So where are the Peavey Composite Acoustics guitars?

PowerTube · #1 09-21-2011, 09:54 AM

I'm behind the curve on this because I only discovered just last night that Peavey had bought out Composite Acoustics. I'm normally not a fan of Peavey gear, but in my initial excitement, I was thinking, "Great! With Peavey's distribution capabilities, these will now be easier to find."

But alas..... the Peavey website doesn't even mention them under Products, only in the News section about the acquisition.

So do any of you know the story? Will these be hitting the stores soon or is it a pipe dream?

jayhawk · #2 09-21-2011, 11:08 AM

I just saw a new Cargo at Five Star Guitars in Hillsboro, OR. It looked pretty good. Ken (the owner) was commenting that the build quality looked much better than the CA builds.

They are clearly starting to get out to the stores.

Jack

ac · #3 09-21-2011, 11:31 AM

http://www.compositeacoustics.com/guitars.cfm

PowerTube · #4 09-21-2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ac

http://www.compositeacoustics.com/guitars.cfm

Thanks. So are they just owned by Peavey now or is Peavey actually making them?

tdq · #5 09-21-2011, 12:42 PM

Now both owned and made by Peavey. It's been a long time coming but I see a little bit of movement - the webpage now has a dealer section and they've updated a little on their facebook page.

Dr. Jazz · #6 09-21-2011, 12:44 PM

Oddly enough, the new sales rep for CA/Peavey was in the store today showing me the new OX and Cargo guitars. Very nice. A change in neck angle to resolve some criticisms of the past. Over-all very nice instruments. I just ordered a couple of Cargos and some other CAs.

PowerTube · #7 09-21-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Jazz

Oddly enough, the new sales rep for CA/Peavey was in the store today showing me the new OX and Cargo guitars. Very nice. A change in neck angle to resolve some criticisms of the past. Over-all very nice instruments. I just ordered a couple of Cargos and some other CAs.

I heard a snippet somewhere about Peavey making some improvements.

How is the projection on the Cargo? Is it noticeably louder than the typical 3/4-sized guitar like a Taylor Baby or Little Martin? Also, does it sound more "real" than them?

To me, as nice as these two are, they still have a vague "toy" sound.

mcrofutt · #8 09-21-2011, 01:29 PM

To my ear and hand the Cargo is light years beyond all the other 3/4 travel guitars. Mine gets almost as much play time as any of my other fine instruments, and I look forward to traveling because I know I'm going to be playing the Cargo all the time. Well, I like travel/vacationing too.

JohnnyDes · #9 09-21-2011, 01:35 PM

Fred Poole, who appears to be the Peavey guy in charge of CA, has several times commented on progress on the CF Forum hosted by MacNichols. Apparently they had to do some retooling to get the neck angle issue fixed and so far they are producing the Cargos and GX.

I think it's important to add that in the mean time, Rainsong developed the Hybrid and Studio models, which to my ear and wallet are direct competitors of the CA line. The CF/glass hybrid used in these warms them up considerably. They don't sound the same as the CAs, but IMO anybody looking at the CAs should also take a serious look at the Rainsongs. I'm glad I did, since my S-OM is an amazing instrument.

JD

Dr. Jazz · #10 09-21-2011, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcrofutt

To my ear and hand the Cargo is light years beyond all the other 3/4 travel guitars. Mine gets almost as much play time as any of my other fine instruments, and I look forward to traveling because I know I'm going to be playing the Cargo all the time. Well, I like travel/vacationing too.

I agree. I kept back a Cargo for myself when the company was in trouble and I'm glad I did. It traveled with me everywhere and I even felt confidant baggage checking it in it's gig bag. I look forward to selling the new Cargo. They sound significantly better than any other small package short scale travellers.

PowerTube · #11 09-21-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyDes

They don't sound the same as the CAs, but IMO anybody looking at the CAs should also take a serious look at the Rainsongs. I'm glad I did, since my S-OM is an amazing instrument.

JD

Thanks! It just so happens that I'm checking out a couple of Rainsongs on Saturday, but this Peavey/CA Cargo model really has me intrigued.

Mbroady · #12 07-09-2018, 11:03 PM

Not sure of the exact month/year but I think this guitar is made around the time that Peavy took over production. I would check. Some pre peavy CAs had neck angle issues. Not all but enough to become a known issue. The peavys I have played sounded and played great..

cotten · #13 07-09-2018, 11:23 PM

Note: until a few minutes ago, this was a 7-yr. old thread. Would be glad to read a full update on what's happened with CA since then.

cotten

Mbroady · #14 07-10-2018, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotten

Note: until a few minutes ago, this was a 7-yr. old thread. Would be glad to read a full update on what's happened with CA since then.

cotten

Ha, I had 2 windows open and posted in the wrong thread, but yep, always interesting to find out about the outcome of an old thread.

#15 07-10-2018, 09:17 AM

I've owned pre and post Peavey Cargos. The CA Cargo is what moved me to carbon fiber. When I first played it, I could hardly believe the tone and projection produced in such a small instrument.

I moved from the Cargo to the Ox and thought that it, too, was outstanding. Both were steel string instruments and I ended up selling them to pursue nylon string CF guitars.

When Peavey took over I followed Poole's discussion of the improvements being made and purchased the CA/Peavey Cargo. I believe that it is far superior to any of the small wooden guitars being sold.