The Eastman MD605 represents great value in a quality A-Style mandolin, built with solid woods and wrapped in a gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Introduced in 1905 and based on Orville Gibson’s patent merging violin family techniques with guitar and mandolin construction, the A-Style mandolin has a distinctive teardrop shape and a carved top and back, with either F holes or an oval hole; the F hole provides somewhat more top end. Compared to the F style often seen in bluegrass bands, the A Style body shape has more pronounced midrange and fundamental, and a less percussive attack.
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The Eastman E20P SB is the sunburst finish version of a Parlor guitar – close to the ‘Single O’ body size dating to the end of the 19th century. As with many other models from this builder, the Eastman E20P uses all solid wood construction. The top is Adirondack Spruce, while the sides and back are Indian Rosewood. The body blocks and slotted-peghead 14 fret neck are Mahogany, with Ebony used for the pyramid style bridge and unbound fingerboard.
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MORE →The Eastman E10 OOSS is a modern version of a classic – the OO body shape with an Adirondack Spruce top and Mahogany back, sides and neck with Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. This design comes from the 1898 Martin OO18, which was built until 1995, and again since 2006 with a few variations. The OO body is a bit larger and louder than the ‘Parlor Guitar’ size, and closer to the volume of a classical guitar body. These are known as being tonally very well balanced, with good clarity and separation between notes. They make excellent fingerstyle guitars.
The Eastman E10D follows a traditional dreadnought design featuring an Adirondack spruce top paired with mahogany fir the sides, back and neck. Based on the classic square shoulder dreadnoughts introduced to the mass market in the early 1930s and still the basis of many guitar lines, the Eastman E10D gets pretty much everything right. The Adirondack Spruce top produces a full, rich tone that holds up well when played hard, as might frequently happen in a bluegrass context. There’s plenty of bottom, shimmering top end and everything in between.
Now discontinued in favor of a cutaway version with pickups, the Eastman AC122 is a versatile player’s guitar at an affordable price point. Though we can’t resupply this particular model, we have a small number left in stock. The Grand Auditorium style body shape works well for both fingerstyle and strumming. A curvy waist allows the guitar to sit closer to the body when seated and helps to reduce strumming arm fatigue. The warm and dynamic tone is created from the pairing of the solid Sitka spruce top and solid Sapele sides and back.
Eastman El Rey ER-M Mandolin is very cool instrument that shares DNA with the Eastman archtop El Rey models, creating a contemporary looking electric mandolin. The Eastman El Rey ER-M features a solid one piece mahogany sides and back with a solid maple top. The mahogany provides enhanced mid range warmth and the maple top has a focused note fundamental with clear top end snap. The two f holes provide a bit of traditional mandolin looks but the single cutaway and lower bout design really give it that jazz box feel.