Blackbird Lucky 13

[Poppa]

Even though I've had many, many, many acoustic guitars come and go over the past 40 some years, my experience with carbon fiber guitars is quite limited. Spent 10 minutes or so with two Rainsong's in a guitar store.

As much as I love every aspect of a quality wood guitar, the carbon fiber (and other materials) piques my interest. I have yet to find the type of deal on used cf's that I usually do on wood guitars. If that deal ever does appear, I'll have to decide if I can 'buck-up" as a deal on a cf is still going to be more than I like to, want to and/or am able to pay.

Which brings me to a cf guitar I played a few weeks ago. Since my knowledge on cf's is so limited, I'd never heard of Blackbird guitars before. Anyway, at the local Guitar Center I picked up a Lucky 13 and it blew my ever lovin' mind!

This is one of the few, rare times an instrument spoke to me the moment I picked it up....even before playing it. The size, weight and balance are darn near perfect....it just feels good to hold. The neck felt wonderful and the set up (it was used, but in great shape, so not sure if it was factory set up or after) felt it was done to my preference. The tone was different than what I was expecting, (don't know what I was expecting!) but it captivated me instantly.

This is a very dynamic and responsive instrument with a surprising amount of volume on tap. Finger picking my old guitar store test standby's, "Can't Find My Way Home" and "Brain Damage" allowed the guitars dynamic range to shine. The notes are pure and the tone is even weather playing lightly, medium or hard. Flat picking is also quite fun. While not the authority of a D-18, D-28, I think it would hold it's own in a bluegrass situation.

This guitar really comes to life when strumming with a pick.... ala Tom Petty's "Free Falling", "Running Down A Dream", etc. Playing blues in E was a total blast. I did not plug it in, but imagine it would sound good.

The guitar was marked a bit over $1,000. At that moment, I had no idea what the new price or street price on this model was, but from past pricing experiences, I figured it was along the lines of Rainsong and the asking price was perhaps 1/2 the new price. It could have been $50 that day and I still would have had to pass....but I could have made it happen, I'd be playing that little beauty right now!

Despite my lack of knowledge regarding carbon fiber guitars, I would proudly play a Lucky 13. It's been a while since a guitar impressed me as much (except a Martin HD-28 I played the same day) as this one.

[Acousticado]

Oops, double post.

[Acousticado]

Welcome to the world of composite guitars, Poppa. I don't own a Lucky 13 or other in the Blackbird lineup, but reviews here about them are always favorable. Now that you've stepped in, do yourself a favorite and spend some time in this subforum learning about all the remarkable offerings that the main composite builders are producing, including Blackbird as you mentioned, also RainSong, Journey, Composite Acoustics (CA) (now owned by Peavey), Emerald and Levoira. Own both an Emerald (6/12 doubleneck) and CA. I still love quality wood guitars, but these days, composite guitars are every bit as good in every way, and then some 'cause you don't have to worry at all about environmental conditions. It's interesting and fun to follow the cutting-edge developments in composite guitars as their construction and materials are evolving. We live in great times to have the opportunity to enjoy all this. Have fun! If not a Lucky 13, I hope your time learning about the range of CFs here will result in you ending up finding the one that suits you best.

[thaichine]

I love my Lucky 13. Just fyi, they revoiced it a few years ago. Not sure which model is at guitar center, but either version, if you buy it for close to 1000 you really cant lose. Even if you decide you dont want it anymore, you could easily flip it on this forum for at least as much as you paid.

[Captain Jim]

Welcome aboard, Poppa. Most of us here on the CF forum started out as "carbon fiber curious." Then, discovered they are not just about the ease of care, but also about the sound.

Because of the cost to produce, there is a "floor" for the price of carbon fiber guitars that is higher than wood. What you will soon discover, CF is priced competitively with nicer wood guitars. A smaller market, so less economy of scale to drive the price down.

Many of us have come to appreciate the value carbon fiber brings. No concerns about humidity, high or low. Less concern about temperatures. They are not "bullet proof" (it's carbon fiber, not kevlar) - I handle mine the way I handle my wood guitars. No concerns about a neck reset.

But, it still comes down to the sound. And, you found out just how good carbon fiber can sound. Even more options for you, now!

[jdinco]

Good post Poppa, I gotta warn you though, the CF guitars can kinda get a hold on you and next thing you know they start multiplying. I still favor my SCGC as top dog, but the CF guitars seem to get all the play time. I take care of them, but no need to baby them like the woodies. And I really like the tone they put out.... good luck staying away from them now that you are exposed !

[Earl49]

Welcome, Poppa. At $1000 a Lucky 13 would be a VERY good value, roughly half of the going street price, and therefore easy to flip with no loss if you happened to not bond with it. You likely won't find a better deal on any CF guitar than that. New prices start at around $1500 (the newly announced Rainsong CH series) and go up rapidly over $2K, and CF seems to hold their value much better than most used wood guitars.

I've had my Lucky 13 for about six months now, and hardly anything else has gotten any play time since the L13 box was opened. Two Rainsongs, six Taylors, and a few others are all sitting neglected. L13 is THAT good and that much fun to play.... I fingerpick about 65% of the time and strum the rest, and L13 has done well at jam sessions.

I still have one all koa Taylor that will be with me forever, but if all my other wood guitars went away, they would not get replaced - except with CF.

[mot]

The L13 is a good little guitar. I have a 2014 w/o electronics that I use for mostly finger picking and I have had two offers in the last year or so on mine. Both offers came in near what I paid for it new and at least one was serious as that person supposedly found another though I don't know what they paid for it. Let's just say I keep a close eye on that guitar when/if I let other people try it out.

If the Lucky you found in the store is as good as mine, then you might want to grab it sooner than later because it will move at that price.