Rainsong Vintage Review & Demo

AeroUSA · #1 09-19-2020, 11:59 PM

Please check out my review. I hope you like it!

kramster · #2 09-20-2020, 06:27 AM

Nice, it looks like and sounds like a guitar! Your accent almost sounds real which is cool...ha ... Great job on the video!

David Eastwood · #3 09-20-2020, 08:16 AM

Nice review, nice guitar.

If you want that traditional look with the benefits of CF, there’s really no other game in town than the Rainsong Vintage series.

danielou · #4 09-20-2020, 11:58 AM

Great review Aaron,
very nice playing and discussion. I think the guitar sounds sounds great- Rainsong has really helped move CF into the mainstream. Agree completely that CF sound is its own category. Took me a while to like it, now I'm hooked. I hope to try one of the V models out soon, hoping there will be a a few more finishes/options coming up.

kramster · #5 09-20-2020, 12:39 PM

They really are guitar fine looking..I got to play a couple at NAMM. Lucky me ..yay.. ignore the Bryan, the lil maker of trouble... sigh...

Earl49 · #6 09-20-2020, 03:28 PM

I have not played a Vintage, but agree with the comments on the WS in the video.

#7 09-20-2020, 06:04 PM

Nice demonstration of a serious guitar.

You'll notice, also, that my nephew was there at the show. He's a fox; when he looks left, I look left.

mikealpine · #8 09-21-2020, 08:18 PM

I would like to hear a comparison of the dread to the WS. I suspect the dread is a little louder. Wish it came in a cutaway!

steelvibe · #9 09-21-2020, 10:13 PM

Thank you for the review Aaron. I think it is a fabulous sounding guitar personally, and your choice of words to describe the sound of CF is pretty much in line with what I think of it too; it is very different than wood but we like it. It's a different spice, not a replacement or substitute of a spice.

I think RainSong is onto something here with the Vintage series. While some may see them as followers, they are actually leaders in the sense that they are the only company currently fusing wood tops with CF in a traditional manner.

I mostly agree with you on the neck; it is comfortable for open chording and closer to the nut in the cowboy chords area, but more difficult to "solo" higher up the neck. While you mention that it wasn't a deal breaker for you, it was for me. Since I play fingerstyle I find it very hard to do any kind of real stretch work on the NS neck (the short version of the N2). For instance, one song I play is in open Dmaj9 and has some serious stretches up at the 7th fret. Some of the chords in one particular song I like to play have a 5 fret stretch up there, which is difficult on almost any neck. On the N2/NS, the clubby profile combined with the 20" radius are way too uncomfortable and I ended up selling my Shorty as a result.

Find a guitar that suits you as a player, not play in such a way that suits your playing to a specific guitar/brand.

Earl49 · #10 09-22-2020, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine

I would like to hear a comparison of the dread to the WS. I suspect the dread is a little louder. Wish it came in a cutaway!

I have a WS-1000 and a good friend that I jam with has a DR-1000. Both are Classic models from 2001-2002 and have the N1 original neck. The dreadnought may be a little louder (both are plenty loud) but has the typical bass-heavy dreadnought tone. The WS has a more balanced tone overall -- more focus -- and sits on your leg better than a dread. It all comes down to your physical comfort and tonal desires. If you are a dreadnought person, DR-1000 is a good example of the type with plenty of bass and raw horsepower. I chose the WS years ago, but my favorite body shape is the GA/0000. I once owned a Martin J-40 that replaced a D-28, but both are gone now as I trend into CF guitars only.

The only dreadnought I still have left is a Seagull S6 from a long time ago, which is my beater/travel guitar and rarely gets out of its case. My WS-1000 has successfully played many a bluegrass circle or campfire jam.

steelvibe · #11 09-22-2020, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl49

The only dreadnought I still have left is a Seagull S6 from a long time ago, which is my beater/travel guitar and rarely gets out of its case. My WS-1000 has successfully played many a bluegrass circle or campfire jam.

When you're a CF fan to the point that your travel/beater guitar is made of.....wood

Earl49 · #12 09-22-2020, 01:20 PM

I get your point Steelvibe. My Seagull M6 was bought used for $225 and rides in my absolute least favorite Martin-logo "steal me" thermoplastic case.

If it is destroyed or lost, I'm out about $450 to replace it in kind. The least of my CF guitars cost 3X that amount, or more. While carbon fiber would survive travel better, that is more value to risk than I am willing. It would be a shame if anything happened to *any* of them, even the Seagull.

I don't fly any more and the guitar no longer gets strapped across the passenger seat of my Gold Wing on camping trips, so the risks are greatly diminished these days. My need for a "beater" almost doesn't exist any longer. The Seagull and several others are on the possible donation list now. For the record, the only wood guitar that is totally safe is my Taylor 424-LTD which is all koa. Ultimately I would like to be done with wooden instruments and all the temperature/humidity care required.

bsman · #13 09-26-2020, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelvibe

When you're a CF fan to the point that your travel/beater guitar is made of.....wood

This is me to a "T". My Emerald X7 stayed at the office (when I was going in), my Rainsong stays at home, and when I travel it's the Journey Overhead OF420 (wood) that comes along.

mikealpine · #14 09-26-2020, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl49

I have a WS-1000 and a good friend that I jam with has a DR-1000. Both are Classic models from 2001-2002 and have the N1 original neck. The dreadnought may be a little louder (both are plenty loud) but has the typical bass-heavy dreadnought tone. The WS has a more balanced tone overall -- more focus -- and sits on your leg better than a dread. It all comes down to your physical comfort and tonal desires. If you are a dreadnought person, DR-1000 is a good example of the type with plenty of bass and raw horsepower. I chose the WS years ago, but my favorite body shape is the GA/0000. I once owned a Martin J-40 that replaced a D-28, but both are gone now as I trend into CF guitars only.

The only dreadnought I still have left is a Seagull S6 from a long time ago, which is my beater/travel guitar and rarely gets out of its case. My WS-1000 has successfully played many a bluegrass circle or campfire jam.

Thanks for this info. I’m 5’ 5” and athletically trim, yet like the feel of a larger guitar. I considered an X30, but that always sounds like too much bass in every video. I love my CF, but think I’m headed back to a wood guitar for a specific sound and volume, leaning toward a cedar/rosewood cutaway dread.

Earl49 · #15 09-27-2020, 07:34 AM

I am 6’-6” and not so trim - built like the aging football lineman that I once was..... I find that the X30 is an armful and is quite bassy - I have to adjust my normal flat pick technique a bit to lay off the 6th and 5th strings when playing boom-chuck style. (Maybe I drive them too hard normally?). But that happens easily enough. An X30 feels like a dreadnought size to hold, and sounds similar to a rosewood/spruce D28 to my ear. For me the X20 is the perfect fit physically and tonally. I played my X20 for 2+ hours at a jam last night.

I generally prefer a Taylor GA body. My play is about 75% bare-nails fingerstyle, the rest strummed rhythm with a flat pick. The guitar that I always wanted was a 714ce in rosewood/cedar. By the time I could afford a guitar of that caliber they had stopped making them with cedar tops.