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I got a chance to see & play a new RainSong A-WS 1000 yesterday and thought I'd post a review, since these are pretty new.
For those of you who don't know, RainSong makes graphite acoustic guitars. Until recently, they had 2 lines: their Made in USA, all-graphite "Classic Series" which run about $2000; & a Korean/USA graphite/wood conglomerate series that ran about $800. They recently dropped the Korean/USA/graphite/wood model in favor of a new, all-graphite, Made in USA "Advanced Series" (while continuing to offer the $2K "Classic Series").
The one I got to try was from the new "Advanced Series." It doesn't have the fancy appointments of the "Classic Series," e.g., abalone rosette inlay, shark fretboard inlays, and exposed carbon on the body. Instead, the body is now painted a plain solid color (red, black or blue - wish they'd offer colors that weren't so plain, with some pearl in them or something), though you can still see the carbon weave on the back of the neck, which looks pretty cool. It has a goofy-looking ridge around the back of the body, which must add strength, I guess. I couldn't find any defects or flaws in the guitar I inspected.
Feel-wise, I must say that I absolutely love the neck. And for those in the crowd taunting me with, "Then why don't you marry it?" let me say that I want to. It is by far the best neck I've ever felt on any acoustic. It is very THIN and WIDE (1 3/4"), and feels just great. The action on this one was good, not great. I suspect it could be made great, since the neck isn't subject to warping. If I get it, I'll ask the guitar tech at the shop to drop that action as low as the law permits. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Sound-wise, it sounded good - not as good as a nearby Taylor Big Baby (call me a bottom-feeder if you must, but I think the Taylor Big Baby is among the best-sounding Taylors), but full, clear, and even, with nice harmonics.
Overall, it's a very nice acoustic with cutaway & electronics, that is impervious to weather conditions and offers an absolutely killer neck for an electric-oriented player, for $1200. While I'd love to have a high end RainSong, dropping $2K on an acoustic just isn't in the cards for me. Drop that entry fee closer to $1K, and I start looking around for gear to sell. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
For those of you who don't know, RainSong makes graphite acoustic guitars. Until recently, they had 2 lines: their Made in USA, all-graphite "Classic Series" which run about $2000; & a Korean/USA graphite/wood conglomerate series that ran about $800. They recently dropped the Korean/USA/graphite/wood model in favor of a new, all-graphite, Made in USA "Advanced Series" (while continuing to offer the $2K "Classic Series").
The one I got to try was from the new "Advanced Series." It doesn't have the fancy appointments of the "Classic Series," e.g., abalone rosette inlay, shark fretboard inlays, and exposed carbon on the body. Instead, the body is now painted a plain solid color (red, black or blue - wish they'd offer colors that weren't so plain, with some pearl in them or something), though you can still see the carbon weave on the back of the neck, which looks pretty cool. It has a goofy-looking ridge around the back of the body, which must add strength, I guess. I couldn't find any defects or flaws in the guitar I inspected.
Feel-wise, I must say that I absolutely love the neck. And for those in the crowd taunting me with, "Then why don't you marry it?" let me say that I want to. It is by far the best neck I've ever felt on any acoustic. It is very THIN and WIDE (1 3/4"), and feels just great. The action on this one was good, not great. I suspect it could be made great, since the neck isn't subject to warping. If I get it, I'll ask the guitar tech at the shop to drop that action as low as the law permits. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Sound-wise, it sounded good - not as good as a nearby Taylor Big Baby (call me a bottom-feeder if you must, but I think the Taylor Big Baby is among the best-sounding Taylors), but full, clear, and even, with nice harmonics.
Overall, it's a very nice acoustic with cutaway & electronics, that is impervious to weather conditions and offers an absolutely killer neck for an electric-oriented player, for $1200. While I'd love to have a high end RainSong, dropping $2K on an acoustic just isn't in the cards for me. Drop that entry fee closer to $1K, and I start looking around for gear to sell. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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