Great CF Selection in Suburban DC (and my first thoughts on the Sable)

boneuphtoner · #1 05-12-2021, 07:51 PM

Hey Guys - whenever people on the main forum ask for great guitar shops I always put in a good word for my favorite local shop, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center in Wheaton, MD. They are a general music megastore, and in addition to guitars, they have an amazing selection of everything from drums to lighting to oboes. I first fell in love with CF this January there when I first played a RainSong. My understanding is they have stocked RainSong and Journey for awhile now, and just last week, they became a McPherson dealer. Knowing what a CF fanatic I've become, my favorite sales guy told me this, and I went over today to check them out.

They had a bunch of Sables and Touring Carbons to try. I had of course seen a bunch of people here sing the praises of the Sables, and they sounded great on YouTube videos, but how would it perform for my admittedly unique bare flesh fingerstyle? Well, in my brief trial today, I seriously wondered if the tone might be better than my beloved Emerald and RainSong - I am REALLY impressed. Of course it had the telltale carbon fiber full trebles that I've come to expect with my fingerstyle - but these were even warmer than either my RainSong and Emerald - which floors me because with my playing most smaller guitars lose warmth and depth of tone - but not the Sable - if anything it was warmer overall. The mids and bass of my RainSong and Emerald are approximately in line with most wood guitars - that is not an area that I ever struggled in sounding good, but I think the Sable might be even better in that regard also. Only two minor gripes - the bass response was a bit anemic compared to my jumbos (no surprise there) and the back and sides, while very grippy and comfortable, have to be the most visually underwhelming I've ever seen on any guitar. But man this thing has TONE. If I didn't have a woody X30 on order, I would have walked out of the store with it. I thought I would likely keep both of the X30s but after playing the Sables, that is very much in doubt now.

Anyway, I wanted to pass on that Chuck's really has assembled a quite decent CF selection - perhaps not to the level of LA Guitars yet, but they are getting there - and I'm fortunate they are just a few miles away. They had a decent array of RainSongs to try, and I got to try the Vintage dread for the first time - and it was really great - clearly in the family with my Nashville jumbo.

jdinco · #2 05-12-2021, 09:20 PM

Good review, but of course I would say that since I own a Sable. LOL My wife says my Sable is the best sounding guitar I have, and we know that women are always right. I'm mainly a strummer though. I have a set of TI Plectrums on mine now and I don't think I'll be trying any different strings. They are lasting a long time and are as sweet sounding as can be. I'm curious if you had a chance to play a Touring model and what your thoughts were?

boneuphtoner · #3 05-13-2021, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdinaz

Good review, but of course I would say that since I own a Sable. LOL My wife says my Sable is the best sounding guitar I have, and we know that women are always right. I'm mainly a strummer though. I have a set of TI Plectrums on mine now and I don't think I'll be trying any different strings. They are lasting a long time and are as sweet sounding as can be. I'm curious if you had a chance to play a Touring model and what your thoughts were?

Yeah my first impression is even more impressive when I learned that these are strung from the factory with 80/20 medium gauge Elixirs - and historically I have always preferred phosphor bronze.

I spent only a couple of minutes on the Touring. Even though I wasn't at all acclimated to a smaller sized instrument, I was impressed with the tone. I didn't catch the specs but it seemed like it might be similar in size to the GS mini - but with more impressive tone.

Tøf · #4 05-14-2021, 05:55 AM

After trying different strings I actually came back to Elixir 80/20 on my Sable even though I usually prefer Phosphor bronze like you. I use a Medium Light set (12-56).
The grippy back and sides are actually something I’d like to see on other instruments: super functional and no need to baby it, it seems really durable and scratch-proof.
Overall the Sable idn’t a modern piece of art like an Emerald, it looks sort of utilitarian but its beauty is in its voice! I’m still amazed by its tone.

mikealpine · #5 05-14-2021, 06:30 AM

Nice review, thank you! My daughter goes to Towson, and I would love to go the that store when I visit. We'll be there this weekend, but it is to load up and head home, so I won't have time this trip. There's a small store with a great Taylor selection in Towson, if you're interested and up that way, Ryan Fowler's Guitar Experience.

Regarding the Sable, I find it to be incredibly well balanced across all the strings. It isn't necessarily as loud as I'd like it to be and I don't think it stands out on it own if you play in a group. At least that was my experience. Playing it at home, on my own, it's a wonderful instrument, comfortable to hold and allows each individual's playing dynamics to influence the sound. By that I mean, it isn't going to drown you in bass or treble and "force" you to adjust. Conversely, I just received my X30 and the low E string is a monster, and I had to be careful not to let it overpower the other strings. The X30 sounds great, but I will have to learn to attack it differently.

boneuphtoner · #6 05-14-2021, 10:35 AM

Well I lasted nearly 48 hours after trying the Sable for the 1st time at the store, but the tone is just too good to resist - just picked up the basket weave blackout. So my plain carbon X30 has been put up for sale (see classifieds) - I was hoping to do a true apples to apples comparison with the woody X30 that is on order, but the Sable is just too good to pass up.

boneuphtoner · #7 05-14-2021, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Nice review, thank you! My daughter goes to Towson, and I would love to go the that store when I visit. We'll be there this weekend, but it is to load up and head home, so I won't have time this trip. There's a small store with a great Taylor selection in Towson, if you're interested and up that way, Ryan Fowler's Guitar Experience.

Hey there - I've seen ads for the Ryan Fowler store and I have vowed next time I go to Baltimore that I need to check them out - they hosted many of the Taylor road shows in the past. Chuck Levin's is more of a throwback kind of store - they have a very impressive guitar inventory of most all of the brands, but their motto is "everything in music" and they really mean it - their band and orchestra department is legendary - everything from obscure Austrian made saxophones to Dutch made custom tubas and everything in between. They are a family owned business, and the original founder's kids and grandkids are continuing the tradition. At one time they were the largest music retailer in the US (before the emergence of the GC conglomerate).

Frettingflyer · #8 05-14-2021, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boneuphtoner

Yeah my first impression is even more impressive when I learned that these are strung from the factory with 80/20 medium gauge Elixirs - and historically I have always preferred phosphor bronze.

I spent only a couple of minutes on the Touring. Even though I wasn't at all acclimated to a smaller sized instrument, I was impressed with the tone. I didn't catch the specs but it seemed like it might be similar in size to the GS mini - but with more impressive tone.

Like Tof above, I usually like PB strings but switched back to 80/20’s on the Sable. YMMV

jdinco · #9 05-14-2021, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boneuphtoner

Well I lasted nearly 48 hours after trying the Sable. So my plain carbon X30 has been put up for sale (see classifieds)

Congrats on the blackout Sable ! I pretty much did the same, I had to sell my X20 and and X7 to pay for the Sable. It was a good move for me. The 80/20 strings do add a bit of sparkle to the Sable and I like the Elixir's, but there's something about the TI Plectrums I like a bit more. At least right now. I reserve the right to change my mind later.

boneuphtoner · #10 05-15-2021, 07:10 PM

Although the stock 80/20 medium Elixirs are sounding great, I wanted to see how my new favorite D’Addario EJ19s medium lights (PB, 12-56) sounded on the Sable - they seem equally as good so far.

fpuhan · #11 05-16-2021, 06:21 AM

Those McPherson guitars look pretty nice! The Touring Carbon appears to fit my current liking for smaller guitars. I have a KLŌS CF travel guitar that I bought when the company was a KickStarter project, and I absolutely love it! I like the indestructible nature of CF guitars, and combining that with great sound is a win-win.

I used to go to Chuck Levin's when I lived in the College Park/Hyattsville area. I'm now in NoVa, so it's not that far of a drive, even if one has to deal with D. C. traffic...