New Guy Shopping Around
 

Hello all! I've been lurking in this forum for a bit and have decided to take the plunge and post! As you can hopefully see in my signature, I currently own a Babicz Identity Jumbo which I use primarily in church and occasionally camping. Here in Alberta, everything is horribly dry, which means my humidifier is going all the time, and I'm tired of wood cracking and warping and I'm interested in moving toward something more robust, like CF. I love the deep and LOUD sound from the babicz and from my youtube listening, that's just not as common in CF. I would lean toward the emerald x20 opus, provided i can manage the funds, but would love to hear from anyone who plays their cf in church, either amplified or no, and how it works as a worship guitar.
Thanks in advance!

I've always found carbon fiber to be quite a bit louder than the average wood guitar, so I don't believe that will be a problem, especially if you get a larger-bodied instrument like a dreadnought or jumbo size. I can't help with the "play in church" part, but I hope someone else can fill in that side of things. I'm just below you in Montana, where it's also pretty dry, and I'm glad my Rainsong guitars can just live on their stands year-round for easy playing.

Good luck!

Thanks! I've not had a chance to play any Rainsongs, but a local shop has a few that i'll try to get over and play one of these days.

Size matters. The X20 isn't as big as a jumbo, but it is a bit deeper than my Taylor 814... and it puts out a lot of sound. The comfortable ergonomics of the X20 make it a delight to play. It chuckles at me when I dig in and says, "Is that all you've got?"

That said, if I need more volume, I just turn it up on the L.R. Bags Element pickup when plugged in. ;)

I'm used to the baggs as that's what the identity shipped with! I love what it can do!
While i understand the benefits of the business model, it'd be so nice to have one in a shop nearby to just pick around with. But beggars can't be choosers :)

I have a bit of experience in both playing CF and playing them in church. I’ve been playing in church since I was about 13.

To date, I’ve owned three CF guitars- Rainsong DR1000, Emerald X7 and a recently acquired McPherson Sable.

They were all fine guitars. The Emerald was a smaller bodied guitar and it wasn’t as nice sounding, but that’s due to the size. They are fine instruments and their full bodied guitars sound bigger.

I JUST got the Sable this week and played it at church on Wednesday. I go to a decent sized church (1000+ people) with a nice sound system. It really did well. The sound guys loved it. I had a wireless pack on it so during practice I was able to go and listen. It sounded huge and crystal clear through the speakers. Sounded great through my JH Audio In-Ears too.

I’ve found the carbon fiber guitars to work well for worship music. My complaint about the Rainsong (a minor complaint) was that it leaned on the side of too bright when strumming hard. I have a strong strum and use a thick pick, too. No complaints fingerstyle. But it could sound a wee bit too high sometimes. But I’m really being picky.

I think the Sable leans more between wood and CF in terms of sound. The thing has a huge presence, honestly. It’s bassy and clear, without being too high.

I have played a lot of different high end guitars over the years. I would put the Sable up there with my others in terms of what it sounds like, plugged in for Praise and Worship music.

If you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to answer.

Excellent! Thanks so much for your reply. I would love to go McPherson, but it's a bit out of the price range for me. Our church is closer to 200 than 1000+ so the budget's a little tighter, most likely :) That said, it's good to know. I was wondering if the rainsong concert hybrid's glass fiber would help with the warmth and low end a bit compared to yours. there's one not far away i'll have to check out.

Though I’ve never played one, the CH’s get a good bit of love around here. A CH-OM sells for a good price and may well be a great guitar for you. An Emerald X20 is also VERY well regarded here. I have a custom on order, though my spec for it isn’t far from the base Opus model.

If you want deep
 

You’ll need to go big. Rainsong Jumbo or Emerald X 20. In a church with smaller guitars you’ll need to plug in.
I grew up playing churches and went through the acoustic phase where we hammered on our guild and Martin guitars the early amplified days to processed sounds.
I last used a Martin j 12 40. But I’d recommend an Emerald x 20-12 now. Greg Hager has YouTube videos that are quite inspiring.

Yeah, my church wouldn’t buy that guitar. That’s jojobean’s money spent on the Sable. :) I would never ask the church to front that kind of money.

What budget are you looking at? That might help us determine what you could look at buying. And are you willing to buy used?

Church wouldn't buy mine either, but the pay for 200 is likely slightly less :) no worries there!

I could probably save a bit and swing close to $2000 canadian. It'll get me a decent rainsong but not sure i could swing the emerald with duty and exchange and all that.

Used? That's my life! I love buying things used! Not much around here on our version of craigslist that i've seen, though. Apparently people like their CF's! :)

Exchange is a killer for sure, but you may want to check with Canadian customs about the duty, because although I could be wrong, I think Canada has a fairly recent free trade agreement with Ireland. My X20, due in May, will be telling in this regard, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be no duty. *Fingers crossed*

Edit: I had read the details in the following link at the time I placed my order, and this site https://www.canada-usblog.com/2017/0...s-into-effect/ states that the guitar from Ireland should be duty-free. This was in mid-2017. As noted, prior to this agreement, duty for musical instruments was set at 7%.

Excerpt:

H.S. Chapter: 92
Description: Musical instruments; parts and accessories of such articles
2016 MFN Rate of Duty in Canada: Up to 7%
What Canada’s Schedule Says: Entire Chapter is duty free immediately

I'll be interested to hear how that turns out for you! Do let us know when it comes (i'm sure you'll be anxious to include pics, but a quick nod to duty, or lack thereof, would be appreciated).

I'll be trying out a rainsong at a local long and mcquade shop here, but the look of that x20 just slays me every time. beautiful!

Read my update in my post above. Great news!

Btw, luckily for me, for some time, I’ve maintained an account in US funds for my guitar related escapades.:up:

I too have a US account for schooling purposes. Could be worthwhile. And congrats on the duty-free. That'll come in handy!