Blackbird releases 2012 Rider Nylon model

Blackbird refines line with the launch of the 2012 Rider Nylon as well as the addition of a rechargeable pickup and durable stainless steel frets.

San Francisco– January 20, 2012 - Blackbird, maker of carbon fiber acoustics with patented hollow neck uni-body, is introducing enhancements and a new model. The entire high
performance line gains in durability, tone and versatility, exemplified by the new Rider Nylon.

New Rider Nylon, 2012 Model
Blackbird is proud to unveil the new Rider nylon, the singular performance-level travel guitar is further refined. Now available for the first time with on-board preamp and controls and Schertler, Swiss precision tuning machines. The new Rider nylon is offered at an introductory $2035 with electronics and a soft case.

In 2011, R & D focused on developing refinements and implementing them in production. Blackbird moved to the San Francisco Mission district one year ago, in order to expand production of its carbon fiber instruments. “The move to a large high-tech workshop with the latest CNC equipment, has greatly benefited the entire operation down to the individual guitar- along with helping us keep up with demand”, says founder Joe Luttwak.

New Enhancements

• Battery-free Mi-Si pickups are now available in addition to existing Fishman and RMC pickups. The compact and light rechargeable system does not compromise acoustic tone and amplifies well. Charge up for 60 seconds and play up to 16 hours. Volume and tone control dial are conveniently located at the soundhole. Now standard on the Blackbird Tenor Ukulele (.a.k.a. BTU), Lucky 13 and Rider Nylon.

• Stainless steel frets- All steel string models including Rider, Super OM , and Lucky 13, now sport stainless steel frets standard matching the durability of the carbon unibody. “Our instruments are already humidity proof and exceptionally durable, so upgrading to very long wearing stainless steel fretwire makes sense,” said Joe Luttwak.

Blackbird Lucky 13
The vintage-style, thirteen-fret neck junction guitar, launched at ‘11 NAMM, adds white accents for more old-school charm. But below the skin, the high-tech construction improves dramatically -- with MiSi electronics, TonePros-Kluson tuning machines, and ultra-light bracing -- making this travel-friendly instrument even more tonally rich. It’s a jack-of-all trades, and master of fingerstyle. It is the perfect singer-songwriter gigging companion for home, road and stage.

Blackbird ‘BTU’
The explosively responsive BTU, now standard with rechargeable MiSi electronics with volume and tone control at the off-set sound hole. The new model is marked by a switch to white accents to off-set the carbon fiber uni-body. “We are thrilled by the enthusiasm of the ukulele community, particularly professionals, who love the powerful sound of the BTU and stability of carbon fiber construction,”

Rider Steel-string
The travel guitar widely considered the best on the market, is now even more steely -- with durable stainless steel frets coming standard. This guitar remains the top choice for high performance on the road with unparallelled ration of compact size to acoustic presence.

Super OM
Blackbird’s comfortable orchestra model configuration is medium sized but a sonic cannon, upgraded with standard stainless frets and Mi-Si electronics optional. The Super OM is the choice for tonal clarity, sustain, and dynamic response -- and the premier carbon fiber fingerstyle guitar.

Design benefits

• Exceptional carbon fiber strength and environmental stability
• Compact size, responsive tone
• Hollow neck with head mounted Stereo Sound Port®
• 3D sculpted back for improved comfort, access and strength

About Blackbird
Blackbird’s proprietary hollow-neck, one-piece carbon fiber construction blends the powerful voice of an light-built boutique guitar with the ruggedness of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is not only dramatically stronger than wood and humidity-proof, but also highly acoustically responsive -- particularly as designed by Blackbird . Founded in 2005 with a mission to build high performance instruments, Blackbird started with Rider, now the satisfying and nearly indestructible benchmark for travel guitars. Blackbird’s singular blend of Formula 1/aerospace technologies with traditional luthierie gives form to a new highly resilient and responsive instrument each year. Blackbird Guitars are made by small team in San Francisco. Advanced technology alongside the traditional craft of a master luthier means every build is imbued with quality, precision and soul.

Carbon fiber vs. wood sound board + stiffness

Over the years, I've observed a lot of mystery around the material and construction of acoustic guitar sound boards among-st the guitar playing public, and its worth trying to address given that sound boards account for the lion's share of an instrument's 'tone'. In particular, the art/design/science of massaging a certain quality of tonal quality, volume, and frequency response. This became very clear when we received the following comment on our Youtube account:
These guitars are CRAP, considering the price you pay... Guitars are made out of flexible wood. Carbon is one of the most rigid materials known to man... It's good for bracing and truss rod support, but not for anything else. Especially not building a resonating chamber. -AlisonChaynes 

Here is what I more-or-less responded:
'Actually Guitar-top material Aka Spruce is exceptionally stiff for its weight- this is the most basic point of acoustic guitar building! Good spruce is a hard material to beat actually, but composites have the advantage of being tune-able so you can dial in the stiffness. Just like a wood guitar, we have bracing to determine stiffness of the top (except we use carbon fiber for our braces), but we also can adjust the thickness, material, weave, orientation of the top to determine stiffness.'

I reached my character limit at that point, but there is another big advantage over wood tops, namely consistency. Because our tops exhibit nearly the same mechanical properties every time, we can quickly develop the perfect blend of top bracing and the other aforementioned variables (aka  thickness, material, weave etc.) so we get the desired responsiveness- every time! Responsiveness is what we are after which broken down means volume, frequency response, dynamic range. Blackbird guitars are closer to the more response boutique guitars by design. Your mass-produced wood guitars (even the pricey ones) are typically 'over-built' aka too stiff... One more thing about the post, if carbon fiber is good for bracing, which is the basis of achieving good tone and stiffness, shouldn't is also be good for the top itself?

Blackbird Luthier Apprentice Position

Details

Blackbird Guitars www.blackbirdguitar.com
San Francisco, Mission District
Job Level: paid apprenticeship
Job Functions:  part-prepping, fretting, assembly, buffing, set-up

Description

The position is a ground-floor opportunity with a growing guitar manufacturer of high performance carbon fiber acoustic guitars and ukuleles. The position includes training on various aspects of our production process until proficiency is reached by working directly with the guitar-making team in the workshop.

About us

Blackbird Guitars manufactures and distributes carbon fiber string instruments. Since launching in 2007, Blackbird has quickly established itself as the premier brand of acoustic travel instruments. We are growing and looking for a highly motivated individual to apprentice with our luthiers.

About you

We are looking for an individual that is interested in luthierie as a career. This is potentially a long-term hire with opportunity for advancement for the right candidate.

Specific Skills/Qualities

Innate sense of craft

Plays guitar/ukulele

Guitar-making experience

Guitar Set-up experience

Fretting Experience 

Excellent attention to detail
Desire to learn 

CNC experience a plus (not at all required)

Composites experience a plus (not at all required)

Apply via email

joe@blackbirdguitar.com

Submission Details

Please provide a cover letter explaining your interest, resume, and images of previous work.

NOTE:

Candidates who are not US citizens or permanent residents need to have authorization to work in the US in order to apply

Folding Neck Travel Guitars

Regarding the folding neck, it comes back to our hollow neck/head uni-body construction which we are firmly committed to. This allows for increased responsiveness as well as the very robust internal bracing structure- a unique feature to Blackbirds (neck reinforcement into the soundbox). We've also found stiffer necks make better sounding guitars. Finally, the best composite structures combine parts rather than splitting them apart. That all aside, I certainly see the benefit of a folding neck- I just don't think it makes sense for our design.
Some other quick thoughts, lighter is nearly always better for sound, so we are going to keep pushing that in the future and I think leg rests are cool but agree that often they look anything but. We'll have to make that one a design project... along with a nice cutaway!

Making a hollow neck carbon fiber travel guitar is certainly doable from an engineering standpoint and would have obvious benefits as far as portability. But there are downsides as well particularly in terms of tone- all things being equal, adding such a joint reduces sustain and resonance.
The reason is, composite structures- particularly in the hollow monococque embodiment- do best with no joints at all or glue joints if necessary rather than mechanical joints. Sure you can always glue metal hardware into the composite (they do it all the time in F1) and get a good strong joint but you're breaking up the continuous fiber as a result. The continuous long strand fiber be it unidirectional, plain weave, or twill is the main reason for the tremendous strength-to-weight advantages that CF affords. That is one of the advantages of CF uni-body over wood.

Blackbird's steel string models

Now that we've got three distinct steel string models, folks are understandably wondering which one is right for them. The Rider, Lucky 13, and Super OM (in order of size) are each designed to fill a need. The Rider is a great travel guitar- small enough for the overhead and fits in places other guitars don't (like the side of my framepack!). Consider it the ultimate couch/armchair guitar- you can kick back with your feet up and jam away, no other guitar offers this level of comfort without sacrificing tone, can be a very intimate experience. A big sound for the size. The Lucky 13 is still a small body instrument- a hair larger than 3/4 scale so it is also good for travel and touring but not as easy to fit on the plane (still possible and can be checked in too with a flight case). It is 3.5 in. wider and 2.5 in. longer than the Rider so with that comes more volume and bass. So it also has a big sound for the size with a tone that compares favorably to a full-size guitar. The Super OM is medium sized Orchestra Model so still comfy for smaller frames but with that power of a dreadnought or Grand Auditorium. As you can see, the aesthetics are very different so I would think that one would speak to you over the others in terms of that... Ultimately, if you need a travel above all else then the Rider is for you. If you want ultimate responsiveness, then the Super OM. If you want somewhere in between with a strong dose of traditional design- the Lucky 13 is the winner.

Blackbird Super OM Nylon string

• 650mm scale (25.6")
• 16" radius board with side dots
• Pegheds geared flamenco style tuners
• Light bracing/ lightweight 3.5 lbs
• Nylon-string bridge
• 1 7/8" neck
• 2 5/16" bridge string spacing
• Optional electronics (RMC/Fishman/custom)

Our limited edition batch of Super OM nylon string guitars are now complete. What a labor of love that was! These are hybrid classicals with a slightly wider fretboard than our standard at 1 7/8" and nearly identical string spacing to a 2" neck. They are loud and bassy. Pretty unique tone actually. Complete with pedhed flamenco style tuners, they certainly look the part more than our Rider nylon though that doesn't say much. We are quite pleased but it may be a long while before we to make more. All images by Garry Mcleod