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Old 08-09-2017, 03:33 PM
wildbill1962 wildbill1962 is offline
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Default Carbon Fiber Acoustics ?

Howdy. Looking for input from players who have Carbon Fiber acoustics. How do they sound and play ? No one in my local area (shop or players) has one. Really thinking of adding one for gigs, if I can find one under a grand.

Thanks
Bill
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Old 08-09-2017, 03:35 PM
GmanJeff GmanJeff is offline
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I have two, a Emerald X5 travel guitar, and a Rainsong Jumbo. Great instruments, with significant practical advantages over wooden guitars. Tone is subjective, and varies between brands and body shapes, as you'd expect, but I like mine very well. They complement my wooden guitars, and I would not be unhappy with one as my only instrument.
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Old 08-09-2017, 03:39 PM
Athens Athens is offline
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Default CF guitars

I've played a few and some actually sound OK.

The best reason given to me why someone went with the carbon fiber Guitar was that he performs outdoors a lot. Here in the south, especially in the summer, the humidity is torture on a wood guitar and can drive your tunings crazy. As he plays mostly amped, the acoustic sound isn't that important to him and the temperature and humidity swings don't affect it anywhere near as much.
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Old 08-09-2017, 03:41 PM
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cotten cotten is offline
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I think you will be surprised at the "woody" tone the best of carbon fiber guitars produce. I know I was! If you didn't know it wasn't wood, in many cases you wouldn't be able to tell. In terms of how they play, they're very similar to wood guitars - it depends on all the same factors, such as scale, neck profile, string spacing, set up, etc.

You might ask one of our friendly local mods to move this thread over to our Carbon Fiber section of the AGF. That's where a lot of their fans congregate.

cotten
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Old 08-09-2017, 03:52 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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I like them a lot (own a Rainsong WS-1000, a recent CA Cargo, a Blackbird Lucky 13, and an Emerald X20-12 string is on order for December delivery. I am slowly transitioning away from wood instruments (mostly Taylor) and all the maintenance hassles that come with wood. I've lived in cold weather country and had to humidify during most of my guitar playing life -- and have paid for my share of crack repairs along the way if I dropped the ball on humidity control. CF is also useful in very humid environments too. It is so handy to have them out ready to play at a moment's notice, while not living in fear.

The tone is different between makers and models. "Better" or "worse" depends on the listener and your needs as a player. All of the CF manufacturers have great build quality. It is challenging to find even used ones under $1K, but the new Rainsong CH (composite hybrid) series comes pretty close and are reported as sounding the most "warm and woody". The material and the processes are not cheap -- they simply aren't made of "plastic". I specifically chose my Rainsong for a bluegrass jam last night, to better cut through the wall of banjos and mandolins that usually outnumber the guitar players locally.

You would likely get more response in the Carbon Fiber room. Maybe ask a moderator to move this thread.
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Old 08-09-2017, 04:01 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Pretty cool video where you can clearly hear the tone nuances of a cf guitar. I think it sounds great in its own way.

https://youtu.be/MJ6iyWSEzIs
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Old 08-09-2017, 04:01 PM
Uncle Pauhana Uncle Pauhana is offline
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This whole subforum is full of peoples' reactions to their carbon fiber instruments (and these are not people who believe that "acoustic sound isn't that important"!)

You'll probably get some great answers to your post (personally I love the sound, looks, and playability of my Emerald X20), but you will learn much more by just cruising through the hundreds of posts that are already here.

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Old 08-09-2017, 04:15 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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And that's how it starts...

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Old 08-09-2017, 04:36 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wildbill1962 View Post
Howdy. Looking for input from players who have Carbon Fiber acoustics. How do they sound and play ? No one in my local area (shop or players) has one. Really thinking of adding one for gigs, if I can find one under a grand.

Thanks
Bill
Hey Bill,

Well, I have definitely played them all, and currently own over a dozen different models, so I can tell you that tonally you have some options. For a gigging guitar with electronics, price wise the starting point will be about $1199 for a Journey RT660 Roadtrip model, or for a bit more you can get one of the new Rainsong CH models which come in three sizes, Parlor, Orchestra Model, and Grand Auditorium, and several pickup options. But if you are set on keeping the price below $1000, than you will need to looks for a good deal on a used guitar.

Last edited by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales; 08-09-2017 at 05:06 PM. Reason: clarification
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Old 08-09-2017, 04:49 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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Well, the Emerald X7 Opus is available for $995 (US) without a pickup.

http://emeraldguitars.com/product/x7...v=7516fd43adaa

Add $175 for an LR Baggs Element pickup, and you are good to go for gigging with this guitar.

I have played the heck out of my X7, and it really kicks when plugged in (mine has the B-Band pickup). Great for gigging. Mine has been coast to coast to coast, still looks new, and sounds great. VERY comfortable.

It is a more compact guitar: body size smaller than a Taylor GSmini, but the neck is a 24" scale with a 1 3/4" nut width.

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Old 08-09-2017, 04:56 PM
wildbill1962 wildbill1962 is offline
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Thanks for moving to the right place

Thanks also to everyone forvthe GREAT advice and sharing your wisdom. Looks like I need to take a drive to a larger city and hit the music shops and play a few.

Will prob have to look for a deal on a used one

So the quest starts.....
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Old 08-09-2017, 05:16 PM
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Before driving any great distance, call beforehand to know what stock they have. Unless you're able to visit a shop like Ted's, likely you'll only be able to test-drive Rainsong and/or Composite Acoustics (Peavey) models in stores. Almost all of us composite guitar fans are happy gamblers having tried Emeralds, Blackbirds and Journeys based only on reviews and videos and have come away very happy.
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Old 08-09-2017, 05:30 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Jim View Post
Well, the Emerald X7 Opus is available for $995 (US) without a pickup...
Since the OP mentioned gigging, I assumed he would want electronics, and probably something bigger than a 3/4 size travel guitar. Edited my previous post to reflect this.


Quote:
Originally Posted by wildbill1962 View Post
Thanks for moving to the right place

Thanks also to everyone forvthe GREAT advice and sharing your wisdom. Looks like I need to take a drive to a larger city and hit the music shops and play a few.

Will prob have to look for a deal on a used one

So the quest starts.....

Best way to find CF guitars to try is to go on to the websites of the builders and look for a dealer near you. For used, eBay and Reverb are an excellent place to look. Here's a used H-WS series with Fishman Prefix Plus T for $1299 or best offer on eBay. The H-WS is a grand auditorium with a nice warm tone. It's similar in tone and feel to an all Mahogany Taylor GA, but with a bit more overtones.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RainSong-H-W...QAAOSwKJRZe3o2

I've sold hundreds of CF guitars over the years, and while none of my clients have given up their wood guitars that I'm aware of, most will never be without at least one CF guitar in the stable. Good luck!
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Old 08-09-2017, 06:30 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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I have actually played a few here and there and really like a lot of them.. No doubt you will find one you will love or at least like a heck go a lot... there are a few Youtubes with them as well... but the real life hearing and playing them is best. And of course I keep a couple wood guitars around just to torture in the heat and the monsoon humidity here, you know, just to see how far outa tune and dead they can sound whilst CF and Ekoa guitars just laugh and are unaffected.
Ted of LA Guitars knows stuff! (As do many on here.)
Just saying'.
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Old 08-09-2017, 08:10 PM
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They play and sound great! A bonus for me is that I can keep a guitar in a
black truck, in west Texas (or as I call it; Mordor, the land of the dark lord),
120-150 degrees for days and weeks, and it stays in tune.
It's nice not to worry about heat and humidity.
Good luck in your search Bill!

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