Yeh, but does it sound like a guitar made of wood???

[RP]

We sometimes hear or read the question in the title in reference to our carbon fiber guitars, but I really think that's the wrong question to ask. The better question, IMO, is "Do you like the tone of this or that guitar that's made from carbon fiber?" Let's face it, all wooden guitars do not have the same tone, and all guitars made from carbon fiber do not have the same tone. I realize it's darn near impossible to walk into a guitar store except maybe LA Guitar Sales and expect to audition a few carbon fiber guitars and compare them against each other, but that's the best way to see if one likes the tone of any particular cf guitar. I've owned several wooden guitars, and if my cf guitars sounded like them, you'd see a listing for them on Reverb...

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by RP

We sometimes hear or read the question in the title in reference to our carbon fiber guitars, but I really think that's the wrong question to ask. The better question, IMO, is "Do you like the tone of this or that guitar that's made from carbon fiber?" Let's face it, all wooden guitars do not have the same tone, and all guitars made from carbon fiber do not have the same tone. I realize it's darn near impossible to walk into a guitar store except maybe LA Guitar Sales and expect to audition a few carbon fiber guitars and compare them against each other, but that's the best way to see if one likes the tone of any particular cf guitar. I've owned several wooden guitars, and if my cf guitars sounded like them, you'd see a listing for them on Reverb...

Two thumbs up. Guitars sounds like guitars.

‘Sounds like wood’ is just as nonsensical as ‘sounds like CF’.

And don’t get me started on ‘sounds like plastic’

[Pnewsom]

I can't seem to find a question in your post to answer, but I'll just comment in general, from my point of view.

While visiting family a couple years ago, I briefly played a couple CF guitars(same make) at a small shop in North Vancouver. They played and sounded ok and I was able to draw a workable sound from them.

However, since I already have some flat top acoustic guitars that meet my needs, and I don't have any gigs that CF would make a difference for, it didn't cross my mind to buy one.

[steelvibe]

I just spent a couple hours in GC (perhaps not the greatest place to test fine instruments) but I played about 6 guitars while I was there in the $500-$1K range give or take. That is not a slight on quality because we are truly living in the golden age of guitar building right?

However, I feel that I've "acclimated" to the tone of CF. I've not owned as many as many of you folk here on the AGF but I've test driven almost all of them (with the exception of Emerald and Levirora). That isn't easy to do when you don't have LA Guitar Sales down the street from you. But every time I encounter a new or used CF at GC I make sure to play it. I've played a couple Composite Acoustics, a few RainSongs and an Ovation with a CF top as a result.

Over the last 9 years since I've taken interest in CF instruments I've discovered something about myself in answering that question, "Yeh, but does it sound like a guitar made of wood???". My answer has become, "No, but I like them and I don't care.". I've also come to love the worry-free nature of these guitars and the comfort of them. We are all different and have different needs. Personally I find satisfaction in having a guitar you don't have to worry about dumping $500 in (often more than the guitar is worth to begin with) for a neck reset. No thank you.

I will also never forget the sage words from our very own Captain Jim in that with CF instruments they "Sound like a guitar"...ahem, well at least to paraphrase. I want to play my guitars. I want to hang them on the wall and look at them.

So it's CF for me and it is the following (and in this order)

1) tone
2) comfort
3) looks

And this after playing and owning some very good wooden guitars. Were they Greenfields, Olsons, or Bashkins? No- but I can't afford to love those guitars anyway, so CF guitars also hold value for me.

[RP]

There are hundreds, if not more, builders of wooden guitars but let's just take Martin & Taylor. If I asked a a random sample of guitarists what guitars from those two brands sounded like, I'd get a random sample of responses with many saying that Martins have a warm tone and Taylors have a bright tone. But is that always true? Of course not, so the question at hand can not really be answered except in the very most specific way: this particular cf guitar either does sound like a very specific wooden guitar or it doesn't sound like that particular wooden guitar...

[jdinco]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

CF guitars also hold value for me.

I believe this is one of the strongest selling points of CF guitars. Value ! for the tone and everything else you are getting. Especially with the price of wood guitars going up and up. I have a 000-18 and a Sable, they sound way different from each other, both excellent, which is exactly what I want. Tone matters from black guitars. And wood ones. :-)

[boneuphtoner]

Originally Posted by RP

I've owned several wooden guitars, and if my cf guitars sounded like them, you'd see a listing for them on Reverb...

Amen! I’ve written it here before, but I’m one of the few that fell in love with CF for tone first and foremost - no wood guitar I’ve ever played approached the evenness of fingerstyle tone between the wound and unwound strings that I get with CF. Not having to baby it for humidity etc. is a very nice side benefit for me.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

While visiting family a couple years ago, I briefly played a couple CF guitars(same make) at a small shop in North Vancouver. They played and sounded ok and I was able to draw a workable sound from them.

Isn't the fact that they were made from CF irrelevant? You could equally well have found a couple of wooden guitars and had the same reaction.

Originally Posted by boneuphtoner

Amen! I’ve written it here before, but I’m one of the few that fell in love with CF for tone first and foremost - no wood guitar I’ve ever played approached the evenness of fingerstyle tone between the wound and unwound strings that I get with CF.

And I'll agree to disagree. My whole position in this perennial discussion is that there is no more a 'CF sound' than there is a 'wood sound'. They all sound like guitars, and some sound better than others, regardless of material.

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by RP

There are hundreds, if not more, builders of wooden guitars but let's just take Martin & Taylor. If I asked a a random sample of guitarists what guitars from those two brands sounded like, I'd get a random sample of responses with many saying that Martins have a warm tone and Taylors have a bright tone. But is that always true? Of course not, so the question at hand can not really be answered except in the very most specific way: this particular cf guitar either does sound like a very specific wooden guitar or it doesn't sound like that particular wooden guitar...

Still not seeing a question to be answered. Are you asking if random guitarists think there is a characteristic sound(positive or negative) specific to CF guitars? Or are you just observing that CF guitars are under appreciated?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

Still not seeing a question to be answered. Are you asking if random guitarists think there is a characteristic sound(positive or negative) specific to CF guitars? Or are you just observing that CF guitars are under appreciated?

The question is in the title of the post.

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Isn't the fact that they were made from CF irrelevant? You could equally well have found a couple of wooden guitars and had the same reaction.

And I'll agree to disagree. My whole position in this perennial discussion is that there is no more a 'CF sound' than there is a 'wood sound'. They all sound like guitars, and some sound better than others, regardless of material.

You are correct, it's the player not the instrument that creates the sound, texture, phrasing, etc. All guitars sound the same unplayed in their cases, no matter what they are made of.

[Pnewsom]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

The question is in the title of the post.

It seems more like a rhetorical question to me. And if that's the case, isn't it fair for a person who hasn't yet played a CF guitar to ask such a question?

[RP]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

It seems more like a rhetorical question to me. And if that's the case, isn't it fair for a person who hasn't yet played a CF guitar to ask such a question?

It's not rhetorical; it's a frequent question. But my point is that it's a question that can't be answered accurately since there is no single wooden guitar tone no more than there is a single wooden guitar size. My POV is that the better question to ask is does the player like the sound of a particular cf guitar, not does it sound like wood....

[jdinco]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

And I'll agree to disagree. My whole position in this perennial discussion is that there is no more a 'CF sound' than there is a 'wood sound'. They all sound like guitars, and some sound better than others, regardless of material.

I guess I disagree too...some CF guitars sound more like CF than others. That "plastic" sound does rear it's head on occasion, like it or not.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

It seems more like a rhetorical question to me. And if that's the case, isn't it fair for a person who hasn't yet played a CF guitar to ask such a question?

It’s entirely fair, if they’re not really thinking about it

My response would be “what does wood sound like?”

Originally Posted by jdinaz

I guess I disagree too...some CF guitars sound more like CF than others. That "plastic" sound does rear it's head on occasion, like it or not.

And again - “what does plastic (or CF) sound like?”