The Mysterious Disappearance of Composite Acoustics
I wanted to look up some specs on a CA guitar and went to...
http://www.compositeacoustics.com/ That page loads fine, but if you try to click through to any of the guitars, or even the contact page, you get Peavey's "abducted by aliens" 404 page. It also looks like new CA GX models are not available and used ones are few... one is listed on eBay for $6,721.13. Anyone have some insights on this? The ultimate demise of CA would be a loss to the carbon community. I have a thin neck GX and nothing I have tested against it ~ including Emeralds and Rainsongs ~ have come close for my purposes. Might go back to wood if I had to replace the GX. Yuck. |
Wood. Blasphemy.;)
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As for Peavey, I never felt that CA Guitars reclaimed their place in the carbon fiber world after the demise of the original company. When the original company was making guitars, there were few others in the carbon fiber market. In their product line, the Cargo seemed to be the most popular, followed by the Ox, which was about midway between the Cargo and their full size guitars. I don't recall their full size guitars as being nearly as popular. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with their full size guitars, but the Cargo filled a niche that nobody else did nearly as well at the time. Now, there are several impressive players in the carbon fiber market space, and that divides the market. In a way, it is a bit like the Beatles. When they came along, they were a HUGE hit. If they came along now, with all the access to any kind of music and tons of musicians making it, they would probably not have had nearly the impact. Back then, the record companies had near complete control over what music the public had access to, and whoever got the airplay and associated exposure, was what we knew and listened to. All of this is not a reflection on the quality of CA Guitars, but instead, market forces. When CA Guitars ceased operation, they lost a lot of momentum in the marketplace. It seemed as if, initially, Peavey would put their marketing behind the newly acquired company, but this seemed to fizzle, while Emerald, Rainsong, and Blackbird stepped up their respective games and took the carbon fiber market, which is really not that large to begin with. Tony |
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I was really into CA going back to the McNichol forum days and have owned a GXi and still own a Cargo. I actually felt sad at the demise of CA and have to admit that although I was happy that someone stepped in to save the company, I wasn’t particularly enamoured that it was Peavey. No justifiable reason why, more of an emotional one, but it’s how I did and continue to feel. After all this time, I don’t think that Peavey properly got behind the product or brand. Zero innovation since is a sign of that. Still nice guitars, but others are leaving them behind in their dust. Jmo.
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I played a 2018 Composite Acoustics GX last year in my local music store and I couldn't put it down I loved it so much. It also had the slim neck. The neck was nice but the nut width and string spacing was a little too slim for me. If it was 1 3/4 nut width I probably would've taken it home.
If you like the sound of CA acoustics I suggest you give a McPherson Sable a test drive if you ever get the opportunity. I can only go by my memory, but my memory says that they had similar tonal characteristics. |
Last I read, an AGF user asked a Peavey rep about CA, and they claimed they were looking/hoping for someone to run CA and get things restarted, as they're not in production. I don't know if that's fact, or wishful thinking, or what their plan really is.
I bought a bunch of pre-Peavey CAs... I think Peavey did some good work fixing issues they inherited. (Personally, I had enough problems with bad neck angles and flexing necks that I'd only consider a Peavey one.) That's a big risk right there--and one I don't think Peavey fully anticipated--buying a bankrupt company, with very little brand recognition, with a lineup that needed a structural redesign on day one. Besides going against established CF brands, with, frankly, much better branding. - "What guitar is that?" - "Composite Acoustics." - "Oh, it's a composite? Who makes it?" - "That's the brand. It's a Composite Acoustics...acoustic. Or, a CA Guitars...guitar." *Blank stare* Sorry, but the name is at once too specific and not specific enough. "We build electric cars that compete with Toyota and Tesla. Our company is called Electric Cars." |
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Where are you located? I have a Mint Composite Acoustics GX and a Cargo to compare and would love to try a Sable and an X30! I’m in St. Louis. If the world ever gets back closer to “normal” maybe we should meet and compare.
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