Transitioning from 100% wood to ONLY 100% CF

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by thaichine

I dont think I would be able to go all carbon fiber. I love wood, need at least one wood guitar at all times!

I'm gonna *try*, freely admitting that it will be hard to part with both koa Taylors (one koa / spruce GS - the best wood guitar that I own) and another all-koa 424 LTD. Those two will certainly be the last wood guitars in the house.

When it comes to my ukuleles, I have two really nice koa models too, plus others in mango and mahogany. But the Blackbird CF and eKoa models are extremely nice too, and also give the benefits of composite construction.

I too am a fan of Elderly, having done business with them since the late 1970's (four Martin's, two Rainsong's and others). Whenever we are in southern Michigan visiting family, a pilgrimage to Lansing is always on the agenda.

[J.R. Rogers]

Hello, Cliff! Those sound like a couple of nice Rainsongs that should treat you well down there by the beach. Rainsong has a white limited edition model that can be had as well... you might want to look into that. I sure hope the folks at Elderly are treating you right. Trading down 25 guitars for a couple of Rainsongs...? I'm sure we're missing some details there.

JR

JR is a seductive dude. He was the one that got me to consider the RS Parlor Nylon, in a beautiful blue. If there is a white one available, I'd snatch it....

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

Trading down 25 guitars for a couple of Rainsongs...? I'm sure we're missing some details there.

JR

I for one am curious to know what guitars were sold. ???

[gstar]

Welcome to the forum.

Was your career in acting primarily?

Elderly should put your post on their website. It would be great advertising.

[AZLiberty]

If I were limited to one and only one guitar it would have to be either my Rainsong Shorty or maybe a WS1000 or WS1005.

The one and only WS1005 I played sounded really bright to me though. I really need to play one with PB strings instead of those bright trebbley 80/20s they ship with.

[John Morciglio]

Slightly OT but,

Spent my late teen years (late 70's) going to school/ working and playing in bar bands in Lansing MI.

ELDERLY is a GREAT store. VERY fair with consignments and trade-ins etc.

Sold my first Carbon "Blaster" through them by
stopping by to demo- (show-off :-) my builds.

They gave a musician my # and it turned out I had known the guy since '74.
He went to MSU with my older sister.
He was sold after 5 min. and he mostly played full acoustic (mic'd).

Really think the Hybrid builds with the wood necks. (two full-depth carbon stringers make the neck really stiff/stable) are the "best of both worlds"

The feel of rosewood or ebony finger boards (to me) just feels SO much better than anything (I have felt) in carbon. Gloss or matte.
Also love the feel of the raw wood on the back of the neck.

Back to the days when I first played a rosewood board after having a gloss maple necked Tele for years.

On Bass it does not bother me at all ?

I still use carbon boards ONLY if a customer insists.

JM

[John Morciglio]

Will be working on a "horizontal dovetail" removable neck shortly.

JM

[steelstringman]

Thank you my guitar brothers and sisters for welcoming me to the AGF - the center of the AG universe. I wanted to join for eons.

This was a big "heart" deal for me.

Imagine going 100% carbon fiber. Yikes!!! Kinda like (kinda) changing gender. A big deal.

And... I was standing inside the Elderly showroom twice in three days amidst about 3,000 of the world's finest wooden stringed instruments.
I forced myself to not look at or touch any guitars. It was painful. The temptation was almost overwhelming. Elderly was giving me a very reasonable and fair store credit for my truckload of trades - amounting to thousands and thousands of dollars.

I bought the one and only CF guitar Elderly had in stock. That says a lot. One CF guitar out of 3,000. And it's been in stock there for 2.5 years unsold. People don't shop at Elderly for CF guitars. But guess what - that guitar - I THANK GOD FOR THIS (literally) is the perfect guitar for my style (miraculous!). The RS CO-WS1005NST - check out the specs - e.g. offset soundhole, 12 fret neck, body shape, etc.

And I didn't know what I was getting. But Elderly is to be trusted 1,000%. Thirty day trial? Come on who does that! They will give you GREAT money for a trade. Elderly is one of the best if not the best acoustic guitar dealers globally. Guitar players in the know - from all over the world - do business with Elderly. I've been lucky enough to be a four hour drive away.

I never ever expected to make this move to CF.

When I weighed the pros and cons FOR MY SITUATION (I'm close to 67 years young) CF won hands down.

I'm moving to a sub-tropical environment, like a Rain Forest (hence... "Rainsong"). I'm moving to <1,000 square feet. I'll no longer have room for lots of guitars. I'll be very close to the beach. I may want to serenade other beach bums, as I enjoy the surf and sand in my speedo or man thong (I am old and fat and bald and short. I used to be BUFF but now I am BOFS (bald, old, fat short).

I will be able to leave my guitars out on stands or on the wall so I can grab them continually and PLAY THEM right there in the moment - no case to open, etc.

Of course I heard of RS. I was a show attending NAMM member for many years. However, I really knew nothing about CF guitars until just last month (August 2016) when I saw an announcement about the long awaited new and improved RS APSE replacing the highly sought after RS APLE. Just the other day I saw "APEX" on Netflix and learned about cars costing $1 million that use CF. I also learned about pro bikes that use CF. Violins and cellos are made of CF (think Yo Yo Ma).

To look inside a RS CF compared to a Goodall or Taylor is a "horrifying" experience - so instead of looking inside I just play it and enjoy it.
BTW... one of the absolute greatest, most revolutionary, guitar-life-changing events in history - since the invention of the guitar is... (drumroll please...) the invention of the NT neck by Bob Taylor. I miss the NT neck (no fall away). The best neck ever.

I am keeping my custom made ALL SOLID WOOD travel guitar that you never heard of but you need to know about... go-guitars.com. Built by Sam Radding. Sam "taught" Bob Taylor how to build guitars. Go Guitars doesn't advertise. They don't have to. My Go Guitar has survived the harshest of temperature changes and humidity changes and situations that would kill other all solid wood guitars. I've had it for about 15 years now. It hangs on the wall outside my favorite bathroom and is my guitar of choice for bathroom picking and grinning - in the little space with great resonance.

I am not promoting CF guitars.

I am RAVING about Elderly Instruments.

I am sharing my heart with my guitar loving family with the expectation that my experience will help someone else.

All my life I've played guitar. All my life when someone tells me they play guitar, I feel an instant bond with that other human bean. I love helping new guitar players. I love making beater guitars easily playable for new budding guitarists.

All we need is love. We all need love. We all love guitars. Guitars are good for spreading love. Love is all we need.

Warmest regards
Cliff A.
aka The Steel Stringman

[ac]

I believe Elderly also does a lengthy, multi-point inspection of each guitar sold by a qualified tech before shipping--and shipping is FREE!

Their reputation is solid.

[steelstringman]

John M - beautiful, compelling, stunning hybrid luthier work.
Do you have a website?

Yup, if you look up "OT" in the dictionary you'll find my name and picture.

I've consciously used my "OT-ness" and nature over the years to my advantage in performing and songwriting / singing and playing out.

Being with other guitar lovers in this forum is very comfy - like doing a couch slouch with a nice responsive parlor in the lap (wood or CF or a hybrid - haha).

Oh... another treasure... FRANKLIN Guitar Straps! WOWZER!

The Big Red Dawg out...
Have a safe enjoyable guitar included holiday weekend

[Captain Jim]

Great post, Cliff, and welcome aboard!

I don't think of the change from wood to carbon fiber quite so traumatic as a gender change. ;-) BUT, there is that moment when you are asking yourself, "Is this the right thing to do??"

Getting my first carbon fiber guitar 3+ years ago taught me a lot: early on in my playing, I considered myself a Gibson guy (electric and acoustic), the expanded my horizons by adding other brands... so, I was a "wood guitar guy." These days, I am a "guitar guy" - I really like the guitars I currently own... some wood, some CF. While I am playing them, I appreciate the sound and the feel... and they each bring something special to the table. I like my carbon fiber guitars because they are... nice guitars. Oh, sure, I bought that first one because of the lure of worry-free use... then discovered I really like the way it sounds. And plays.

Like you, our home is in a sub-tropical climate. We also travel a lot, to different climates. Carbon fiber makes it easy to bring a guitar along and not have to worry about: is it too hot, too dry, too damp, moving from cold to warm, etc. I just get to enjoy the guitar for what it is: a great guitar.

Again, welcome. Enjoy that new guitar (and any others you decide you have room for ).

Captain Jim

[steelvibe]

Yes Cliff,welcome aboard. You can sit on the big CF couch with us!

I will never stop loving wood guitars, like Captain Jim said, they certainly bring their own thing to the table. They look gorgeous, classy, traditional, smell great, and have that woody tone we all have grown up with.

But we all also know their limitations. Enter CF, and I love those too. A lot!