Written on November 18, 2008 – 2:56 pm | by Maria Mihale |


Musicians out there! I’ve got great news for you about a brand new device that has just hit the market! You’ve got to trust me! Blackbird Guitars is now selling a nylon-stringed version of their Rider, unibody, carbon-fiber guitar that is slightly larger than the steel-stringed original.

The nylon-string guitar has remained largely unchanged since the 19th century. As a result, creating a travel-worthy nylon string required a complete rethinking. The Blackbird Rider Nylon is a humidity-proof and nearly indestructible carbon fiber instrument that challenges the notion of the guitar form with every aspect of its design serving to maximize resonance in a highly compact form.



If you’re a guitarist, then the guitar is the most important thing you own. This is why I suppose you know how important is for you not to risk your fragile classical guitar while on the road. More than that, substituting it with an inferior travel instrument isn’t the solution you’d prefer. But you can say goodbye to all of these disadvantages, because the Blackbird’s patent-pending, one-piece, hollow body, neck and head construction mark major departure from traditional guitar design. In other words, it transforms the entire guitar into a sound box – enhancing loudness, frequency-range and sustain.

To further increase the air volume of the sound box, the guitar’s right shoulder extends up to the tenth fret, dubbed the Soundscoop. The Soundscoop also serves as the ideal location for the sound hole, while creating more surface area on the ultra-thin carbon-fiber sound board which further increases tonal response.



A secondary sound port projects sound that travels from the soundbox through the hollow neck to the head. These innovations work in harmony to create seemingly physics-defying voice. “We have a holistic approach to achieve maximum resonance from curve-less shape to the 1/32 thick sound board. It’s a big sound, small body guitar without compromise: full scale, studio quality voice, nearly indestructible and fits in the overhead bin”, explains founder Joe Luttwak.

When the guitar was designed, very important aspects that were taken in consideration were the comfort and playability. The hollow neck contributes to greater physical balance while the sculpted back makes for a very comfortable seated playing position. For all the non-traditional design features, the 2-inch wide neck, super-premium Gilbert side-address tuners and wide string spacing translates to a familiar playing experience for the nylon string guitar player.

High-tech costs though, so this beautifully handmade Blackbird Rider Nylon string starts at $1899, while the smaller Rider steel-string starts at $1599.

(Source: Gizmodo)