Last week I bought a Rainsong OM1000. it wasn't cheap, but the shop in Doncaster sold it to me for £1,700.00 to include the hard case, and that was a fair price compared to the prices I had seen on line.

Now... I had gone to buy a second hand Fylde they had in for about the same money. I noticed the Rainsong and gave it a try. I compared it to the Fylde, also various Martin / Taylor / Gibsons of around the same money.

The Rainsong had more clarity, was easier to play over prolonged periods, had an acoustic volume that defies the small size of this particular model and I was fascinated from a technical level, (my PhD is in mechanical vibration and I used to design and sell vibrating tables for industry using guitar bracing techniques to achieve a good balance.) This is weirdly excellent. I read the other day that not having wood damping some frequencies more than others gives it the clarity of a piano.

I would go along with that.... And if you plug it in, you also have one of the most respected pickup makes there is as a bonus. it may lack the heritage, it may lack the traditional craft skills of double X or whatever bracing, but the neck stays true, (machined to flat...) and the guitar stays in tune longer.

The pure unadulterated sound can be demonstrated by attaching a tuner to the headstock. I have one that if I use it on chromatic scale, it can get a string with any of my guitars but stop the string on frets and it may not see the F sharp whatever. But the Rainsong does, and for every note I stop. That is impressive. Not having to hold the other strings at all.

The downsides? Well, it does sound a bit bright, and although the depth is there, the brightness of the treble does come across a bit more than some guitars. Plugging in helps here, but UK folk clubs and acoustic playing.. not too bright otherwise I wouldn't have bought it, but the treble does carry....