Re: Eastman md 304 vs 314
Carved tops have a more complex, fluid sound. Flattops are naturally resonant when built correctly, the more so since they are almost all oval-hole. A carved-top, F-holes, (body style irrelevant) has a more focused projection, that bluegrass chop or bark. (I actually hate all these combative metaphors—I don’t want to cut or kill a banjo or guitar, I just want to hear and be heard.) You can often drive it harder than a flattop or carved oval-hole, but it depends on the individual mandolin and setup.
The thing about volume is this: it’s not an absolute, it’s a potential. I play a lot of sessions where I can see a mandolin a couple of chairs away but can’t hear it. I’m the opposite, I play too loud and too much (in a roomful of Cape Breton fiddlers.) Actual playing volume is mostly determined by the player. I recently played a fiddler’s new 304 and was blown away by the setup and playability, (the tone less so but it was fine) I asked and sure enough it had been setup by a master of setup and regulation, Rufus Stewart in Vancouver. (Rufus’ Guitar Shop, recommend.) So, I’m rambling, but…you got the player’s style, the setup, and for that matter the environment. They all affect volume and tone, possibly more than the specific design features we like to go on about.
To further muddy the waters, I’d say “don’t limit yourself to oval holes just because of the style you’re playing.” An F-hole can be just dandy for Irish, as long as it’s the right F-hole for you. These days my two always-ready mandos are a Collings MTO (oval) and an Eastman 505 (F-holes). Love ‘em both. These days the Eastman gets more session time than the Collings, which cost five times as much. I just find it supremely comfortable and dialed-in, and as a result I get a very good sound out of it.
Just two more suggestions: 1. when you have a chance, try Eastmans in the 500s and up numbers. The sound potential is definitely higher than the 3s and 4s.
2. If you’re considering Calhoun etc which are about a grand, you also might like the bent-top Martin mandos—they are really quite delightful and relatively affordable.
Welcome to MAS, eh.
2009 Eastman 505
2011 Collings MTO GT
2008 Toyota Sienna
2018 Sawchyn mandola
Mandoline or Mandolin: Similar to the lute, but much less artistically valuable....for people who wish to play simple music without much trouble —The Oxford Companion to Music
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