Eastman MD304

About the Eastman MD304

The MD304 pairs Eastman's oval-hole A-style body - the older, mellower-toned design that predates the F-hole bluegrass mandolin - with figured maple back and sides rather than the mahogany used on the visually similar MD404-BK. Maple brings brighter overtones and more volume than mahogany, so the MD304 sits tonally between a classic warm oval-hole folk mandolin and a punchier bluegrass instrument, without adopting F-holes to get there.

Construction otherwise matches Eastman's house spec: solid spruce top, maple neck, ebony fingerboard at a 12-inch radius and 13 7/8-inch scale, bone nut, single-acting truss rod, and an adjustable compensated ebony bridge. The finish is a satin nitrocellulose rather than gloss, with ivoroid top binding, a diamond-pattern rosette rather than a plain circle, and pearl dot fingerboard inlays; it ships with a padded gig bag rather than a hard case.

Where to buy

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/99224116-eastman-md304-a-style-oval-hole-mandolin

Sound character of the Eastman MD304

The oval sound hole gives the mellower, more evenly-radiating tone of pre-bluegrass mandolins, but figured maple back and sides push it brighter and louder than Eastman's mahogany-bodied MD404-BK - it lands between a classic warm oval-hole folk voice and a punchier bluegrass instrument, without switching to F-holes to get there.

Technical data for the Eastman MD304

The history of the Eastman MD304

The MD304 extends Eastman's mandolin range into the oval-hole, non-bluegrass segment favored by Celtic, old-time and folk players, offering the same hand-carved-top construction standard across the company's range at an entry price point.