[CFW]

I don't get the dated comment. Trendy, perhaps, but I think it depends on your exposure to carbon fiber. Do you have any other hobbies, interests or anything else that has opened your eyes to the benefits of carbon fiber, aesthetics aside?

The look of carbon fiber for the sake of the look is dated and trendy in my opinion. But the use of carbon for it's benefits is neither dated, nor trendy.

Somewhere around 1987, a friend showed up at school with a carbon fiber bicycle. Nobody had seen one yet, and it was amazing. That drew my interest into carbon fiber products as a viable replacement for the longstanding belief that steel was THE material to make bicycle frames from. Cannondale had a heck of a time building only aluminum frames and trying to complete with the 'steel stigma'. Fortunately, many cyclists are tech geeks, and like progress, and embraced the benefits of aluminum and carbon fiber.

I've switched from wood hockey sticks, to aluminum, now carbon fiber. Why? They're better. Lighter, harder shots, and more durable than wood.

I've got carbon fiber surfboards. They're completely hollow, and several pounds lighter that a typical fiberglass and foam or epoxy board. These have not taken off in the surf world, I'm not sure if HydroEpic is still making boards...

On the same note, I will not use carbon fiber golf shafts. I like mine with steel shafts. I do see when and where certain materials truly have benefits over others. I did try carbon, just didn't fit my swing.

I've worked with carbon fiber and fiberglass on a hobbyist level, and it's construction methods are very interesting to me.
I've also done a bunch of woodworking since I was a kid in my dads cabinet shop till now, with a small shop in my garage.

I've currently got a couple of projects going on, including a few guitars made from wood, carbon fiber, and a mix of both.

I've laid out carbon cloth in molds and vacuum bags. I'm well aware of how difficult it is to get a good finish with the fabric and resins. In my opinion, it's more difficult than working with wood, and mistakes cost significantly more.

I've been a fan of quality carbon fiber products for over 25 years. I've been a fan of quality wood products for over 40.

My point is, I look at a product as a whole first, for its application, form an opinion, then start digging into what or why I do or do not like. I do not look at a wood guitar with a cedar top and say 'eww it's ugly I don't like it'. I don't prefer light colored guitar tops. I have no rational reason, just visual preference. I'll use the product and see if it's performing as it was intended when built.

It seems there is a definite stigma against carbon fiber, before it's even discussed as a material to make a guitar from, and my assumption is that that stigma is held by folks who have not experienced the benefits of carbon fiber first hand.

Some folks still refer to carbon fiber as plastic, or graphite. Both are incorrect. With that terminology, all guitars are simply wood, not rosewood, mahogany, no ebony, no maple, just wood. To the average joe, yeah, it's a wood guitar, but to a builder or aficionado, the kinds of wood matter, just like carbon fiber matters, whether its unidirectional or weave, pre-preg?, 6oz, 12.4oz, what bias you lay up, how many layers, maybe some Aramid cloth....

All this said, I LIKE the way my Emerald X7os and Emerald X20 sound. And everyone that has picked up the guitars with no preconceived notion (probably because Emerald isn't a household name) loved them. They all noticed that yes, they sounded different, but they sounded good.

I've never played a Taylor. But I would never post that I have a disdain for their product or materials they build with. As such, I would not extrapolate that lack of knowledge to say, I don't like wood guitars.

It's posted constantly to play before you buy, as each guitar is different, however it seems as quite a few folks who played a Rainsong once, or tried a pre-Peavey CA model now state they don't like carbon fiber guitars.

How about an honest comment, I have played X guitar, and it didn't suit me.

I won't say I like all carbon fiber guitars. I haven't played all of them. I like the Emeralds I have played. I like the idea that they use carbon fiber to break away from shapes that were dictated by wood guitars.
I like they way Emerald changed the shape of the lower side of the x20 so that it sits on your leg at a forward angle, blended soft corners into the transition from the tops and sides, as well as the armrest contours. They have used carbon fiber for more of the benefits it can provide, without constraining themselves to fit into the mold of a wooden guitar.

Is my Emerald better than my Martin or Larivee? Wait, I'm not asking if my Martin is better than my Larivee, so I shouldn't ask if a carbon fiber guitar is better. They are each different, and I like each of their qualities.

Chris