Re: OT: Blackbird guitars

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

The idea of programming resonance level via carbon-fiber construction is 
just cool.

That being said my wife is buying me one of Brian May's guitars 
retrospectively for our anniversary. :)  I told her to hold off until the 
Studio is done in the late Winter/early Spring, "When I can really put it 
to 
work," as I put it.  Needless to say EarthLight Studios UK will be 
pretty-well soundproofed... :)

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From: "Daryl Shawn" <highhorse@mhorse.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 6:06 PM
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Subject: OT: Blackbird guitars

> Since we've discussed portability a lot on the list, as well as the 
> unrelated topic of guitar pickups that split the signal per string, I 
> thought I'd mention my experience auditioning a Blackbird guitar 
> yesterday. Blackbirds are small-bodied (but full-scale) carbon-fiber 
> acoustic guitars, made by hand in San Francisco. I became aware of them 
> just a few weeks ago through this video shot by Henry Kaiser of his 
> Blackbird being played underwater in Antarctica (!).
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCPiPh2sWDk
>
> Carbon fiber is incredibly stiff stuff, and survived this experience 
> unscathed. (Yesterday, the maker was giving it direct full-force kicks 
>to 
> the body to show how tough it is, which almost made me lose my lunch, 
>but 
> it didn't show a mark). It's also incredibly light - the nylon-string I 
> played weighs only three pounds. As a guitar, it's surprisingly loud, 
>and 
> though the body is about six inches shorter and four inches narrower 
>than 
> a regular guitar, it has a great bass response, as well as a really 
>unique 
> and clear high end. It's a very modern sound, which wouldn't be mistaken 
> for a concert classical, but I kinda fell in love with it. Complex 
>chords 
> are really detailed, and the whole body vibrates, even the neck (which 
>is 
> hollow - there's a tiny soundhole where you'd expect a truss rod to be). 
> I've tried out most of the travel guitar options, and this definitely is 
> the one offering the best tone, and durability, plus a really cool look.
>
> They offer the RMC pickup system with it, which has an individual 
> saddle-mounted pickup for each string. That can be broken out 
>separately, 
> and used either in its analog form, or to drive MIDI. Especially given 
>its 
> nice acoustic clarity, I think it would work extremely well for 
>individual 
> string processing, like dropping the bass strings down an octave.
>
> The guitar ain't cheap - with the RMC, about $2000 US - but if I'm lucky 
>I 
> may figure out a way to acquire one for my travels.
>
> http://www.blackbirdguitar.com
>
> gear on,
>
> Daryl Shawn
> www.swanwelder.com
> www.chinapaintingmusic.com
>
>
>