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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Just got my Guitar Player and on page 124 is a review of a composite guitar. Why is it in the shape and form of a wood acoustic? Wood acoustics look the way they do because that is the only way you can bend wood for a guitar. DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO IMAGINATION, DO THEY HAVE NO SHAME?
Please comment without profanity, if posible. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Bailey, I haven't seen it, but I know why it looks like that....people are often afraid of something new and to make it palatable, it is presented in the form of something familiar for their comfort. Even though it really doesn't matter what form they present it in and it would still work fine in another form.
Now sometimes, a company will go completely against the grain on this and make something new look NEW and COMPLETELY DIFFERENT in order to get attention. 1951 Fender Broadcaster (the original name for the Tele) anyone????
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Celebrity CC01 Spruce Top 6-String
COMING SOON - 1986 Glen Campbell 12-string |
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Location: Atlanta,Ga. | Baily ,what did the review say about the guitar and sound? |
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Location: Scotland | Originally posted by Bailey:
Wood acoustics look the way they do because that is the only way you can bend wood for a guitar.
I think the likes of Fred Carlson & William Eaton would beg to differ with that statement
http://www.beyondthetrees.com/gallery.html
http://www.roberto-venn.com/WilliamEaton.html |
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Location: NJ | I absolutely LOVE Carlson's "Oracle" guitar!
I read an article in AG about it.
It was built as a tribute to Michael Hedges, and has the sympathetic strings (like a sitar) running up THROUGH the neck!!! I think I also read that the pickup used in it is a duplicate of a custom-made pickup for Ravi Shankar's sitars.
BEAUTIFUL piece of work!!! Guy's a friggin' GENIUS!! |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Bailey, I take the opposite opinion about the CA Legacy guitar. They are made in my hometown, and I have toured the CA guitar factory. They in my opinion are some of the best sounding acoustic guitars out there. If you get a chance play one. As Sam can tell you, they are wonderful, well engineered guitars. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I tried them out last year at NAMM. Not impressed at all. below the 5th fret was fine. Sounded good, or at least as good as guitars at half the price. Above the 5th fret, it lost all of it's projection and tone. I must say it did sound a little more "wood like" than I expected, but if I wanted that, I would just get a good guitar again for 1/2 the price. JMHO |
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Location: NJ | I tried them last year at the Namm show with Miles. I was expecting so much more. I thought they were not worth their list price by any stretch of the imagination.
Nice guitars built well but did not have "it" |
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Location: Atlanta,Ga. | Miles,Al
i certainly respect your opinion.I hope the venue at the Namm show is the right place to really listen properly to any guitar.After all it has been said many times that the Namm show is not really a good place to listen to a guitar.Now,I dont want to overstate these guitars because i dont think they sound better than a Collings,Goodall,Santa cruz and some Martins but they are better that most guitars in their price range.I have only tried two of these guitars and cannot speak for the one you played(guitars vary)..I tried the first one and it was very ,very good..In fact i went home and got my two favorite Ovations to compare..IMHO ,the CA was much better than my adamas slothead and my adamas woodtop guitar.The other four musicians in the room felt the same way that day.I hate saying this because i love my O's but the truth is the truth.I still love my Ovations and would never sell them,but they were not capable of producing the sound of the CA acoustic..
I want to read some other reviews of these guitars like guitar player magazine that Baily mentioned.Here are some other opinions..
"In my opinion, there is not a guitar on the market in this price range that will come anywhere close to the tone of a Legacy AE™. As a matter of fact, I would put it up against a lot of guitars in the $2500 to $3000 range." Jimmy Stewart - Brooks & Dunn
"The guitars attract a lot of attention. They play great, sound great, and are different. People are looking for something a bit different. Plus, the guitars are durable, so potential buyers feel better about spending $1400 when the guitar is tough as a tank." Grant Mazak - Mazak Music
"It's not as good as wood. It's better. The CA Legacy™ consistently sounds great. They are easy to play, ultra reliable, and virtually indestructible. " Randy Thomas - Grammy award-winning songwriter. (Butterfly Kisses)
"This guitar could drive a bluegrass band." George Gruhn
"I love my Legacy AE™ because for one, they sound much better than any other composite material guitar I've played. It actually sounds like wood. But the cherry on top is that they're impervious to weather changes. With Big Tent Revival and TAIT, it's totally normal to be playing an outdoor festival one afternoon, the next night be inside a cold theater, and the next night be in a hot club. The composite materials never shrink or expand allowing me to leave my guitar on stage all day, pick it up and it's still in tune! That takes a lot of worry from me and my tech. Plus, they really look cool!" Randy Williams - Big Tent Revival, TAIT
"This is a great bluegrass guitar." Tim Stafford - Blue Highway
Price Paid: US $1,299
Purchased from: N/A
Elderly
Features: 9
When I was looking for an acoustic guitar, I obviously wanted one that sounded great. I was willing to spend over 1,000 to get a nice sound and great quality. However, I didn't want something I couldn't take outside or something I'd have to adjust all the time. I wanted something I could take anywhere, whenever I wanted, never adjust it, and have it always sound great. CA was the obvious choice.
The guitar is the same as other Legacy CA Guitars--all carbon fiber with an ebony fretboard.
I chose the Legacy Enhanced Traditional.
The Enhanced Traditional has slightly more in the midrange than the Vintage Tailoring. Beautiful sound. Yes, it is loud.
The strings are springier due to the rigidity of carbon fiber. The neck feels great.
The look is cool, carbon fiber looks great. The soundhole rosette is a very cool design. However, the neck has no (fretboard top) inlays, which may be a downside for some people.
It doesn't sound identical to wood, but it does sound beautiful. And it's indestructable.
Sound: 10
The guitar can be used for strumming, light picking, etc. Lots of bluegrass people like it. I use it for contemporary folk and acoustic rock.
Like I said, the guitar is loud. It is, at the same time, mellow and full. The guitar is many things at once--a nice top end, tight bottom, and is very balanced.
The harder you strum, the louder it gets. Unlike wood, it doesn't get muddy. It's not just like wood, but close enough that you could easily fool someone. It's got its own great sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 9
The action is fixed--no need to adjust. It's low enough to be very comfortable, but not too low that it causes buzzing. The neck is just right. The frets are normal for acoustic guitars, but I prefer bigger frets (medium jumbo).
The guitar is finished nicely with no flaws. Carbon fiber has a cool 3-D look to it. It's radical, but if it's catching on with bluegrass players...
The fret edges are mostly smooth. Like I said, the strings are springier due to the rigidity of carbon fiber, so you might want to go a guage lighter. Some people say that the spring helps them play faster.
Reliability/Durability: 10
Carbon fiber is indestructable. Light and tough as can be. No question. Just read up on it. You could drop it in water or kick it.
Customer Support: 10
They respond very very quickly to all emails. I've emailed 3 times and gotten a long personalized response all 3 times.
Overall Rating: 10
I couldn't have gotten a better acoustic guitar. The great sound and stability is what sells me. I would never be able to buy anything but. The guitar makes me totally free. No more adjusting, no worries, and great sound. Really.
I've shown my guitar to 3 other players (bluegrass players all above 45 years old). Two of the three have already bought their own CA Guitar. |
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Location: NJ | Sam
the guitars were in their own room so it was easier to listen to them. They also amplified them.
Miles and I both commented where are the cheap models eveyone talks about ? The guitars we saw all had list prices of 2K and 2.5K.
Don't get me wrong I don't thing these guitars are as bad as Garrisons but I really did not think it had the projection of an ovation or its tonal range.
Just another opinion and we all know what they are like... |
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Location: Atlanta,Ga. | I think they sell for about $1350.00 with case in stores.. |
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| Fellas, allow me to express my modest opinion, as well. I used to own a CA Legacy acoustic/electric, and honestly I felt it was a very fine instrument for the price. Unplugged it produced a "woody" well balanced sound with excellent tonal characteristics. The sustain, presence and separation for an all- composite acoustic were more than excellent. Plugged in it was fine too, though I rarely plugged in. I wouldn't claim it was better than a Collings or a high-end Martin or else, but for $1399 it had it all. I am aware that many bluegrass players simply love them. I sold it several months later, not being able to recover more than $950. Well....that's for the record... :mad: |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | I am lucky in that I know some people who work for CA guitars. Like I said earlier, they are made here in Lafayette, Louisiana. I have seen these guitars being made, and I have been shown alot of the research that goes into them. For a 1400 dollar guitar they are incredible. These are the only guitars I have ever considered playing beside an Ovation. If fact before I even knew what a CA guitar was, I was in a music store buying some strings. I heard this very good guitarist playing a guitar with a beautiful full tone. That was the first time I saw a CA guitar. They have expanded to a bigger factory here now, and I plan on going to check it out. |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Well
Maybe that strange Adamas guitar that we've been hearing about will somehow be modified to match the wonderful quality of these guitars. My comment on bending wood was more directed at the difficulty of producing a good sounding round back wood guitar, the round back wood mandolins were pretty but lacked tone. Would a DEEEEP bowl Adamas show this guitar the door, or is this the future of composite guitars and Ovation is on the wrong track?
Don't want to cause any controversy here
:D :p ;)
Bailey |
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Location: Atlanta,Ga. | Baily, what did the review of the Guitar Player say about the CA guitars? |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | We must have been looking at different guitars because I distinctly recall the price being $3800 for one of the models. Now if that same model was available in the $900 to $1200 range, that's a different story. Like I and others said, it didn't sound bad. It didn't sound like the nearly $4K price we were qouted. Maybe others made that comment too and the price when actually released was much less. |
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Location: NJ | Miles is correct. You cannot compare street prices to list prices.
When I see 2.5 or 3.5 I work it out and figure a street price. there is no way to tell if a dealer got a guitar as a promotion or something and is selling it for less you really need to have list price for comparison |
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Location: Atlanta,Ga. | The most popular model "the legacy"lists for around $2199 and they sell for what they call a players price of $1399.00 with case.
They have a new model called the X model that will be out soon(namm show)that is supposed to me an OM size and word is they sound very good as well..
Here is the one thing that really strikes me about these guitars aside from the wonderful sound they produce..Ovation for 38 years cannot seem to break into the traditional players market and the "good old boys" bluegrass players market..You have some guys like George Gruin who dislikes Ovation and does not even want them in his store..The CA guitars in just 5 years has broken thru the barriers and is selling well with Bluegrass players and many other traditional players who will not even look at an Ovation.
This is a pretty good thing for a young company that makes a all composite material guitars..It looks like they are not going to have to fight the uphill battle that us Ovation guys have been fighting for years..
Well,i'll stop here because im starting to sound like the CA guitars PR guy and i dont even own one. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Sam you bring up a very good and valid point. But trust me, (I can see Al's face now, "He's not gonna go there is he?"... well yes, Yes I am.)
Although many people make guitar purchases on their own taste/preference sences, most are not. For every person that walks into stores for months trying and listening to every guitar he can, at least 20 other people are buying what they are told they should buy. It's the same for dealers. The manufacturer approaches them and sais something like "We are increasing our ad campaign by $x's and predict to sell xxxxx, If you buy xxx to sell we can give you $xx.xx price and will even build you a sound room to display them.
Cudos to CA (and Taylor for that matter too) marketing for pulling off what they do.
However, I see CA cutting into the marketshare of Taylor and Martin before Ovation. Ovation is probably king of the numbers game (units, not dollars) and most people are looking to CA for a "traditional style" with modern technology.
FYI, I believe now that you mention it, the "X" Series is what we saw this summer. I'll make sure to check them out again.
Again, as we know, Ovation isn't for everyone. They don't try to be. If you want the traditional sound and look of a box style, for whatever reason, no matter how good an Ovation may sound technically, it's not for you. For me I can't bring myself to own any other Acoustic guitar. All acoustics I have tried (and recently I have been doing some trying) although shine in MANY area's, they can't physically pull off what a good round-back does. It just isn't physically possible as far as I can tell. Although most of the sound and tone comes from the top, the projection comes from the bowl. As I don't have the best "tone" ear when it comes to Acoustics, my test was the play a scale up and down the neck and finger pick up and down the neck. I look for the tonal consistancy and volume consistancy. If a Bar-F is not bascially they same volume and tonal consistancy on the first position as it is on the 13th position, I loose interest. |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Miles I believe the X model from CA guitars is a smaller body guitar. I have not played that one. Although Dennie at CA guitars called me to go and try one out, I just didn't have the time to do so. I like the Legacy. That is the full body guitar. That guitar is awesome. I hope you get to try one soon. |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | What's the link to their website???
tim |
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| Here is their website:
web page
Sam, how did you come up with a list price for the CA guitars?
They don't have a list price...they call it player price list: it's simply a single price...no hassle.
Copied from their web site:
Here is our Player Price List . If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, download it here.
Do you ever wonder why prices for guitars vary from dealer to dealer? Or, why that "big city" store can sell the same guitar for so much less? If the retail price for a guitar is $4000, why can a big dealer sell it for $2050?
There are a few answers to these questions but the big difference is that not all dealers are treated equally. Even today, in many stores, not all customers are treated equally either. Too much time and energy are wasted on deal shopping.
CA Guitars believes in treating everyone fairly. Our goal is to provide customers with the best sounding, best playing, most durable guitars they have ever played - and at a reasonable price. We also want to remove the haggle and hassle that is involved when buying a guitar. We want our dealers to treat every customer like they are their best customers. We call this our Player Pricing Policy. The "street" price for our guitars should be about the same in your hometown as the price in that big city far away.
Many other musical instrument manufacturers as well as other industries are beginning to adopt these fair pricing policies. We believe that this will translate to a fairer, more equitable marketplace for consumers and dealers alike.>
I don't know how they do it :confused: |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | Thanks for the link.... interesting guitars, but for my tastes, I prefer the warm richness of my 2001 Collector's RW... there is still something special about the wooden top guitars... kinda like comfort food... these CA guitars look cold to me...
They may sound fantastic, but appearance.....
tim |
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| Tim, I agree with you, I didn't like the appearance either. The sound was more than fine, but the looks...
It had a god feeling too, nice smooth neck.
I prefer the wood-top acoustics. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Going back to samova's comment about George Gruhn.....my wife and I were in Gruhn Guitars in Nashville in October and noted the relative lack of Ovation products there....they had a Patriot, a non-late-model Adamas, maybe a 15-year-old Legend, not much else. I suspected there might be a bias against Ovation there.
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Celebrity CC01 Spruce Top 6-String
COMING SOON - 19?? Glen Campbell 12-string |
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Ugly CA Legacy AE
