The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 02-10-2014, 01:55 PM
gfa gfa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,726
Default NGD - Rainsong

I’m the happy owner of a new carbon fiber Rainsong H-WS1100NST, purchased from La Guitar Sales. H=Hybrid Series, WS= GO body, 1100=without electronics, NS=12 fret neck, T=Tobacco burst. This review is all IMHO (so I don’t have to keep repeating that).

The guitar is nicely put together. I don’t see any blemishes, slop, flaws, etc. The first string bridge pin looks a little high & crooked, but I reckon when I change the strings I’ll see that it just didn’t get seated correctly. Not a big deal, and the pins are certainly more uniform than on my Martin! The burst finish is gorgeous, evenly applied, nice shine & depth. It looks sort of metallic (which sounds ugly, but looks great in person). On the down side, the NGD smell from this guitar was nasty offgassing of glue & plasticy stuff. Some time in the sun should speed the nasty smell on its way.

I initially found the short scale of the neck to be hard to deal with due to the narrower fret spacing. I’ve acclimated to that. Overall the neck is less substantial than the V and modV necks I'm used to, but meaty enough for me to get by.

Setup & playability are outstanding. Action is medium looking & feeling (I have not measured it), no buzzing in drop D tuning. Intonation is good. Very easy guitar to fret, whether that’s the low-tension of the short scale or the light gauge strings, or both.

The most important part, the tone, is the hardest to describe. The guitar is extremely clear, with lots of sustain. Individual notes are clear and distinct. Strumming is clear, lots of headroom, loud if you want it, but projects well with a soft hand. There's an overall brightness that draws my ear towards the trebles, but when I hear someone else play it it sounds well-balanced. My usual “band” includes two other guitars, both dreads. The Rainsong plays nicely with its wooden cousins. It has a distinct voice & can be heard very clearly, but not at the expense of the other guitars. There's a character to the tone, what I'll call "presence" for lack of a better word, that makes itself heard in a way that's not about volume. I’m not a fan of pure carbon fiber tone (the little that I’ve heard in person), but the Hybrid construction mellows that out nicely to my ears. It does not sound like any wooden guitar I ever heard. OTOH, I’m pretty sure that 95% of casual listeners would have no idea it was made of alternative materials. When I've been playing this one for a while and switch to one of my wood guitars, the wood guitar sounds dark and muddy at first.

When not in use it sits out on the stand, impervious to humidity, temperature, bumps, etc. (Although, as I unfortunately discovered, a really hard whack [hard enough to destroy a wooden guitar!] can leave a little indentation, not big enough to call a dent, but visible as a blight on the otherwise beautiful, shimmery top.)

Pic is from the interwebs (courtesy of Blue Dog Guitars), since my photography skills are nil.

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-10-2014, 01:59 PM
jpd jpd is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: California
Posts: 11,280
Talking

Wow, that's a beauty! I'm very intrigued by these carbon fiber creations. Hope it is all you hoped for.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-10-2014, 01:59 PM
acoustic_moose acoustic_moose is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 196
Default

Cool guitar. Thanks for sharing. I really like the finish on that one.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-10-2014, 02:08 PM
Basalt Beach's Avatar
Basalt Beach Basalt Beach is offline
G625 mistral-k
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: between here and there
Posts: 4,060
Default

congrats on the new git! beautiful burst color! enjoy!

oh, We have a Rainsong OM we purchased from Ted at LA Guitars....and your description of the tone is spot on...
__________________
"the tragedy in life is not what we suffer, it is what we miss"
Guitar Experiences-> | Bourgeois | Collings | Cordoba | Larrivee |Martin | Northwood | PRS Electric| Rainsong | Taylor | Voyage Air |
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-10-2014, 02:25 PM
marty bradbury marty bradbury is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Washington State,
Posts: 4,192
Default

Beautiful guitar!!
__________________
Alvarez AP-70
Squire Contemporary Jaguar
Kustom Amp (acoustic)
Gamma G-25 Amp (electric)
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-10-2014, 03:23 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 43,428
Default

Wow, what a beauty! Sounds like you another of Ted's satisfied customers - congrats. I wish our local shops would carry a CF guitar just so I could try one.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-10-2014, 03:56 PM
gfa gfa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,726
Default

I agree, RS does a nice job with their burst. It's a shame the CF guitars aren't more available. And of course, CF guitars don't all sound the same, any more so than wood guitars do. Rainsong uses three different combinations of materials and has several body shapes; then there's Composite Acoustics, Blackbird, Emerald, etc. Rainsong is the only brand I've ever seen at the only store in my town that carries any CF guitars, and I've only seen them stock one of the body shapes, and two of the three series. I like my Rainsong a lot, but there's just no way to know if I'd like another CF guitar better unless I take a long road trip. Ted @ LA Guitar Sales has a good inventory, and was a pleasure to do business with. And LA is a fun town to visit ...
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-10-2014, 04:21 PM
jdinco jdinco is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,398
Default

I'm excited for you, we were lucky to have the best music store locally pickup Rainsong, they don't have the inventory or customs that Ted does, but they have enough variety to try the different configurations. I bought a CO-WS1000N2 after playing it. I love that guitar more than any other I have owned, including several boutique brands. You are spot on when mentioning that you can play with a soft hand and you still have good projection and tone. I would love to have a 12 fret neck on it, but it is pretty good the way it is.

On a restring, I switched to Elixir Poly 80/20 Lights, (recommended by those on the McNichol Forums) and thought that was a nice upgrade in the tone. I like a bit of warmth with sustain, and I got it.

I hope you enjoy your beauty 1/2 as much as I have mine! Congrats!
__________________
John
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-10-2014, 04:39 PM
gfa gfa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,726
Default

Thanks John. I would have loved to try a CO series before I made my purchase, but just nothing available locally. Also would love to try one of Ted's customs with the Hybrid back & sides and the CO top, but ...

I never liked Elixir strings on my wooden guitars because (IMHO) they sound dead, poly more so than nano. Since the RS has presence to spare, and since so many people have good things to say about Elixirs, I'm going to give the polys a try come string change time. You & several others have recommended them. After that, I'm going to try some nickel strings (John Pearse Pure Nickel?), which also seem to generate a lot of positive comments from carbon fiber players.

Last edited by gfa; 02-10-2014 at 04:42 PM. Reason: Forgot something
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-10-2014, 04:49 PM
Doubleneck Doubleneck is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 6,427
Default

Great review and to me right on the money with the experiences I have had. I had the pleasure to test a parlor sunburst a couple of months ago. Pictures just don't do it, they look awesome in person. Same with the Black Ice. I could relate to your comment about after playing the Rainsong your wood guitars sound "muddy". We train our ears and after playing CF for a while now I really don't go back to wood much. Congrates on your purchase.
__________________
Steve
2020 McKnight Grand Recording - Cedar Top
2005 McKnight SS Dred
2001 Michael Keller Koa Baby
2014 Godin Inuk
2012 Deering B6 Openback Banjo
2012 Emerald Acoustic Doubleneck
2012 Rainsong JM1000 Black Ice
2009 Wechter Pathmaker 9600 LTD
1982 Yairi D-87 Doubleneck
1987 Ovation Collectors
1993 Ovation Collectors
1967 J-45 Gibson
1974 20th Annivers. Les Paul Custom
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 02-10-2014, 06:06 PM
leehop71 leehop71 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,103
Default

This is one guitar I've never had the pleasure of trying. Too pricey to do the old 'buy and try'!

But I've never heard a negative thing said about them!

Congrats!
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 02-10-2014, 06:14 PM
GHS GHS is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Clifton, New Jersey, USA
Posts: 4,149
Default

I had the chance to play a used Rainsong, ( dont remeber the model, dread shape) and was really impressed. But even at the used price it was more than the new D-18 they had in stock, and that was really nice! A bit out of my price range I'm afraid. Nice guitar you have there. The burst top is great.
__________________
Free speech...its' not for everybody
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 02-10-2014, 06:40 PM
twocorgis's Avatar
twocorgis twocorgis is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Lawn Guyland
Posts: 335
Default

I was lucky enough to score a S-DR1000N2 at a too good to be true price recently, and sometimes I swear it's the best guitar I own. I've played a friend's OM cutaway style RainSong that I thought was equally good. They're doing something very right there, and the environmental immunity is just the icing on the cake. Yours looks like a beauty, I'd like to try one with the truss rod-less neck. Best of luck with it.
__________________
Sandy

Guilds
'59 X175AB, '68 Starfire II Bass, '70 Guild/Henderson D50, '73 D50NT, '74 Mark V, '86 SB602P, '87 SB602M, '96 D25-12, '10 F512NT, '11 F50ce, '13 B54ce, '13 R30S, '13 Orpheum OM, '13 Orpheum Jumbo, '22 D40 Traditional

Others
'69 D28, '97 Bourgeois Slope D, '02 D18 David Crosby Signature, '01 Gibson WM45, '13 00017SM, '17 Lowden O22
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 02-10-2014, 07:16 PM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 28,635
Default

Congratulations, gfa... that's a beauty! Hope you're enjoying it. I got my first carbon fiber a little over a month ago, so I'm still getting used to it. But, I hope you enjoy yours just as much.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 02-11-2014, 03:41 AM
dneal dneal is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: The little house in the woods.
Posts: 3,041
Default

Congrats!!!
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=