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  #16  
Old 06-19-2017, 08:40 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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I have a 2016 Lucky 13 -- apparently re-voiced from earlier models, and with the side sound port -- and I am quite happy with it. My L13 is very playable with a great neck shape (quite similar in feel to the Rainsong N2 necks) and has a great factory set-up. I was jamming at an outdoor festival this weekend, and it did wonderfully outdoors. Surrounded by some great wood guitars, the tone was different but still quite good - and plenty loud too. It was so nice knowing that my guitar was not sensitive to the summer heat, and if truly necessary it could be left in the car parked in the shade - or even parked in the sun. But I didn't...... From room temperature to 89°F (31°C) the pitch shifted by about three "tick marks" (cents?) on my Snark tuner.

I play up the neck quite a bit, hitting frets 15 and 17 in some songs. With the 13th fret neck join and essentially no neck heel there are no problems accessing these higher frets. In some ways access is easier than a 14 fret wood guitar with a cutaway and a neck heel that gets in the way. If you went much higher than 17th fret, then access could be an issue. But then you would be unavoidably into cutaway territory anyway.

I have owned a Rainsong WS-1000 since 2001 and love it for its big, bold, and clear tone. Some of the newer Rainsong's have hybrid CF / fiberglass construction on the back and sides and uni-directional CF tops. They tend to sound more "woody" and less crystalline than the woven CF bodies and tops, to make a broad generalization. I have often jammed at campfires in Alaska and the WS was the only thing around the circle that needed minimal retuning. Sometimes we would start out at 75°F (24°C) and end up late in the evening at 40°F (4°C) huddling ever closer to the fire. I hardly had to re-tune at all, whereas everyone else with wood guitars was tuning constantly.

In April 2016 I had the opportunity to sample the entire Blackbird line at a festival booth. My impressions can be summarized as: El Capitan sounded very Taylor-like (bright and woody), the Super OM is very close to my Rainsong, and the Lucky 13 sounds a tad more compressed, like a mahogany Taylor GC body in many ways -- perfectly normal for that smaller body. The Savoy was not yet available then.

Hope this information is useful, Finn. For your described needs, the Lucky 13 sounds like a very good choice.
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  #17  
Old 06-20-2017, 08:47 AM
thaichine thaichine is offline
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Originally Posted by Mkel12 View Post
Finn

I have attached a link to an unpolished recording I made of my 2014 Lucky 13 for another AGF member a few months back... no effects, Rode NT4 mic. The full recording was a comparison of the Kevin Michael Touring guitar and the Blackbird Lucky 13.. this is an excerpt of the Lucky 13 only. For my taste, the Lucky 13 has the best combination of tone and playability available in the CF/eKoa market. I have purchased and compared Rainsong Shorty/APSE, Emerald X7, Kevin Michael Touring, and Blackbird Savoy. All the rest are sold or returned, and my Lucky 13 remains. I hope you find the recording beneficial to your research. ~ Mike

https://soundcloud.com/mike-kelly-4/...ngerstyle-demo
Hi Mike,
I see that you were able to compare the savoy to the lucky 13? What are your thoughts? The Savoy is very intriguing, but no way to try it out!
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  #18  
Old 06-20-2017, 01:09 PM
Mkel12 Mkel12 is offline
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Hi Mike,
I see that you were able to compare the savoy to the lucky 13? What are your thoughts? The Savoy is very intriguing, but no way to try it out!
Yes, I actually purchased Savoy #1, but ended up returning it to Ted, who is now the proud owner. My issue wasn't with tone, but rather ergonomics. The Savoy is too small for me, as it pertains to size of the lower bout. It simply was not big enough, from the bottom of the bridge to the bottom of the guitar, for me to get comfortable playing it. Everything else about the guitar was top notch. Nobody loves Blackbird Guitars more then me, so it was with sadness that I returned the guitar. I am tall and have long arms, so this should not be an issue for most.
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  #19  
Old 06-20-2017, 03:54 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Originally Posted by Mkel12 View Post
.....My issue wasn't with tone, but rather ergonomics. The Savoy is too small for me, as it pertains to size of the lower bout. It simply was not big enough, from the bottom of the bridge to the bottom of the guitar, for me to get comfortable playing it. ....
Then the El Capitan would probably work for you. It isn't as big as the Gibson J-200 that it looks like stylistically. It is somewhere between a Taylor GC and GA in size. It is a little bigger than the L13, but not hugely so. I see you are in the Bay Area, so a trip to Folsom Street is in order. There is no substitute for a personal test drive.

I am tall too -- 6'-6" with LONG arms -- but I have to play everything with a strap these days, due to some neurological weakness in my left shoulder. It is an adaptation, but using a strap lets me put any size guitar into the classical position and play well again. I own everything from a Teton parlor to a Taylor x15 series jumbo. Even with a strap, I still prefer smaller guitars like the L13, and the Taylor GA and Rainsong WS are about as big as I like to play these days. The El Capitan felt pretty good played in classical position w/o a strap, since the tight waist sat on my left leg nicely.
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  #20  
Old 06-20-2017, 06:07 PM
Mkel12 Mkel12 is offline
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Then the El Capitan would probably work for you. It isn't as big as the Gibson J-200 that it looks like stylistically. It is somewhere between a Taylor GC and GA in size. It is a little bigger than the L13, but not hugely so. I see you are in the Bay Area, so a trip to Folsom Street is in order. There is no substitute for a personal test drive.

I am tall too -- 6'-6" with LONG arms -- but I have to play everything with a strap these days, due to some neurological weakness in my left shoulder. It is an adaptation, but using a strap lets me put any size guitar into the classical position and play well again. I own everything from a Teton parlor to a Taylor x15 series jumbo. Even with a strap, I still prefer smaller guitars like the L13, and the Taylor GA and Rainsong WS are about as big as I like to play these days. The El Capitan felt pretty good played in classical position w/o a strap, since the tight waist sat on my left leg nicely.
Thanks Earl49!
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  #21  
Old 06-29-2017, 08:47 AM
Gemini11 Gemini11 is offline
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Played an El Capitan. An early one I guess, and I can't cared for it. I have a 2016 L13 and very pleased with it. Regular conversation piece when I'm out and just as many comments on the tone. Pull the mids back and let her sing.
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  #22  
Old 07-04-2017, 10:04 AM
Llamarebel Llamarebel is offline
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Hat in the ring on the El Capitan. I love it...also a big guy at 6'6" and it fits me well. Don't go looking for exactly Taylor tone, I've had it side by side and it's got a bit more of a vintage tone but I think it has more life and dynamic response than any other guitar I've owned. Plus if you're plugging in it's easily the best sound of any guitar I've owned...big fan of the misi pickup.

If anyone's in the market for a big bold Taylor all Mahogany let me know...wouldn't mind trying a Lucky 13 with how much I like the El Capitan. It beats in my opinion my rainsong jumbo, X20 and APLE i have owned.
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  #23  
Old 07-04-2017, 08:43 PM
mot mot is offline
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I would love to have a 528, but I am not quite ready to give up my Lucky 13 just yet.
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PS If you don't want to invest in yourself, why should anyone else even bother to try?
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