In the spirit of the season...

[Captain Jim]

I truly enjoy this Carbon Fiber sub-forum. Of course, I like the guitars, but it is the people who make this place special. The discussions are open and frank, but generally in a friendly manner. This place was very welcoming to me when I first became CF curious. I think most of us recognize where we are in our "guitar journeys" when someone asks a question. Maybe because you don't find CF guitars in every guitar shop, we bond together here in our understanding.

We each bring a different level of enthusiasm. For some the guitar is just an instrument, and if it is humidity impervious, that is one less thing to have to think about. For others, the guitars are a piece of playable art. Or, an extension of how we feel about ourselves. A willingness to share the music that is inside us.

I started playing guitar at age 11. I was enthusiastic then and remain so. There have been a few times over those years where it was about the guitar, but mostly it is about the music. (Hey, I played an Ovation for 14 years and was perfectly happy with it!) I started riding motorcycles at age 14. "Why is that pertinent?" you're asking. Thanks for asking; I'll tell you: over the years, I have owned more motorcycles than guitars. There are a lot of enthusiastic bike owners out there, and I see a lot of not always good-natured behavior between owners of the different brands. I always thought that was just plain stupid. In an activity that the general public sees as fool-hardy and dangerous, fragmenting enthusiasts by brand is counter-productive to the sport and bringing new people into the activity.

One of the things I really appreciate about this sub-forum is there is generally no "brand bashing." It was a long time ago that I was in junior high school and left that "Chevy vs Ford" thing behind. There are some truly fine carbon fiber guitars being made - styles, sounds, looks, and comfort for any guitar enthusiast. For those of us who play, it isn't about which manufacturer makes the most, who's been making them the longest, who makes the most different styles, but rather about which guitar(s) best fits our desires. What works best for me may not be right for you; the only "right or wrong" is a personal choice and shouldn't affect anyone else.

That all said, I don't see where this sub-forum is a "fan club" for any brand. Or, how discussion of which brand gets the most posts should in any way affect how each of us feels about our particular choice. I don't make the rules here, but it seems that if you want more people to talk about your brand choice, encourage other owners to participate here. If you make a post and don't get a lot of responses, it will move down the page and go into that "2nd page and further" area that sees even less activity.

Or, enjoy the heck out of your guitar and just read the posts/threads that interest you. Or, enjoy the heck out of your guitar and spend less time on-line and more time playing.

I appreciate it when we all "play nice" regardless of the time of the year.

Happy Holidays, CF friends, and my thanks to JR and the mods here for giving us a pleasant place to discuss our guitar passion.

Jim

Jim;

Thank you for the season's greetings. This is the only forum that I actively participate in and I do so for the people as much as for the information. We manage to have differences of opinion without becoming rude, we come from a diverse body of occupations and geographic locations, and we all seem to have a sense of humor--those are all good things.

We are in good company.

[Earl49]

I can relate to a couple of those statements, Jim. When we moved to Alaska, we found most everyone to be very open and friendly, in large part because we were all in the same boat - far from America and far from home and family. We had each other. Similarly, because CF guitars are not that common, we share our experiences and discussions here. I'm a fan of composite instruments, regardless of the headstock label. At the moment I may be more enthusiastic about one builder in particular, but they all have a welcome place here in the Carbon Fiber room, and in my home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

[Mark L]

I’ve enjoyed the exchange of information and experience pertaining to CF instruments. Learned a lot, bought a few! Enjoying it all.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays.

[kramster]

I am starting to like it here and maybe coming out of my shyness some.

[Danz567]

This truly is a great forum. Very friendly and very informative. I found this place while trying to get information about carbon fiber guitars. I thought I might want one but was undecided. I now am the very proud owner of an Emerald X20 which I love more and more each time I pick it up. Thank you to all of you, for it was all your informative posts that helped me decide what I wanted and to just go ahead and do it and make the move to carbon fiber.
Merry Christmas to all, and may everyone enjoy a very Happy New Year.

Dan

[Ludere]

Originally Posted by kramster

I am starting to like it here and maybe coming out of my shyness some.

... 4600+ posts later ...



Happy Holidays to all !

~ Paul

...

[kramster]

[QUOTE=Ludere;5925432]... 4600+ posts later ...


...[/QUOT]

Well yes there is that.... maybe I am a little slow on some uptakes

[wickedwahine]

I want to thank you all for being so welcoming to a (carbon fiber) newbie like me. Your patience and advice has been much appreciated on this journey.

As to the brand loyalty issue, I'm a moderator over on the Ukulele Underground forum. There are three big Hawaiian koa wood ukulele manufacturers (known as the "Big 3s" or "the Ks")...Kamaka, KoAloha and Kanilea. Each of them has their hard-core defenders. I've owned instruments from each, and they all have their attributes and in some ways, each is better than the other two, but I wouldn't argue that one is "the best." Just whatever is the best for the individual. I certainly have my own opinions on how I would rank them - having dealt in person with the owners of each of the companies and owned their instruments. But I don't know if it is the aloha spirit or what, but usually, while they each have their own "fanboy" or "fangirl" segments, things stay pretty mellow.

Still, I get where it can seem like you want to defend the brand you like, after all, if nothing else, it validates your own choices. But having been a member of computer forums, car forums, music forums, etc. where sniping has happened, I would hate to see this devolve into a place of "mine is better than yours." I'm just happy to have found the brand for me, and happy for everyone else if they have as well, whether it is the same or a different choice.

[Barb1]

I also enjoy reading the daily postings on this forum. You are all generous in your help to others and for the most part I find the posts full of information and fun. I eat breakfast with you all every day:-)

As far as CF brands, I have at least one of most of them (missing Leviora and Journey) and enjoy them all even though I tend to favor my Savoy as I have said before. It comes down to the fact that what we like is subjective and at the price point of CF guitars all of them are good guitars. We just like what we like at the time and as our hearing changes with age we either remain liking what we started with or gravitate to another guitar/manufacturer. It is all good!

I wish you all a happy, healthy and musical 2019!
Barb

[jdinco]

You folks sum it all up very well, no need for me to add more.
But I do want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[zeeway]

This part of AGF is the reason that an Emerald is in my hands and in my heart ( wow, that sounds a bit corny...). The helpfulness of this subset of the forum helped me in my quest, and I appreciate it.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all...good playing.

[new2guitar_eh]

The only forum I read most days, all due to the great participants who partake here.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. If you are not someone who celebrates Christmas, then take these wishes in the spirit of a joyous season!

[GuitarLuva]

Hey wait just a minute here this forum ended up costing me lots of money! Okay I'm just kidding. I never was much of a forum or social media person but I often ended up getting some sort of information from this forum over the years. So I finally bit the bullet a few months ago and signed up thinking that it only makes sense to try and help people in return for all the help that I have received.

I've been playing guitar for over 25 years so I do have some knowledge and experience to offer. About 2 years ago I didn't even realize carbon fiber guitars existed but when I found out I began trying them but wasn't really impressed by the ones I tried (not going to mention which ones here). It wasn't until I stumbled upon that certain maker most of us love and am now the proud owner of an X30 and have a custom X20 on order. Harsh climate + carbon fiber guitars = one happy camper!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all

[btbliatout]

I'm not a super poster by any means, but I've really appreciated the community here. I'm very young in my guitar journey (not quite 2 years in), but super enthusiastic about it (I get about 20 hours in each week). My guitar teacher is the only person in my real life circles who is as passionate about it as I am, so having you fine folk here who share my passion is very...connecting :-).

I'm very glad my last guitar was a carbon fiber one, which led me here. Whether I post much or not, I check this forum every day. It is a positive place, and I thank everyone who participates for making it so.

Happy holidays everyone! Keep up with the sharing of knowledge so young students like me (well...I'm in my mid 30's, but you know what I mean!) can mooch off of your hard-earned wisdom. Especially you nylon string users, because classical is my jam, and an Emerald X20 Nylon is my next instrument :-)