Comparing Rainsongs black ice and ch-om1000ns?

[esse]

I like to play fingerstyle.
I currently have a Rainsong ch-om1000ns, and it sounds very woody. And the low tension from its short scale eases the strain on my left hand.
But I'm considering buying black ice for a few reasons (actually I've decided) and I have some concerns.

First of all, the appearance of black ice is very perfect. And I expect the big, deep ws body of the BI-ws1000n2 to produce more resonance, volume and impressive low tones than the ch-om1000ns.

But there are also concerns.
Does black ice sound as woody as the ch-om1000ns (made with a unidirectional top)?
Also, wouldn't the depth of ws' deep body (5") be uncomfortable?
And I wonder how much tension difference BI's long-scale makes compared to ch-om1000ns.
Where I live there is no chance to play this beforehand. So I ask for advice!

[jricc]

I believe Methos1979 has a Black Ice, and another Rainsong, I forget which model. Maybe you can pm him, he's very helpful.

[Methos1979]

I felt a disturbance in the Force and knew I was needed!

The Black Ice models are not as warm and woody as the CH models but the difference is not all that huge. The BI models are significantly different (brighter) than the Vintage line but those are also significantly darker than even the CH models due to their wood-infused tops. The WS body depth will definitely be noticeable compared to the smaller and (especially) thinner OM Shorty. Similarly, the increased string tension on the long scale neck will be noticeable as well. As to whether any of these differences are comfortable and/or acceptable to you is pretty much up to you. I was very surprised how easily I adapted to the thicker (and larger) dread body over the OM Shorty.

The string tension issue can be addressed with different string gauges. While I prefer shorter scale guitars I also prefer a little more string tension so on both my short scale RainSong guitars (custom Black Ice dread and custom Nashville OM Shorty) I run thicker strings. In my case, John Pearse New Mediums which are a hybrid. I found the tension on the lights was just too loose. You can also 'warm up' tone a significant amount with string material choice. My Black Ice dread is a little too bright and the Nashville a little too dark. So I use JP #710NM PB (phosphor bronze) strings on the BI which mellows the jangly highs a bit and JP #310NM 80/20 strings on the Nashville to brighten the darker tones from that guitar.

[Methos1979]

If you go down into my sig line and click on the links for each guitar there are comparison videos where I play both the BI dread and Nashville OM in one video and then the Nashville OM and the CH-OM in another. The dual OM video is especially good for comparison as I used a much better mic to record that one so the differences between the CH-OM and the Nashville are much more discernible especially when listened to with good headphones. The BI to Nashville video I unfortunately just used my cell phone so the audio quality suffers a bit.

I should note that I bought the BI dread specifically to get a louder and brighter guitar as it was mainly going to be used for unamplified gigs where I needed that brighter tone for the few fingerstyle songs we perform. But I was very surprised that the BI dread quickly became and remains my go-to guitar for almost all live gigging, both amplified and full acoustic.

[Methos1979]

Another thing you can do is to custom order (or look for a used custom) WS-BI model with a short scale. RainSong will put an NS neck on any guitar for no upcharge but you'll have to pay full retail and of course wait for it to be built.

You just missed a used short scale WS that was sold in the classifieds but it was a Vintage model and not the Black Ice. It would have given you everything you wanted other than the BI finish - much warmer tones and short scale neck for less string tension. Always a trade-off.

I was looking for a RainSong short scale dread and just happened to find mine online. I wasn't really looking for (or a fan of) the Black Ice finish but since it met all the other criteria I went ahead and bought it and now I'm glad I did. It's a great guitar for what I do. And the BI finish always gets comments.

[esse]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Another thing you can do is to custom order (or look for a used custom) WS-BI model with a short scale. RainSong will put an NS neck on any guitar for no upcharge but you'll have to pay full retail and of course wait for it to be built.

You just missed a used short scale WS that was sold in the classifieds but it was a Vintage model and not the Black Ice. It would have given you everything you wanted other than the BI finish - much warmer tones and short scale neck for less string tension. Always a trade-off.

I was looking for a RainSong short scale dread and just happened to find mine online. I wasn't really looking for (or a fan of) the Black Ice finish but since it met all the other criteria I went ahead and bought it and now I'm glad I did. It's a great guitar for what I do. And the BI finish always gets comments.

Thank you.

I miraculously got a chance to play the BI-ws1000n2 last night and give it a try.
The nice look was as expected, and I found that it produced a brighter sound (like a piano sound) compared to the ch-om1000ns.

However, the BI's large size, long scale, and tension bothered my left arm and left hand, which had already gotten used to the ch-om1000ns.
Best of all, I thought the ch-om1000ns had bass and volume comparable to the BI-ws1000n2, despite its smaller size!
Also, when I played two guitars in succession, I thought that the ch-om1000ns was much more 'DARK', 'crispy' and 'woody'.
That's my favorite point.
Considering the songs I liked to play, I decided that the ch-om1000ns was more suitable for me, and I gave up on buying the BI.

Don't get me wrong!
The BI is obviously a guitar with a great appearance and sound, and showed an overwhelming resonance compared to the ch-om1000ns in strong strumming. I just made this judgment considering my taste and size (173cm).

Question, I usually mount Elixir PB (light gauge) on ch-om. What do you think about replacing this with the Elixir HD Light Gauge?
Also, what difference did Nashville-om, which has similar specifications to ch-om, feel compared to ch-om?

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by esse

Thank you.
Question, I usually mount Elixir PB (light gauge) on ch-om. What do you think about replacing this with the Elixir HD Light Gauge?
Also, what difference did Nashville-om, which has similar specifications to ch-om, feel compared to ch-om?

Great that you got to try one. You never know for sure until you get to play it.

The HD Lights would be very similar to the JP New Mediums. They will give you a little more volume and tension than the regular lights but just barely. I used to like the HD Lights before I changed over to JP. I love that they last so long but generally not a fan of the slippery feel of them. Since you like the darker sound I'd stick with the HD PB's over 80/20's which would brighten up the tone a bit.