Shorty: Petteway vs Composite
 

I'm interested in a Rainsong Shorty and wonder about the difference between the all carbon and the composite. I know that Rainsong has stopped making the Petteway, but it's still possible to order an all carbon, just not a Petteway. I spoke to Ted at LA Guitars who preferred the composite. Ted is, of course, quite knowledgeable, but I also wanted to hear some other voices as well

Thanks in advance for your opinion.

I don't know if by composite you are referring to hybrid.
My 1st cf guitar was a rainsong black ice parlor from Ted.
I love the guitar. It is my take everywhere guitar and it lives in its ohsc in my truck.
I was so pleased with everything about Rainsong that I decided to get a full size. I was sure I wanted a WS or Dreadnought. I did a lot of research and I called Dave at Rainsong for particulars.
I asked him what his choice would be and he said the Concert WS1005NS which is a 12 fret. https://youtu.be/djB7SJ8eJiI
Concerts are unidirectional cf and are their thinnest tops I believe.

Well since I already had a 12 fretter in the Black Ice parlor I decided to get a
CO WS1000N2 which is a 14 fret guitar.
I am very pleased and I pity the woodchuckers with their temperature/humidity concerns. There is so much peace of mind with non-wood instruments...
Good luck!

I don't own either an all carbon fiber or a hybrid but have played quite a few. To my ear the hybrid sounds a bit more like a wood guitar vs. carbon fiber. The hybrids tend to be less expensive, so to me its the rare moment when I like the sound and at a lower price. I really like the Shorty.

I own the Shorty APLE (Petteway) and it's an incredible sounding guitar. The unidirectional top makes for a very pronounced bass that non-unidirectional tops seem to lack. The OM sized body, UD top, and short scale 12 fret takes the very best of the CF guitars and combines into one incredible sounding and looking package. The bronze burst color is beautiful and the upgraded Fishman Premium Blend (UST plus internal mic) make for a complete package.

Highly recommended. They pop up here from time to time. I was actually thinking of selling mine but decided to keep it. There's a couple on Reverb but they are pricey. The fact that they are no longer making them I think are driving up the prices.

The other CF guitar I have experience with (owned) is the Emerald X20 Artisan. This is also an excellent guitar. Very nice sound, amplified very well. Of the two I prefer the APLE for the short scale, and deeper bass tone from the UD top. I have no experience with hybrid CF guitars. I guess I don't see the point of mixing CF with wood or fiberglass.

I was originally interested in the Shorty, but when I found out that you can get a 12-fret neck on any of the RainSong guitars, I ordered the all-carbon Concert OM as a 12-fret. I couldn't be happier with the guitar.

I haven't done an A/B comparison with the Shorty, but I don't remember any big difference in sound. I'm not a big fan of overly fancy appointments on a guitar, but I think the abalone rosette is beautiful and the fretboard shark inlays are totally cool. That's why I chose the Concert instead of the Shorty, not the materials.

My experience with the RainSongs is that they are much more responsive to how your fingers (or a pick) attack the strings than a wood guitar. So I think the difference in sound between the hybrid back and sides of a Shorty vs. all-carbon back and sides is likely to be small compared the effect of how you pluck the strings.

Just my .02

Ah, some of us do have a Shorty with the abalone rosette and the sharks - thanks to a Limited Edition series from Ted at LA Guitar Sales.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10005845.jpg

sent you a PM, I know where a brand new one resides for sale-killer sound.

d

I know. I was cursing myself for missing out on that deal back when I thought I had to chose between those appointments and the short-scale neck.

Ted is certainly a hero on this board, but I'd like to give a shout-out to Kevin at Northwest Guitars in Bellevue, WA, for helping to make sure I got a guitar I was completely happy with. :D

Happiness is having a good dealer to help you get what you want.

Outside a guitar forum, that statement might lead people to think we have a problem. :D

First off, thanks for the kind words, I do love carbon guitars, and have some on hands experience with them, ;) and I enjoy sharing that knowledge. As to the all CF Shorty vs the standard hybrid/CF combo, I may have suggested the all CF version to you based on our conversation, but the standard model might actually work better for some folks. For instance, if someone fell in love with the tone of the APLE but can't find one, than we can order them the CO-OM1000NST, which will have standard tuners and electronics, or the CO-OM1100NST without electronics, and they will have a guitar that looks, and sounds identical to the APLE.

FYI, the first guitar Rainsong built with hybrid back and sides, and unidirectional top was our LA1-LE limited, about 3-4 years ago. At that time I advertised that guitar as the warmest Rainsong you can buy, and I still feel that way about this combo. To me it's sort of like comparing Sitka Spruce to Adirondack, they are different, but one isn't necessarily better for everyone.