Rider Steel-String versus Composite Acoustics Cargo

"For pros or serious amateurs seeking a highly portable and efficient acoustic for gigs, practice, or sessions, the Rider Steel String could be a small miracle." - GuitarPlayer, August 2009

"The Blackbird Rider, sturdy and resistant to weather changes, sets a new standard for this increasingly popular style [travel guitars]" Vintage Guitar, June 2009

Folks often ask me to compare our guitars with those offered by other carbon fiber guitar companies. I figured this being our blog, I could let loose. Blackbird makes performance grade instruments that serve to inspire guitarists of all levels. This is reflected in the tone of our instruments but also the playability and attention to detail insured but the master luthier assembly and construction.

I played the Composite Acoustics Cargo at the 2008 NAMM Show and had the opportunity to compare it with our Blackbird Rider which we had released at the show a year earlier. Their guitar is essentially in the same category as any of the small travel instruments (Baby Taylor, etc.)- a miniaturized conventional guitar except in this case it is made of composites. In contrast, the Rider is designed around the notion that one can have a truly compact guitar without compromise. This unconventional thinking is what separates Blackbird from all other travel guitars, so even though we are exploring the Cargo, the fundamental differences apply to all the others as well.

I will start with the indisputable differences.
One compromise with the Cargo is it has a shorter scale length- 22.75" verses our full scale of 24.5". That impacts tone, intonation, volume and most importantly playability. In spite of having a nearly two in. longer scale length, the Blackbird Rider is the same overall length as the Cargo a feat we achieve with our upper bout extension and body cutaway- i.e. clever packaging and design. Illustrated here- click on feature number two http://www.blackbirdguitar.com/rider_steel.html

Another compromise is portability, the CA Cargo is 13.3 inches wide versus the Blackbird Rider which is 10.5 inches wide. Being around 1/3 wider makes the Cargo more difficult to fit in small places and get on an airplane as a carry-on as it is closer to the width of a full size than to the Rider. The cargo weighs 30% more which also compromises portability (and sound but more on that below).

The painted finish on the CA hides the Carbon fiber. Painting is a much cheaper and easier way to make the instrument (as with a wood guitar) because one does not need to worry about how the fabric lays as much. Or the quality of the fabric because it is hidden. The Rider is a clear-coat (like their higher-end models) which reveals the carbon fiber in its beautiful splendor and shows the high quality of construction if you look closely.

In spite of being narrower, it is tone that most separates the instruments.

Our all-hollow construction including the neck and head is more difficult to realize but greatly enhances responsiveness. The hollow neck also contributes to weight savings with the Cargo weighing in at one lbs. more which clearly has a negative impact on the sound. Lighter guitars are more responsive because there is less mass to absorb resonance- particularly with the top. We use more costly pre-preg carbon for the top which is why ours is lighter. Note that the added weight is all in the body (assuming the fretboard, bridge, tuners etc. are similar weight) with some additional weight savings in the hollow neck/head and well as likelier a heavier soundboard.

Here are some more details in depth:

- Synergistic and patented design features to maximize resonance including: hollow neck and holllow head (kills sound deadening neck joint/lowers weight/increases resonance chamber)
- Body extension with back cutaway for access to higher frets
- Curve-less design (no sound robbing double-O where it is ergonomically unnecessary with a narrower guitar) for larger soundboard resonance area
- Secondary sound hole (no standing waves from hollow neck and additional sound projection). For more info check out: http://blackbirdguitar.com/specifications.html

* 1mm thick soundboard- Aircraft-grade all carbon fiber pre-preg laminate. That is the thinnest and most resonant in the industry because we make it differently and out of a higher grade of carbon (pre-preg) for greater stiffness-to-weight. We know that the soundboard accounts for 95% of the tone. We make our soundboard out of aerospace pre-impregnated carbon fiber- they use the same process to make there tops as their bodies- we tried that- it just doesn't sound as good. This means we have a lower resin to fabric ratio which translates to a better sound. This process is much more expensive but we deem it necessary as we are selling a carbon fiber small body acoustic without compromise.