Rainsong Nashville Prototype

[northtrader]

Zooming in on the picture in the facebook page .... the spruce sure looks like it's a veneer rather than structure with any substantial thickness.

Regardless, a spruce top with an abalone rosette, no pick guard and no painted burst would interest me greatly.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by northtrader

Zooming in on the picture in the facebook page .... the spruce sure looks like it's a veneer rather than structure with any substantial thickness.

Regardless, a spruce top with an abalone rosette, no pick guard and no painted burst would interest me greatly.

RainSong lets the CF mold around the abalone inlay. With that spruce veneer they would need to set it into the veneer first, before molding. All that extra work might be a ways off. The Nashville rosette looks like their decal version from the CH & H trims.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by MiG50

Hard to tell how thick the spruce layer is, just a thin sheet for cosmetic purposes or a thicker layer with enough strength to be structural. The Emerald process, by all accounts, is merely cosmetic/aesthetic. RainSong seems to be using the wood layer structurally.

Hmmm. Seems like marketing to me at this point. But they probably adjusted the outer CF layers of their sandwich top (CF-spacer-CF) to accommodate the extra spruce layer. I suppose that would justify some kind of claim at least in the class of thinner finishes which the wood guitar guys crow about.

I do think that gloss back/sides (and hopefully the neck too) with a spruce veneer top is a potential big winner for them if it does not drive the price above the standard series. It will look completely normal!

[Explorer]

I remember how great another company's high-end guitars sounded with a carbon-balsa-carbon sandwich. Those Ovation Adamas guitars had huge amounts of volume on tap and sustain for days.

I remember one of my Rainsongs having some kind of ultra-thin damping foam layer inside, to tame the crystalline upper frequencies (maybe the AWS?). I think the Composite Acoustics Legacy models used bracing for its woody tone.

I'll be interested in hearing the new Rainsong. If they manage to combine CF durability with a tone and look which will please the bluegrassers, it will open up new markets for Rainsong.

[tommyld]

Looks lovely. Interested to see what they do with the headstock...

If they've got a new neck that isn't narrow with a deep/fat U profile...I could be in trouble.

[kramster]

A said on RS FB page


"Soundboard Fusion Technology (SFT)
RAINSONG GRAPHITE GUITARS·WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019·1 MINUTE
To combine the stability and robustness of carbon fiber with the traditional aesthetics of wood, RainSong has developed SFT: Soundboard Fusion Technology.
After careful experimentation, we are able to fuse a thin spruce soundboard and unidirectional pre-impregnated carbon (prepreg) in a single molding step. The resulting SFT soundboard is a composite matrix that resonates as a single unit, like a solid wood soundboard.
The physical properties of the unidirectional carbon fiber far exceed those of the thin wood. Hence the SFT soundboard maintains the imperviousness to humidity and temperature variations of carbon fiber.
An SFT soundboard delivers rich crystalline carbon sound subtly colored by spruce."

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by kramster

A said on RS FB page


"Soundboard Fusion Technology (SFT)
RAINSONG GRAPHITE GUITARS·WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019·1 MINUTE
To combine the stability and robustness of carbon fiber with the traditional aesthetics of wood, RainSong has developed SFT: Soundboard Fusion Technology.
After careful experimentation, we are able to fuse a thin spruce soundboard and unidirectional pre-impregnated carbon (prepreg) in a single molding step. The resulting SFT soundboard is a composite matrix that resonates as a single unit, like a solid wood soundboard.
The physical properties of the unidirectional carbon fiber far exceed those of the thin wood. Hence the SFT soundboard maintains the imperviousness to humidity and temperature variations of carbon fiber.
An SFT soundboard delivers rich crystalline carbon sound subtly colored by spruce."

Nothing in that wording inconsistent with a veneer...

However, I think RainSongs sound just fine with no wood and the spruce look is a fantastic upgrade to my eye.

[AZLiberty]

Some of Rainsong's recent unidirectional tops look mottled. We've all seen the pics.

The cynical side of me says this is a way to save some of their uglier looking tops.

[teasypee]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

Some of Rainsong's recent unidirectional tops look mottled. We've all seen the pics.

The cynical side of me says this is a way to save some of their uglier looking tops.

I sent back a CH-OM because the top just looked like lacquered over imperfections. I sent a request to Rainsong to see if this was normal/acceptable, and the reply said yes the imperfections do not affect the sound quality.

This new offering may keep them in the running as the lower cost solution to that Irish company.

[MiG50]

The latest from the Facebook feed:

https://www.facebook.com/RainSongGui...type=3&theater

[Captain Jim]

Facebook teases, but nothing on their website. Yet.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by MiG50

The latest from the Facebook feed:

https://www.facebook.com/RainSongGui...type=3&theater

Now if it was priced like an H-DR1100N2 it could be a real game changer as they've got distribution through all the major Internet dealers.

BTW, it seems the gig bag no pickup Concert Hybrid Parlor is still retailing at the old price. I guess this will be the loss leader "Cargo" of the RainSong catalog for at least a while...

[JerryM]

Be interesting to see the specs as far as neck profile and scale length etc. but it sure looks like a new era is coming for Rainsong, my short scale dread is a real winner in every aspect and I can't wait for these to come out. Ted will be first to get them I am sure,,,and then me!

[steelvibe]

They have begun shipping!

[Explorer]

Wood visible across the whole top, no sunburst! Nice!

No info or pricing on the Rainsong website, no relevant link on Google other than the RainSong FaceBook page, so I'll take the FaceBook "Now shipping!" message as an indication that maybe LAGS has one due to arrive, but none of the other dealers who would otherwise advertise as "Incoming! Order now!".