RainSong Graphite Guitars opened its doors about a decade ago on Maui,
Hawaii, introducing an all-graphite guitar that was impervious to climate
conditions. Early RainSong instruments were built with relatively traditional
construction techniques, basically substituting graphite for wood. The
company has grown and moved to Woodinville, Washington (www.rainsong.com),
where its designers and craftspeople now build a range of high-end graphite
instruments that defy the conventions of traditional lutherie and take
full advantage of graphite’s unique capabilities.
The OM-1000 ($2,245 with hard-shell case) represents the latest developments
in RainSong’s research and was designed from the ground up with graphite
in mind. Like all current RainSong guitars, its back and sides are constructed
as a single unit. A resin-impregnated graphite weave (which has to be
shipped and stored frozen until it is used) is layered into a special
mold, affixed using vacuum pressure, and then cured at a high temperature.
Thanks to graphite’s incredible tensile strength, no soundboard braces
are necessary. Instead, layers of the weave are sandwiched together
in a process the company calls projection-tuned layering. A look
inside the guitar with a mirror reveals that the thickness of the top
varies from area to area. It’s constructed separately from the back
and sides and then glued to the rest of the body, but the joint is virtually
invisible. The bridge is made of a black composite material and is glued
and bolted to the top. Black, abalone-adorned Tusq bridge pins secure
the strings.
The guitar’s neck is also made in a mold, using a graphite/epoxy composite.
It’s topped with a solid graphite fingerboard (with no sign of weave)
that holds 21 traditional nickel-silver frets. The neck joins the body
at the 14th fret using a combination of bolts (at the heel) and glue
(at the fingerboard). Tiny mother-of-pearl sharks serve as position
markers, and there are standard dots on the side of the fingerboard.
The nut and saddle are Tusq (a synthetic material resembling ivory),
and the headstock is home to a set of chrome Gotoh tuners.
Like all RainSongs, the OM-1000 includes on-board Fishman electronics,
namely an Acoustic Matrix under-saddle pickup and a Prefix Blender preamp
with a built-in microphone. In addition to blending the two sources,
the unit has controls for bass, treble, semiparametric mids, notch filter,
and volume. It features a flip-up design that allows for easy access
to the battery.
I was surprised by the light weight of the OM-1000 I reviewed. Even
with the on-board electronics, the guitar feels lighter than many standard
acoustics. It’s 14 7/8 inches wide and 4 1/8 inches deep at the lower
bout—slightly smaller around than a Martin-style OM, but also deeper.
It felt comfortable in my arms whether I was sitting or standing (thanks
in part to two factory-installed strap buttons). The instrument’s shallow
neck has a somewhat boxy profile, and the nut is 1 3/4 inches wide.
Although the test guitar’s setup was excellent, the OM-1000 would benefit
from an adjustable truss rod, which would allow the player to tweak
the neck relief according to his or her personal preference. The guitar’s
fretwork was superb, and the first strum confirmed that this was one
of the easiest-playing six-strings I’d ever gotten my hands on.
It’s impossible not to compare the RainSong’s sound to the wooden instruments
we’re all used to hearing. The OM-1000 convinced me that the material
a guitar is made of has less to do with its sound than we’d like to
think. It sounds like an acoustic guitar, and I doubt that many listeners
would be able to immediately pick it out as a graphite instrument in
a blindfold test. The voice was bright and balanced, and the response
was even up and down the neck. It felt equally comfortable fingerpicked
and strummed. The instrument’s volume was impressive, and while it lacked
the warmth and dimension of some wooden guitars, it had a really cool
midrange shimmer that added to its tonal complexity. Played along with
an Ovation Adamas and a Collings dreadnought, it cut through the mix,
and its clear tone gave it an almost processed sound quality.
RainSong claims that graphite’s conductive qualities lead to improved
pickup performance, and indeed, the Fishman system inside the OM-1000
sounded alive and natural. The pickup alone produced a satisfying voice
with only a touch of piezo quack, which all but disappeared when I blended
in a little signal from the mic. The on-board controls provided adequate
tone-shaping capabilities, and the notch filter was able to contain
feedback in all but the loudest situations I tested it in.
Overall, the RainSong OM-1000 is an impressive small-body guitar. Its
appearance may not be for everyone, but those who appreciate a modern
look will find it a comfortable and versatile instrument.
Learn more about RainSong at www.rainsong.com.
Excerpted from Acoustic
Guitar magazine, February 2002, No. 110.
