Composite Acoustics Cargo - a mini-review

SongwriterFan · #1 03-21-2008, 06:06 PM

I took a trip to the outskirts of Lufkin, TX today (almost a 2-hr drive) to see Danny Brevard of AcousticProMusician.com and test-drive the new Composite Acoustics Cargo guitar (the little travel guitar that everybody's talking about).

To make a long story short, I ended up coming home with one . . . the sound coming out of that little box is stunning. The Baby Taylor and Little Martin can't BEGIN to compare to this thing in terms of tone. And the BASS coming out of it was particularly impressive for a guitar this small.

The scale is quite short (I believe it's 22.5"), so it could feel a little cramped for those who prefer longer scales. But the tone doesn't seem to suffer at ALL from the short sale.

I know people have asked what kinds of strings it can handle. I believe it comes with medium/lights, but Danny said it could handle anything you wanted to put on it.

Danny only had two in stock . . a charcoal, and wine. Both had electronics. He has others on order (all with electronics), but he can certainly order it for you without electronics if that's what you want.

The electronics sounded decent, and are relatively simple. Just inside the off-center sound hole are two knobs . . one controls volume, and the other "tone" (though neither are labelled, and no marks for knowing when it's centered, either . . something they should fix, IMO).

The battery pack is also just inside the sound hole, in a little pouch that velcros down. Very easy to get in and out, and you do NOT have to remove the strings to do it. Yeehaw!

My only real complaint about it is the gig bag that comes with it. Not because I think it's of extremely poor quality (it's fine, IMO), but it's a very loose fit. I'd have thought one that "fit like a glove" would've made much more sense for a guitar this small.

The finish is called their RT (real tough?) finish. It's textured, like a very very coarse sandpaper. Should handle scrapes very well. I think Willie's next guitar should be made of this stuff.

Danny had a "natural finish" in another guitar shape . . . I didn't particularly care for that . . you can see where the internal bracing is. Kinda interesting pattern, though.

I might've gone for the charcoal, but he had sold it this morning when I was driving up there. So, I opted for the wine color. I convinced myself that it was "warmer" than the charcoal.

If you're looking for a small travel guitar that can "take a licking, and keep on ticking" and sounds PHENOMENAL (and not just for a guitar that small, either), look no further . . . . give Danny a call and order one!

I give this guitar a huge

3rd_harmonic · #2 03-21-2008, 06:10 PM

i've looked everywhere for a picture.

got any?

Here is the picture of the Cargo!

shadowboxer · #3 03-21-2008, 06:24 PM

Here is a link to Artisan's page on the Cargo - you can see it there:
https://www.artisanguitars.com/sess/...=28CA-CARGO=29

leeasam · #4 03-21-2008, 06:31 PM

I am looking towards one of these too. The RT stands for ROAD TOUGH. the pickup is a fishman matrix VT. it is a new set up with a volume and tone knob. Fishman is the one that needs to fix the marking issue.

I have heard a sound clip of these and they sound very impressive. I have yet to hear a small guitar come close to these. For that matter not many FULL SIZED guitars sound as nice either!

how does it seem to intonate. I know the Baby taylors were aw-full. Especially doing the open and 12th fret. not even close!

SongwriterFan · #5 03-21-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeasam

I have heard a sound clip of these and they sound very impressive. I have yet to hear a small guitar come close to these. For that matter not many FULL SIZED guitars sound as nice either!

There should be videos up soon at AcousticProMusician.com of ALL the guitars that Danny had in stock the last few days. He had a guitarist there play all of them while he videod. So, you'll get to actually SEE the guitar being played while listening to it. I assume that the Cargos will be in this collection.

Quote:

how does it seem to intonate. I know the Baby taylors were aw-full. Especially doing the open and 12th fret. not even close!

I didn't notice any issues, but then I'm probably not the right person to ask about that.

GRW3 · #6 03-21-2008, 08:15 PM

See pictures and my review in this thread:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=120426

mhs · #7 03-21-2008, 08:27 PM

Reading this forum is like teasing a recovering addict with crack. I just started posting here a week or so back, and I had no desire whatsoever to own another guitar. I'm not a collector, and I only like to play the things. When people ask me details about what kind of guitar I was playing on stage 5 minutes ago, I have no idea and I don't care. I could tell them the brand, that's about it. (Ok, that hasn't yet changed)

Now I want one of these Cargo guitars. I want it bad. Do I need it? I have no idea. I'm not thinking straight. A week ago I could have figured out if I actually had some reason to get one, but not anymore. All of you guitaraholics have turned me into the consummate consumer.

And I have this horrible feeling it'll only get worse when, I mean if, I mean when, I get, or think about getting, the Cargo. The only good news is that its nearly impossible to get one.

syne7 · #8 03-21-2008, 09:07 PM

I have that itch as well.

Acousticado · #9 03-21-2008, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

I took a trip to the outskirts of Lufkin, TX today (almost a 2-hr drive) to see Danny Brevard of AcousticProMusician.com and test-drive the new Composite Acoustics Cargo guitar (the little travel guitar that everybody's talking about).

To make a long story short, I ended up coming home with one . . . the sound coming out of that little box is stunning. The Baby Taylor and Little Martin can't BEGIN to compare to this thing in terms of tone. And the BASS coming out of it was particularly impressive for a guitar this small.

The scale is quite short (I believe it's 22.5"), so it could feel a little cramped for those who prefer longer scales. But the tone doesn't seem to suffer at ALL from the short sale.

I know people have asked what kinds of strings it can handle. I believe it comes with medium/lights, but Danny said it could handle anything you wanted to put on it.

Danny only had two in stock . . a charcoal, and wine. Both had electronics. He has others on order (all with electronics), but he can certainly order it for you without electronics if that's what you want.

The electronics sounded decent, and are relatively simple. Just inside the off-center sound hole are two knobs . . one controls volume, and the other "tone" (though neither are labelled, and no marks for knowing when it's centered, either . . something they should fix, IMO).

The battery pack is also just inside the sound hole, in a little pouch that velcros down. Very easy to get in and out, and you do NOT have to remove the strings to do it. Yeehaw!

My only real complaint about it is the gig bag that comes with it. Not because I think it's of extremely poor quality (it's fine, IMO), but it's a very loose fit. I'd have thought one that "fit like a glove" would've made much more sense for a guitar this small.

The finish is called their RT (real tough?) finish. It's textured, like a very very coarse sandpaper. Should handle scrapes very well. I think Willie's next guitar should be made of this stuff.

Danny had a "natural finish" in another guitar shape . . . I didn't particularly care for that . . you can see where the internal bracing is. Kinda interesting pattern, though.

I might've gone for the charcoal, but he had sold it this morning when I was driving up there. So, I opted for the wine color. I convinced myself that it was "warmer" than the charcoal.

If you're looking for a small travel guitar that can "take a licking, and keep on ticking" and sounds PHENOMENAL (and not just for a guitar that small, either), look no further . . . . give Danny a call and order one!

I give this guitar a huge

Hi SongwriterFan! I just read your post about the CA Cargo and thought I'd write to let you know that I'm the guy that bought the charcoal Cargo early this morning, sight unseen based on discussions/reviews at the AGF. I posted yesterday here that my Baby Taylor got accidently crushed while vacationing in Sarasota from Canada, and I hoped to find and buy a Cargo before returning home to replace it since I didn't want to buiy another. Fitness1 quickly put me on to Danny and the charcoal Cargo is on its way to me. I seriously thought about buying the wine one, but the charcoal is all I'd seen in online pics and I quite liked the 'stealth' appearance (at least it looks that way to me).

Anyhow, I real glad to read your glowing report and I'm excited to receive mine.

I really hope you enjoy yours!

PTL · #10 03-22-2008, 12:17 AM

Now, we need someone to compare this to that little Santa Cruz....

I REALLY wish they made the Cargo with a full scale length neck. Maybe I can chop off a full sized neck and epoxy it to the Cargo....

PTL

mhs · #11 03-22-2008, 06:47 AM

How do you suspect you could change the pickup type with the sound hole where it is? I'm not sure I could get a plumber's snake in there, much less my hand.

I haven't heard one but I'm pretty sure about how little I like piezo-based systems.

(Perhaps the same question applies to any offset-sound hole guitar, like McPherson, and the lot).

SongwriterFan · #12 03-22-2008, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acousticado

Hi SongwriterFan! I just read your post about the CA Cargo and thought I'd write to let you know that I'm the guy that bought the charcoal Cargo early this morning, sight unseen based on discussions/reviews at the AGF. I posted yesterday here that my Baby Taylor got accidently crushed while vacationing in Sarasota from Canada, and I hoped to find and buy a Cargo before returning home to replace it since I didn't want to buiy another. Fitness1 quickly put me on to Danny and the charcoal Cargo is on its way to me. I seriously thought about buying the wine one, but the charcoal is all I'd seen in online pics and I quite liked the 'stealth' appearance (at least it looks that way to me).

I kinda suspected it was you.

Oh, yours sounds great, too. Though like I said, I think I convinced myself that the wine has a warmer sound.

SongwriterFan · #13 03-22-2008, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papol

How do you suspect you could change the pickup type with the sound hole where it is? I'm not sure I could get a plumber's snake in there, much less my hand.

*I* wouldn't want to try it, that's for sure.

Makes me wonder . . . do they install these thigns BEFORE or AFTER the top is put on?

syne7 · #14 03-25-2008, 10:43 AM

So I found one and it's in route.

I got mine from Ron Sutton, in Fredricksburg, TX at Hill Country Music. Great guys easy to work with.

fbg_tx · #15 03-25-2008, 11:29 AM

I manage Hill Country Music in Fredericksburg Texas. I am a huge fan of CA Guitars. I became a dealer about 4 years ago and have owned a Crown Of Thorns Legacy, X-Performer, Legacy Performer, GX-Performer COT, and will soon own a Cargo. I had 2 Cargo's in stock but sold a Red one yesterday and a Green one to Jason this morning. All I have left is one lone GX-Player. I played the Cargo proto-type at the summer NAMM show in Austin and was blown away by the sound it produced. I kept trying to get them to sell me that one but they wouldn't. I have 5 more on order and was told they will be here end of April or first of May. They told me they have hundreds on order and are making them as fast as they can. I would recommend them highly .... all CA's for that matter.