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So I have been really interested in carbon fibre instruments lately.

Check out these lads:





The tonal quality is very surprising.

Blackbird Guitars makes Carbon Fibre acoustics. This is the Super OM.





Very light, very clear, and very loud.

It's also stronger than steel, it's rumored the new MacBooks will be Carbon Fibre.

So I've been thinking, why not make a carbon fibre Les Paul or Jazz Master?

http://www.carbonmods.com/

Just ordered £200 of the stuff needed... now I need to learn how to make molds...

Once molds are made, and the wrinkles worked out, I don't see why one couldn't churn and burn high quality instruments at bargain basement prices in my living room.

I'd be super interested in a hollowbody carbon fibre electric. Light as a feather and full of rock tones? Sign me up.

Dude I work with is the biggest hater on carbon fiber in the world. Uses up a ton of finite natural resources and is completely unrecycleable. Can't be remolded or broken back down into it's base components. That's his piece.

BillClay wrote: Uses up a ton of finite natural resources and is completely unrecycleable. Can't be remolded or broken back down into it's base components. That's his piece.

I can see this, and can agree on many levels but how many guitars could u make out of a McLearn F1?..... or race cars in general?..... not agreeing or disagreeing with carbon fiber but it is used for many more less useful things.... maybe just something to throw in his face if he starts ranting

^
Nah, he actually thinks the guitar thing is kinda cool, it's people who get cf hoods for their shitty fake ass "street racing" cars that piss him off the most.

Don't touch them... you hate poly.
The resin the fibres run in is even more plasticy!

Ankhanu wrote:Don't touch them... you hate poly.
The resin the fibres run in is even more plasticy!

Hate poly on wood, smart ass.

Just making sure you're aware that the actual surface that you'll be touching will be resin. Generally it's an epoxy, but nylon and poly- or vinyl ester are sometimes used too. Either way, expoxy has a fairly plastic feel. You've mentioned that you don't like the way that poly deadens vibration, well, the bulk of the material in carbon fibre is essentially poly...

Sure, you can nitro- finish the necks, but your body complaints will be greater than for poly finishes on wood bodies.

Of course, most of it's all hogwash anyway, carbon fibre bodies sound just fine, and carbon fibre necks also play just fine. I'm not a fan of the neck widths, but the carbon Ibanez basses I've played have been solid instruments (though not my style).

I have used small strips of it to reinforce a Ric that had been routed in an awkward spot. Strong and light. No appeal as a guitar. I just like wood. I wouldn't mind trying to make stuff with it though. Art stuff. So it's like thin flexible fiberglass?

I still want to try bending some wood.

Nah, it's basically fibreglass, just easier to mold (and lighter/stronger), as the carbon is in sheets rather than mixed throughout the resin like fibreglass is.

I don't think the use of precious or non-recyclable materials is as big a deal in the construction of guitars, especially expensive guitars, because it's a limited market and the products have a huge lifespan.

Is it more damaging to the environment to have 10,000 guitars with Aluminum necks or 25 million iPads with a shell made of aluminum alloy? In both cases the Aluminum can be recycled infinitely but it still is a resource that is used and has an impact. In the case of the iPads within 4 to 7 years they will most likely be completely obsolete.

Carbon fiber is nasty stuff to produce, but if you find the right formula and application where it's reduced weight saves fuel in Airplanes or Cars it might be beneficiary. In the case of a guitar it provides almost a lifetime of stability and strength and that also has an added benefit.

I like the idea of a carbon fiber guitar, but I'm just not a fan of the look of carbon fiber. Is it possible to paint over carbon fiber?

Absolutely!

1. Do not drop it.
2. Do not go outside with it during thunderstorms.

3. But yes, dew it.

colabonham wrote:1. Do not drop it.
2. Do not go outside with it during thunderstorms.

3. But yes, dew it.

I thought the whole thing about Carbon Fibre was that it is super strong... I read somewhere the reason bands are moving to carbon fibre instruments is because it doesn't matter if they get wet when playing outside...

Carbon fibre is strong, but rigid. It will break on impact, and those breaks can't really be repaired. It can take a strain, but when it snaps, there's no goin back.
I THINK the thunderstorm comment wasn't about getting wet, rather that graphite is an ok electrical conductor.

It's a good material, but, like any other, has its limitations.

Ankhanu wrote:Carbon fibre is strong, but rigid. It will break on impact, and those breaks can't really be repaired. It can take a strain, but when it snaps, there's no goin back.
I THINK the thunderstorm comment wasn't about getting wet, rather that graphite is an ok electrical conductor.

It's a good material, but, like any other, has its limitations.

I'm interested in it for it's tonal properties and because it's inexpensive. To be honest, from what I've heard Carbon Fibre sounds great. You get a good mould going. work out the niggles, then you could churn and burn these out.

Listen to the Black Bird Guitars Super-OM, it sounds fantastic... I love the hollow neck and body design. I'm thinking a Les Paul with f-holes to start... grover machine heads, a humbucker in the bridge and a P-90 in the neck.

So this company XOX Audio Tools makes this carbon fibre guitar called "The Handle" and apparently it's played almost exclusively by douche bags so it took me a while to find a youtube video I could stomach.



Although I hate this design, the people who play these,a nd just about everything about them... it's a great proof concept. They also offer them in a variety of colors.

This guy Earl Slick (?) is playing one. This totally dad rock, but you get the idea... the tone is pretty amazing.

Yeah, it's a great instrument material, and, with more exploration, testing and playing around, some absolutely great and unique designs will come from it. I see nothing wrong with using it as a body/neck material.

Of course, the instrument community is very resistant to change, so it may or may not ever catch on outside of a few specialists. Guess you'll have to gauge production on demand more than what's possible to pump out.

Someone on TDPRI is doing a Carbon Fiber Telecaster. Its a seriously good thread
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-de ... build.html