New Ax: Blackbird Rider Nylon String w/RMC Polydrive

I have been looking at this guitar and scratching my chin for quite a while. Many, many months. Blackbird Guitars kind of promotes their Rider Steel String and Rider Nylon String guitars as the ultimate in durable go-anywhere-with-no-worries travel instruments, but they also mention that, although they are small, they sound full-sized.

So, you can forgive me for thinking that the Rider Nylon was a small guitar - as in shorter than normal scale length and narrower than normal nut... but that isn't the case: The scale is the standard 650mm and the nut width is also standard at 2.0". The only thing small is the body, and since I play electric nylon string guitars - including a Parker Nylon Fly - I actually like that.

Well, as I began to look into them with more than just idle curiosity, I discovered that not just the body, but the entire guitar... is hollow! Being, as the Rider is, made of hand laid molded carbon fiber allows this. There are several advantages to a hollow neck and headstock: The entire guitar is a sound chamber, the neck isn't heavy - a heavy neck is a problem if you stand to play as I do sometimes, because the guitar's neck wants to inch down as you perform - and the rigidity of the carbon fiber means you don't need a truss rod. The guitar weighs only 3.25 pounds, which is lighter than my Nylon Fly!

The clincher for me is that the Rider Nylon is available with the same RMC Polydrive that I use in my Godin and Parker guitars. I gave up on acoustics for performing a few years ago because my concert classicals were just too valuable to schlep around, and the less expensive ones weren't as fun to play as my electrics. I do miss having an acoustic for some situations though, and this small and nearly indestructible ax could be just the ticket. So, I put a deposit down on one last night... after a few beers to work up the nerve. LOL!

Besides, it's 2009 for crying out loud: Why are we still killing trees to make guitars?

It looks funky, but it's grown on me.



Yet more Georgia, because... wait for it... here it comes... Georgia Rules.