duluthdan Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 retired with too much time on my hands. Great sunny weather here in the Rockies even in winter. I love to play outside on my deck, and usually subject the J-45 TV to the task. Because of the intense sun, and the dark finish, the guitar rarely seems to get at all cold. But, I feel I am courting disaster. Anyone here have suggestions for a composite guitar that I can worry less about? Love short-scale, long scale is acceptable, but no cut-aways. They just play with my mind. Play exclusively with my fingers - I cannot reliably hold on to a pick of any sort. Would love to pickup a composite with a robust throaty sound iike I get out of my Gibsons. The only composites I have played were a couple of dread sized Rainsongs, and they sounded a bit septic to me. Looking for suggestions - price below $1,500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Dan, You might be able to find a used Rainsong for that price or a bit lower. Carbon Fiber guitars are pretty much impervious to the heat and cold. Wouldn't leave one in a freezer overnight or get one way-too-close to a fire, but in most situations they should be fine. Had a Rainsong WS1000 several years ago. Very loud guitar. Crystal clear tone. My only issue was that it simply wasn't the tone of a wood guitar. Pretty much a matter of individual taste, but it was just too bright for me. Had one "real" guitar picker tell me it was the most clear acoustic sound he'd heard. If the tone is something you will like or can live with, I imagine most any of the carbon fiber guitars would work for you. I'm not familiar with the other brands, but have also heard good things about Cargill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Although in a different clime, I rarely feel the weather is ideal to take my Gibson's on the back porch. I'm concerned with changes in temp and humidity, obviously - but when those look to be very close to ideal (aka what I have in the music room), I will venture out for awhile. The only time I have shade on the porch and temperate weather is for the one week we call Fall and the one week we call Spring. Sunshine on my shoulders is ok - but not on my Gibby's shoulders. It really heats the part of the guitar it's hitting, and I"m concerned with a 20 or 30 degree DIFFERENCE between the hot, dark face and the cool back and the lower side. To answer your question - I have no answer! I'm not aware of any carbon fibers that sound like a Gibson. Maybe if you put a sock in it !? A rattlesnake rattle? I'd consider looking for a beater. A used Masterbuilt for example. No, not a Gibson sound - but much closer than a Rain Song will ever be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Dan, I'm not that far away from you so I know what you mean about the sun. I used to play a lot more outside than I do now as it gets noisier than it used to (I can tell you from experience that drone noise is NOT a good thing). I was never that concerned nor found any evidence of UV damage on any of my guitars, whether natural finish or sunburst. What I did discover is that the darker, sunburst finish got hot to the touch if I faced directly into the sun. Hot enough for me to be concerned about it. So, I would change my chair's angle so the sun was striking more obliquely and this made a really noticeable difference. But, you know as well as I that more than the guitar is getting cooked by that much solar radiation and it's a good idea to keep changing which parts of your skin is getting torched too, moving around about every fifteen minutes. I also found that my natural finished guitars stay way cooler than the sunbursts do when it comes to direct exposure so my J-50 and J-185 were the way to go in Spring and Fall when the sun comes at you from a lower angle. As for carbon fiber, years ago I bought a Composite Acoustics Cargo model for a Grand Canyon trip and, at first, I was very impressed with its tone. It even had so much bass response for its size I was kind of blown away. But the more I played it the more I felt the bass was too prominent and unbalanced and shortly thereafter I just thought the whole guitar was too sterile so I sold it and have never regretted doing so. I think that little guitar was around $900 and for around $300 you can get a pretty good Recording King, or the like, and play wood and not worry about damage so much. But I just play what I've got and figure that when my skin has had enough my guitar has too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mz-s Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 An Ovation would be an option - especially an Applause because they typically have laminate tops. They sound a little plasticky (I own an Applause and actually love it, though the nut is a little narrow for me so I can't play it long), but probably not as bad as a Rainsong. Another option would be a Martin X-series guitar - they even make a model with an HPL top, stratabond neck and Richlite fingerboard - no real wood in the guitar means less movement with temperature/humidity swings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances50 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I have a Rainsong and I love it. It's perfect for me when I have to take a guitar out in extremely cold/hot weather or if it's raining. Honestly, I can't really tell a lot of difference between the Rainsong and some of my acoustics although I'm sure other guitar techies will argue the point. You might want to check out the carbon fiber section on the acousticguitarforum.com to discuss all your carbon fiber options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Not sure you're going to get close to a Gibson sound out of a composite guitar. The only one I have is a carbon-fiber Composite Acoustics Cargo, which is small body, very short scale (about 23" by measurement), cutaway, with a top ported on one side of the treble bout. It's a loud little sucker, and does have a 1 3/4 nut", so it plays quite well, and would hold its own just fine playing with other folks on the porch or around a campfire. Since I use Elixir Nano lights on it(and change them regularly, like once every four years ), it sounds nothing like a Gibson. Not bad, but a bit more Taylor-like than anything else: a bit chimey and slightly metallic, but with really good note separation. It's my main travel guitar (still have a near-pristine steel-string Martin Backpacker sitting in a closet, if anyone is interested), and also spends three months every summer with me on our boat in Maine. In short, it's great for its intended purpose. It has a pickup, and cost me about $900 or so second-hand (but apparently unused). Did I say it sounds nothing like a Gibson? It's also not exactly a thing of conventional beauty. Maybe one of the full-size composite guitars, like a Rainsong, would come closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Found a Martin DX1R- Spruce top, High Pressure Laminate back and sides (HPL) in a pile of guitar cases. Forgot that this one was around - yep, gonna be my winter deck guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Those composite guitars have a unique sound.. I tried a rainsong.. it was different but still neat.. Ovations are different.. for some reason , I just never liked the feel of those.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I have a RainSong and like it. There is a big difference in sound between the shallow bodies and deep bodies. The deeper bodies have a lot nicer sound. They work well for campingand and outdoor weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Good luck Dan... You are truly remarkable. Guitars are so important to my life. Rock on and smile fierce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Found a Martin DX1R- Spruce top, High Pressure Laminate back and sides (HPL) in a pile of guitar cases. Forgot that this one was around - yep, gonna be my winter deck guitar. Unbelievable! Best comment of 2017, so far Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Found a Martin DX1R- Spruce top, High Pressure Laminate back and sides (HPL) in a pile of guitar cases. Forgot that this one was around - yep, gonna be my winter deck guitar. So, is this like a 'New Guitar Day - Part 2"? Pictures or it didn't happen! (I get excited if I find an old, forgotten capo in one of my guitar cases. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 So, is this like a 'New Guitar Day - Part 2"? Pictures or it didn't happen! (I get excited if I find an old, forgotten capo in one of my guitar cases. ) Smile Fierce !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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