Mesotech
03-28-2004, 10:05 AM
CA Guitars tour
Sitting at work on Friday, I'm messaged by my boss that he has arranged a lunchtime tour of CA Guitars, and asks if I'm interested in going. "Sure!" I reply, and off we go, to a locale about 3 miles from my home. Didn't have time to grab a camera, but now wish I had.
CA Guitars (http://www.caguitars.com), the CA stands for Carbon Acoustics, was founded by a chemical engineer that worked in the aerospace industry. Based in Lafayette Louisiana (where is that???), the fledgling company is rapidly gaining quite a reputation for their instruments. The current production is handled completely within two small shops, while the new "main shop" is being converted from an old automobile dealership. Administration and shipping/receiving is currently in a third location.
Shop #1
Touring the facilities, one immediately gets the impression that this is a company that spends more time on quality than quantity. Production rates today are about 5 finished instruments a day. As we walked in the door of shop #1, the first thing to catch my eye were rolls of various sheet type films and fiber cloths. The smell of resins filled the air, even with the ventilation systems constantly flowing. In typical Louisiana style, a combination of delta blues, traditional Cajun, and Zydeco music provided the workers with a comfortable "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of life) atmosphere.
One worker was cutting the sheets of film and carbon fiber using various plexi-glass templates and laying them out on another table. From there the cut pieces were individually laid into a mold and resin applied between each layer. The molds are first painted with a resin and cured (this is the outer layer of the shell. Once all of the layers are added (including a special core layer that adds acoustic resonance), the molds are vacuum sealed and placed into an oven to bake. After cooling, a small amount of air pressure applied to an external valve "pops" the shell out of its cocoon.
It was interesting to note that the body and neck are molded together as a single unit. There is not the traditional "neck joint" and as a consequence, no "heel" is applied where the neck meets the body. Likewise, CA Guitars does not employ a truss rod of any type. To allow for "neck relief", each fingerboard is shaped to add the relief.
The tops of the instruments are constructed in the same manner, except they are pressed flat, and are extremely thin, compared to a traditional wood instrument. Abalone rosettes are applied beneath the final layer of clear film, as well as on the headstock veneers for the logo. Each rosette and logo is laser cut for the intricate design characteristics.
Once each piece has been molded, it is trimmed by hand using various tools to final finish specs. Carbon Fiber fingerboards are precision cut and medium jumbo frets are all applied at one time in a multi-fret press.
Off to Shop #2
A few blocks away, a small metal building houses the assembly area for the parts manufactured at the other shop. Small pneumatic vises hold various pieces tight as they are glued together. There are precision jigs laid out on benches to help guide where bracings are to be glued to the ultra-thin tops. These bracing locations assist in developing the unique voicing of the various product lines. CA Guitars developed each of their voicing's by sonically analyzing hundreds of traditional wood instruments and selecting the most desired sound components of each.
Interestingly, there are only a few models that have any wood at all incorporated into the design. In these models, an ebony fingerboard is used instead of carbon fiber to reduce player costs. Ebony fingerboard wood is less expensive to purchase and shape, as they are readily available from many suppliers. The higher end instruments all have carbon fiber fingerboards. Bridge pieces are constructed either from carbon fiber or simulated tusk, for clarity.
After each part has been assembled, the instrument is masked cleaned and primed for the final painting process. Much like the automotive industry, the painted guitars are hand buffed between coats. Because of the smaller surface area of a guitar vs. an automotive part, extra attention to detail is applied to ensure the best possible quality finish.
Back to the Administration Building
After touring the manufacturing facilities, we traveled back to the administration building to actually play a few of these instruments. I was skeptical of the tonality of a carbon fiber instrument, preconceiving that they would probably be very dark sounding. My preconception was immediately proven false. These instruments sound extremely alive and vibrant. The low end response was clear and focused, while the mids are resonant and pronounced. The highs are crystal clear, ringing for days it seemed. In fact the entire instrument was extremely crisp and clear, almost pianoesque. Due to the fact that there is no heel where the neck meets the body, every fret was easily accessible, even on the traditional dreadnought models. I instantly noticed how pressure applied to the top (either by forearm or fingers) would mellow the sound. These guitars are very versatile indeed.
Current production includes instruments of two voicing's and various appointments. Both voicing's were superb sounding and individually unique. In addition to the current production models, I was given the opportunity to play a few of the prototypes for new models not yet in production. My favorite was the new "X" series single cutaway. This featherweight beauty takes the acoustic guitar where no other has been. At under 3 lbs. this was by far the best playing and sounding acoustic I've ever held. It is easy to forget that it is a composite design, but you'll never mistake its playability and sound characteristics for anything other than top quality hand produced craftsmanship.
Other Interesting Details
Throughout the tour, I was able to ask several off the wall questions, and each was answered very professionally and surprisingly simplistically.
Q. Why would anyone want a carbon guitar to begin with?
A. There are several reasons we've been told, and not what you might expect. The biggest reason we've heard from several artists is that they wanted a durable guitar they could bang around on the road with and not have to worry about it getting all messed up. There is no question that composite instruments are far more durable than traditional wooden counterparts. What was most satisfying to us is that these same artists, once they played our guitars, stated that they not only like them on the road, but also for studio work. The sound signatures are EQ'd to the point that they are excellent recording instruments which do not require vast amounts of studio engineering to remove undesired artifacts.
Q. Why do you incorporate a no truss rod design? Aren't you concerned about warping of the materials with temperature changes?
A. We do not use a truss rod simply because it isn't necessary. Once our composites are baked and cured, the shape does not change due to heat or humidity. It takes heat in excess of 3000° to break down the composites to the point of softening. So you can toss one of these in the back of the trunk of your car and leave it all summer long here in Lafayette, take it out months later and it will still be in tune.
Q. As a composite instrument, wouldn't you characterize them as being darker sounding than traditional instruments because they don't resonate as wood does?
A. (Quizzical and comical expression) You've never played one, have you? We'll fix that when we get back to the Admin building.
Q. Since you position the rosettes under the finish instead of inlaying it later in the process, how do you get them perfectly centered around the sound hole?
A. The entire top is very roughly shaped during the layout process. So as long as the rosette is close to where it is supposed to be, we then use its center as the starting point for drilling the sound hole and cutting the final shape. That way each one is perfect.
Q. Is there quite a bit of variance in the tone of identical models, such as there is with other instruments?
A. That is one of the advantages of the composite design. Every instrument of each design is identical to each other. You don't have to play every one in the store to find the one that speaks to you.
Q. So how long has CA Guitars been around?
A. We've been in business for about 5 years now, but only in production for about the last 2 years. We had a period of prototyping where we had several artists providing feedback on our designs to try to come up with something unique and versatile.
Q. So what artists are currently using CA instruments?
A. I can't tell you the names of them all. We have several featured on our website, and there are more and more each day. The latest I can think of is Graham Nash who called us out of the blue a few weeks ago. He said he was in the studio recording on a new project, and they had one of our guitars hanging around. He was having difficulty getting the tone he was looking for and the engineer handed him the CA and he fell in love with it. I think most of the songs on that project are recorded with that guitar. He called us and wanted to know "how much" (they cost), I guess thinking they were far more expensive than they are, but saying he will promote them, advertise for us, whatever. I guess he was just flat out impressed. (shrugs like it's the same type of story he's heard many times over)
Sitting at work on Friday, I'm messaged by my boss that he has arranged a lunchtime tour of CA Guitars, and asks if I'm interested in going. "Sure!" I reply, and off we go, to a locale about 3 miles from my home. Didn't have time to grab a camera, but now wish I had.
CA Guitars (http://www.caguitars.com), the CA stands for Carbon Acoustics, was founded by a chemical engineer that worked in the aerospace industry. Based in Lafayette Louisiana (where is that???), the fledgling company is rapidly gaining quite a reputation for their instruments. The current production is handled completely within two small shops, while the new "main shop" is being converted from an old automobile dealership. Administration and shipping/receiving is currently in a third location.
Shop #1
Touring the facilities, one immediately gets the impression that this is a company that spends more time on quality than quantity. Production rates today are about 5 finished instruments a day. As we walked in the door of shop #1, the first thing to catch my eye were rolls of various sheet type films and fiber cloths. The smell of resins filled the air, even with the ventilation systems constantly flowing. In typical Louisiana style, a combination of delta blues, traditional Cajun, and Zydeco music provided the workers with a comfortable "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of life) atmosphere.
One worker was cutting the sheets of film and carbon fiber using various plexi-glass templates and laying them out on another table. From there the cut pieces were individually laid into a mold and resin applied between each layer. The molds are first painted with a resin and cured (this is the outer layer of the shell. Once all of the layers are added (including a special core layer that adds acoustic resonance), the molds are vacuum sealed and placed into an oven to bake. After cooling, a small amount of air pressure applied to an external valve "pops" the shell out of its cocoon.
It was interesting to note that the body and neck are molded together as a single unit. There is not the traditional "neck joint" and as a consequence, no "heel" is applied where the neck meets the body. Likewise, CA Guitars does not employ a truss rod of any type. To allow for "neck relief", each fingerboard is shaped to add the relief.
The tops of the instruments are constructed in the same manner, except they are pressed flat, and are extremely thin, compared to a traditional wood instrument. Abalone rosettes are applied beneath the final layer of clear film, as well as on the headstock veneers for the logo. Each rosette and logo is laser cut for the intricate design characteristics.
Once each piece has been molded, it is trimmed by hand using various tools to final finish specs. Carbon Fiber fingerboards are precision cut and medium jumbo frets are all applied at one time in a multi-fret press.
Off to Shop #2
A few blocks away, a small metal building houses the assembly area for the parts manufactured at the other shop. Small pneumatic vises hold various pieces tight as they are glued together. There are precision jigs laid out on benches to help guide where bracings are to be glued to the ultra-thin tops. These bracing locations assist in developing the unique voicing of the various product lines. CA Guitars developed each of their voicing's by sonically analyzing hundreds of traditional wood instruments and selecting the most desired sound components of each.
Interestingly, there are only a few models that have any wood at all incorporated into the design. In these models, an ebony fingerboard is used instead of carbon fiber to reduce player costs. Ebony fingerboard wood is less expensive to purchase and shape, as they are readily available from many suppliers. The higher end instruments all have carbon fiber fingerboards. Bridge pieces are constructed either from carbon fiber or simulated tusk, for clarity.
After each part has been assembled, the instrument is masked cleaned and primed for the final painting process. Much like the automotive industry, the painted guitars are hand buffed between coats. Because of the smaller surface area of a guitar vs. an automotive part, extra attention to detail is applied to ensure the best possible quality finish.
Back to the Administration Building
After touring the manufacturing facilities, we traveled back to the administration building to actually play a few of these instruments. I was skeptical of the tonality of a carbon fiber instrument, preconceiving that they would probably be very dark sounding. My preconception was immediately proven false. These instruments sound extremely alive and vibrant. The low end response was clear and focused, while the mids are resonant and pronounced. The highs are crystal clear, ringing for days it seemed. In fact the entire instrument was extremely crisp and clear, almost pianoesque. Due to the fact that there is no heel where the neck meets the body, every fret was easily accessible, even on the traditional dreadnought models. I instantly noticed how pressure applied to the top (either by forearm or fingers) would mellow the sound. These guitars are very versatile indeed.
Current production includes instruments of two voicing's and various appointments. Both voicing's were superb sounding and individually unique. In addition to the current production models, I was given the opportunity to play a few of the prototypes for new models not yet in production. My favorite was the new "X" series single cutaway. This featherweight beauty takes the acoustic guitar where no other has been. At under 3 lbs. this was by far the best playing and sounding acoustic I've ever held. It is easy to forget that it is a composite design, but you'll never mistake its playability and sound characteristics for anything other than top quality hand produced craftsmanship.
Other Interesting Details
Throughout the tour, I was able to ask several off the wall questions, and each was answered very professionally and surprisingly simplistically.
Q. Why would anyone want a carbon guitar to begin with?
A. There are several reasons we've been told, and not what you might expect. The biggest reason we've heard from several artists is that they wanted a durable guitar they could bang around on the road with and not have to worry about it getting all messed up. There is no question that composite instruments are far more durable than traditional wooden counterparts. What was most satisfying to us is that these same artists, once they played our guitars, stated that they not only like them on the road, but also for studio work. The sound signatures are EQ'd to the point that they are excellent recording instruments which do not require vast amounts of studio engineering to remove undesired artifacts.
Q. Why do you incorporate a no truss rod design? Aren't you concerned about warping of the materials with temperature changes?
A. We do not use a truss rod simply because it isn't necessary. Once our composites are baked and cured, the shape does not change due to heat or humidity. It takes heat in excess of 3000° to break down the composites to the point of softening. So you can toss one of these in the back of the trunk of your car and leave it all summer long here in Lafayette, take it out months later and it will still be in tune.
Q. As a composite instrument, wouldn't you characterize them as being darker sounding than traditional instruments because they don't resonate as wood does?
A. (Quizzical and comical expression) You've never played one, have you? We'll fix that when we get back to the Admin building.
Q. Since you position the rosettes under the finish instead of inlaying it later in the process, how do you get them perfectly centered around the sound hole?
A. The entire top is very roughly shaped during the layout process. So as long as the rosette is close to where it is supposed to be, we then use its center as the starting point for drilling the sound hole and cutting the final shape. That way each one is perfect.
Q. Is there quite a bit of variance in the tone of identical models, such as there is with other instruments?
A. That is one of the advantages of the composite design. Every instrument of each design is identical to each other. You don't have to play every one in the store to find the one that speaks to you.
Q. So how long has CA Guitars been around?
A. We've been in business for about 5 years now, but only in production for about the last 2 years. We had a period of prototyping where we had several artists providing feedback on our designs to try to come up with something unique and versatile.
Q. So what artists are currently using CA instruments?
A. I can't tell you the names of them all. We have several featured on our website, and there are more and more each day. The latest I can think of is Graham Nash who called us out of the blue a few weeks ago. He said he was in the studio recording on a new project, and they had one of our guitars hanging around. He was having difficulty getting the tone he was looking for and the engineer handed him the CA and he fell in love with it. I think most of the songs on that project are recorded with that guitar. He called us and wanted to know "how much" (they cost), I guess thinking they were far more expensive than they are, but saying he will promote them, advertise for us, whatever. I guess he was just flat out impressed. (shrugs like it's the same type of story he's heard many times over)