Blackbird Ukulele Press Release

Blackbird Premiers First Ever Carbon-fiber Ukulele at 2010 NAMM Show

San Francisco, January 12th 2010- On tour from Hawaii, the Ukulele first gained widespread recognition among stateside music fans at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Expo in San Francisco. Down-the-road and nearly a century later Blackbird Guitars is giving the Ukulele a 2010 reinvention with their proprietary hollow-neck, all-carbon fiber construction. This exceptionally loud and tonally rich instrument is as responsive as it is resilient and will inspire ukulele players to bring their music places no nice wood instrument should ever go—like the beach. The Blackbird Ukulele sets a new bar for a compact, lightweight, and tonally-satisfying travel instrument that is durable and immune to the humidity problems which impact its wooden counterparts.

The novel design of the Blackbird Ukulele was inspired by Blackbird's Super OM, a small-body sonic cannon launched at the 2009 NAMM show. The iconic asymmetric form is evocative of a traditional Double-O design but in fact has a deceptively larger sound box complete with an off-set sound hole—a nod to tradition but which also serves to produce more bass and mid-range frequencies and volume particularly for a tenor-sized ukulele. Like all Blackbird instruments, it sports uni-body construction with a hollow neck and sound port at the headstock. This signature Blackbird feature allows the whole instrument to resonant for increased frequency response while solving the neck-heavy issues common among Ukuleles by reducing weight.

While carbon fiber is more acoustically efficient than wood, it is also much stronger and resistant to humidity. "We made our name initially with the Rider travel guitars and in some sense the ukulele is the ultimate travel instrument. So as amusing as a composite ukulele may be, we wanted players to have a professional-grade instrument without ever having to worry about it.", says Blackbird founder Joe Luttwak. The highly sculpted form is accented by a beautiful weave with a high gloss finish that undulates around various body cutaways for improved ergonomics and ultralight weight. The Blackbird ukulele will be available in Spring 2010 for a street price of $999 with electronics optional. The 2010 editions of world's best travel guitars, the Rider steel and Rider Nylon start at $1499 and the ultralight full-size Blackbird Super-OM at $1899.

To learn more visit www.blackbirdguitars.com

Key Features of the Blackbird Ukulele:
Exceptional Carbon Fiber strength and environmental stability
A tenor ukulele with more sonic presence
Asymmetric Acoustic Design® with off-set sound-hole
Hollow neck with head mounted Stereo Sound Port®
3D sculpted back for improved comfort, access and strength
About Blackbird
Blackbird guitars was founded in 2005 to create a satisfying but durable travel guitar for taking out in the world. Non-traditional product design and development resulted in radically new directions and the resulting Rider travel guitar is now widely considered the best available. To date, Blackbird releases a new instrument annually with their trademark 'Big Sound, Small body' treatment. Blackbird Guitars are made by small team of guitar-makers in San Francisco in their workshop overlooking the bay. Advanced technology is employed to ensure the highest performance along-side traditional craftsmanship. Every instrument is professionally assembled and set-up by a master luthier.

Wolf notes, midi

A bit of context to better understanding wolf tones. Building a guitar lighter, including reducing bracing on the top, but we have found elsewhere as well, makes a guitar more resonant. Blackbird's Modus Operandi is to maximize resonance (which would be our tagline if it didn't sound so nerdy). So we recently lightened the bracing on the Super OM to make it even louder and bring out the bass and mid-frequencies. I am very pleased with the result. This re-bracing and overall increase in resonance also brought out the natural resonant frequencies of the guitar itself. When I play the loudest one, A sharp, it resonants sympathetically with the primary resonant frequency of the guitar (also a sharp)- this is the wolf note. This 'artificially' enhances the resonance of that notes and makes it louder. This is nothing major and in fancy, lightly built boutique guitars, is considered to add character. I can however throw off tracking a hair.

Custom Rider Nylon Pearlescent white

Our client Bruce, performs in white so we wanted a white Blackbird. Maybe we should call it the whitebird. Our first pearlescent white guitar came out quite well but you have to see it in person to get the various layers that make for a deep visual experience

Guitar travel tips

Six tips for stealth airline travel with a Blackbird Rider and other small body guitars
We all hate the notion of putting our precious guitars under the plane so we designed the Rider to get on as a carry-on. While no one has ever had a reported problem traveling with a Blackbird Rider on a plane, these are some useful best practices we’ve gathered to keep it that way. They are just precautions that will help you be safe rather than sorry, and likely useful for anyone who travels by air with a guitar even a wood one*.

1. Research your airline and flight- become informed about their rules and regulations because you then may find yourself better informed than the airlines' courteous staff. After the whole United Breaks Guitars incident (copy and past into YouTube search if you don't get the reference), I suspect that airlines are getting a bit more sympathetic to guitarists.

2. Get a small guitar designed for travel- In the event you have to engage any airline personnel, with a small guitar you can explain that this guitar is compact, light and is designed to fit in the overhead along with a full bin of carry-on luggage. Smiles and a friendly demeanor are useful in these situations- you don't want to be like Ben Stiller in Meet The Parents.

3. Present a non-guitar-esque package(see ours above)- You don't want your instrument to even register as a guitar to the airline staff- a streamlined guitar in a tight case is key. The rider is designed to slip past the radar -think SR-71 Blackbird; it looks very discreet to watchful eyes. The gig bag should also be as un-flashy, un-pocketed and I would argue black as possible. Wear a black jacket while your at it- its a good look for traveling anyway. Being un-flashy also helps prevent theft.

Go to Blackbird Guitars to read the other three tips

Email us with any other tips at info[@]blackbirdguitar.com

Ferrari version of Rider Carbon Fiber Travel Guitar

San Francisco - Inspired by the technology, style, and spirit of the famed Italian "supercar" manufacturer, Blackbird Guitars' brings you the limited-edition Ferrari-branded "Rider". The ultra-rare Ferrari Blackbird guitars were sold at Ferrari Stores worldwide and signed by F1 drivers Philipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. Based on Blackbird Guitars' high-performance Rider travel guitar, it is the first instrument fit for the Ferrari namesake. Like Ferrari, it is a study in superlatives—among the most resonant, durable and lightest guitars in the world. The Rider travel guitar is compact enough to fit in the trunk of a sports car, but it plays and sounds like a much bigger instrument. It looks like nothing else on the market: sleek, black carbon fiber speaks to the high-tech materials and construction while the exclusive Maranello Red interior, accented red A string, and Ferrari Scuderia emblem highlights the passion of world-class Italian motoring.

Blackbird Guitars blends traditional guitar-making with design and construction inspired by Formula 1 race cars. The guitar features a one-piece, hollow neck, carbon fiber construction—and a unique sound port at the head directly influenced by F1 race car design. The high-performance Ferrari pedigree is more than just show—designer and Blackbird founder Joe Luttwak worked for the storied car manufacturer in Maranello, Italy. This experience laid the foundation for this thoroughbred of a guitar, inspired by Ferrari's unque commitment to technology, style, and performance. "Great acoustic guitar construction, like great race car construction, benefits from stiff and ultra light materials. Using carbon fiber, like Ferrari's Formula 1 race cars, for the guitar's uni-body design produces an instrument that sounds better and is much more durable than any travel guitar available today. Many ideas for Blackbird Guitar's models were inspired by my time at Ferrari, and it's wonderful to make a model that honors their unparalleled technology, ingenuity and success."

All Blackbird Rider models are built for the road with a virtually indestructible carbon-fiber body that is less than two-thirds the size of a standard acoustic, but has nearly an equivalent tone—so players no longer need to compromise tone for portability. Each Blackbird Rider is beautifully hand-crafted, with the carbon fiber expertly constructed to balance tone, weight and strength.

The first run of the exlusive Ferrari guitar series is now sold out, but Blackbird Guitars is accepting special, custom orders on the Rider model. Blackbird Guitars are made in San Francisco by a small team of luthiers by the Bay. The world's best travel guitars, the Rider steel and Rider Nylon, now start at $1499. The Blackbird family also includes the larger Super OM.
To learn more visit www.blackbirdguitars.com

Key Features of the Blackbird Rider:
-Exceptional Carbon Fiber strength and environmental stability
-Hollow neck with Stereo Sound Port® in head of the guitar
-Asymmetric Acoustic Design® with off-set sound-hole
-Ultralight for enhanced sound, comfort and balance
-Full scale length (24.5")
-3D sculpted back for improved ergonomics, playability & durability
-Optional electronics for amazing amplified tone

Rollingstone: Woody Harrelson plays a Rider

Woody Harrelson was interviewed by Peter Travers about various on-topic things like his movies. At the end of the interview he Jams it out on a Blackbird.

Watch Woody jamming on a Blackbird Rider by clicking on the link here