Opinion please Composite Acouistic GX Wide neck

rmsstrider · #1 03-07-2017, 08:17 AM

I am considering buying this guitar soon. I cant find a lot of reviews on line and was hoping someone here might chime in.

jonfields45 · #2 03-07-2017, 10:45 AM

I owned one of the last GXs made by the original CA company, which I think today is known as a wide neck. It is a more conventional "wood" sounding guitar than my current RainSong and I thought not quite as loud as the best wooden guitars (my RainSong I think is quite competitive for volume and I like its tone maybe better than wood at this point). The neck is quite thin front to back on the GX (the "N" neck on my RainSong is quite chunky and took some time to get used to after playing a T5z for 3 years). I really like stainless frets and wish they were a more widely available option on all new guitars. The GX projects nicely to the player and the audience and it has the ultimate cut-away if your are used to an electric. It is comfortable to play and balances well. Unlike a RainSong made from pre-impregnated with epoxy CF fabric, it is a bit heavier but in the range of a rosewood equivalent. I wish I had kept it...

rmsstrider · #3 03-07-2017, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I owned one of the last GXs made by the original CA company, which I think today is known as a wide neck. It is a more conventional "wood" sounding guitar than my current RainSong and I thought not quite as loud as the best wooden guitars (my RainSong I think is quite competitive for volume and I like its tone maybe better than wood at this point). The neck is quite thin front to back on the GX (the "N" neck on my RainSong is quite chunky and took some time to get used to after playing a T5z for 3 years). I really like stainless frets and wish they were a more widely available option on all new guitars. The GX projects nicely to the player and the audience and it has the ultimate cut-away if your are used to an electric. It is comfortable to play and balances well. Unlike a RainSong made from pre-impregnated with epoxy CF fabric, it is a bit heavier but in the range of a rosewood equivalent. I wish I had kept it...

Thanks, I did get a chance to play one the other day against a RainSong. And I agree that the CA was a bit heavier and more woody sounding. The current neck on the GX seems chunky to me, but I like it. The RainSong was also great. Coming from the Martin sound camp, I lean toward the CA GX tone. The RainSong is really great though. I believe it was a WS1000N2.

Chipotle · #4 03-07-2017, 11:21 AM

I just got a wide-neck GX. I would say it's more like a Taylor neck--more of a shallow C. I wouldn't call it chunky at all. Compared to my HD-28, the Martin definitely has a more pronounced V-ish shape than the GX. THe GX neck is very easy to play fingerstyle on, yet I can still wrap my thumb if I need to.

I bought the Composite Acoustics because it had a "woodier" tone. If you listen, it still has a bit of that "piano-like" quality compared to a wooden guitar, but not so much as to really stand out unless you're comparing them directly. Even with that "piano" ring and the sustain, it's not muddy; it's even a bit drier sounding than my spruce/rosewood HD-28. Good bass but not boomy, and clear in the midrange and highs.

Sounds like I'm just repeating the last couple posters, so I guess we concur. I'm really pleased with the playability and tone.

rmsstrider · #5 03-07-2017, 11:30 AM

Thanks Chipotle, I felt that the neck felt good to me, maybe I used the wrong term. I was comparing it against my 000-18 with Modified low oval and PA taper.

studioman001 · #6 03-07-2017, 03:15 PM

I prefer the tone of the GX and the OX over the Legacy which is interesting as I'm usually a firm dreadnought guy... I owned the Peavey CA GXI with the Aura system and that guitar sounded great;even for direct recording! To me, it really feels bulletproof. On my Rainsongs and other CAs I've owned, the tops feeling so thin really made me worry;even though that is just a holdover from more fragile wooden instruments... I felt better with the thicker gx top or my Emerald T20 or X20 for example although I think it would be quite difficult to really damage any of these instruments without doing something catastrophic!

tdq · #7 03-07-2017, 05:52 PM

I have a CA GX, again one of the last of the pre-peavey ones so it's the wide neck. It is very heavy for a CF guitar - the Rainsongs are much lighter - but that's not an issue for me. I have a steel resonator too and it's much heavier! It's very comfortable to play and the lack of a heel plus the cutaway gives you easy access to the upper frets, if needed. I've never had any issues maintenance wise, I've had it some years now and although it's got a few minor nicks and scratches and had some nasty knocks it's still in "excellent" condition, although perhaps not "mint". Tone wise, it is much less "jangly" than the Rainsongs. I did find I had to try a variety of strings before I was happy with the sound, for me 80/20s made all the difference.

rmsstrider · #8 03-07-2017, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdq

I have a CA GX, again one of the last of the pre-peavey ones so it's the wide neck. It is very heavy for a CF guitar - the Rainsongs are much lighter - but that's not an issue for me. I have a steel resonator too and it's much heavier! It's very comfortable to play and the lack of a heel plus the cutaway gives you easy access to the upper frets, if needed. I've never had any issues maintenance wise, I've had it some years now and although it's got a few minor nicks and scratches and had some nasty knocks it's still in "excellent" condition, although perhaps not "mint". Tone wise, it is much less "jangly" than the Rainsongs. I did find I had to try a variety of strings before I was happy with the sound, for me 80/20s made all the difference.

Good to know thanks , I hope to have mine in 2-3 weeks. Getting excited.

Chipotle · #9 03-08-2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdq

I did find I had to try a variety of strings before I was happy with the sound, for me 80/20s made all the difference.

Agree with the string change. I'm not fond of the stock Elixirs (on any guitar) and felt it sounded better with regular PB strings--even more so with medium (.13-.56) strings than lights. YMMV, of course.

slewis · #10 03-08-2017, 06:00 PM

I've been really really happy with my CA GX "wide neck" -- gigging with it steadily for the last four years or so, and it's my living-room guitar too. Great pickup in it (Fishman) and I've gotten more than one very impressed response from soundmen as well at a few larger events. Other than maybe showing fingerprints pretty easily, I have zero complaints!

rmsstrider · #11 03-08-2017, 08:05 PM

Thanks all for responding. In other threads I explained that I live on a boat and am selling off my beloved Martins as the constant worry about temp and humidity has me constantly running heat or ac or a humidifier or a dehumidifier, constantly monitoring humid packs and meters. I may regret giving up my wood guitars, but I am hoping this guitar will meet my needs.

Kalani · #12 03-09-2017, 05:16 PM

I LOVE my CA GX! It doesn't 'sing' like my Martin 000C-16RGTE but it's a lot louder acoustically, projects better and has a purity of tone that sounds soo good. I was thinking about selling it since I mostly use the Martin for gigs but I took it to a wedding, plugged it directly into a small mixer and the sound was pure and clean---bliss! So I'm keeping it! I think it's a "wide neck" (1 3/4"); I had to measure it to make sure as the neck is so comfy that I thought it might be 1 11/16"!

It would be the perfect boat guitar---no worries!