Why hasn't CF Broken into the mainstream?
 

With the need to humidify and generally baby wood guitars, why haven't CF guitars taken off more than they have? Not enough places to try them? Not enough marketing and awareness? Wood snobbish? Too expensive?

Kinda represented by what people look at on this forum...as of now 2 people viewing CF while 200+ looking at the general topic.

Good question, to me cost doesn't help, good carbon fiber guitars are not cheap and you can buy very good wood guitars for far less. Tradition is tuff to buck, and wood produces very nice beautiful guitars. I bet you profit margins are higher in wood?

You will find that a large number of acoustic players are real traditionalists. You should see the fuss over cutaways...carbon fiber....forget about it.;)

If you've followed the growth of CF guitars over the years in terms of number of now established and new producers and the range of their offerings, in a way, they are taking off, especially over the past 5 yrs.

Making a dent in a very traditional marketplace is never easy. It's a slow process, with CF design technologies and innovations constantly improving. Wood traditionalists are being exposed to CF more and more and hearing about the benefits to at least consider having one or more in a stable along with woodies. I think the growth will continue. Distribution is growing with the internet model playing a big role especially due to the uniformity/consistency of products.

CF may never lead the market, but I think from now on they will always have a solid, growing foothold. The AGF and MacNichol forums have a large, growing reach and have emerged to pay unique attention to CF, and it's known that the owners of both forums are avid supporters and owners.

Maybe the simplest answer is the best, a lot of people don't like the way they sound.

That may be true for some players with the one or two CF guitars they've happened to experience (or have a lingering bad feeling from Ovations, which don't compare), but it's unlikely the same people have tried the many offerings now available. Open minds should be kept.

Some of them that (IMO) needed truss rods or stiffer neck construction didn't have truss rods or stiffer necks.

What cf guitars did you have?

I was trying out CA (pre-Peavey)

Some people feel that CF has no personality while wood is revered for its beauty. Many of us aren't necessarily "traditionalists" but we prefer things that are organic and unique because we enjoy it, not because of tradition. I can spend hours looking at nature but I wouldn't spend more than a couple minutes looking at a CGI representation of nature. I crave that connection to the earth, as I do with a wood guitar. If I am going to spend over a thousand on an instrument, it had better have beautiful and natural wood grains that I can admire. Some guys value reliability and ease of use more than aesthetics so they naturally gravitate to the advantages of CF. All depends on what you like and most prefer wood over CF.

Some of the effects that CF finishes are achieving, like Emerald whose CF weave almost has a 3D appearance, are amazing and very cool to look at…real eye-catchers. Emerald is even building some models with a beautiful embedded wood layer such as bubinga and curly maple. At first I didn't care for a non-tone contributing layer of wood in CF, but as time goes on, it is gorgeous.

Living in Louisiana, where it's hot and humid, I've really wanted to fall in love with a CF guitar - it sure would make life a lot easier, e.g., no more dehumidifying, etc. I've gone to the music store three times, spent plenty time playing both Rainsong and CA guitars, lots of different models. In the end, I just can't stand the clinical, anemic sound. I gave 'em a good try and maybe it's the way I play.....

Try an Emerald X20 OS .....I think it will cure clinical and anemic for you.

you may have tried a bad one. CA has some quality control issues at times and the setup may not have been good. Current CA's have very good quality control. I had a pre-Peavey that was dead on. You need to try a few more before you judge. There's a lot of good ones out there. Steve

There is nothing at all wrong with a good wood guitar. There is something that is just beautiful about wood and to then to have it make music is special.

Wood is organic and changes, it is dynamic and that can create issues, and concerns for keeping it protected. There is something very cool about a carbon guitar that is just perfect to you and you know that it will never change no matter what nature throws at it.

Each has it own awesome qualities.

Steve