Rainsong Neck....

So I got my CO-OM1000NS the first of September, and as I stated earlier, as many others have, that the neck was worrying me. Initially, there were zero issues with me switching from the Taylor neck to the Rainsong N2 neck, and I can say without hesitations that more than two months later, nothing has changed.
I can play for hours with zero discomfort anywhere. How much of that is the neck? The short scale? The 12 fret? Who knows, probably a bit from all of the above, but I can say that this is by far the most comfortable guitar I have ever played and still love it. Most importantly, I am playing far more now on a daily basis, and for longer sessions, than I ever have in the past, and in the end, isn't that what we all want? To find that one guitar that makes you can't wait to pick it up and start playing?

I have to think that anyone having any issues with soreness, discomfort, etc when playing a shorty, or any other Rainsong, might first explore technique, position, etc before passing on one of these guitars. Just my opinion, and YMMV

....now to explore different strings on it

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by hammerhead

I have to think that anyone having any issues with soreness, discomfort, etc when playing a shorty, or any other Rainsong, might first explore technique, position, etc before passing on one of these guitars. Just my opinion, and YMMV

....now to explore different strings on it

Are you really saying that players should change their technique to play this neck? Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a guitar neck that works with their technique? ie, if you thumb grab the E string, your telling me I should put my thumb behind the neck in a more classical position and everything will be fine?

[Finger Stylish]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

Are you really saying that players should change their technique to play this neck? Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a guitar neck that works with their technique? ie, if you thumb grab the E string, your telling me I should put my thumb behind the neck in a more classical position and everything will be fine?

I hear ya Steve, and you too John.

I know there are so many home grown / self styled Guitarist and there is no perfect neck for everyone of us. Find what works and and play it like you love it or don't have an option especially if you have an instrument with a killer tone or sound.
That being said, I think you could recondition / retrain your ergonomic preferences to make any neck work. I play several different instruments, and quite honestly, I only experience fatique if I'm playing only one for an extended period of time.
If I'm doing a gig, and start feeling crampy or spent on the guitar, I'l grab the banjo for a few songs and the change of pace is a healing excercise. (for me anyway)

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

So glad the N2 neck is working for you, John. Although no one neck shape/size will be perfect for everyone, the N2 neck from Rainsong was a hit right out of the gate. Enjoy!

[Bill R]

Vance's comments are excellent. Congrats, John, on the new guitar. I share your thoughts and experiences on the N2 neck. I really like it on my APLE OM.

Bill

I did not like the neck on my Rainsong nylon string Parlor, when I first received the guitar. The Neck on my Emerald X10N is marvelous, fairly flat and long compared to the Rainsong's. But the Rainsong is so comfortable and sweet that I have adapted to the neck and now find that I can go back and forth between the two guitars with no hitch in my giddy-up. I hear Hammer as saying that if the guitar is really good some change in play is worth it.

[Doubleneck]

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...l+neck+profile

I find the above poll interesting. 14% would say a D or U profile is their favorite. Rainsong is a modified U. I guess the 85% of us need to adjust.

[steelvibe]

When I first heard of the NS neck it was on Acoustic Magazine's video review of the Shorty back in 2011. Teja mentions that the neck has "heft", but one really can't understand what that means until they have it in their hands.

When I first tried the Shorty I noticed the difference in the neck immediately. Honestly I could never say that I bonded with it right out of the gate, but i oddly liked it and found it to feel very ergonmically sound. The Shorty I test drove had a factory set up (and I still liked it even though the action was way too high), the one that I bought from MacNichol was set up for to my preferences. I think the real issue for me is that for years I was an electric player playing very thin necks, and then later owning an Ovation and currently a Breedlove, which are more in the C profile.

Maybe it isn't so much that the N2 or NS necks are poorly designed (because many don't like them) but that it is a factor of how many guitars are on the market with similar neck? I've played and owned a lot of guitars and none of them have felt like the NS, and with the way that I have it tweeked right now I'm oddly satisfied.

Never played an Emerald but would love to- also a Blackbird L13. Would I sell the RainSong then? Don't know- that RainSong tone would be pretty hard to beat!

Steel;

My emerald X10N plays like an electric, it is smooth, fast, and enables me to hit the high frets. The Rainsong is a different animal, and yet, as you observe, it is a satisfying play. I am keeping both the Rainsong and the Emerald.

I have commissioned a new Emerald based on the X10N, with considerations of new advancements. No matter how good the Emerald is, I will probably hang on to the Rainsong, it is a marvelous instrument.

And oh, my Rainsong is blue, found through this forum, by the owner of this forum, who wrote a review that created a great deal of gas. The new frontier of CF is pretty thrilling stuff, I feel so sorry for those poor wood guys locked into the past.

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

When I first heard of the NS neck it was on Acoustic Magazine's video review of the Shorty back in 2011. Teja mentions that the neck has "heft", but one really can't understand what that means until they have it in their hands.

When I first tried the Shorty I noticed the difference in the neck immediately. Honestly I could never say that I bonded with it right out of the gate, but i oddly liked it and found it to feel very ergonmically sound. The Shorty I test drove had a factory set up (and I still liked it even though the action was way too high), the one that I bought from MacNichol was set up for to my preferences. I think the real issue for me is that for years I was an electric player playing very thin necks, and then later owning an Ovation and currently a Breedlove, which are more in the C profile.

Maybe it isn't so much that the N2 or NS necks are poorly designed (because many don't like them) but that it is a factor of how many guitars are on the market with similar neck? I've played and owned a lot of guitars and none of them have felt like the NS, and with the way that I have it tweeked right now I'm oddly satisfied.

Never played an Emerald but would love to- also a Blackbird L13. Would I sell the RainSong then? Don't know- the tone would be pretty hard to beat!

Well said, Steve

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...l+neck+profile

I find the above poll interesting. 14% would say a D or U profile is their favorite. Rainsong is a modified U. I guess the 85% of us need to adjust.

Steve, John was only talking about the two Rainsong necks, so the poll in your link is not of great help. In addition, the poll, (like many polls started on forums) is fairly useless for other reasons as well, like how it omits the most popular neck shape of all, the low oval as used by Martin and Taylor. I would also point out that the opinions of the 94 members who participated in the poll you linked, do not reflect the opinions of the thousands of people I've talked to over the years about neck shapes. For instance, only about 10% of the people I talked to can even stand a V shape neck, let alone prefer it. Also, one builders C shape can be another builders D, while others would call a similar shape a U.

Getting back to Rainsong, 9 out of 10 of my clients, and we are talking many hundreds of people here, preferred the N2 neck to the N1, when both were available. So given those two options, folks who prefer the N1 are the in the minority.

[Doubleneck]

I am not surprised that your customers preferred the N2 because it had a truss rod. Not sure the N1 had a chance in that scenario. But the reality is Steelvibe had it right. Neither he or I know of another guitar with a profile like the N2. That could very well be a good thing, but makes you wonder why only Rainsong had such wisdom.

[Finger Stylish]

Polls on forums don't reflect the opinions of allwho use a certain product. They only refeclt the opinions of the ones participating in the poll.

Many people see a poll and avoid it because many polls are started by people that love a particular something or brand and for whatever reason never except that someone else might have a different preferrence.

SUBJECTIVITY is a battlefield in some cases, it's no place for back stracthing.

Unfrozen water is wet! But just how wet is my unfrozen water compared to yours? I think mine is wetter!

[Jimmy Koh]

Pix on the way.

[GraceMusik]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...l+neck+profile

I find the above poll interesting. 14% would say a D or U profile is their favorite. Rainsong is a modified U. I guess the 85% of us need to adjust.

Like Ted said, you can't really draw solid conclusions about reality from polls like that, especially with such an extremely small sample size.