New Eastman 815-V

[cutter]

Just had to have it. I pulled a new one from the wall of our local music store last Fall while pricing some heat/ac/humidification work for the owner. It just really threw me back in my chair with it's unique tone, superb playability and craftsmanship. I guess the unique tone comes from the adirondack spruce top. I've since made numerous stops when in the area to play it (the same one) and compared it to many other foreign & American made mandolins. I have to say I was/am truly in love with this mandolin. About two weeks ago the owner made me an offer I couldn't refuse. In the price he also changed it out to my preferred strings and went back over the set up. This mando seems to get as loud, as mellow, as barky and is as woody as I want and still has yet to open up. It came earlier than I had planned and it may just be the last mandolin I buy, well at least for a workhorse to play gigs with anyway. I also like the spirit varnish in lieu of lacquer. My hand doesn't seem to bind on the neck as much due to sweat. I'm now considering removing the lacquer finish from the necks of my other two Eastmans (515 & 505). For what it's worth I would highly recommend Eastman mandolins to any mandolin player be they novice, intermediate or professional (no, I don't work for Eastman lol).

It's been a few short years since taking up this instrument and I've come to this forum for much advice as my playing progresses, thanks to all here for your sound advice.

Oh, bought & started using a metronome for practice. Highly recommended, it's amazing the right/left hand coordination gained as well as other benefits.

[scrubber]

Oh, bought & started using a metronome for practice. Highly recommended, it's amazing the right/left hand coordination gained as well as other benefits.

The metronome is probably the most difficult 'instrument' to jam with!

On the other hand, if you can play with a metronome, you can play with ANYBODY!

dave

[Dub Martin]

Congratulation, Cutter. I know you are going to LOVE your new 815. I sure love mine.

I've made a couple of changes in mine that you might want to consider for yourself

1. I added a King Brown arm rest to keep perspiration from damaging the finish in the summertime and to prevent any muting of tone by arm or sleeve.
2. I swapped out the Eastman tailpiece for a James Mandolin Tailpiece.

The James tailpiece is cast as one piece like the Eastman but with two major advantages. The hinged cover snaps securely over the string posts so strings won't be popping off the instrument when you install new ones. The ease of changing strings alone makes the James tailpiece worth the money. Plus the James tailpiece has built in damping so you won't ever need funky washers or leather strip between the strings behind your bridge. And of course since the 815 resembles the old Gibson Loars so closely, it's nice to have a tailpiece that looks as though it belongs there.

Be sure to give us a series of reports on your 815 and its progress.

[cutter]

Thanks Dub
The King Brown "over the tail piece" looks interesting. I'll have to keep tabs on my arm when playing to see which one would better suit me. I've thought of getting one in the past. Do you notice much tonal improvement because of it?

I'm pretty happy with the Eastman cast tail pieces and have learned the tricks on re-stringing without losing the looped end off the post. I did recently have to add a small strip of felt under the tail piece of my 515. Was getting some phantom overtones anytime I fretted the D# note on G or A strings (weird), the felt straightened that right out though.

Thanks for the tips,

[Dub Martin]

My arm rest is the shorter one that doesn't go over the tailpiece. I like the understated look and I also need to raise the hinged cover on my James tailpiece. The arm rest definitely made a difference in the sound. It keeps my arm off the top leaving it freer to vibrate. Since I don't plant my picking hand anywhere, my arm was the only source of tone damping. The King Brown arm rest took care of that problem.

I realized that I could probably use an alligator clip or something to facilitate restringing but the James tailpiece is also cast so it has no rattle at all and the hinged cover holds loose strings so I don't need to keep track of one more gadget. Besides, the James tailpiece looks really cool and I don't need to worry about phantom overtones.

[cutter]

I did some testing over the weekend and it looks like my forearm rests almost right on the tail piece. We have a couple of 3 hour gigs coming up over the Memorial Day weekend so I'll try and keep notice of it, especially as I tire towards the end.

Eastman does have a strip of either leather or felt glued under their tail pieces. When I fixed my 515 I tried to remove the tail piece to get at it but could not free the strap button easily. I was afraid of damaging the instrument so I simply placed a piece of felt right on top of Eastman's. Simple enough and it sure did the trick. I think I was wearing Eastman's strip when pulling the stings through during re-stringing (very often on that mando).

As a side note: (and I may have learned it on this forum from you Dub) I squeeze the loops a little tighter with pliers and bend a slight down angle on them with my finger & thumb before placing them over the posts. That seems to keep them on the posts while working up at the north end.

I'll let you know what I end up doing on the arm rest.
As always, thanks for the sound advice,

[cutter]

Dub Martin
Assuming you have the same case for your 815 as I do, does your mando fit back in the case without taking off the arm rest? I have the rectangular case with the two long narrow compartments (not sure if case matters).

[Dub Martin]

I don't have the Eastman case that mine was shipped with. When I bought it (at Stars Guitars) Jim had a rectangular Gibson style F model case that he couldn't use. He'd bought it for his high-end Lebeda but the Lebeda wouldn't fit. So he kindly offered me that case instead of the Eastman foam case.

My case looks sorta like this...

[tomthebaptist]

I'm new to the forum... came here to gather information about the Eastman 815V. I have a used one on order... traded my 505 for it. I tried the 815 out last Saturday.... but didn't have my 505 with me to compare it to. With that said, I loved the feel of the 815V better.... sound of the two were pretty close with the 815v being louder.... make a long story short, I packed my 505 up and shipped it to the dealer in Alabama.... waiting for the 815V.... you guys have wet my appitite.

[cutter]

Hi Tom & welcome
Let us know how it works out for you. I'm having a blast with mine. It's a shame you had to give up the 505 though, I still really enjoy mine and often bring it along to the gigs as a back up.

[tomthebaptist]

Cutter, thanks for the welcome. What are your preferred strings for the 815-V?

Thanks,

Tom

[cutter]

Geeeez, sorry Tom. That last post's a month old. Right now I'm using Elixer Med on all my mandolins. However, Dub Martin (I think) sparked my interest in the Sam Bush monels by Gibson. I just ordered a 3 pack yesterday from Elderly Instruments
at "20% off" sale. Plan to give em a try for sound and then rate their longevity. I have the acid sweat thing so longevity is important to me. This will be my first string experiment with the 815-V. I may try the monels on a couple of others too.

I'll let you know how things turn out

Oh, did you get your 815 yet????

[tomthebaptist]

Someone else recommended Sam Bush GHS. Right now I have J74s... they work really well...like the way they sound. By the way, the more I play this mandolin (815V) the better I like it. I have a friend, an exceptional mandolin player, that I play with... he just loves the Eastman 815V. I like the sound he gets out of it. Anyway, hope you had a good 4th of July.

tom

[cutter]

tomthebaptist (and others)
I recieved the new Sam Bush monel strings and put a set on the 815v. I really liked the limpness of them making for some really easy stringing up. After restringing and tuning to pitch, played it a short while and hung it on the wall overnight in a controlled environment (54% -56% RH at 74-76 dgrees). When first played, man they sounded really tinny and thin (which I was told by someone they most likely would at first). After hanging on the wall overnight and about one hour of playtime they have lost the tinniness, and I notice much louder treble. They also now give the mandolin a more overall woody or hollow sound which I like. I have lost a little bass response on my heavy chops as compared to the elixers I had on but then again I only have about one hour playtime so I'm hoping that will also improve. I have two gigs to play next weekend one being outside so that should be a good test as far as durabilty from my acid rain sweat. If the bass response comes up - durability may not be as big an issue as I'm surely liking the tone as these strings break in (much stronger presence in lead breaks). BTW, the slightly different string gauges (as compared to the elixers) actually have better intonation across the board and I did not have to adjust the bridge at all G - E intonation still dead on. I still have two more packs and am anxious to try them on a couple of my other mandolins. I have a Rover RM-75 which I love but always needed more wood & volume. Monels could be a good way to go. I try to use the Rover for most of my practice time in an attempt to save string wear on my gig mandolins but must admit I find myself fondling all of them mostly. Of course these findings are subject to this one particular mandolin and my ear.

I'll keep you posted as time goes on,

[Dub Martin]

Glad you like the strings, Cutter. I went through a similar experience. The longer they were on my 815 the better I liked them, up to a point.

I've got D'Addario J75s on mine now but I'll probably throw on a set of Gibson-Bush monels at the next change.