What can go wrong with carbon fiber guitar?

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Markcarl

I recognize that Rainsong Shorty guitar! I have the same - a CHOM1000NS. I got it used around 5 years ago and it has been a great guitar.

Cheers! Yes it's a wonderful guitar!

[B. Adams]

A friend of mine knocked over one of my Emerald X20's a few years ago, and there's now a very thin finish crack all the way across the top. It doesn't affect the sound, or even the appearance unless you look really close, but it's there. I'm not sure anyone at Emerald could fix it, much less another luthier, so it'll probably be that way forever. Not a huge deal, I guess.

I never mentioned to my friend that he cracked my guitar, so nobody tell him. I don't want him to feel bad about it. It's still the guitar I keep out and play the most, so nothing ever really changed.

[js303]

As a new X20 owner this thread is very helpful.

One thing I wonder which hasn't been addressed yet: If you chip, scratch, crack or gouge a wooden guitar it can be repaired.

Are CF guitars relatively immune to these injuries? I ask because it occurs to me that if my X20 is damaged significantly I suspect it's a total loss. I'm careful with my instruments and on balance think it's a small price to pay for the benefits but am wondering if others have thoughts about this.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[Sorehand]

I own an Emerald X20 which I managed to damage. I chipped the edge of the fingerboard while putting on a capo at the 7th fret. I had not noticed that the neck flairs wider on the Emerald than on my previous wood guitar. The damage was user caused. Luckily I do not feel the chip while playing and the need to repair it is quickly forgotten.

I have also bumped the X20 hard enough against furniture that would have cracked wood. It has survived my clumsiness.

[Earl49]

Cosmetic damage to the finish, like chips or scratches, could be handled by an auto paint shop, especially if they work on fiberglass as on Corvettes. My Blackbird Lucky 13 had really thin clear coat on the back of the neck, from the factory. It never actually wore through to the CF fabric on the first few frets, but was getting close. A buddy recommended a local paint shop. He reshot the neck with new clear coat, and did a good job — for less than shipping it to/from Blackbird would have cost.

That turned out to be fortunate because it probably would have been there when the shop burned.

[js303]

Thank you — Never would have thought about taking a guitar to an auto body shop for repairs!

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by js303

Thank you — Never would have thought about taking a guitar to an auto body shop for repairs!

Not that unusual considering that automotive paint has been used for finishing guitars since the fifties.