Nylon Rainsong thoughts?

[elementarymusic]

I'm really interested in that nylon parlor, but i can't believe they made it with a 1 3/4" nut!! Anyone who's tried it... Is it playable? I like a 1 7/8" on my steel strings...i can't imagine 1 3/4" on a nylon.

[Captain Jim]

I think the RainSong Parlor Nylon is targeted at steel string players who want to add a nylon tone. I haven't had the opportunity to try an NP-12, but as a life-long steel string player, when I pick up a traditional nylon (with a wider neck), it feels like playing a surfboard. I guess it is just what you are used to.

Evan (a regular participant here) has owned, and enjoys, the RS nylon parlor... he is our resident nylon enthusiast, so I trust he will chime in here.

[Strumalot]

I had an NP12 for a while. Sounded great and played fine with the 1 3/4 inch neck, however, I am used to thinner necks on my steel strings.

I bought a custom Emerald X10N because I wasn't totally happy with the Rainsong, neck, neck join, and boxey body.

The Emerald is nice, and they can build one with a wider neck if you like, but I would give the "sound" edge to the NP12. Gorgeous bass tones.

Now, when you "fix" the issues I had with the NP12, you have the Blackbird Savoy body design.

And a while back, I put nylon strings on my made-for-steel Savoy just to see what would happen.

The short story is, I prefer it over both the Emerald X10N and the Rainsong NP12.

That said, the NP12 is an amazing instrument, and unless your a classical player, the 1 3/4 nut works for nylon.

I am sure Evan, our resident nylon guitar expert, will have some worthy comments for you on this, so stay "tuned"...

[Fixedgear60]

EM,

I too was lured by the new sound and the siren description of Evan over the years on the virtue of nylon strings and purchased a Rainsong P12N. It is a wonderful guitar for a steel string player (ie no neck width issues) and sounded well both plugged in and acoustic. Unfortunately then the Savoy eKoa hit changed everything for me and off it when to the next player who I hope is loving it. These days my nylon urges are satisfied by my Uke playing and soon to receive a Farallon from Blackbird. So if you are a classical guy them you may want to look else where. I am sure Evan will be weighing soon on this topic and look forward to his post as our resident expert and Mayor of Nylonville. :-)

Elementary;

I was highly spectacle of the Rainsong because of the nut width. I also did not think I'd like the fat neck. But I've made a point of trying every CF nylon strung guitar and so I got one, and still have it. It is a marvelous guitar and I've had no trouble adapting to the nut and the neck. I particularly like the hybrid nylons and all my special order Emeralds have had the 1 7/8" nut. I still prefer the 1 7/8 width, but have not been bothered by the 1 6/8".

I trust Stumalot's judgment but have not jumped on a Savoy because I suspect that when Joe gets serious about making a nylon version it will be stunning--I'm waiting.

While you're dithering you might want to consider the Blackbird rider (if you haven't already). It has a 2" nut which I don't like and I could never get comfortable with the guitar for the same reason I gave up on Ovations--it's slippery. The rider hangs in there with a neck-up but I never grew comfortable with it. What it does have in its favor is sound. Joe made them in either Flamenco or Classical versions and sound-wise they approximate good classical guitars.

I realized early that I could not afford to keep every CF nylon so I made a habit of selling one to move to another. But then I found that I wanted to keep the Rainsong, and the Emerald X10-OSN, and the X7-OSN electric, and I have an X10-OSN electric in the oven. As you can tell, I am enamored of Emerald's ability to make what I think I'd like.

Once I get the 10 I've decided to narrow it down to one guitar. I just don't know which. If Joe comes up with a Savoy nylon my decision-making will become even more complex.

To get back to the point, the Rainsong; the nice thing is that it was a production guitar and you can find one at a reasonable price and if you don't like it, it will be fairly easy to sell (and if you lose a little money in the sell you can count that as rent).

Good luck in your decision making.

[kramster]

No thoughts at this time...I think.

[AZLiberty]

The why is easy:
--The molds are crazy expensive (machined out of giant billets of aluminum).
--A wider neck would require a new mold.

The 1 3/4" nut is the reason my wife (who really wants a CF Nylon) won't look at the Rainsong.

[ceciltguitar]

About the time that I discovered the Rainsong WS9000 nylon string guitar they quit making them.

[Tom2]

If you already like 1 7/8" on steel strings, 1 3/4" on nylon will probably be unplayable for you. I tried it, and it was unplayable for me. The NP12 does have great tone, but only if you actually play it.

I'm a long time steel string player. The 2" classical neck hurts my wrist, and the 1 3/4" neck causes me to accidentally mute adjacent strings. The sweet spot for crossovers is between 1 7/8" and 49mm. An extra 1/8" in either direction makes all the difference in the world.

Tom2 is right on the money.