NGD: Blackbird El Capitan

[Fixedgear60]

Originally Posted by Tøf

Good reminder that I had to renew my subscription, it's now done!

But if you are the first owner, they stand behind their instruments. And according to Blackbird the El Capitan has received a major structural update in 2021.

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Best of luck... We had a very similar journey... I had owned all Blackbird instruments (guitars & ukes) over the years and have found Joe a GREAT guy to do business with. A stand-up guy and backs his instruments 100% even if you purchase second-hand. I had the honor to spend some time with Joe while I was doing business in San Fran. He gave me a great tour of his shop and got to play all his instruments. I was hooked for a number of years. :-)

Over time, I thinned down the herd to only my McPherson Touring... but his instruments are second to none in terms of sound and innovation.... best of luck... these are great instruments!

[canuck57]

A beatiful instrument for sure. I'm curious if CF guitars "open -up" like a traditional guitar or not? Any comment appreciated. I'm looking to enter the market and weighing new vs used.

[Tøf]

Originally Posted by canuck57

A beatiful instrument for sure. I'm curious if CF guitars "open -up" like a traditional guitar or not? Any comment appreciated. I'm looking to enter the market and weighing new vs used.

Carbon fiber is extremely stable and isn’t quantitatively impacted by changes in temperature or humidity, so sonic properties will remain the same. No opening, it’s already wide open

Ekoa is a fairly new material, about 10 years old, so a bit early to be certain of its long term durability. It’s made of linen/flax which is an hydrophilic material. It’s probably a bit more sensitive to humidity variations, but once mixed with resin stability is very similar to carbon fiber under standard conditions (non-professional opinion based on my experience )

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by canuck57

I'm curious if CF guitars "open-up" like a traditional guitar or not? Any comment appreciated. I'm looking to enter the market and weighing new vs used.

Sure it will open up -- with a few thousand years of play.

I've had a Rainsong all-weave WS-1000 Classic bought new in 2001 and cannot perceive any difference at all in the 22 years since purchase. Not in tone or neck angle or setup. Mine has seen temps during travel in light airplanes at -40°F in Alaska and played at festivals at 105°F in Idaho. The only thing that ever changes is maybe the tuning drifts a bit from A440. The guitar usually stays in tune with itself, but not necessarily to absolute pitch, which varies a little with temperature.

I also own a 2017 Blackbird Farallon tenor ukulele made from ekoa, and have not noticed any change with it. According to a recent thread here Blackbird says that ekoa should not be exposed to temps above 120°F so that leaves out those summertime Death Valley gigs.