Is anyone playing CA GUITARS??

[3Dfan]

Is anyone else here playing CA Guitars, aka composite acoustics?

I have two, a Legacy Aura(dreadnaught) and and X-Standard and I love them. These guitars really sound like wood even though they're made of graphite!

Is anyone else playing them? Recording with them?? Let me know what you think?

I also just bought a Emerald Guitars 12 string acoustic from Ireland. It is graphite also but has a nice warm tone.

Is anyone else playing graphite guitars??

[Guitarzan]

not here, post some pics of those. we want to see.

[3Dfan]

Here is a link to check them out for yourselves. www.caguitars.com

I'm not sure how to post pics.

There are some sound clips at their site also so you can hear the different models.

[Guitarzan]

sounds interesting. i will check it out.

[Scott Fraser]

I don't know, seems too much like an Ovation to me, & that's not a compliment.

But I'd love to be pleasantly surprised.

 

Scott Fraser

[3Dfan]

Believe me, it's nothing like an Ovation.

Ovations have a back that is basically a plastic material. Not incredibly durable. Also with a lot of ovations over time the top changes slightly (like any wooden guitar) from temperature and humididy, etc. and the plastic back does not change with temp and humidity so the tops end up cracking and splitting. Ovations are notorious for this. Also, Ovations high end guitars sound fantastic unplugged but the normal priced guitars don't.

The CA's are entirely carbon graphite which is stronger by weight than steel but it won't change with temperature and humidity. Therefor a CA will last basically forever w/o necessary repairs and adjustments and the tone will always be there too. The CA's are braced on the inside like a Martin but it's not for strength since the Carbon graphite is so strong. CA's are braced to enhance the tone. By bracing the inside of the top they can make the graphite guitar sound like a wooden Martin.

The reason I know all of this is because before I bought my first CA I researched the company thoroughly and then spoke to several dealers. I then bought my Legacy sight unseen. When it arrived I was very pleased with it. I then bought the X about a year later. I can honestly say that after owning a Composite Acoustic I have no interest in buying a wood guitar again.

[fantasticsound]

I've only played a few CA's. Very nice guitars and yes, NOTHING like an Ovation.

 

The first two I played belonged to members of Tim McGraw's band when I spent a week working his rehearsals. (The company I work for created his dressing room, the band's and an understage green room in 2003.) I spent a good bit of time talking to the guitar techs and they let me check out the CA's. On the whole I like them better than Rainsong Guitars, but the Rainsongs are damn good, too.

 

The others I played were at Gruhn Guitar. Wonderful instruments but I didn't have time to really check them out. There was a full store, too, so it was difficult to get a good listen.

 

Beautiful. Functional. Great sound.

 

As for posting pics of yours..

 

If you have digital pics of them, simply upload them to www.putfile.com or www.imageshack.com or www.photobucket.com . Any of them will host your pics for free. Then you simply type followed%20by%20the%20pic. That's all there is to it. If you used the full reply form, you can forget typing the tags and simply hit the http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/image.gif button and paste the pic address in the box when prompted.

[Scott Fraser]

Great. Glad to hear the CA is NOT following in the footsteps of Ovation. Still, Ovation has left a semi-permanent bad taste in the mouth for non-wood guitar bodies, & I think it will take time for CA to overcome the preceding bad reputation. One of the violinists I tour with keeps saying that graphite violins are nearly as good as wood, & getting better all the time. So, we'll see.

 

Scott Fraser

[fantasticsound]

Yeah, Scott.

 

CA claims to contour their sound by specific layering of the syntheitic material. These are not inexpensive instruments. The biggest advantage of synthetics is they don't change regardless of temperature or humidity. The ultimate touring acoustic. Always sounds the same. Now if only we could control our reaction to temperature, humidity and our moods, then the sound would really be consistant.

[Scott Fraser]

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As long as the sound that doesn't change with temperature & humidity is good, that's a very good thing. Otherwise, highly consistent crap is not worth striving for.

 

Scott Fraser

[Bluesape]

Didn't Rainsong already come out with this technology? Or are they merged with CA?

[3Dfan]

Rainsong was making graphite guitars first, I think but I really don't think that Rainsong and CA are comparable other than they are graphite. CA's really sound like nice wooden guitars. If I remember correctly, the company founder, Ellis Seal, worked for NASA using composite materials to make parts for space shuttles and he started working with these same materials to make guitars. I think he first just made a top for an alvarez guitar and got it to sound really good and then decided to make an entire guitar out of the carbon graphite.

Like I said, I really studied up on these guitars before I bought my first one.

I would love to have one of the Bluegrass performers which have the enhanced traditional voice to compare it to my vintage voiced Legacy.

 

Did you get a chance to compare the different voicings of the different models?

I think they renamed models now that they have their new facilities.

I think that once the word gets out about CA Guitars they will be one of the best selling American made guitars around.

[3Dfan]

Check out this link, if it works.

www.caguitars.com/testimonials.html

 

If the link works it is a testimonial about a CA Guitar that survived hurricane Katrina. This guy found his guitar outside his house under his van full of mud after the water receded. He had to replace the tuners and strings and clean the guitar but it survived and plays just like before. That's pretty awesome!

[fantasticsound]

And just what you'd expect.

 

I don't know who was first (and I don't care, either), but Rainsong makes some very woody sounding instruments. I liked the grand auditorium style but disliked the dreadnaught, but that was my personal taste, not the quality of the dreadnaught or its' sound.

 

I played several dreadnaught CA's and the X. I'd love to get my hands on that one, if only for the playability of the neck/body joint.

[A String]

I like it. Since Ovation, I've been a little weary of any guitar that has stuff, other then wood, for a building material, but this looks and sounds great...

[3Dfan]

I have the X and it is a really nice guitar. It has a amazing sound for it's size. I can mic it just like a dreadnaught and get a really nice acoustic guitar track.

I had a Rainsong 12 string and while it was a really nice guitar and great playability, I didn't like it's tone when compared with my CA's. Maybe a Rainsong 6 string would be different.

[Scott Fraser]

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What kind of price range?

 

Scott Fraser

[3Dfan]

I'm not sure about prices since they've redone their facilities. They offer several different models with different options. A Legacy dreadnaught is about $1400.00 and with the Fishman Aura onboard about $2100. The X-Standard is about $2100.00 with the LR BAGGS dual system with an I-beam and undersaddle combo.

 

I think some of the basic models are not as much $$$ as I paid though.

[3Dfan]

Will snapfish work to host pics of my guitars??

[Quendi]

Good morning fellow musicians. I was just wanting some advice from some people who obviously have some experience w/ CA guitars. I'm an avid fan of Martins personally, as I own a few, and recently stumbled across a CA legacy. I found the tone to be incredibly full and resonant, and it wasn't even wood o_0. I was wondering, you X standard owners... is the guitar as thin as some pics that I've seen indicate? I've never seen one w/ my own eyes. Is it a very loud, or subtle guitar? Any and all opinions on the guitar would be greatly appreciated as this particular model seems to be the guitar I have my eyes on most keenly at the moment. Thank you.

[3Dfan]

I own an X-Standard and I love it. Believe it or not it's volume is equal to a lot of dreadnaughts. It's not as loud as my Legacy though. The guitar is contoured so it is thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. The X does not sound thin at all. It is really comfortable to hold and play and has great volume. It doesn't have as much in the low end as my Legacy dreadnaught but it has a nice, warm and balanced tone.

I've actually recorded a track with my Legacy and then recorded the same track with the X and it is hard to tell which is which.

As far as electronics go I have the LR Baggs I-mix system with the I-Beam and undersaddle combo on my X. It is a really nice sounding pickup system.

[Quendi]

Thank you very much for your help 3Dfan. Info like that is exactly what I needed to hear. Perhaps just another question or two if I may... how is the shape of the neck of the X? Fairly wide, or are the strings close together? And I saw a pick of the electronics onboard... is there only a bass and treble control? Thanks very much for your time.

[3Dfan]

The neck of the X has a nut width of 1 11/16". The neck radius is 14". It is really comfortable to play. If I'm not mistaken the neck size is a little different on the new models from the new production facility. I think the changes to the nut width make it easier to play for finger style. The X is really easy to play and comfortable to hold.

The electronis you probably saw on the edge of the sound hole are for volume and to blend between the I-beam and undersaddle element pickup. They are basically two small turn wheels on the edge of the the top of the soundhole. But inside the guitar is a REALLY NICE iMix preamp mounted to the back of the inside of the guitar. It has controls for bass, mids and treble. You basically set the eq using a small screw driver and then control the volume and blend of the two pickups with the easy access wheels at the edge of the soundhole.

The EQ controls are really easy to access also. If you look at www.lrbaggs.com you will probably see the iMix preamp. Don't be afraid to call the phone number from the CA GUITARS website and ask questions. Believe me I ask a lot of questions before purchasing my CA's.