Phoenix Thingy

[K20C]

Originally Posted by EvanB

This was a really sweet get-together, a nice crew of people and a nice collection of instruments.

This could also be a good model for other gatherings throughout the country. A few people within driving distance, someone with a hospitality gene, and there it is, another carbon fest.

Living vicariously through those of you who gathered has been a nice experience.

Well, let me go on record and say if anyone ever wants to come to Tulsa for a get-together, I will most definitely host.

We’ve hosted get-togethers in both DFW and Seattle over the years. So much fun to be had at one.

Gary;

Good on you! I wish you luck in your offering. It would be neat to see your part of country weigh in on CF guitars.

[Earl49]

Thanks to Kramster for hosting, and to all the Arizona and visiting carbonistas that participated. It was great fun - so much fun that I now realize (looking at the photos) there were a couple of guitars that I missed in the frenzy. Oops....

We are settled in Ely, NV for the night while heading home. The weather guessers say we’ll hit light snow for the remainder of the trip, but us ex-pat Alaskans can handle that. I will post a more detailed debriefing once I’m back at my desktop computer, rather than typing on an iPad in the hotel. I did bring a guitar inside to play in the pool area once Alice goes to sleep.

For now, I can say that we all had fun, all tried guitars we had not laid hands on before, and mostly everyone left pretty happy with the ones we already have, but thinking that the others are cool too.

[new2guitar_eh]

Looked like a great time! Having been to Mark's house I can say he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I can only imagine the rest of the crew in the picture would be about the same!

Nice to live this vicariously through the pics and posts

[Earl49]

Guitars in attendance included:
• Rainsong WS-1000N1, WS-3000N1, CH-WS, CH-OM, CH-PA
• Emerald X20, X20-12, X-7, X-10, Amicus
• CA Ox, pre-Peavey raw Cargo, post-Peavey glossy Cargo
• Blackbird Savoy, Lucky 13, Farallon ukulele
• Journey OF660, RT660
• and a few others (in case anyone was left out)

Kramster at one point even brought out one of those [shudder] old-fangled wooden guitars. Horrors….. Photos were taken and some video was shot, but it is up to K-man to assemble and release that footage when he sees fit. Some images have already been posted earlier on this thread.

This was my first time seeing the newer satin Rainsong body finish which makes much less handling noise against your body than their previous non-glossy finishes. Also I was able to experience the Crystal Ice finish that Emerald uses – very nice and smooth feeling too. My Emeralds happen to both be glossy Artisans, but the ice finish is very nice too, and is a completely viable option. Any Opus version is a good way for someone to get into Emerald ownership without the costs of upgrading to Artisan.

I had never before seen an X7 in person. Alice says she liked it too, but preferred the shorter scale of her Cargo. The X7 would work better for my big paws, but the Cargo is hers – it is Mama bear sized and just right. Both bodies are about the same size and sounded quite good for small guitars. Either would make a fine choice for a small travel guitar, or for a petite person.

This was my first experience with a Journey. The little OF660 with removable neck would be quite a satisfying travel package both tonally and play wise. We didn’t break it down (too much re-tuning needed) but Kramster showed us all the travel bag for it, and explained how it packs away. Very clever. This particular OF660 example needed some nut slot lowering. RT660 was very nice too if you don’t need the removable neck option for airline travel.

There will inevitably be a flurry of questions such as, “What did you think of the _____ versus the _____”? The only way to really do that would be to have one player perform the same tune on a variety of guitars while the others watched and listened. Unfortunately, given the space and time available, the number of attendees, the number of guitars, and the general “petting zoo frenzy” (if you’ve ever been to a Road Show you would understand) it was not practical to directly compare every possible combination. Certainly I played fifteen or more different guitars, including my own a couple of times to demo something.

For example, we did not get to critically compare the original Classic all woven Rainsongs to the composite hybrid CH versions for tone. But several players did get to try the older N1 neck against the newer N2 neck. Some liked N2 better, and others preferred N1. Either reaction was immediate in each case, not something that takes a half-hour of playing to feel the difference. As Yogi Berra once famously said, “When you get to a fork in the road….. take it”.

Many of the descriptive comments that we have heard over the years in the CF room were born out. The Rainsong CH versions were warmer and woodier sounding then the woven-topped Rainsong models, for example, and would be the best option if you prefer wood tone over carbon tone. Emeralds are generally a bit quieter out front and warmer (less overtones or crystalline in character) than the definitive Rainsong tone. All of the builders are universally high quality, as is well known.

The lingering impressions in my mind as we drove away were: everyone was excited to meet each other, try new and different guitars they had never touched, and that most left happy with the ownership choices they had already made. I didn’t hear anyone say, “Man, I really wish that I had waited to buy brand/model X instead of the brand/model Y that I already have”. Some future purchases may be influenced by having tried new guitars, including the Savoy.

And much fun and frivolity was had by all, in case that wan't already clear.

Earl;

Very nice reportage--thank you.

[GBG]

Yes! Thank you for taking the time to give a nice summary write up!

[kramster]

Originally Posted by new2guitar_eh

Looked like a great time! Having been to Mark's house I can say he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I can only imagine the rest of the crew in the picture would be about the same!

Nice to live this vicariously through the pics and posts

I miss that big house... a Canadian Gumby and Pokey where hanging out as well

[kramster]

Well written Earl... feel like I was there!

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by kramster

Well written Earl... feel like I was there!

Hmmmm..... you were the guy hanging with Gumby, right??

[kramster]

Yes it feels that real...and I thought the Gumster took a shinning to you.