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my concern would be how much energy is generated with nylon strings... will it actually be enough to get anything good out of the carbon.... i see only steel string full on 100% carbon graphite guitars, whether thats because of the maketplace and classical/flamenco players not wanting carbon or because nylon isnt a good candidate... i don't know.
I was going to post this same question, but searched/found someone had asked the same question. My thoughts were that C/F would be good for the back/sides, still using the traditional wood soundboard. Goal= a lighter-weight guitar with still the wood-generated tone from the wood soundboard. I'm surprised no one referenced Torres' paper mache' guitar, built to prove much of the tone of a guitar came from the soundboard. Wes
Years ago there was a claim according to which a carbon violine could outperform a highly deemed traditional specimen. There was a public auditioning test announced for soemtine in 2009 I think, but I don´t know what became of it.
I think the reason for current demand with instruments of carbon fibre could be:
# Durability, like for live performance and travelling.
# Immunity against humidity, for use in extremely dry or humid climate like in Arizona, Canada, much of Middle East or at coastal lines.
While for the future, it could be simply for lack of wood ressource. ( Provided the muse for art still being alive in a situation of struggling for survival.)
All in all I sense good reason for developers trying to achieve decent sound properties with CF. And I think to see how they might succeed by the means of high tech analysis and construction.
Just remember what you must have thought of laser and CD, digital photography or flatscreens. At least for three of the four, I recall very well how they were estimated as either incapable on principle or as yet taking decades of R&D to gain useful state. But they outperformed the common prediction by far.
Hell, I wanted to ask my old lady to buy microsoft shares for me in the late seventies, only that in the end didn´t dare to suggest to her investing 30 grands ( of DM ) or so into apparent "gimmicks" like computer / software. [ Who bought in for only 5 grands yet in the mid eighties, is a billionaire today.]
This is not to undervalue the magic properties of sound wood, but to say that CF instruments might currently be where mobile phones used to be in 1980 or so.
It's being used for soundboards in some very high end pianos like Steingraeber Phoenix. They're getting rave reviews for volume, projection, clarity and color.
Another thought occurred to me that one place a carbon fiber component might really benefit an otherwise wood structured guitar is in the bridge. Luthiers try to keep bridges light in weight... a C/F bridge wound never split, the saddle slot could be held to tighter fits with the saddle due to lack of expansion/contraction. Additionally, the bottom could be machined to the radius of the domed top, so that it would not add stress to the construction. I would think the very light weight of a C/F bridge would be conducive to better tone in an otherwise all-wood guitar. Wes
Additionally, the bottom could be machined to the radius of the domed top, so that it would not add stress to the construction. I would think the very light weight of a C/F bridge would be conducive to better tone in an otherwise all-wood guitar. Wes
Most guitar makers don't have access to the kind of machinery it would take to shape carbon fiber (it eats sandpaper). The other question I have is about weight. Is carbon fiber really lighter than wood? The stuff I have used didn't seem extraordinarily light. I personally wouldn't want a guitar with a bridge that looks like an F117. But what do I know...I'm so old and out of touch that I don't even have a cell phone (or want one).
But what do I know...I'm so old and out of touch that I don't even have a cell phone (or want one).
It has long been rumored, John, that there are precisely five people in the entire world who do not carry or own cell phones. I knew that I was one of the five, and now with your post, I know who the second one is. I wonder if we will ever discover the other three?!
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
i own a blackbird carbon classical guitar, it is very loud and responsive and i let my 1 year old son to start playing with it and it will be his by 2 years old. it is durable basically undestructable.
I personally wouldn't want a guitar with a bridge that looks like an F117. But what do I know...I'm so old and out of touch that I don't even have a cell phone (or want one).
I guess you and Bill don't get many booty calls. But then neither do I and I have a cell phone.
I also have a dial phone in my house. I love using it.
I refused cell phones too ( friends wanted to give me such as present several times ). Only got me one when moved abroad, as a support in case of getting lost in unfamiliar areas.
Besides: The papers were reporting on first youngsters who quit mobile phones, as constant availability was getting pesky, and especially ruining couple´s relationships.
That was even before GPS tracking.
Ruphus
PS: Saw a homeless two days ago, dragging his belongings on a trolley while talking into a cell phone.
For a homeless person a cell phone could mean life and death, it keeps them connected which is important. But GPS tracking of your person is odious.
A cell phone is really a tool, but some people get addicted to the other aspects of the cell phone, just like the addictions to email and flamenco forums.
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