[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Being completely ignorant on the topic, does the Rainson WS1000 N2 come without the "barn door" preamp?

Also, I'm a bit surprised at the price. I understand that workmaship in CF is very high, but I would have expected the cost of entry to be much lower for a quality guitar.

Perhaps that is why they aren't more popular? The cost of the CF equivalent to the iconic stature of the D-28, costs more than a D-28. I guess many would opt for the D-28...

As Earl pointed out, the cost of making a CF guitar is much greater than building a wood acoustic. Material alone will run you 2-3 times that of what goes in to a D-28, and while a wooden mold to build a D-28 clone can be put together with a few dollars worth of scrap wood, an aluminum mold to make a proper CF guitar will set you back tens of thousands of dollars. Given that one mold makes only one guitar per day, I am not surprised we don't have more CF builders out there. One top guy from a large company that builds wood guitars told me that a Rainsong with their logo on it would need to have a street price of $4000.

Speaking of price, last I checked the D-28 carried a higher list price than the Rainsong WS-1000N2. Yes, I am well aware of the deep discounts forum members can get on Martins, but those discounts come from the pockets of dealers, not Martin. In fact Martin gets paid more for a D-28 than what Rainsong gets for a WS-1000N2.

...I think if I played in less hospitable climates, or did many outdoor shows, I might be more inclined to give one of these a try.

I kind of wish there was a used one available locally to take a flyer on. Or, better yet, a buddy with one. ;-)

I'm doing a few shows and festivals this summer, and I could see one coming in handy.

Clearly folks have been performing with wood guitars for over a hundred years without having their guitars fall apart, but once you experience the piece of mind that comes from traveling/gigging with a CF guitar, it will be hard to back.