Kitty Moyer - Posted - 06/25/2014:  14:09:38

Just thought I would take a moment to introduce myself.  I picked up a used Eastman MD504 on eBay so that I would have something to play around with.  I'm primarily a violin player, but figured the tuning would make learning the mandolin easier than some other instrument and it would be nice to have something to pick up and just play without worrying about whether Bach was rolling in his grave when I screwed up.

I dropped the mandolin off at Guitar Works in Richmond, VA to get new strings and have them check out the setup.  The luthier doesn't like Eastmans, so that might not have been my best plan.  He pointed out some things he felt were wrong with it.  Hopefully it's nothing fatal.  I'll know for certain later today, once he goes over it.  At any rate, I really like the sound of this instrument and intend to keep it and make of it what I can.  I haven't really seen any bad reviews on the Eastman line. 

So hello, from Richmond!  I'm looking forward to learning whatever I can and to "meeting" all of you here on this forum.

TSSN - Posted - 06/25/2014:  14:23:54

Hello and welcome to the MHO.  I hope that Eastman comes back to your liking.  I have played a few, and they can be quite nice.  Let us know what happens.

SteveZ - Posted - 06/25/2014:  16:36:45

Welcome.  I had a 504 until about three weeks ago (traded it for another instrument ). The trade wasn't because I didn't like the Eastman - far from it - but it wasn't getting enough play time and the deal was too good yo pass by.  The 504 is a very good mandolin with a mellow tone.  As a non-bluegrasser, I prefer the oval hole - makes it "mellower" (at least to me.

The 504 I had ran well with both  D'addario J74 and GHS 270 strings.  Best of success with it.

Edited by - SteveZ on 06/25/2014 16:38:38

Kitty Moyer - Posted - 06/25/2014:  16:39:48

Thanks for the welcome!  I really like the look and sound of this instrument and hope to be able to play some early music and Irish tunes.  It's why I chose the oval-A style in particular.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this one isn't a lemon. 

TSSN - Posted - 06/25/2014:  20:03:24

Maybe your luthier is just one with a particular dislike for Eastman's for some reason.  In their price range, Eastman's are usually viewed quite favorably in the mandolin community---both here and over at the Cafe.

SteveZ - Posted - 06/26/2014:  06:29:54

Luthiers seem to become instrument-centric.  Have not yet found one who really is sharp among all stringed instruments or feels comfortable in handling a particular instrument type only occasionally.  Have not found anyone in reasonable driving distance who normally handles mandolins (this is guitar world here), so have gotten semi-skilled in doing a lot of the minor stuff myself.

Suggest you look through the posts here for "robster" who has a free e-book on mandolin set-up and maintenance,  It's the best around, written in layman's language and has been indispensable to me.  If nothing else, it clarifies what a luthier is supposed to be doing and demystifies a lot.

Edited by - SteveZ on 06/26/2014 06:38:01

Kitty Moyer - Posted - 06/26/2014:  15:04:09

Thanks.  I'll check out the book.  The luthier explained that he finds the Eastmans tend to have issues, which wasn't what I had heard when I researched them.  At any rate, he adjusted the truss rod as far as it would go and the finger board looks a lot less like a roller coaster now.  It's not perfect, but it will do the job.  He put lighter gauge strings on it too.  It sounds wonderful!

SteveZ - Posted - 06/26/2014:  18:41:15

Am surprised there was that much neck trouble.  Did the previous owner have heavy strings on it?  Truss rods on the better imports rarely ever need adjusting once the instrument leaves a factory.  What kind of strings were installed?

Kitty Moyer - Posted - 06/26/2014:  19:01:23

I don't know what kind of strings were on it when it arrived and the E strings were missing.  The luthier said the strings were far and away too heavy for that instrument and likely caused some of the issue.