CA/Peavey
 

We talked a bit about CA/Peavey on an unrelated thread--It seems like there should be more to say on the subject.

Composite Acoustics was the carbon fiber gateway for a lot of us. The Cargo was reasonably priced, sounded good, and travelled well. For a while there was a lot of news coming out of CA as the company rolled out a number of stunning guitars.

When CA went down the big news was its purchase by Peavey. For a while, on the old Carbon Fiber Forum, a Peavey representative responded to questions and kept everyone informed about the process and progress of bringing out an improved line of CA guitars.

Now, there appears to be very little news, advertising, or forum participation by Peavey. I think we should flush them out, thus this thread.

Someone at Peavey must keep an eye on Peavey news and maybe, if we started talking about our various Peavey/CA guitars and asking questions, someone might join in and tell us what's going on. It's a thought.

I bought into the CA brand back in '08 with a Cargo and GXi and was really into them. I was so sorry to see their demise of sorts, that an innovator like Ellis Seal couldn't fulfill his vision under his owner/leadership, but was glad that Peavey has carried the torch. Nice to see that Ellis is still in the game with McPherson. At least in this online forum, a number of other brands have rightly taken over the spotlight due to their innovation, options and participation here, but like you Evan, I'd like to see CA more prominent here. Maybe they are actually doing very well and don't need to participate here, but I wish they would. I would also like to see some new innovation from them. Otherwise, I'm much more interested in other CF builder offerings.

Glad to see a thread going on CA!

About the innovation, I have one of the first post-Peavey GXs, and for me, it's perfect. The only thing I would change is to ditch the built-in electronics and go with a K&K. Any other innovations might, in fact, be a downgrade.

I think CA still leads the pack in design in two important areas, comfort (sculpted back) and the clear (no heel) neck join. And the thin neck option is the only CF on the market that gives you a Stratocaster feel on an acoustic.

So the question is, what would Peavey do to innovate? Getting The Blade back in production with a few tweaks would be good.

Any other ideas?

Maybe we can get Peavey in here to listen and comment.

Was..... as he has moved on... not sure where though.

Ellis is one of the CF innovators. Not gonna hold my breath, but with all he knows and has learned, including business/entrepreneurship lessons, wouldn't it be cool if he could launch a new brand?

Happy to chime in and keep the thread going. I have a pair of CA guitars, a Cargo and an OX. Really like both of them, but especially th OX. Its a raw model without electronics. Both Peavey CAs.

I am new to Cf guitars. I tried a few Rainsongs and a few CA guitars. I wanted a Gx and had a hard time trying to find one. I called and spoke with the factory on 4 different occasions over 3 weeks and each time was told the holdup was lack of Gotoh tuners and that they may switch to Hipshot tunners. I ended up with a Legacy hi gloss and am very happy with it. I am not sure that CA is getting the attention it deserves from the parent company. Every time I checked a large online retailer, it always says arriving soon, never in Stock.

I agree about the sculpted back and no heel as being the best that I've tried. I no longer have my GXi but I quite liked it. If I was going to get a new CA, it would likely be a GX. One negative about CAs is that I think they tend to be heavier than other CF guitar brands. If it'd be possible, I'd like to see CA lighten them up. Then again, that would likely change the tone which could be a good thing, or not so good. As for the Blade, yeah, I agree that CA should reintroduce it.

I think Peavey should get with it on two fronts. First, style. When PV did the white Cargo it was pretty stunning. But just a start. As Rainsong and Emerald are demonstrating, coloration is an important draw. My favorite was the French Voyage Instruments--way cool coloration. But way bad in other ways; the company went out of business before it did any business.

Some of PV's carbon offerings are stunning in design, in comfort, in sound, and in play. They need some pizazz.

I also think they should do an electric--but not the blade. Peavey has a long history and understanding of electric guitars; PV could make a new entre in the CF field. Make some news. Get some attention. Get us in the tent.

Not really an innovation per say but I wish CA guitars had an adjustable truss rod. I love the sound of the samples I have played but felt there was a bit to much neck relief for my personal tastes.

I have one of the last pre-preavey GXs. It had receded to the background as my playing style and interests changed - so much so that I tried selling it to fund further purchases but barely got any interest at all. Lately, though, I've started doing a lot of flatpicking and all of a sudden the old GX has a new lease on life, it's probably the main guitar I'm playing at the moment . I even took it to a bluegrass jam the other night and it although it didn't quite have the volume of a dred I still managed to get by. (Probably going to go up to 0.013s next string change). It's worked its way back into high rotation in my stable and now I'm quite happy I didn't get to sell it.
So for what I would change - I do find it quite heavy, especially compared to other CF guitars, that would be my biggest suggestion. I'm not sure what pickup system Peavey is now using - I don't amplify much but I suspect I'd do away with the old baggs ibeam/piezo mix that it currently has, and a more elegant solution than the clunky barn door would be nice. I remember Michael Stone putting a soundport on a GX which I thought worked well (I was in store when he did it). Other than that, the neck/heel is great and overall is a very comfortable guitar.

Just don't expect Peavey to be forthcoming with any information regarding older models. I emailed, called, and no one there seems to know anything. So I am presuming they didn't even get documents. Just the molds or some such. Here ya go...put this piece here that piece there..have fun.

One person I talked to by calling the number on the CA website...didn't even known Peavey sold them. So yea in the future I will most likely be looking elsewhere if and when I get another CF guitar.

With that being said I love my pre peavey X player.

So, here's a thought. Wooden guitar companies have been going through a lot of acquisition. CA is, to my knowledge, the first CF maker to have acquired by a larger company. Peavey worked hard to bring CA to a higher level of quality. But in the intervening years, other makers have marched ahead with innovation.

So, what if CA came on the market? What if Rainsong acquired CA/Peavey? Rainsong has done quite well with its steady approach to improvements. CA offers a variety of innovative shapes and engineering . Rainsong has the innovations in materials and build, CA has the innovations for new forms and build. I could see that as working.

I would also see Joe getting into the acquisition mix. I don't know if he would have the bucks, but he has the material and build capability to turn CA genius into CA/Blackbird engineering and material quality.

This front line stuff is interesting.

A GX in Ekoa. Now that would be something!

Personally, apart from the huge financial and infrastructure outlay, I don't see an existing CF builder acquiring another CF builder if for no other reason than individual pride in their respective unique innovation, processes and vision that each brings to the marketplace. If any builder wanted to, they could easily invest in a reasonable facsimile of a desirable design and apply whatever unique aspect they want. But I don't see that happening. If Peavey were to drop CA and someone were to take it over, I'd bet it would be a startup in CF guitar building or another large wood guitar company looking to get into the CF game.

Yes, it would be. But, I can't ever see that happening.

CA Product Manager here
 

Michael Smith here. I didn't have an account here, so it took me a couple of days to get one. It's good to see interest out there. Right now, we are working on some exciting new things in CA world that we'll be showing at SNAMM. The Gotoh tuners was a huge problem for us but we are over that hurdle with a new custom tuner from Hipshot. I think the comment about "pizzaz" was spot on and some of the new things we have coming I think will fit that bill, with even more to come later. We have many backorders to fill, which is our immediate concern, and we are working hard to achieve that. More to come...

Hi Michael. Thanks for joining the forum and your input. It is appreciated and we hope that CA will continue to provide insight. There are many CA lovers here, me included.

Welcome Michael. It's nice to see CA appearing around here. That can only be a good thing for you, chatting among us carbon-heads. My local guitar store is pretty good with CA stock, but the only thing we've bought from them was a Cargo about two years ago.

I would be interested in hearing more about the new custom tuner from Hipshot. I know I had a very hard time trying to order a GX due to the Gotoh problems. I did buy the Legacy, which I am very happy with.

Welcome aboard, Michael. :up:

Just curious...what are the actual Gotoh problems being mentioned?

I'm sure Michael will be responding . My understanding was it was just a supply problem?

It was a minimum order problem. Turns out that CA was the only brand using that particular tuner and they raised the MOQ to a point that it was very hard to manage. I approached Hipshot about doing something for us closed back with an 18:1 ratio, something they didn't offer. They came through with flying colors and we are currently working through the last of the Gotohs now.

Welcome aboard, Michael - always great to see participation here from the manufacturers.

Michael;

Good to have you in the room. I am standing at the door, holding back any escape.

Previously, we had someone from PV walking us through the transition from CA to PV, and he was good. And he was right, my CA/PV Cargo was a much nicer instrument then my first Cargo.

So now, here we are. PV has purchased an incredibly innovative instrument company, and has refined the instruments to a high level of quality. But CA/PV is also way behind the other composite guitar makers.

So far, PV has pursued the models developed by CA. But that approach does not advance development. The one CA guitar that has not yet been refined by PV is the electric guitar. I know that the CA Blade is the about the only CF electric guitar, and that there might be some inclination to renovate the Blade. I think this is a chance for CA to weigh in on a new composite guitar, one developed by PV.

That's just one thought. My primary press with composite guitars has been nylon strung instruments. The classical nylon string guitar is the product of 500 years of R&D. Rainsong, Blackbird, and Emerald have all weighed in on acoustic nylon string guitars. CA/PV is the only chicken left.

Anyway, it is nice to see you here. I look forward to the future of CA/PV.

Some things don't need change and I think that is the case with the GX. In my opinion, the other manufactures are still way behind the GX in design ~ and for my purposes ~ tone.

So I hope CA won't discontinue what is working in the name of "innovation." I feel that Emerald did that by discontinuing the center sound hole X10.

Like Evan, I would be delighted to see a nylon from CA, a new electric, and perhaps new composite materials like those used in the new Blackbirds.

Just don't ditch the classics and fix what's doesn't need fixing!!!

We hear you. Don't forget the first thing we did is completely redesign the existing line. Many improvements were needed and made. Since then, our goal has been to increase our distribution and dealer base. The #1 complaint I get is that people have a hard time finding a stocking dealer to try one out. Now we are doing a re-launch with updated models at SNAMM. There's no doubt we'd like to explore line extensions. A nylon is a good idea, a 12 is always a possibility. An electric is always something in our minds, as is bringing this technology into the bass world. Most people don't remember Peavey innovated the bass world with CF a long time ago. For now we just need many more brand ambassadors like all of you! :)

I love CA designs, loved my '08 gloss tobacco burst GXi (sold it to fund my Emerald doubleneck) and my existing '08 charcoal Cargo RT. My only beef is the overall weight. Even the Cargo is kinda heavy for the small guitar it is. Was weight addressed in the redesigns? If not, it would be great if they were a fair bit lighter like a number of other CF builders are doing. Of course, efforts to do so would likely effect tone, maybe in a good way, maybe not so good. I suppose that if tone is compromised, it'd be best to stick with the current designs, but is CA trying to deal with it, or considers it a non-issue.

The above had me scratching my head, till I read this:

You are relentless, Evan, but sadly you are part of a vey small group of players looking for a CF nylon. The current dreadnought, grand auditorium, orchestra model, and 3/4 size travel guitar pretty much cover 90% of what players are looking for, so CA is definitely not behind anyone as far as popular models, but I would like to see the Legacy 12-string come back, with a 1-7/8" nut if possible. ;)