X7 vs RainSong Parlor comparison

[Aspiring]

I hadn't found any comparison samples with actual recordings to compare these two when I was looking.

A while back I picked up a new CH-PA1100NSG.

I really liked the guitar and the concept. As I played it I struggled with the neck unfortunately to the point my fret hand was cramping up.

Any rate I was intrigued by the X7 and was lucky enough to find a used 18+ available that I picked up from Reverb.

I personally like the X7 a little better for tone although the RainSong is a great guitar. Playability is considerably better for me on the Emerald and I find the finish quality a step up as well. (As it should be for the considerable price difference)

Edit: long story short I now ended up with a Nylon X7 with a pickup in it. Adding the 4th track
5th track is the nylon with some saddle adjustments and using nails.

Here are four tracks recorded off my X7, X7 Nylon, the RainSong and my BreedLove Premiere Concert Copper rosewood / Sitka OM size.

To avoid bias I won't reveal up front which is which.

The X7 and RainSong are strung with Thomastik Plektrum 12-59 ac112. The BreedLove is elixir NanoWeb 12-53

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQCfw5NLqSmSL7jI

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhHsKgAytFfNwTyGM

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhHTKxOmctZJsdY1H

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQdcQFDkGqBao4zZ

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQoCGF_ucsP8n0C_

I am just restarting my guitar playing after a long time away so still have a long way to go in my playing, but I do have to say the carbon guitars are awesome and have reinvigorated me.

Hope this helps somebody else if they are looking into these guitars.

[Captain Jim]

Welcome back to playing!

The listings are in reverse order from the way they are posted; tossing out a guess, I would say the first one (QD3) is the RainSong, the second one (QD2) is the Breedlove, and the third one (QD1) is the Emerald X7.

I'll be interested to hear which is which.

[landwatersky]

I think Captain Jim is correct in his ordering.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Welcome back to playing!

The listings are in reverse order from the way they are posted; tossing out a guess, I would say the first one (QD3) is the RainSong, the second one (QD2) is the Breedlove, and the third one (QD1) is the Emerald X7.

I'll be interested to hear which is which.

I agree with the Captain. First the RS, then the Breedlove and finally the x7. The CFs are kinda hard to tell apart but RS guitars have this signature midrange bark. The 2nd sample sounds the woodiest and so that leaves the 3rd to be the Emerald. But heck- been to a lot of really loud concerts too, what do I know?

[Methos1979]

I like the order 2, 3, then 1. I'm guessing 1 is the Rainsong. Harder on the next two so I'll go opposite from the above lads and say X7 is 2 and Breedlove is 3 but it might be reverse. But they are probably right with Breedlove at 2 as it seemed to have more overtones so that would indicate the rosewood OM.

[Aspiring]

Solid work folks!

The order is indeed RainSong Breedlove Emerald.

I was trying to figure out if I could also mic the instruments from the playing position as to my ears when I'm playing the X7 and Breedlove sound much closer together than they do in the recordings.

The other aspect of this that I liked was that in working at trying to get clean recordings it made it very evident that I have a much easier time playing the Emerald than the RainSong and the Breedlove is a close second, showing that the guitar and setup do indeed make a large difference even for those of us who are not yet expert players.

Also worth noting the Emerald and Breedlove are roughly at the same price point while the Rainsong goes for fair bit less.

[Aspiring]

I have now picked up an X7 Nylon 18+ and added it at the top and here:
[https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQdcQFDkGqBao4zZ

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I have now picked up an X7 Nylon 18+ and added it at the top and here:
[https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQdcQFDkGqBao4zZ

Nice tone. Can you share with us the scale and nut width on this nylon model?

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Nice tone. Can you share with us the scale and nut width on this nylon model?

This is essentially a stock slot head nylon X7 from what I can understand even though I picked it up used. Original owner says she put new optima gold factory strings back on just before she sent it.

From direct measurement it is 24" scale, 1 7/8 nut 2 1/4 string spacing at the bridge.

I'm very pleased with the tone so far although the setup I think needs some work so I'm hopeful that it will get even better. When I plugged it in the stock vtc pickup was fairly unbalanced particularly on the 1st string.

Also the 6th string nut action is a bit high and the intonation is a bit off on a couple strings.

However, the bass is awesome to my ears compared to the steel string and the body has considerably more vibration and reverberation compared to the steel string. I can feel a lot more of that vibration through the instrument.

[Aspiring]

Still trying to adapt my technique to the nails but this is an update same strings (now with 20-30 more hours on them)

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiFn8tBJP_jvhQoCGF_ucsP8n0C_