Here are the coolest carbon fiber guitars today, lightweight and roadworthy instruments built with modern materials and crafting techniques.
The use of carbon fiber on various manufactured machines has been proven to be advantageous, and so it was only a matter of time for it to make its way into guitars. Thanks to brave and adventurous guitar makers, we now have a wide selection of carbon fiber guitars in the market, instruments that are rock solid, impervious to environmental changes and very light.
Since these type of guitars are meant to last a lifetime, the price tags are quite hefty. Picking your carbon fiber guitar will depend highly on your budget and on your tolerance for odd designs. You can either stick to traditional shapes or go for originality.
Carbon Fiber Electric Guitars
Gus G1 Hardtail
If you are looking for a modern looking electric guitar that has the feel of traditional fretboards, then you should consider the Gus G1 Hardtail. Although it looks futuristic, this guitar still maintains some traditional wood elements into its design, having a carbon fiber over cedar body, and a cocobolo fingerboard. It is designed to give you the feel of wood while having improved stability and lighter weight. The guitar doesn’t just come with a modern look, it comes with a fancy switching system that gives you six distinct tones from its twin Gus Tube humbuckers – three humbucker and three single coil tones in one package. Other features of the Gust G1 Hardtail include Schaller strap locks and Gotoh 510 tuners. If you are looking for killer looking composite instruments with familiar playability, Gus Guitars is a great place to start.
The Handle
This electric guitar features a unique 100% carbon fiber body with multiple holes that look like handles. With the stability of graphite, each hole can actually function like a sturdy handle, which is probably where the name of the guitar is derived from. Having some portions of the body removed, “The Handle” is very light, and the designers from XOX Audio Tools, claim that the hollow parts give the guitar the same resonance as that of a semi-hollow. The guitar comes equipped with two DiMarzio PAF Pro pickups, and it has a 25.5″ scale length. The neck has 24 frets and is super thin, following the overall thin and lightweight theme of the guitar. The Handle is a perfect example of carbon fiber materials can be used to alter the overall design of electric guitars, while retaining great tones and functionality.
SuperString G5
In the world of carbon fiber electric guitars, unconventional shaped guitars are conventional, case in point is the SuperString G5 from Miller-Instruments. This odd shaped guitar features a completely seamless and hollow carbon fiber body and neck – resulting in a durable yet light and resonant guitar. The material and the design is so sturdy that Miller-Instruments decided to not put any truss rod on the neck. The SuperString G5 features a unique compound of Graphite and Silicon-Carbide that Miller specially designed for the fretboard. This material is claimed to be almost as hard as diamonds, which means you will literally have no fret wear to worry about. The guitar features hardware from Schaller, and you can pick between single coil and humbucking pickups that are made by Harry Haeussel. It is currently priced at 2,150 Euros. Further details and more carbon fiber guitars are available from Miller Instruments.
Martin Lewis String Instruments Archtop
While looking for available carbon fiber electric guitars, most of what we found are uniquely shaped electric guitars so it was a breath of fresh air when we found a great looking and great sounding carbon fiber archtop on a demo video! The Archtop, which is called Tweed Heads on the demo, sounded so great that we had to include it on this list. Since it is not as commercially available as the other guitars, not much is known aside from the great looking carbon fiber body and solid build that is shown on the images. Martin Lewis provided some specs for the guitar that include its 25″ scale length, 1/34″ nut width, 17″ cutaway archtop body and its Ken Armstrong pickup. This company is relatively new and does not have an official website, but they do have a facebook page where they can receive orders and answer queries. For more information, you can head over to Martin Lewis String Instruments.
Emerald Ultra Guitar
The Ultra Guitar has become quite popular, thanks to Steve Vai playing the guitar on his tour. This futuristic and alien looking composite axe is a faithful reproduction of the guitar illustration that was made by Aaron Brown for Vai’s The Ultra Zone album. This is a great sounding guitar that doubles as an art piece, showcasing great sculpting and guitar making skills. The guitar’s fragile outward appearance is contrasted by its road worthy and solid build, having a carbon/glass composite body and a carbon fiber neck. Another cool feature that enhances the guitar’s aesthetic appeal is its unique “chameleon color shifting” paint finish. The guitar is equipped with EMG SA/SA/85 active pickups and a Steinberger trans trem. The Ultra Guitar is currently available in limited production, and you can find out more about it by visiting Emerald Guitars.
Carbon Fiber Acoustic Guitars
RainSong H-WS1000N2
If you are looking for a modern carbon fiber guitar guitar that retains familiar shapes and playability, then RainSong guitars is the best place to start looking. The Rainsong H-WS1000N2 features a hybrid of glass and carbon fiber material crafted into a familiar single cutaway shape, which makes it a great entry or transition guitar for those coming from traditional wood instruments. Its all-graphite neck is also shaped into something traditional – a ’50s era “U” profile, providing familiar fretting action while ensuring rock solid stability that is simply impossible with traditional guitars. RainSong guitars is among the most well known graphite/carbon fiber guitar maker today, user feedback is unanimous and we agree that their creations are among the most robust and playable in the market. You can head over to RainSong for more details on this fine acoustic guitar.
Blackbird Super OM
Blackbird guitars continue to stay true to their compact, durable and portable design philosophy, producing some of the most modern and unique looking acoustic guitars that you can bring anywhere. Even the Super Om model, which hints at traditional shapes, feature a unique body and neck design. Blackbird sculpted its carbon fiber body to produce the fullness of traditional dreadnought while having unique curves for improved playability and comfort. The Super OM also features a carbon-fiber hollow neck and head, which have a separate sound port, adding to the two existing sound ports on the body. Weighing in at just 3.5 lbs, it ranks among the lightest in the world, while maintaining superior modern durability. Check out the Super OM along with other carbon fiber acoustics by going to Blackbird Guitars.
Composite Acoustics Xi
Founded by a former aerospace engineer, Composite Acoustics is known for their implementation of modern technology on our favorite stringed instrument. The Xi model is a good example, featuring a one-piece body and neck construction, and a fully integrated bracing that did not use any glue, giving it superior durability. It has a carbon fiber neck that CA claims to require no truss rod adjustments – ever. Its modern look also matches the modern material and construction techniques used on the guitar, featuring an offset soundhole that helps improve bass response. The Xi stays true to the what CA guitars claim they are all about – cool innovation, hip design and great sounds. For more information, you can visit CA Guitars.
Emerald X20-OS
Emerald Guitars is known for their artistic use of modern materials when building their guitars. Their popularity was boosted by the Ultra Guitar, a special electric guitar based on the alien-like instrument on Steve Vai’s Ultra Zone album. Their expertise however is not just limited to electrics, they offer a variety of stylish carbon fiber acoustic guitars that feature the same artistic creativity as their other instruments. The Emerald X20-OS is the latest model on their lineup, built for the player without regard for tradition. With the help of Emerald’s 10 years worth of experience, the X20-OS features modern molding technology that made unique contours possible, greatly improving the tonality and playability of the guitar. For the complete specifications, you can visit Emerald Guitars.
Leviora A1.f.b
Leviora is relatively new to guitar making, founded by a musician with a background in mechanical engineering and experienced builder carbon fiber made aerodynamic sport airplanes. He started Leviora because he wanted to create a super-light, highly resonant guitar that is durable enough to withstand modern acoustic guitar percussive techniques. To achieve this, they used a unique combination of carbon fiber material that closely resembles the response of traditional tonewoods while retaining the superior durability and ultra-light weight of carbon fiber. This unique combination, which they call “dragonbone”, is at the core of the Leviora A1.f.b. To complete its modern appeal, the Leviora A1.f.b comes with beveled edges and a fanned fret neck. You can find out more about this great looking instrument by visiting Leviora Guitars.
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Electric Guitar Wood Myth Busted?
Hey guys, I have been busy exploring and developing a carb fiber for about 3 years now and my findings is that shape and thickness do make a big difference. It is time to bring the dead sound of a solid body into the 21st century with something that all other nusical instruments have….resonance….however, I had to develop my playing and adjust to the sound. Thinking you don’t have to adjust is wrong thinking. Your ear is used to one thing and it is difficult to adjust. Once you get it it opens up a new opera unity for cool sounds that would take an Eventide processed to come close. Look found my website coming up next year.
Nyet,
You don’t know what you are talking about. I can make any carbon fiber sound like wood with just a saddle. The German Leviora that Thomas builds sound like wood even with a bone tone/volume sucking saddle.
While I haven’t played every carbon fiber acoustic guitar on the market I’ve played enough that for me they can stay on the rack. They have a lot of work to do before they can replace wood. If you want a distinct type of sound one of these should fit the bill. If you want a traditional acoustic sound buy wood. The best guitar manufacturers are doing a lot of work to preserve the forests they are gleaning from, and actually cultivating more forests for future wood needs.
Thanks for putting my guitars up on your site and saying such good things about them.
They are a lot of work to build and it is nice to know they are appreciated.
With all the recent discussions as to whether the type of timber which is used in the manufacture or the thickness or shape makes a difference to the “sound” of electric guitars, are these guitars reviewed above to be considered as soulless instruments because they are made of an artificial material, rather than some rare expensive tonewood? I read a comment above that it is hard to believe that these carbon fibre guitars sound the same as regular guitars. This lends credibility to the notion that wood, shape, size, thickness are irrelevant to the sound of a guitar. Let’s stop believing the earth is flat.
Ovation started making carbon graphite and composite guitars in the 70s – I have a first year hand built carbon graphite top Adamas that sounds great. Research much?
I’m finding it hard to believe that these sound the same as regular guitars.
Do you have any demos of what these sound like?
hello there
i noticed your question and decided to go to my local music store to try out several carbon fibre acoustic guitars.
i also played several others including martins,laravee’s , epiphones , fenders and a few gibsons as well.
here is what i found,the carbon-fibre guitar sounds very very similar and any differences i did notice were’nt offensive or bad in any way.
if you think they don’t sound good you are very mistaken.they are a wonderful,full sounding instrument
and you should try one out if you have an opportunity
Contrary to some comments composite material does not project a “plastic sound” as I expected but a neutral sound …neither woody or plastic.
I have a Adamas graphite mid-bowl cutaway and find the Rainsong cutaway mid-bowl comparable in sound quality, although the Rainsong has the smoothest neck I have ever encountered and maybe lightest acoustic electric.
As with all guitars the the dreads have a fuller louder sound and better base response, although if you get and Adamas with the single multi-hole and pull the electronics you get a sound comparable to a high quality full-depth and bodied dread with the advantage of better uppermost fret access.
The Rainsong with the abalone around the soundhole is a pretty guitar, although the Adamas I feel as a whole are even more attractive and sell used for around the same price.
I had the same objection at first, but I am now convinced that they are great musical instruments – not necessarily replacing our beloved tonewoods, but great nonetheless. There are a number of good demo’s on YouTube for many of these guitars. To start it off, here is the demo involving the Martin Lewis String Instruments Archtop and a smaller guitar that’s also made of carbon fiber: