Rainsong APLE

[jaymarsch]

Hello,

I was at the Swannanoa Gathering this past week and had a chance to play Al Petteway's signature Rainsong OM. What a nice guitar! Everything about it is on the money. Great feel, nice tone, interesting sunburst. And given the humidity in the Blue Ridge mountains in early August, a perfect choice over a nice wood guitar.
I also checked out another participant's Shorty and enjoyed playing that guitar as well. But, I have to say, now that I have played one, that if I was going to pop for a carbon fiber guitar, the APLE is what I would get.

Best,
Jayne

[Bill R]

Hi Jayne,

Thanks for sharing your experience. How would you describe the feel of the neck on the Al Petteway signature shorty? I'm used to Taylor necks or other relatively low profile necks. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

[jaymarsch]

Hi Bill,

The neck is definitely beefier than a Taylor neck but not as thick as the Rainsong Shorty neck, which I find a bit chunky (I think that one may be called the N2?). The neck on the APLE is plenty comfortable to play, but if you are used to a Taylor neck you would probably notice the difference right away. My experience is that it is a different shape - the Taylor seems to me to be a low C shape where the APLE feels more like a shallow D shape.
Hope that makes sense.

Best,
Jayne

[Jim K]

You may want to check with RainSong on the neck issue. I think that the APLE neck is absolutely identical to the RainSong Shorty neck.

The RainSong website lists the specifications for the APLE as having the "NS" neck, with is the same designation as the neck on the Shorty.

I have a Shorty and while the NS neck may initially seem beefy, I find it very comfortable for my left hand (my hands are medium size at best). I find thinner necks to cause more hand fatigue than the RainSong NS neck.

The NS neck is the same profile as the N2 neck. The only difference is that the NS is setup for a 12 fret neck to body connection.

[Captain Jim]

Most of my guitars are Taylors. Because of this, that neck "feels like home." The neck on my Shorty is definitely thicker, but not uncomfortable. It takes a few moments to get beyond the difference, then you're just playin'.

Most of my playing is for a couple hours at a time. The one time I played the Shorty for a long gig (nearly 4 hours, with a couple breaks), my left hand was feeling the difference. Or maybe it is the fact that I'm not a kid anymore?

If it was an option, I'd prefer a thinner neck on the Shorty (just to keep things more the same), but not at the expense of giving up the truss rod. For some perspective, I tweaked the truss rod very slightly after I first got the Shorty and haven't touched it again since.

The body size on the Shorty is very comfortable (very close to the Taylor GC), and the crisp tone is a delight.

Hope that perspective helps.

Jim

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by Bill R

Hi Jayne,

Thanks for sharing your experience. How would you describe the feel of the neck on the Al Petteway signature shorty? I'm used to Taylor necks or other relatively low profile necks. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

Yes the NS and N2 necks are the same profile, Rainsong now has only one profile after the in stock N1s are gone. If you are used to a Taylor you will feel the difference. It's not the thickness, its the profile, a modified U as described by Bolin or a D also makes sense. It feels chucky compared to a Taylor. I hear many say after a while you get used to it which is true. I still don't like it for wrapping my thumb around for the low E bass string, but for my big JM1000 its fine. For me all my other profiles are superior, however, my USA Wechter and Deering B6 being probably the best, followed by my Emerald. But realize, my standard for a neck is Taylor even though I only own a Mini.

[jaymarsch]

Thanks to all of you who have weighed in with more info/experience than me with these guitars. I am not sure why the APLE neck felt different to me than the Shorty. I just know that I prefer the C shaped family of necks as opposed to the U or D shape.

Best,
Jayne

[Bill R]

Yes, thanks to all for your input. At some point I guess I'll have to find a dealer who has one of these in stock and give it a whirl. No substitute for actually playing a guitar.

Bill