Spend my money, at least some of it.

[Captain Jim]

Congrats, Rob! It is fun to see the progression from soliciting opinions to placing an order... decisive and motivated, a good combination!

My first CF was a RainSong - it hooked me on the sound and ease of care of carbon fiber. Mot makes a good point about that "gateway" guitar... I have no doubt your new RainSong will please you, but it will also make it easier to... well, the wait is never easy for some of us.

I look forward to your impressions when it arrives.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

OP here.
After much research and weighing my options I just ordered a Rainsong CO-1000NS.

Rob

I think you will like that guitar. If you don't, change the strings.
String composition seems to color the sound even more on CF than wooden guitars in my experience.

[TRose]

Congratulations, Rob!
Let us know how you like it.
The worry free nature of a carbon fiber guitar will allow you to play more conveniently at home during this time of year and in a variety of locations( like the park,etc).
I’m sure you will enjoy it.

[Recoil Rob]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

I think you will like that guitar. If you don't, change the strings.
String composition seems to color the sound even more on CF than wooden guitars in my experience.

Care to elaborate?

[mot]

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

Care to elaborate?

Different strings seem to bring out different overtones more noticeably in some carbon fiber types. IMO the X20 seems OK with a range of strings, but the Kestrel does better with flat wound. I don't have the best ear (being a long time brass player), so others can probably answer this better.

[Recoil Rob]

Remember 20years ago you'd order something and one day you'd come home and find that UPS had left it for you st the front door?

Now I can watch UPS LIVE as the truck gets closer....should be here within the hour...

[CRM]

I think your going to like your new Rainsong. I'm a poor player at best but my girl will tell you otherwise. I always had at least 5 guitars at hand from all the big boys Martin, Taylor, Gibson and even a few Eastman's (10) and even Blueridge......I found that they all had a great sound and I couldn't really play one better than the other.....Then I bought a house up in the high desert where I'd have to do the humidity control thing and knew I'd end up messing that up and I'd end up with cracked guitars so like you I started my search for a carbon fiber and went with a Rainsong Smokey SMH which I picked up used for a great price and I was blown away with the tone and the way it played.....I can take it anywhere I want to go and so I sold all my wood guitars and only have this one Rainsong which fills all my needs. Look forward to your review of your new Rainsong.

[Recoil Rob]

Quick first impressions...

A very well built and finished instrument, looks better than the online photos. Online the tops of the CO models look muddy but that is a function of how the CF diffuses light. You may notice it out in bright sunlight but it looks glass smooth.

It's a bit brighter than my wood instruments, right now it seems to have less lows and midrange but I still have to get used to it and as mentioned different strings will adjust the sound.

The only negative is my string height is 5/64ths on the low end and 5/64ths on the high end. I'm used to 5/64-3/64ths. There is 0.010" neckrelief at te 7th fret so maybe a truss rod adjustment is called for but I'll play it for a week or so before fiddling with it.

All in all though very happy with it.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

Quick first impressions...

A very well built and finished instrument, looks better than the online photos. Online the tops of the CO models look muddy but that is a function of how the CF diffuses light. You may notice it out in bright sunlight but it looks glass smooth.

It's a bit brighter than my wood instruments, right now it seems to have less lows and midrange but I still have to get used to it and as mentioned different strings will adjust the sound.

The only negative is my string height is 5/64ths on the low end and 5/64ths on the high end. I'm used to 5/64-3/64ths. There is 0.010" neckrelief at te 7th fret so maybe a truss rod adjustment is called for but I'll play it for a week or so before fiddling with it.

All in all though very happy with it.

Martin Retro 12's. They sound great on RainSong guitars in my opinion. Congrats on your carbonized aquisition!

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

Care to elaborate?

Since CF guitars often exhibit a lot of clarity, you can hear differences between strings easier.

I can easily hear the brightness difference between Elixir BP and EXP PBs on my Rainsong (EXPs are darker), whereas on my Larrivee Phosphor Bronze strings by different vendors pretty much sound the same.

Rainsong ships with Elixir 80/20s. I like Phosphor Bronze a lot more.

[Frettingflyer]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I would still like to someday see a Lucky 13 done in ekoa. El Capitan was very nice but essentially duplicated my Taylor GA's - and has a kinda funky slotted headstock that might not appeal to everyone. Savoy just did not feel right in my arms (too small??) and also did not appeal to me visually - something about the proportions. An ekoa 00 size in a more traditional form factor like a Lucky 13 might be a real winner for them.

Earl-I too would like to see a Lucky 13 sized ekoa instrument. I actually went to a store hoping to like the El Capitan but didn’t bond with it, and the Savoy somehow didn’t feel right(maybe too small) as well.

OP-Congrats on the new Rainsong, I had a few and like above found a string change made all the difference. +1 on the Elixir PB and +1 on the Martins mentioned above for at least my Shorty, FWIW

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

It's a bit brighter than my wood instruments, right now it seems to have less lows and midrange but I still have to get used to it and as mentioned different strings will adjust the sound.

This is why I recommended the WS model instead of the CO. But no doubt you have gotten yourself a fine instrument.

Originally Posted by Recoil Rob

The only negative is my string height is 5/64ths on the low end and 5/64ths on the high end. I'm used to 5/64-3/64ths. There is 0.010" neckrelief at te 7th fret so maybe a truss rod adjustment is called for but I'll play it for a week or so before fiddling with it.

Lowering the saddle did the the trick for me. With this modification my Rainsong is the smoothest player of all my acoustics. It plays even lighter than my nylon string guitars.



As you can see I went as low as possible. Be warned though that this will not work for most people. I get away with it because I have a light touch and never use a pick.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

This is why I recommended the WS model instead of the CO. But no doubt you have gotten yourself a fine instrument.

Not everyone wants a huge guitar. My shoulder doesn’t like a dreadnought for too long much less a body depth of 5 in”. That is what keeps me away from the WS.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Not everyone wants a huge guitar. My shoulder doesn’t like a dreadnought for too long much less a body depth of 5 in”. That is what keeps me away from the WS.

The topic starter owns a D-35 so size shouldn't be a problem. And I wonder if the Rainsong WS is even as large as a dreadnought. At least it does not feel that way to me.

I used to have a cheap dreadnought which bit the dust due to humidity issues. I never liked that shape either.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

The topic starter owns a D-35 so size shouldn't be a problem. And I wonder if the Rainsong WS is even as large as a dreadnought. At least it does not feel that way to me.

I didn't read back that far....oops

The narrow waist of the WS probably makes it feel a little more snug in your lap. It is RainSong's most popular body size, probably for all the reasons you mention, and the bigger body would give more bass/depth to the tone. I had a RainSong OM and it was actually fine as it does have a 15" body width and 4.1" depth. Still a pretty big sound considering it has no braces, and the rounded edges on the back didn't hurt either. Very comfortable guitar for me with the exception of that NS neck.