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  #1  
Old 01-23-2021, 08:50 AM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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Default I Auditioned A New RainSong CO-WS1000N1 Yesterday

First of all, let me state I'm a long-time RainSong fan. Yesterday, my dealer just got in a new RainSong CO-WS1000N1 (Serial#20,079) and I was the first customer to audition it (later the dealer played it for me and I could listen from an audience position). For his asking price of $2499, let's just say what I heard didn't turn me on in the least! Having owned about a dozen RainSongs, some CO Series models but mainly Classic Series models, this new CO-WS1000N1 is the worst-sounding RainSong I've ever heard! It sounded rather dead and mellow without the nice bass-response my CO and Classic WS1000 models had. The best thing about this new CO-WS1000N1 is that its unidirectional top was the least sunken I've ever seen on a CO model and wouldn't cosmetically stop me from considering it as a purchase. The guitar's tone, however, is a non-starter for me. I'm enjoying my Emerald X20 Transparent Green and it'll be my only carbon guitar for a long time to come.
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  #2  
Old 01-23-2021, 11:57 AM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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Hey Sprucetop, interesting post. Why do you think this is?

This guitar in question is the worst sounding RainSong you've ever heard (and is prefixed with "CO"), while you've previously owned a "CO" that you enjoyed? I'm just confused at the statement and hoping you will elaborate a bit. Do you think it is the neck? RainSong themselves claim that one of the reasons for updating the neck is because the claim it enhanced the tone of the newer models.
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Old 01-23-2021, 12:32 PM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelvibe View Post
Hey Sprucetop, interesting post. Why do you think this is?

This guitar in question is the worst sounding RainSong you've ever heard (and is prefixed with "CO"), while you've previously owned a "CO" that you enjoyed? I'm just confused at the statement and hoping you will elaborate a bit. Do you think it is the neck? RainSong themselves claim that one of the reasons for updating the neck is because the claim it enhanced the tone of the newer models.
Now that I think of it, the only worse-sounding RainSong I ever played was a WS1000N2-like high-end model (what was it, please help me out) that came out about a decade ago with the black-coated DR strings. Even the dealer thought it didn't sound good as delivered and he ripped the factory-installed black DRs off and replaced them with a set of D'Addario strings and Voila! a totally different-sounding guitar. I don't know why the new RainSong CO-WS1000N1 was so less than inspirational in its tone. I did, however, play it after playing a wonderful-sounding new Larrivee D-40R that had also just come into the shop. I've had both a RainSong CO-WS1000N1 and a RainSong CO-DR1000N1, and although as per their intended construction they both sounded a bit less crystalline than several Classic Series models of each I've owned, they were still good-sounding instruments that didn't cause me any tonal concerns. Could the new CO-WS1000N1 have different layering than before? Was it just a botched crafting job? I'll have to go to the shop next week and play it again to hear if I still agree with my initial assessment--I Hope I Don't!
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Last edited by SpruceTop; 01-23-2021 at 01:02 PM.
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Old 01-23-2021, 01:06 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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You are talking about the "Smokey". I bet you those guitars do sound better without the terrible DR Black Beauty strings- LOL. I know they were going for a "look" but, come on man!

So your initial guitar was also sporting an N1 neck, that's interesting. Having never owned a RainSong with the original N1 neck, I can't qualify RainSong's claim about the N2/NS necks enhancing the tone of their newer offerings (never heard them side-by-side). That would be a good comparison for someone to post if they have both styles.

I did have a Shorty and actually loved the tone once I found strings that really suited it well. However the NS neck was lukewarm for me; loved the scale but the profile not so much.

Maybe you are just getting spoiled by the tone of the X20?
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Old 01-23-2021, 01:42 PM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelvibe View Post
You are talking about the "Smokey". I bet you those guitars do sound better without the terrible DR Black Beauty strings- LOL. I know they were going for a "look" but, come on man!
That Be It, Young Fella! That Be it!

Quote:
So your initial guitar was also sporting an N1 neck, that's interesting. Having never owned a RainSong with the original N1 neck, I can't qualify RainSong's claim about the N2/NS necks enhancing the tone of their newer offerings (never heard them side-by-side). That would be a good comparison for someone to post if they have both styles.
Most of my RainSongs had the N1 neck. Frankly, the N1 and N2 necks were both kind of cumbersome for me. The weirdest RainSong neck I ever played was on my first RainSong, their Korean-made "Advanced Series" WS1000 (I kept it a week before returning it). It was very shallow front-to-back and wasn't good for enough thumb-fretting leverage.

Quote:
I did have a Shorty and actually loved the tone once I found strings that really suited it well. However the NS neck was lukewarm for me; loved the scale but the profile not so much.
IMHO, RainSong needs to look at the Gibson, Taylor, and Martin necks and make some small non-patent-infrinegment tweaks and call it the Snoqualmie neck or some other cutsie-poo regional reference.

Quote:
Maybe you are just getting spoiled by the tone of the X20?
My Emerald X20 sounds great but like all the carbon-guitar brands I've played, whether it be a RainSong, an Emerald, or a Composite Acoustics, they need to get their neck-thing on! I've not played a McPherson Sable or a Blackbird or a Journey, Kloss or other carbon guitars. I do, however, like the neck on my Adamas 2087GT-8 combo graphite/wood construction guitar.
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  #6  
Old 01-23-2021, 03:02 PM
PeterM PeterM is offline
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Had I not been fortunate to play several Rainsongs prior to ordering my Shorty, I never would have bought mine either. The Elixir strings it was shipped with were dreadful. An in person audition would have had me running
Strings is the likely issue.
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Old 01-23-2021, 05:43 PM
mountainmaster mountainmaster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelvibe View Post
You are talking about the "Smokey". I bet you those guitars do sound better without the terrible DR Black Beauty strings- LOL. I know they were going for a "look" but, come on man!
You are not wrong. When my Smokey arrived I immediately got rid of those strings. It made a world of difference.

Mine had been a B-stock. It had no blemishes though. I guess the person who returned the guitar did not know that a string change could have easily fixed their disappointment!
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Old 01-23-2021, 09:36 PM
boneuphtoner boneuphtoner is online now
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Everyone is different - a week and a half ago I auditioned a nearly identically spec’d guitar (mine has the N2 neck) - and it blew away 2 of the 3 Nazareth made Martins I had at the time (I sold them both in less than 48 hours) - I love the mellow tone and trying to get more of a mellow tone is what I struggle with. In the store I was immediately struck by how thick the treble tone was. Upon getting it home, putting Martin phosphor bronze mediums on it and tuning to Eb, and I was really blown away. This is my first ever CF experience and I’m really impressed.

Oh and bass? This is the bass a Taylor GA should have!

NCFGD coming up.
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Last edited by boneuphtoner; 01-23-2021 at 09:44 PM.
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  #9  
Old 01-25-2021, 12:56 AM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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Rainsong does themselves zero favors by shipping with 80/20 strings.

Even Taylor finally figured it out and started used PB Elixirs a few years ago.
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