Blackbird Rider steel string
 

I have the opportunity to get a Blackbird Rider and would like to hear anyone's opinion or experience with this CF guitar...tone, ergonomics etc..thank's in advance....Jan

Blackbird Rider steel string
 

I bought one last month. It has been said many many times that the rider is the best sounding travel acoustic out there. I would have to agree. It plays like a full acoustic and sounds like a full acoustic. It's one of the easiest playing guitars I have owned. I think the neck up is a must with this guitar. It is a really comfortable device. I liked it so much I bought another one for my other guitars. I play with the neck up all the time now. As long as the look of the guitar does not bother you than you will be very satisfied with the rider. It has a very balanced tone. Pronounced mid section, the highs are not too bright, and it has a killer low end. I've said this before, the rider could be my only guitar if needed. Hopefully Ted and Barb1 will chime in. I think they each have a couple.

What bry said +1.... I stop short as my only guitar.. not from a sound perspective but ergonomics.... Best in class... pound for pound and here's hopes that Joe brings a similar product once he returns to this segment with Ekoa!!!

Hi 12 Fretter,
I have two steel Riders and one nylon Rider. They are great guitars. I actually could have one of the steel Riders as my only guitar. They sound great acoustically and also sound great through an amp. The weight of the guitars is a real blessing to those of us who stand for hours a week playing music. I am a real fan.
Barb

Thanks for the input guys...your talking me into it !

I have never had the pleasure of seeing and hearing one in the flesh, but have read here before that the Rider is about the “best” sounding (subjective I know) of all the cf guitars. Maybe the nearest in tone to an all wood guitar (?)

Which strikes me as odd, considering the unconventional shape.
When they were designing it and building prototypes, I’d guess that they were going for compact size as a major criterion.
They must have been thrilled that it came out sounding great as bonus.

Unlike, say,,,, eg. a Martin backpacker ...

Go for it, Jan, especially if you are looking at a deal on a used one. I got mine about ten years ago, and while I have a healthy collection of travel guitars, the Rider has been my main travel companion over those ten years. FYI, Blackbird has stopped accepting orders for carbon fiber guitars, and while I think we haven't seen the last of the rider, they will definitely be harder, if not impossible to find next year.


Joe's designs have always been about tone first, and it's clear the Rider was no exception, but it's not fair to compare it to the Backpacker, which is a third of the size and weight, and one tenth the price.

BTW, I have an original Backpacker guitar hand built in 1983 by Bob McNally, well before he sold the design to Martin, and that guitar actually sounds pretty good. I even have a device for it that lets it sit in the lap just like a regular acoustic.