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Mandolin

Eastman MD505

Name: Eastman MD505
Brand: Eastman

Eastman · MD505-CS

Price: 1.000 EUR – 1.000 EUR

Price history

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

Availability: 0/10 (Very rare)

An A-style mandolin with F-holes rather than the oval hole of the MD304/MD404, giving a brighter, more bluegrass-oriented projection while keeping the simpler, cheaper-to-build A-style body over the scrolled F-style.

Where available? Go to the best price – 1.005 EUR About this instrument

About the Eastman MD505

The MD505 combines two design choices from opposite ends of the mandolin family tree: the plain, pear-shaped A-style body (simpler and less costly to carve than an F-style's scroll) with F-shaped sound holes (associated with the louder, more cutting bluegrass tone of Gibson's F-5 lineage rather than the mellower oval-hole tradition). That combination sits between Eastman's oval-hole A-style models and its full F-style range - more volume and projection than the MD304/MD404, without paying for F-style carving labor.

Construction follows Eastman's standard formula: solid spruce top over solid maple back and sides, maple neck, ebony fingerboard at a 12-inch radius and 13 7/8-inch scale, bone nut, single-acting truss rod, and adjustable compensated ebony bridge. The CS designation refers to a Classic Sunburst finish option alongside Eastman's plain gloss natural, with Pingwell tuners and a hard case included.

Where to buy

Reverb 1.005 EUR Best price View details

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/93591937-eastman-md505-cs-classic-sunburst

Sound character of the Eastman MD505

F-holes project a louder, more cutting, bluegrass-oriented tone than the oval hole on Eastman's MD304/MD404, while the plain A-style body keeps it just short of a full F-style's volume and headroom - a deliberate middle ground for players who want F-hole brightness without paying for scroll-carving labor.

Bright Resonant Crisp

Technical data for the Eastman MD505

Top	Solid spruce, hand-carved
Back/Sides	Solid maple
Sound holes	F-hole
Body style	A-style
Fretboard	Ebony, 12" radius
Scale length	13 7/8"
Finish	Classic Sunburst option

Price history for the Eastman MD505

Cheapest seen: 1.000 EUR · Most expensive seen: 1.000 EUR

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

The history of the Eastman MD505

The MD505 gives players who want F-hole brightness a lower-cost route into it than jumping straight to an F-style body, a common intermediate step for bluegrass-leaning players moving up from an oval-hole beginner mandolin.