Rainsong guitars - any experience?

[hamerhead]

I fell in love with a carbon fiber acoustic guitar (namely a small-bodied McPherson Touring) and the huge piano-like tone, and it got me wondering about the Rainsong A-WS1000 which claims to have an even more piano-like tone.

Have you tried one?

[RobB]

I’ve demoed the standard, dreadnaught Rainsong. It had full electronics (UST/mic) and a cutaway. It sounded nice, and the electric sound was acceptable. 

The upsides of graphite may be worth looking into. Stable and impervious to seasonal climates. Durable/roadworthy. If you find one that sounds great, you’re set. 

Downside is it won’t improve with age, and will sound as good as the day you purchased. Come to think of it, that may be an upside for some. 

[Dutchman]

I've played a carbon top with a walnut neck Adamas since 1985. I compared it to every high Dollar spruce top made and it's held it's own and blown many away. Hand made right alongside Hamers in New Hartford by 1 master luthier. It's a cannon with an incredible neck. If I where to buy a new acoustic guitar it would be a McPherson tho. I dang near did buy one from WestWood music in LA a couple years ago. Fantastic guitars!!!!

Edited May 10 by Dutchman

[specialk]

Wowee:

https://mcphersonguitars.com

[Jimbilly]

I flipped one too long ago to remember much other than 'this is really cool!'.  Do I remember correctly that there's minimal to no bracing inside?, which should allow it to resonate 'bigger'?   I suppose you might want to keep it out of long term UV to keep it from yellowing and possibly degrading, other than that, it should be really tough. - Given the abuse my bicycles have taken, a guitar should last pretty much forever! (do you plan to carry it on the roof of your car, leave it out in the shed? use it in the rain/mud, wash it with a hose, jump on it? etc).   

[hamerhead]

4 hours ago, specialk said:

Wowee:

https://mcphersonguitars.com

Yeah, but they're made in Wisconsin. so waaaay worth it.

Hmmmm....about 2 hours from here....and about 30 miles from Dave's in La Crosse......world's most expensive road trip......

[Dutchman]

12 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

Hmmmm....about 2 hours from here....and about 30 miles from Dave's in La Crosse......world's most expensive road trip......

Do it.. do it ..do it..do it..do it... you spent your whole life making due.   Now you can finally get the one you really want... age does have some privileges!!! Doooo IT !!!!

PS: Try out their Sitka topped and all the others. I bought a Santa Cruz that day. I wish I would have bought the McPherson! Same money.....

Edited May 6 by Dutchman

[mudshark]

Got a friend in high humidity Houston who has played his more than a decade loves them,

 

[mudshark]

20 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

Yeah, but they're made in Wisconsin. so waaaay worth it.

Hmmmm....about 2 hours from here....and about 30 miles from Dave's in La Crosse......world's most expensive road trip......

Bought my J-45 there
 

[tomteriffic]

I have a friend (!) who has had a Rainsong grand concert sized as his main gigging/touring guitar for easily a decade, maybe more.  He lives in Upper Michigan but tours all over the country with it.  It sounds decent, maybe even good for a grand concert but he uses a mag soundhole pickup live so, hard to say.  Seemed nice enough the few times I got to fondle it but it was always in a noisy environment.  One thing's for sure though, it's amazingly rugged, the tone never changes and he leaves his more exotic/wood guitars in the studio.

[hamerhead]

OK, you talked me into it:

[django49]

Suppose I gotta try one......🤔

[mrjamiam]

Quite a few hits on "rainsong" if you search the forum, back to 2008.  Uniformly positive impressions, from what I saw.

[hamerhead]

If only my brain would function that way......

....but good to know! Thanks!

[Dutchman]

New Recliner! New Guitar! The joy's of retirement!!!! LOL!!!

[fractal]

I've got a 12 string / 6 string doubleneck from Emerald Guitars in Ireland (also carbon fiber made).  I NEVER have to tune it.  That's awesome in and of itself, but it also sounds GREAT recorded.

[hamerhead]

12 hours ago, fractal said:

I've got a 12 string / 6 string doubleneck from Emerald Guitars in Ireland (also carbon fiber made).  I NEVER have to tune it.  That's awesome in and of itself, but it also sounds GREAT recorded.

My top 3 were McPherson, Rainsong and Emerald. Rainsong got the nod when it came to cost vs use -  it didn't make a lot of sense to spend big on something that gets picked up maybe once a week. And from what I'd read (and YouTubed), the Rainsong has the more piano-like sound (as opposed to traditional wood acoustic sound) of the bunch. That's not a knock on Emerald or McPherson - they both sound fantastic, just in a different way. If I had the $$$$ ......

We'll see. I'm curious and stoked to get it in my grubby little mitts (Tuesday, hopefully). I needed a jumpstart. I hope this helps.

[hamerhead]

Well dammit. It's here. Cool guitar. In amazing shape. Sounds killer. 

....with a shredder neck. As soon as I picked it up out of the case I knew it was not for me. It reminds me of an Ibanez Wizard neck - wide, flat and thin, more so than any guitar I've ever owned.

Dammit. Fortunately we have a Dave's trip coming up, so it will be trade bait. I remain hopeful...

[Dave Scepter]

1 hour ago, hamerhead said:

As soon as I picked it up out of the case I knew it was not for me. It reminds me of an Ibanez Wizard neck - wide, flat and thin, more so than any guitar I've ever owned.

Dammit

HAHAHA!.. that's what you get for mocking me! 🤣

[hamerhead]

Shut it, Dave!

.....wait. Mocking you? Which time?

[Dave Scepter]

16 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

Shut it, Dave!

.....wait. Mocking you? Which time?

 

[hamerhead]

 So, I wanted to trade the Rainsong to Dave's in Sun Prairie for a used McPherson Sable they had, but snoozed and losed. It worked out OK because one popped up on Reverb for less money so I snagged it. The downside(?) is now I have both the Rainsong AND the McPherson (along with my old Taylor 414CE). I barely use ONE acoustic, let alone 3. The upside is the direct comparison that's taken place over the past month or so:

The Rainsong's neck is still less than ideal, but probably not as bad as my initial reaction. The sound, however, is pretty spectacular. Deep lows and shimmering highs unlike any acoustic I've played, with great projection. There's a real sweetness to it. It plays easy and is always in tune. Very well done.

The McPherson is....different. Special. The neck isn't perfect but fits me better than the Rainsong. The sound is more even as well, without the dramatic lows and highs, but glorious nonetheless. It has a more cohesive, all-of-a-piece sound/feel/vibe to it that is hard to describe.

As a pair, I think they'd record really well together panned hard left and right, and I may have to try that before one of them goes. Yeah, I'm only keeping one. Which one? Well, as sweet as the Rainsong sounds, the McPherson is getting all the playing time. There's just something about it that works better for me. It plays great, sounds great and the slightly smaller body feels great, so it wins.

The Taylor stays...just because.

 

ETA: a picture!

Edited 17 hours ago by hamerhead

[Dutchman]

When I was on the hunt the thing that struck me about the McPhersons was the Feel of the Neck. I've been playing an Adamas for over 25 years so I'm spoiled. I'm still playing That one off Adamas after purchasing a beautiful sounding Santa Cruz. I got hand cramps playing the Vee neck on the SC. So back to the Adamas. Then I broke my shoulder(in Feb) So I bought a 3 holer DuoTone and run it thru a IR box using a Martin IR. It's sounds great and it's skinny so my shoulder isn't screaming at me. If you dip out the eq around 1600hz the piezo quack becomes manageable.