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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Well, I got the CA that I had purchased, and overall I'm really impressed. This one is their "Crown of Thorns" model, which is a version of their Legacy Performer (big dreadnought body).
It plays very nicely, lower action, good response, and the sound is phenomenal. It's incredibly balanced - about 60% midrange, 25% bass, 15% treble, I'd say - and BOOMY. That was the first thing I noticed...simply how much volume it produces. Way more than any comparable-sized wood body I've played. It's in a lot of ways similar to an Adamas, yet with more of a "traditional" sound, for lack of a better description.
How's it compare to an Ovation? Better than some, not as good as others, but overall very different. It's got that old boxy guitar feel in a lot of ways, which is a change up from a roundback, but the edges are soft enough that it's not uncomfortable to play. Very different tone, almost like a blend of some of the best features of a lot of separate instruments rolled into one.
It responds really well to strumming, choking, lots of rhythmic stuff, and still sings under fingers. The only complaint I'd have is that it lacks a little bit of treble definition. If I were designing a fingerstyle guitar, this would need a lot more on the upper end.
I'm going to gig it this weekend and see how it works on stage, but overall for the dollar not a bad first impression at all. |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | thanks for the review, andrew. unless the mothership decides to resurrect and build the "Q" model(s), i am thinking a CA would be good for gigging here and i will probably acquire one in the future. i may opt for their "X performer" model though.
the COT design has been around awhile and initially fabricated prior to CA's factory renovations and upgrades. |
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Joined:
March 2003
Posts: 555
Location: Wooster, Ohio | Andrew, I have a CA X and I agree they are a little darker. I found that I need to use straight bronze strings on my CA where phosphorus bronze used to be all I would use on my wood guitars. The straight bronze added the brightness it needed.
Steve |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | I really like my CA Bluegrass. It is one of the easiest playing and best sounding guitars I have had. Elixir's seem to be the string of choice for me on this one. Since I changed the saddle to the lower one supplied by CA, it is set up just right for me as the original "bluegrass" setup was much too high for me. It's kind of nice not having a trusrod to have to worry about. It's always in adjustment. It may be leaving though to Thailand after the first of the year. Buy, sell, buy, sell......etc...... :rolleyes: |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Jim, you're worse than I am. I at least usually hold on to a guitar for a couple weeks... :eek: |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | jim,
you and i need to plan a trip to thailand together and re-visit old friends! |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 403
Location: Thailand | Good idea!
I would be happy.
Welcome to Thailand. |
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OT-Composite Acoustics review