Well if you already have a Shorty, then that changes things a bit and I would suggest the X7. The X7 is a great, fun little guitar, is perfect for couch and campfire use, and in my case is the guitar I reach for most often when I'm at my computer and learning something from a YouTube video. If I need better tone I use my CA GX (though lately it's feeling awful big to me).

I too used to own a Larrivee Parlor, in my case one of the original four prototypes made for a NAMM show. Nice guitar, but I sold it to fund my first CF purchase.

A second for the X7. Love mine.

As noted by others, these are two are very different guitars. The X7 is a travel guitar, while the Rainsong Parlor, while certainly way more travel friendly than the Shorty, it still has a standard scale, and it gives up little to nothing tonally. I took my RS Parlor to Alaska and it was a joy to travel with. When I need something smaller, I take my Blackbird Rider, which is by far the best "sub compact" travel guitar on the planet.

BTW, if the price of the RS Parlor is holding you back, know that Rainsong has a new Parlor in the works that they haven't announced yet, the P12S. This model borrows the finish found on the Smokey, and is priced $200 below the gloss models. Without electronics the MAP is $1549. The new finish will also be available on the Shorty with the same $200 savings. You heard it here first folks! ;) If that's still to high, you might want to also look at the Journey OF660? It's as travel friendly as a guitar can get, has a standard scale like the Rainsong, and comes equipped with their version of the K&K Mini. Price is $1100 now, but will go to $1200 starting next month.

Speaking the K&K, if you end up going with the X7 but decide you don't want the B Band, be sure to have them build the guitar so it can accept a K&K. The K&K is an excellent pickup for a travel guitar, but apparently the standard X7 will not accept it without modification.

Good luck!

Ted;

Will the new P12S have color options?

Will there be P12S nylon string guitars?

Would you predict changes in sound between the old and new Parlors?

Hi Evan,

No color options, but I see no reason why Rainsong couldn't build a nylon string version.

I don't expect any tonal differences, but I should have the first ones here in a week or so and I will definitely compare both the Parlor and Shorty Satin to their gloss counterparts, and will let you know.

Ted;

I look forward to your comparisons.

I'm sort of disappointed about the color. For ten years I was a volunteer firefighter in my area--I saw some neat Smokey colors. The smoky reds were beautiful. The blues were haunting, the greens were ethereal. I'm not sure what particular car or house part was on fire, but the fuel put off some awesome colors.

As you might guess, I really like color in CF guitars. I know that some people like the natural carbon look. But color adds to the beauty of carbon fiber, for example Alistair's integration of color and weave. I also like Rainsong's use of color. Carbon Fiber is a painter's dream as far as medium is concerned. It is so smooth it is almost voluptuous to paint.

My favorite use of color was tried by Voyage Instruments--a French company. I think their instruments can still be seen on line. They developed a complete line of guitars with some incredible colorations. They dropped out of the CF race before production.

But I digress. It's nice to see Rainsong continue refining the development of carbon fiber instruments. I look forward to seeing the new instruments.

A "Smokey" Parlor would be intriguing.

Ok, time for some input here.

I have played them both, not side by side though.

I felt the x7-OS more form fitting to the body. The P12 with a smaller upper bout, stay lower from chest level when seated. Differences in scale length is not dramatic. I like centre soundhole guitars which I think projection is louder as compared to offset soundhole. But will I take the P12 because of the traditionally positioned soundhole? Well, that depends on what I want to do with the guitar.

For a couch guitar, I think nothing beats the x7 at the price. For performance, I'll go for the Rainsong. If I'm in the market for either one, I will take the x7 first. I can always let go of it without making a loss if I lose interest with it. The Rainsong to me is more of a professional music tool, at a price that you seriously need to play hard to decide. The x7 falls into the hobbyist category, you won't feel the pain even if you couldn't sell it away. And I bet you will not want to sell it when you get one.

A word of caution for CF guitar purchase - please try to play as many guitars to compare, even if they are the same model. The thickness of the CF soundboard makes a huge difference in the sound. I have tried two P12 and one is louder and more open than the other. I have two Emerald T8, and they sound different too. Really.

JK;

I am really surprised at your observation regarding sound differences in same-model CF guitars. One of the common comments regarding CF instruments is that unlike wooden instruments they are consistent within a given model.

Me too, Jimmy. Not arguing here, but I've played a lot of Rainsongs over the years and they are remarkably consistent from one guitar to the next.

In fact when buying my WS-1000 years ago, we had the chance to simultaneously demo four different ones in a quiet room at Elderly Instruments. There was virtually no audible difference between all four. The choice came down to really subtle playability / feel perceptions, and one guitar was disqualified because there was a minor visual flaw in the CF weave in the cutaway. Any of the four would have been great guitars. We also had a similar experience with recent CA Cargo's. Subsequent test-play experiences have also been similar, even when comparing my 2001 WS to way more recent ones that friends have.

On the MacNichol forum, we had a member who was a pro making his living traveling and playing throughout Europe with his X7. I don't know if he is on the AGF forum or not. That he specifically chose the X7 for his work I think would indicate it is indeed a "professional music tool"--but at a price that a hobbyist can feel comfortable with. Best of both worlds.



From my perspective, the X7 is simply an incredible value that many people overlook. Pricing something higher doesn't make it necessarily or automatically "better".

The Rainsong Parlor is a nice guitar and so is the X7. It depends on the factors that are most important to you. For me, the two bevels, the size, the offset soundhole, the scale length, one piece body construction, integrated bridge and the tone--all appeal to me, and for the price, I'm thrilled with mine.

When you commented on the X7, "And I bet you will not want to sell it when you get one." I can say I totally agree. It's definitely a keeper for me.

Me three. especially Rainsong. I could see how some builders who apply resin by hand could end up with a bit more resin on one guitar than the other, resulting in a slightly different tone, but Rainsong uses Prepreg Carbon Fiber, which extremely consistent.

BTW, I misspoke on the price of the new Satin Parlor and Shorty, it's actually $1549 MAP without electronics, and $1699 with the Fishman Prefix Plus T.

BTW, some excellent guitar work on that video ac, course I get the feeling this guy could make a Hello Kitty guitar sound good. ;)

A satin parlor is a nice option, especially since I've always thought that some type of satin or Raw (as CA called it) finish is preferable on a rugged knockabout travel and campfire type of guitar, just to avoid showing dings and scratches in the fancy gloss finish. I chose the basic X7 that has a sort of painted back and sides for just that reason, rather than all over gloss. So props to Rainsong for their satin models.

I also think stainless frets are a good idea, but so far Rainsong doesn't seem to agree with that one.

This I agree. Maybe to make myself clearer, there should be consistency with tone if every CF guitar is crafted in a really low-tolerance manufacture environment, and the thickness of the board of the batch of production will be the same that will give us the same tone, the same level of projection.

My earlier comment is a result from my personal experience with these two parlour, as concurred by the store exec who faces them daily, and the many feedback from potential buyers who have tried them:

http://i66.tinypic.com/2cpqc2f.jpg

The red one is louder and open sounded. The black one is more compressed. I did not check the dates of production so please pardon me on that.

Hey Evan, I am equally surprised myself, when I brought home an earlier made Emerald T8, and compared side-by-side with a later produced one. And that's when I learnt to tap the soundboard at the lower bridge area to determine the resonance of acoustic guitars.