Mandolin
Eastman MD615
Price: 1.905 EUR – 1.905 EUR
Price history
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
Availability: 0/10 (Very rare)
Eastman's F-style stepped up to flamed maple back and sides and a built-in K&K Duotone pickup, aimed at players who need to plug a hand-carved mandolin into a PA rather than mic it.
About the Eastman MD615
The MD615 keeps Eastman's core F-style formula - hand-carved solid spruce top, 13 7/8-inch scale, ebony fingerboard at a 12-inch radius - but upgrades the back and sides to flamed (figured) maple, prized for its visual grain pattern as much as tone, and adds a K&K Duotone pickup system built into the bridge and top. That's a passive, mic-free amplification system rather than a magnetic pickup, chosen because it captures more of an acoustic mandolin's natural top vibration than a soundhole pickup would.
The neck carries a "soft V" profile rather than the rounder shape on Eastman's lower models, and appointments move further upmarket: ivoroid binding extends to the back, fingerboard and headstock (not just the top), pearl block inlays replace simple dots on the fingerboard, and an ebony pickguard is fitted. Tuning machines are Pingwell RM-1583NE-2, and the tailpiece remains Eastman's cast aluminum unit.
Where to buy
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Reverb Eastman MD615-GB Goldburst F Style Mandolin with Pickup NEW 1.905 EUR Best price View details
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Source: https://reverb.com/item/65475551-eastman-md615-gb-goldburst-f-style-mandolin-with-pickup-new
Sound character of the Eastman MD615
Acoustically close to Eastman's other F-style models (flamed maple is tonally similar to plain maple - the figure is mostly visual), but built specifically for plugging in: the K&K Duotone is a bridge/top-mounted transducer rather than a magnetic pickup, so it reproduces the mandolin's actual top vibration fairly faithfully through a PA instead of adding an electric-pickup coloration.
Technical data for the Eastman MD615
| Top | Solid spruce, hand-carved |
|---|---|
| Back/Sides | Flamed maple |
| Neck | Maple, soft V profile |
| Fretboard | Ebony, 12" radius, pearl block inlays |
| Scale length | 13 7/8" |
| Pickup | K&K Duotone (undersaddle/top) |
| Tuners | Pingwell RM-1583NE-2 |
Price history for the Eastman MD615
Cheapest seen: 1.905 EUR · Most expensive seen: 1.905 EUR
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
The history of the Eastman MD615
The MD615 represents Eastman pairing its handmade acoustic construction with practical stage amplification, aimed at bluegrass and folk players who perform regularly and need reliable volume without abandoning a carved-top instrument for a solid-body electric mandolin.
