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  #46  
Old 10-03-2008, 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Acousticado View Post
I know what you mean by the scratchy sound as a result of the RT finish. I like the look of the finish, and actually I also like the fact that it forces me to adjust and play "cleaner" with better right hand technique. IMO, this is a good thing.
That was my thinking regarding the RT Finish though I have yet to play or see an RT Finished CA in person. Also it will look the same forever probably being it is nearly impossible to scratch. People use to complain about the same kind of noise with Taylor guitars which were not Gloss Finished and they had the old Expression System. They only got that sound plugged in. Only you're Dog could hear it unplugged! So for me it is a toss up right now between the GX and the GXi. Someone said they will not be making a GX with the offset soundhole though the CA Website still shows a GX with an offset soundhole. It will be a while though as Guitars are one of the things that cause me to make poor financial decisions and become debt ridden. So I have to play within my means! I am not the struggling poor but I can see how that happens to people after suffering serious on the job injuries if you try and live at the same level you were when making 100K a year and suddenly you are making 25K. Disability Etc. So if I have to play just one Guitar for a lengthy time it will be a decent Wood one that sounds and plays good and Does It All pretty well and no electronics so I hole up for a year or 18 months and strictly practice on one Guitar and become the best I can be during that time. Personally I would not mine driving an older car and living in a two bedroom Apartment so one Bedroom could be a Guitar Storage and a Recording Area. I have a 2006 Car that I have paid off 75% of so I will own it not too far down the road. People that play in Chamber Orchestras and the like have really expensive instruments sometimes and my guess is most of them only have that one. Their was a story in the NY Times recently where a Viola player from the NJ Symphony left her 18th century Viola in a NYC Cab and he returned it. It was worth something like $40,000 dollars. Can you imagine how grateful she was! He did get an unannounced reward. That warms my heart! CA Guitars Rock! The Video on how they are made is incredible. Those huge blocks of Aluminum they use as a Starting Mold are solid and must be incredibly expensive. They are very much Hands on made Guitars!
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  #47  
Old 10-03-2008, 05:54 AM
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All this talk about CA guitars got me interested as well. Not sure where they sell them in Florida. So I found this website that seems to have pretty good prices and offer free shipping and free returns. Might be worth it try one out. Anyone ever dealt with this company?

http://www.macnichol.com/mm5/merchan...tore_Code=MGAM
They sell them in Florida because they are great sounding Guitars which require low maintenance. I would hate to leave a Traditional Wooden Guitar in the Trunk of a car during a Florida Summer!
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  #48  
Old 10-03-2008, 06:33 AM
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Originally Posted by michaelw View Post
i really like the 5L-E.
Why, of course you do. :-)

(What did you think of the non-blue ones? Or, is that even a fair question? Heh.)

I appreciate your consistency in blue-ness and good taste, yea & verily extending even unto the CA line of guitars.

There was talk a short while ago about CA's possibly making a blueburst Cargo. Should they ever pull that off, I might be in trou-ble.

Cheers,
Sarah S.
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  #49  
Old 10-03-2008, 06:52 AM
CelticJam CelticJam is offline
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I think CA's will be THE Depression era guitar. A great sounding guitar that is indestructible for jumping on and off trains, sing alongs around hobo campfires and you can heat water in it to clean your socks or cook soup.

They will be heirlooms!

Kevin
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  #50  
Old 10-03-2008, 08:43 AM
tjudgejr tjudgejr is offline
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The way thing are looking with the economy I better buy an extra one!
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  #51  
Old 10-03-2008, 10:15 AM
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I guess we've strayed from the original post's question: How good are CA guitars?

I've got no idea, other than the Cargo which I'm very impressed with for it's intended role as a travel guitar and for a 3/4 size guitar. I don't think the guitar compares to any full size wood guitar, and probably not to a full size carbon fiber guitar.

I've stated what I think are downsides in a few other threads so won't belabor it. I've only got one new thing to add and it is as much of a question as anything.

I've been playing mine (quite a lot as a practice guitar lately, a couple hours/day), and changed strings yesterday (using EJ16's) and noticed something:

The alleged (geez, I sound like a lawyer) carbon-fiber saddle, of which I bought two blanks when I got the guitar, made of the same stuff the guitar is, was severely scored and pitted where the strings lie.

I've just about worn out a Yamaha with a plastic saddle, and a Taylor with first a bone saddle, then a Tusq one, and the only saddles I've seen with deep grooving were a) carbon fiber Cargo saddle, and b) Bone saddle.

Somehow that doesn't quite fit into the perception of indestructibility of a carbon-fiber guitar. Do you folks think the saddles are made of some other thing, like black plastic? It sure seems like it's not the carbon-fiber unless carbon-fiber is quite soft and thus .. destroyable. I've shaped one of them and they are easily sanded to fit, and feel like Tusq to me, but they wear quickly in my opinion.

By the way: Extra black saddles from CA are 5 bucks each (or free depending on which way the wind is blowing). Even 5 bucks seems pretty cheap.
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  #52  
Old 10-03-2008, 10:16 AM
Stuart Stuart is offline
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I have played a number of CAs and Rainsongs. I think they're outstanding. They sound great, look cool and are maintenance free. No more worries about:
- humidity
- temperature (Mine is in the trunk of my car right now.)
- truss rod adjustments
- neck resets
- drunks spilling beer on them
- scratches, dents and dings (for the most part)

I have a CA Cargo. Virtually indestrucatble. Sounds great. Fits in the airlplane overhead compartment.

I also like the environmenta aspects (not cutting down trees).
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  #53  
Old 10-03-2008, 11:39 AM
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Here is my take on how good CA guitars are (from memory):

TONE: Very good. Loud. Someone else strummed it 15 feet away from me while I tried another guitar, and I was completely drowned out. It's resonant with nice overtones that ring better than mahogany guitars, and right up with rosewood guitars. Better than Larrivee guitars which I think are very good. Better than all the Atlas Breedloves. The only guitar that had better tone was a $3200 Breedlove C25.

PLAYABILITY: Very good. Nice frets and tones that "bounce" off the guitar neck. Beautiful sustain

DURABILITY: You already know they are reasonably strong. Don't say they are not strong because you dropped one 300 feet on to cement and had problems. Also, zero maintenance has great value, not to mention the stainless steel frets you don't have to refret... that is high value.

Before I bought a CA guitar, I would bring my L-03 with fresh strings so I can do an A-B test. Any $2K + guitar I buy will have to whip my L-03's *** (bottom ). And for addition reference, IMO three of those guitars would be a Goodall, Breedlove C25, or a Martin D-28. But do I want another delicate guitar just because the tone is fabulous? Gulp! That is a hard decison to make.

I hope this helps for comparison.
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  #54  
Old 10-22-2008, 03:40 PM
swhoelefp69 swhoelefp69 is offline
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Default They're very good in my opinion :)

Hi gang... I just received my 5iM-CE today... my thoughts/impressions:

Pros:
- love the sustain... as some have said, very piano like...
- the bass is deep... nice, but not too overpowering... I was expecting it to be even deeper, as some of the clips I've seen had people playing the guitar in drop D... but, still quite deep...
- nice weight...
- great contour for sitting down and playing...
- the finish is a pro, as it's almost scratch resistant (don't go using a steak knife to test)... but read below, it's also a con !
- the color... I wasn't sure what to expect with the "Wine"... but, I'm really liking it !... it's so dark, it's almost black at night... hardly red at all... I've always been a "black" guitar freak... I really like the Wine !
- neck has a great feeling to it... love the "almost" blank fretboard...
- plugged in, this "blows" away the highs on any ES Taylor I've played... and I've tried the AA and 9Volt systems in the past 3 months... bye, bye muddy/quacky highs !!!!

Cons:
- weight distribution when standing w/strap... I find if you let go of the guitar, it falls to the left, and the headstock starts to drop... kind of annoying, but I think it'll be ok... just learn to hold it more with your right elbow...
- the road tough finish is a definite con, for the scratchy sound that is inevitable if you're a strummer like me... but, play loud enough and you can't hear it too much !... it's also a pro, because it's scratch resistant... definite pro...
- there is a bit of a gap, where the nut is installed, and I read another post from a member who also noted that... so CA, you guys gotta do better with the Quality Control on those sort of things... the nut needs to fit in a space that's the correct size... gap's a few mm large is kind of unpleasant to look at... not sure if it affects the intonation at all...
- yeah intonation is a bit off... but, I did manage to find the "middle ground' and am happy with the setup...
- the CA label/patch inside the sound hole is 1/3rd of the way unstuck to the inner body... would imagine a few year from now, it's all the way off, and fallen inside the body !...

The pros definitely outweigh the cons... this is an awesome guitar, and I've played it constantly today... and, it's growing on me... drop D, and play Another Brick in the Wall in Dm... or, some "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young... the Deeeeeeep bass is so nice and warm... great job CA ! (and I just traded a Taylor 810ce for this, and have "zero" regrets)... well, it wasn't a square trade
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  #55  
Old 10-22-2008, 05:32 PM
WorksInTheory WorksInTheory is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swhoelefp69 View Post
Hi gang... I just received my 5iM-CE today... my thoughts/impressions:

....
...
- there is a bit of a gap, where the nut is installed, and I read another post from a member who also noted that... so CA, you guys gotta do better with the Quality Control on those sort of things... the nut needs to fit in a space that's the correct size... gap's a few mm large is kind of unpleasant to look at... not sure if it affects the intonation at all...
Hi - I was the other forum member who noted this. Have you changed strings yet? I haven't changed mine yet and don't know if the nut will then fall out or anything.
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  #56  
Old 10-22-2008, 05:50 PM
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My new GXi (tobacco burst) has just been shipped to me by Mike @ MacNichols. Based on threads about UPS vs. FedEx vs. USPS/Canada Post, I went with USPS/CP. I don't know how long it will take to get here, but I'm stoked!
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  #57  
Old 10-22-2008, 06:20 PM
WorksInTheory WorksInTheory is offline
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Originally Posted by Acousticado View Post
My new GXi (tobacco burst) has just been shipped to me by Mike @ MacNichols. Based on threads about UPS vs. FedEx vs. USPS/Canada Post, I went with USPS/CP. I don't know how long it will take to get here, but I'm stoked!
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
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  #58  
Old 10-22-2008, 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by WorksInTheory View Post
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
Will do when I get it!
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'21 Martin D-18 Standard | '02 Taylor 814c | '18 Taylor 214ceDLX | '18 Taylor 150e-12 | '78 Ibanez Dread (First acoustic) | '08 CA Cargo | '02 Fender Strat American '57 RI
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  #59  
Old 10-23-2008, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Acousticado View Post
My new GXi (tobacco burst) has just been shipped to me by Mike @ MacNichols. Based on threads about UPS vs. FedEx vs. USPS/Canada Post, I went with USPS/CP. I don't know how long it will take to get here, but I'm stoked!
Tommy...is this the replacement one you've been waiting for? I hope you get it soon and are happy with it. I grow fonder every time I pick mine up. What an amazing instrument.

Something cool I have noticed is that any guitar I have ever played, including a $6K Goodall that I had...when you capo up say to the fifth fret it always seems to deaden the strings a bit and lose sustain. This has not been so with the 7i. All the way up there capoed, it sounds just like it does with no capo at all. Lots of individual string sustain. Always spot on in tune. That's has impressed me a great deal about this guitar among many other virtues.

Jim B
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  #60  
Old 10-23-2008, 07:04 AM
swhoelefp69 swhoelefp69 is offline
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Tom. I'll bet you pay next to no duty/customs charges using USPS/Canada Post... I paid $130 in customs/taxes yesterday, when my 5iM was delivered by UPS... ouch !... but, our taxes are higher here on PEI...

Yes, please post pics of that tobacco beauty when it arrives !...
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