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  #16  
Old 02-24-2021, 09:03 AM
Elisdad Elisdad is offline
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"I'm on the fence. I'm also thinking it's an impossible problem to solve. There may be no carbon fiber instrument that serves as a stand in substitute for your favorite wooden guitar. I suppose it's just a matter of necessity and sacrifices one is willing to make for ease of maintenance and stability."
I agree with this 100%. I have a HDR and it is nice, but it doesn't compare to my Collings D2H. It is great for not having to worry about it when I travel, but if there is any chance I can take the Collings, I do.
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Last edited by Elisdad; 02-24-2021 at 09:46 AM.
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  #17  
Old 02-24-2021, 09:32 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by mikealpine View Post
I have a RainSong H-OM, and even though I have a wood guitar or two that sound "better", the OM gets the most play. And I usually like bigger guitars. The biggest difference is that I can leave it out. And it sounds lovely! I have a Black Ice, and the H sounds better. For me, the H series is the sweet spot out of all of the RainSong models I have played. I haven't played a Vintage, and am sure I'd love it (if they made the dread with a cutaway, I'd have bought it...or would have had an H dread cutaway), but the H really ticks all the boxes for me in terms of warmth and volume. And the wood guitars go without nearly as much love.
Wow! That's high praise considering some of the fine instruments in your signature.
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  #18  
Old 02-24-2021, 09:47 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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If I had to whittle my small collection down to just a single guitar that lone instrument would be either my V-DR1100N2 or a H-DR1100N2...
Again with the high praise! That's encouraging!

[Danger ahead - borderline cork sniffing]

As I get the setup on my (new to me) H-DR1100N2 closer, I am enjoying it more. The tone is very clear and the sustain is almost silly long. The new Martin strings and the added neck relief brought the bass and growl back to respectable levels. I'd like to try Elixir 92/8 strings on this. It think it might take some of the edge off.

It isn't nearly as boomy as a Martin, but that's OK. It's very musical. One thing is seems to do better than my Martin dreadnought is clarity and intonation with a capo. I can capo anywhere up the neck and I get a very musical sound with spot on intonation. Single note lines really ring forever, even with a capo. Not sure how they do it, but they do it.

I think the wooden guitar this reminds me of is the new Taylor 717e I played a year or two ago. The tonality is similar, except the RainSong is slightly less responsive to light playing, but has MUCH more headroom. And, frankly that matches my style a bit better. The Martin on the other hand has that rare combination of sensitivity and headroom. That's probably why it's my favorite guitar.

I suppose my conclusion is that the Hybrid model has the slight extra bit of headroom that I think the Vintage model lacked (perhaps). And, I might be able to get a bit of the mellowness of the Vintage model with coated strings.

I think these carbon fiber guitars are very nice instruments. I think any serious guitar player who lives in extreme climates should consider at least one in their collection. Having lost two fine guitars over the years to cracks and repairs that ruined their tone, I think this will have a place in my home.
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  #19  
Old 02-24-2021, 09:50 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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I agree with this 100%. I have a HDR and it is nice, but it doesn't compare to my Collings D2H. It is great for not having to worry about it when I travel, but if there is any chance I can take the Collings, I do.
This mirrors my feeling too. If you see above, I conclude that my Martin is still my favorite. But this is a great option to have situationally. That said, there may be instances (songs) where this RainSong could be a better choice, especially if I were recording.

Thanks to everyone for your posts!
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  #20  
Old 02-24-2021, 03:07 PM
casualmusic casualmusic is offline
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My H-DR/T is used to play old-time, Celtic, bluegrass, and sing alongs indoors and outdoors. It's effortlessly loud, and bold on leads, breaks, and fills including up the neck.

As a newish player I don't know how it compares to pricier dreadnoughts. It's plenty great for playing out.

The "T" in H-DR1000N2T is for the excellent tobacco burst finish - a $75 option at RainSong. It's a lovely automotive metallic paint - dark copper on the back and medium copper on front.

Cheers

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  #21  
Old 02-24-2021, 07:49 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by casualmusic View Post
My H-DR/T is used to play old-time, Celtic, bluegrass, and sing alongs indoors and outdoors. It's effortlessly loud, and bold on leads, breaks, and fills including up the neck.

As a newish player I don't know how it compares to pricier dreadnoughts. It's plenty great for playing out.

The "T" in H-DR1000N2T is for the excellent tobacco burst finish - a $75 option at RainSong. It's a lovely automotive metallic paint - dark copper on the back and medium copper on front.

Cheers

.
Very cool! Please post a picture of your guitar's unique finish.
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  #22  
Old 02-25-2021, 12:17 AM
casualmusic casualmusic is offline
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Very cool! Please post a picture of your guitar's unique finish.
Hi Dave.

The T (tobacco/copper) and M (marine/blue) bursts are standard and common with RainSong, but not well publicized.

I mention it in case you'd like a bit of inexpensive pizazz between the plain black versions and the elegant spruce top V series.

There are examples of the T and the M bursts shown at LAguitarsales.com and guitarhanger.com. Guitar Hanger lists a new old stock H-DR1000N2/T in stock and there are probably a few more at other online sellers.

There are pictures in NGD posts from JerryM, Kitkat, and RP. (Sorry I haven't figured how to do AGF pictures. Message me if you'd like a picture of mine but it'll look much the same and take a day or so)

Close up, the colour is visually the same as the sparkly metallic paint on your car. The medium copper top is about the same shade as a penny or some copper wire. The darker back and sides are a chocolate/copper shade.

Last summer and fall my H-DR/T went to 50ish outdoor old-time, Celtic, bluegrass, and sing along sessions. It sounded great and visually fit in amongst the traditional guitars. No one asked about it and I didn't volunteer that it's carbon fibre.

Cheers

.

Last edited by casualmusic; 02-25-2021 at 12:25 AM.
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  #23  
Old 02-25-2021, 05:26 AM
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Very cool! Please post a picture of your guitar's unique finish.
Here are some store shots of my Tobacco Burst CO-OM11NT. Seems like Copper Burst would be a more accurate description...
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Last edited by RP; 11-20-2021 at 07:03 AM.
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  #24  
Old 02-25-2021, 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Wow! That's high praise considering some of the fine instruments in your signature.
Don’t get me wrong, nothing else I own compares to the Stehr, and I have a Furch that is also stellar. If I a/b them, clearly there’s a difference. But the RainSong sounds terrific and is always available...no case, no humidifiers and so on. It sounds great through my Fishman and is my performing guitar (when we used to be able to perform) because of the great sound and lack of worry. And as I said, from my somewhat limited experience, the H series sounded best. I’m sorry they eliminated it. A cutaway dread would have been my ideal, and I keep wavering on upsizing the OM to a WS, which I find periodically on Reverb.
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  #25  
Old 02-25-2021, 09:23 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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That's a nice looking finish. I can see why people would opt for it over the plain Jane black.
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  #26  
Old 02-25-2021, 09:30 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by mikealpine View Post
Don’t get me wrong, nothing else I own compares to the Stehr, and I have a Furch that is also stellar. If I a/b them, clearly there’s a difference. But the RainSong sounds terrific and is always available...no case, no humidifiers and so on. It sounds great through my Fishman and is my performing guitar (when we used to be able to perform) because of the great sound and lack of worry. And as I said, from my somewhat limited experience, the H series sounded best. I’m sorry they eliminated it. A cutaway dread would have been my ideal, and I keep wavering on upsizing the OM to a WS, which I find periodically on Reverb.
Ah yes. I know a few local guys and one on AGF who gig with their RainSongs. I suspect it would be the one they went back into the "burning building" to retrieve. I haven't done any gigs since the pandemic either. But, that's what I mainly bought this for. A very good sounding alternative to taking an expensive wooden instrument places where it can get damaged. Frankly, the K&K in the RainSong sounds better than in my wood guitars. I think it would not only be a good alternative, but a better alternative for amplified gigs.

Since these guitars are bullet proof, I wonder if someone would do a straight up trade?
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  #27  
Old 02-25-2021, 01:11 PM
Bax Burgess Bax Burgess is offline
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I've used four saddle types on an H-DR1100N2 with Polywebs and Thomastik KR116, giving it opportunity to shine in its best light, but it's lacking when compared to a previous generation D28 or the current D18. It's not a bad guitar, whereas the Rainsong parlor is an improvement in every respect: balance, rich bass, defined/sweet trebles.
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  #28  
Old 02-25-2021, 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
That's a nice looking finish. I can see why people would opt for it over the plain Jane black.
I agree, and it amazes me that Rainsong refrains from letting potential customers know that this and other options can be special ordered. I've currently got a Rainsong CO-JM3100NT (Concert Series, jumbo sized 12-string with a Tobacco Burst finish and no electronics) on order, and I didn't get the idea from the Rainsong website...
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  #29  
Old 02-27-2021, 09:49 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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I've got the H-DR1100N2 setup as well as it can be for me. The verdict is that I like the sound and I'm enjoying playing it.

I've got GHS PhosBronze 13s, a set of Martin liquid metal pins and 0.009" relief in the neck. It sounds good with the pick and sound GREAT with the bare fingers.

In fact, Travis picking with bare fingers on this guitar is downright addictive. The punch and clarity of the individual notes is very distinct and unique. Couple that with the lightweight build and the way a simple passive K&K seems to work better with a carbon fiber guitar and I really think it's a great addition.

The only thing I don't like is that I can hear an occasional artificial sound when comping some chords. I'll need to figure out how to play around that.

Thanks for the help with the carbon fiber guitar advice, as usual.
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  #30  
Old 02-27-2021, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
I've got the H-DR1100N2 setup as well as it can be for me. The verdict is that I like the sound and I'm enjoying playing it.

I've got GHS PhosBronze 13s, a set of Martin liquid metal pins and 0.009" relief in the neck. It sounds good with the pick and sound GREAT with the bare fingers.

In fact, Travis picking with bare fingers on this guitar is downright addictive. The punch and clarity of the individual notes is very distinct and unique. Couple that with the lightweight build and the way a simple passive K&K seems to work better with a carbon fiber guitar and I really think it's a great addition.

The only thing I don't like is that I can hear an occasional artificial sound when comping some chords. I'll need to figure out how to play around that.

Thanks for the help with the carbon fiber guitar advice, as usual.
Glad it's settling in for you. There is a "uniqueness", yet a familiarity with how my H-OM sounds, full and rich, and the only time I ever thought of "piano-like" when playing a guitar. I find, as I mentioned, it is the easiest guitar I own to simply pick up and play on a whim, and I always enjoy it.
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2013 Joel Stehr Dreadnought - Carpathian/Malaysian BW
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