New CA 8M-CE (GX Performer) just arrived

Raggamuffin · #1 10-15-2008, 02:09 PM

After waiting patiently for ~8 weeks, FedEx delivered my new Composite Acoustics GX Performer (aka 8M-CE) a little while ago! (I ordered from Dream Guitars outside of Asheville, NC. Good folks to deal with, btw.) First impressions are as follows:

* Fit & finish are top notch. One slight imperfection in the lacquer/clearcoat on top but nothing to get all upset about. A kind of cool thing is that there is almost a 3D effect to the rosette -- like it is sort of floating about the carbon fiber. And the subtle carbon fiber burst looks cool too.

* This is a very comfortable guitar to hold. It feels a bit thinner than I had expected (especially since this is NOT the thin body CA!) but I imagine it has more to do with the curvature in the back of the guitar that makes it feel thin. And it feels light too.

* Sound. This is where the rubber meets the road, no? Well, I have no complaints. I don't notice anything "non-woody" about the sound of this guitar. It seems to be louder than my other wood guitars and exhibits the sustain that others here have written about. I'd call it a very balanced sound. From what I'd read before buying (and I never played one before today), I was expecting this to be a bit lacking in the bass department. I struggled between this and the CA 7i for that reason -- since the offset soundhole and bracing on the i series is supposed to enhance the bass response. Anyway, for what I'm planning to use this for (ensemble work with other instruments) I didn't think a lack of bass would be an issue. But now that I've played it, I don't think it lacks bass anyway.

* Surprises. The only surprise for me so far is the neck. One surprise there is how high up the neck my hand went withouth even thinking about it. This is also due to the back design and lack of a heel where the neck meets the body. Very, very nice design feature there. But I also immediately noticed the neck feels wider than what I'm used to. It looks to be about 1/8" wider at the 12th fret than my Taylors -- with the strings noticeably further away from the edge of the fret board than my Taylors in this vicinity of the neck. I currently prefer the Taylor feel since that is what I'm used to, but I know that's just a matter of adjusting. (It took me a while to adjust to the narrowness of the Taylor neck when I started playing them!) At the saddle, the strings on the CA look to cover about 2 & 4/16" while it's closer to 2 & 3/16" on my Taylors. Small numbers, but I can feel the difference -- and I can adjust.

Haven't tried the electronics yet but I have the Baggs iBeam system on another guitar I own and like it alot on that one.

So, at this point, I'm a happy new CA owner!

whamonkey · #2 10-15-2008, 04:49 PM

Congrats! Let us know when you plug in....mine sounds awesome.

biggs2 · #3 10-15-2008, 05:01 PM

Congrats! You have a fine guitar. It has been just over 2 month since I received my CA 7M-CE and I have hardly touch my other guitars. CA make a top-notch instrument that competes with most wooden guitars I own or have played over the years.

WorksInTheory · #4 10-15-2008, 06:28 PM

I noticed the same thing about the neck on my 5i.

Raggamuffin · #5 11-14-2008, 09:42 PM

So I've had this a couple of weeks now and thought I'd provide an update...

After playing at the factory set action a while, I decided I wanted to lower it a bit. To avoid the possibility of screwing up the original saddle that shipped with the guitar, I sent a note off to CA Guitars inquiring about getting a new, blank saddle to shave down to my liking. A very nice person there sent me two blanks...for free! Tonight, I started sanding one of them. Got it down about as low as I could go without getting buzzes and now...wow...it really plays like a dream.

Another thing... When I started my saddle shaving project this evening, I first got out my former favortie guitar (a Taylor 424 LTD in all koa) 'cuz its action is what I wanted to try to achieve on my CA. I hadn't played this guitar in several weeks because I've been playing the CA so much. So I put the 424 in my lap and whoa.... this thing felt sooo fat/wide. The comfort of the contoured body on the CA has really spoiled me. I just don't think any of my other guitars will feel "right" again. CA really has created a great guitar design that looks cool, feels great, plays easy (once you adjust the action to your liking), and sounds awesome! Just might have cured my GAS...

Now if I could only get a CA t-shirt... ;-)

leeasam · #6 11-14-2008, 10:52 PM

I sold a nice Taylor 814ce to buy my CA GX perfomer which is what you have( same model just different naming) Coming up the end of December it will be a year I have owned it and still don`t regret the swap. Still NO frett wear!!! My Taylor after a year needed a frett dressing. no humidity baby sitting issues now either and ALWAYS sounds the same every time I play it unless strings go bad. Wood guitars will change in tone a bit from air climate.

Lee