to a hard case.

Also, FWIW, I think wanting a scroll is a perfectly reasonable sentiment. Even if the 505 would sound just as good, if the 515 makes someone happier, then, IMO, it’s worth the money.

[CES]

I have a lot of respect for Eastman instruments. Prior to a downsize move in 2018 I had a 315 that I got for a great clearance price at a big box store. It was one they got right. I used to joke that it was 85% of the tone of a Collings MT I had at the time at a fraction of the cost (I think I paid $429 for it not too long before they jumped to their current listings). I always got compliments on it (admittedly in fun environments like the beach, lake dock, camping, etc) from people, and not infrequently from friends and family who heard me
play on my better instruments but couldn’t really tell the difference. One of the girls in our youth praise band at church (for which I’ve been the adult supervision for over a decade) has an Eastman 6 string that sounds like it should be 3 times what she paid for it.

So, if a scroll you must have, a 515 is a very good (and potentially excellent) entry point. If you’re looking to take that next big step in tone, though, an A style in the $1500 +/- range is the way to go. My first pro-level carved mandolin was a Silverangel Econo I bought in 2009 or 2010 (best instrument bargain I’ve ever scored at $900 used…even better than the Eastman because of what it had in the tone department). I couldn’t believe what a step up it was compared to the Kentucky 675S that was my main instrument prior to the SA’s arrival. It kept MAS at bay until 2018 when I turned the SA, Eastman, a Flatiron 1N, and a Taylor guitar into my Kelley A-5 (remember, I was downsizing and going for fewer but better).

But, yeah, the 515 is a solid line of instruments. If you need electronics the 615 comes with a pickup and may be worth a look as well. Happy hunting!

[adam e]

I recently got a varnish 515 and it's really quite good. It probably actually sounds better than my Northfield Big Mon, which is not a knock on the Northfield. But that said, I played the 515 and a 615 side by side, and I was unimpressed by the 615 but recognized immediately how good this 515 was. So definitely try to play a couple of them if you can.

[Bill Cameron]

To be clear, I agree that the 515 is generally a very good instrument. And the scroll factor adds to the resale value, it’s not a dead loss. Largely just a matter of where you want to keep your money.
I was surprised at dwc’s comment that the 500 series have better tuners than 300s, since they have historically (I think) been all the same Pingwells, so I looked it up and whaddaya know, they didn’t upgrade the 500s, they switched the 300s to Prolines, cheaper I presume. The Pingwells are only decent and not great and swapping in Grover’s is a notable (and easy) improvement.

The other thing I would note is that if you end up keeping an Eastman a long time such that it needs a fret job, I would have the frets upgraded to larger harder ones like EVO. I had a partial refret, so stayed with the original Jescar wire of course—on my 505 after 10 years—it was critically needed, the grooves were so bad some positions produced two different notes—and within a year was starting to see new wear on the replaced ones. If you’re a hard-playin fret killer like me, best to get a whole new set of more durable stuff.

I’m still an Eastman fan and still play the 505 even tho I now have a Collings as my primary.

[dwc]

I don’t know what tunes are on the 3 series vs the 5 series, I just know that I gave my friend a 305 as a wedding gift, and the one thing I would swap on it are the tuners. My local music store had 2 or 3 515s on the wall a while back, and all those tuners just felt better. Not great, just better. I actually prefer the Gibson style tailpiece on the 315 over the tailpiece on the 515, but that is just a preference. A hard case is a nice upgrade.

[Tighthead]

I recently got a varnish 515 and it's really quite good. It probably actually sounds better than my Northfield Big Mon

Now that is a statement that should prompt some discussion.

[RobP]

Now that is a statement that should prompt some discussion.

I had a similar experience. I bought a used-almost-new 515V, and sound-wise it is right up there with my Collings MT. I have posted comparison sound clips here before.

[Trader Todd]

[QUOTE=adam e;1867287]I recently got a varnish 515 and it's really quite good. It probably actually sounds better than my Northfield Big Mon

I upgraded to a 515 from a The Loar, then immediately went out and upgraded to a Northfield F5s. The plan was to sell the 515 to help fund the Northfield, but the 515 sounds so good can't part with it. While the Northfield has a warmer, sweeter tone, the Eastman has as much (if not more) punch and projection and great playability. I hope it's ok to own more than one mandolin at a time. I still play it regular and I always get compliments on the Eastman when I break it out our jam sessions.

[Bazz Jass]

I have to agree on the above comments on the sound of the 515. Really astounding - I was going to say for the price, but actually great sound is great sound, and price has nothing to do with it.

I parted with mine because the neck wasn't a great fit for my hand. I play a pre truss rod F4 which I find very comfortable and it has a sweet warm magical sound, but for bluegrass chop and projection, the 515 drowned out everything in the room.