String spacing on Rainsong guitars?

[Bill R]

Not new to the AGF, but new to the Carbon Fiber section, so I apologize in advance if this topic has been covered in other threads.

I'm becoming increasingly interested in a Rainsong shorty, particularly the new Al Petteway model. I know the nut is 1.75", but have not been able to find specs on the string spacing at the bridge for Rainsong guitars in general and for the shorty in particular. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

[Jim K]

I kept a note posted a while ago by Ashvin Coomar, RainSong's CEO, who stated:

"The string spacing from E to E at the saddle for our 6-strings is 2-5/32 inches."

[Bill R]

Thanks Jim.

Bill

[steelvibe]

Not according to this....

http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/R...orty-SG-Review

This article says the Shorty is 2 1/4 at the saddle, and that is a significant difference from 5/32= 0.16

Maybe the Shorty is different? At any rate the Shorty is primarily for fingerstyle so if that is true it would make me happy.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Not according to this....

http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/R...orty-SG-Review

This article says the Shorty is 2 1/4 at the saddle, and that is a significant difference from 5/32= 0.16

Maybe the Shorty is different? At any rate the Shorty is primarily for fingerstyle so if that is true it would make me happy.

I am a strummer and flat picker. The Shorty works great for that, too. In fact, in that article link above, the writer states...

"One of the first things I noticed as I eased the Shorty out of its TKL hard-shell case is that this guitar weighs next to nothing. Played while sitting, my leg barely noticed that the guitar was there. Likewise, while standing with the guitar strapped on, my shoulder barely registered the pull of the strap. And yet there’s something about this guitar that feels sturdy. If a wooden guitar were this wispy, I would be inclined to coddle it, whereas I’m not afraid to dig in and strum the daylights out of the RainSong. For a few moments, I did just that, and the guitar sounded clear and relatively uncompressed despite my over-muscling. As I eased back down into a more normal playing volume, I found the guitar’s tonal sweet spot. Frequencies are well balanced across the sonic spectrum, and there’s a nice sense of string-to-string separation within chord voicings. Next, I set down my plectrum and tried some quiet fingerpicking. The Shorty sounded just as rich even with the lightest touch, and here I really appreciated the slow decay of the notes. Chords rang out longer than I’ve experienced on any other acoustic instrument. This might be particularly attractive for solo acoustic instrumentalists, who could use the added hang time for new textures in their compositions and arrangements."

My quote: The Shorty is quite versatile. (Based on a year with mine)

Jim

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I am a strummer and flat picker. The Shorty works great for that, too. In fact, in that article link above, the writer states...

"One of the first things I noticed as I eased the Shorty out of its TKL hard-shell case is that this guitar weighs next to nothing. Played while sitting, my leg barely noticed that the guitar was there. Likewise, while standing with the guitar strapped on, my shoulder barely registered the pull of the strap. And yet there’s something about this guitar that feels sturdy. If a wooden guitar were this wispy, I would be inclined to coddle it, whereas I’m not afraid to dig in and strum the daylights out of the RainSong. For a few moments, I did just that, and the guitar sounded clear and relatively uncompressed despite my over-muscling. As I eased back down into a more normal playing volume, I found the guitar’s tonal sweet spot. Frequencies are well balanced across the sonic spectrum, and there’s a nice sense of string-to-string separation within chord voicings. Next, I set down my plectrum and tried some quiet fingerpicking. The Shorty sounded just as rich even with the lightest touch, and here I really appreciated the slow decay of the notes. Chords rang out longer than I’ve experienced on any other acoustic instrument. This might be particularly attractive for solo acoustic instrumentalists, who could use the added hang time for new textures in their compositions and arrangements."

My quote: The Shorty is quite versatile. (Based on a year with mine)

Jim

Hey Jim,

My bias regarding the "fingerstyle" comment comes from my brain having a hard time seeing small bodied guitars as strummers- although we know this simply is not true. Some strum quite nicely! It is just that most of the time guys who are primarily strummers tend to appreciate dreads and jumbos. I've also observed in videos and personally that the instrument just shines when fingerpicked. It has incredible dynamics and sustains forever it seems and it cannot hurt that the bridge is pushed into that sweet spot in the lower bout. I did not try single note runs using a plectrum when I test drove the Shorty but I trust you that Shorty shines here too. I have heard that the Shorty also sounds incredible playing blues or slide. Part of what I just love about this Rainsong is now versatile it really is.

How has that guitar opened up for you over the past year

[Captain Jim]

It sounds just as good as it did when I first played it!