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  #31  
Old 01-02-2008, 09:38 AM
Mosspoh Mosspoh is offline
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That is pretty slick. I like the green.

Are the bodies all so small? Does it lead to a really bright sound with the 12 string, or is there still some low end?
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  #32  
Old 01-02-2008, 09:42 AM
stoney stoney is offline
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Hey, Brahmz,

Thanks for the great photos! I think making the bridge as an integral part of the top is a great idea. Maybe we can get Elllis Seal from CA to comment on all of this.

It's too bad that Emerald is gone. There are many of us out here who support alternative materials in musical instruments and want to see the technology grow through competition and development. If you are interested, check out luisandclark.com for a look at some serious cf composite instruments!

Thanks again!

Stoney
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  #33  
Old 01-02-2008, 09:53 AM
brahmz118 brahmz118 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mosspoh View Post
That is pretty slick. I like the green.

Are the bodies all so small? Does it lead to a really bright sound with the 12 string, or is there still some low end?
The first guitar is a travel guitar -- but still full-scale at 25.5". So yes the body on that one is really small (notice the bridge location). But it goes with me on planes, no issues ever.

The 12-string is a small-bodied one -- similar to an OM I would say. The larger version was closer to the size of a dreadnought. Mine does lack some low-end, and the treble strings tend to be much more prominent. I think the unbraced carbon fiber top still gives the low strings a punchy quality that's not as strong in wood, but what many people recognize as the 'growl' of a 12-string tuned down just isn't there. On the plus side, it still sounds strong and clear when tuned down, with crystal tone and great sustain. If I could do it over again, I probably would get the next size up. But that's not an option now.
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  #34  
Old 01-02-2008, 10:14 AM
brahmz118 brahmz118 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stoney View Post
Hey, Brahmz,

Thanks for the great photos! I think making the bridge as an integral part of the top is a great idea. Maybe we can get Elllis Seal from CA to comment on all of this.

It's too bad that Emerald is gone. There are many of us out here who support alternative materials in musical instruments and want to see the technology grow through competition and development. If you are interested, check out luisandclark.com for a look at some serious cf composite instruments!

Thanks again!

Stoney
No problem. I too would be interested to hear what Ellis and his team think of the integrated bridge.

Luis and Clark seem to have found success translating carved / arched wood into carbon fiber. Similarly, New Millennium Acoustic Design has been working on their carbon fiber mandolins for a while now (http://www.new-mad.com). And Gold Tone is offering graphite banjo necks (http://www.goldtone.com/products/w/c/59/Necks), so maybe a complete carbon fiber banjo is just around the corner.
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  #35  
Old 01-02-2008, 11:07 AM
stoney stoney is offline
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I've been watching the New Millenium folks for a while. Peter Mix, one of the principals there, was with Rigel for a long time. The Rigel mandos were the brainchild of Peter Langdell and were made just twenty miles north of me, in Cambridge, VT. I got to know Pete L. because of his bluegrass band (bigspikebluegrass.com) and spent some time hanging out at the Rigel lutherie trying to learn something. The Rigels are great instruments, and are no longer being made. Sure wish I had been able to buy one...

The New Millenium mandos are very high end.

Happy Picking!

Stoney
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  #36  
Old 01-02-2008, 01:34 PM
Tsckey Tsckey is offline
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Over the holidays I had a chance to play a bunch of guitars, including Santa Cruz, R. Taylor, Larrivee, vintage Martins, and CA X, GX, and Vintage Performer, back to back. Unfortunately, there were no Rainsong guitars available. Recognizing that what one finds pleasing in tone is entirely in the ear of the beholder, I was curious to isolate the “best” guitar. Each guitar was different in shape and in the tone woods used. I was a little disappointed by the Santa Cruz guitars, generally, though a rosewood cutaway model had the most amazing overtones of them all, almost as if it had a natural reverb unit built into its fibers. The R. Taylors were exquisite to look at and uniformly pleasing in tone, again varying by the woods used. The Larrivees were very nice, also. But, the guitars that sounded best to me were the ancient Martins and the CA Vintage Performer. The CA X and GX were both impressive, but tonally closer to the R. Taylors. The CA Vintage had the warm, rich, round tones that I love, as did the old Martin, which it was designed to emulate. And, when I returned home and picked up my own CA Vintage Performer (in the interest of full disclosure, I confess that I also have a 32 year old Martin D-35) which had new-ish strings on it, it blew away anything I'd played that day.

Judged purely as a musical instrument, I have no problem comparing the CAs more than favorably with guitars costing over twice as much. But, on a lust-for-beauty scale, it’s hard to imagine anything more desirable than one of the exotic wood R. Taylors.

TC
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