Guitar Review: Rainsong N-JM1100N2, AKA the Nashville Series Jumbo

Nashville Jumbo

Inimitable. Now, that is an adjective that is not commonly used in everyday speech. Its definition: “so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy.” I would use this adjective to describe Rainsong’s new Nashville Series Jumbo (N-JM1100N2). I also use the adjective exquisite to describe this guitar in review. Over several years I’ve played three other guitars that I would describe as exquisite in tone and quality: a Breedlove dreadnought, and Breedlove grand auditorium, and a Martin HD-28. All guitars were well above my price range, and I completely shut them out of my mind, thus giving them no further thought or attempt at pursuit of purchase.

Serendipity. Now, that’s a noun not commonly used in everyday speech. Its definition: “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.” (Its adjectival form is serendipitous.) Several months ago at Tacoma, Washington’s Ted Brown Music I had a serendipitous encounter with an inimitable and exquisite Rainsong guitar — the Nashville N-JM1100N2 — a jumbo bodied guitar with a beautiful, glossy tobacco burst finish.

Prior to my serendipitous meeting, I had noticed an ad in Acoustic Guitar for Rainsong’s new Nashville series lineup. This series, as well as the company’s Vintage Series of guitars, has a unique “double top” construction:

“A thin spruce soundboard fused with a unidirectional carbon fiber top [offers] rich crystalline carbon sound subtly colored by spruce…and impervious to temperature and humidity changes.”

I have been aware of, and appreciated Rainsong guitars for many years. In fact I have reviewed this Nashville’s cousin, the Rainsong JM1000N2, elsewhere in this site (Guitar Review: RainSong JM1000N2 ).  They are great guitars, and offer many advantages to the traditional wooden guitar. They also come with a price tag that is beyond the reach of many, many guitarists.

I interject some details on this Rainsong guitar. As previously noted, it is a jumbo bodied instrument: its lower bout measures 17 inches in width. The nut width is 1.75 inches, and scale length is 25.4 inches. It stays in tune between “play dates”, I imagine because, not only due to its tuners, but the overall structural stability offered by carbon fiber. To add, it is incredibly comfortable and its playability is fantastic. The LR Baggs electronics (see the photo) are solid, and the output is great when the guitar was played through my Fishman Loudbox Mini-charge amplifier. But, the tone unplugged is its strength — this inimitable guitar is truly exquisite! It offers sustain and good volume, but also a rich palate of secondary tones not found on the only-carbon Rainsongs displayed.

Allow me to continue with my serendipitous experience. The Ted Brown store I frequently haunt is a distributor of the Rainsong brand, and they have a sizable portion of one wall in their acoustic room devoted to the brand’s offerings. The Nashville jumbo caught my eye, and she began her call to me. A few strummed chords were followed by a progression of arpeggios, and then some of my favorite chordal riffs. I was stunned — the guitar quite literally took my breath away! Several more minutes were spent thoroughly enjoying it. I compared it to the Rainsong jumbo JM1000N2 also displayed — very good, but no comparison. I compared the Nashville jumbo to some Taylor guitars — all very good, but no comparison. But, then comes the cold slap of reality: the price tag! $3,499. Ouch! Unlike the other noted exquisite guitars, I could not get this one out of my head. What was to be done? Well, why does a guitar player sell a guitar? To buy a new guitar. So a small number of my guitars were sold over a period of time on Reverb.com. Then, a great price was found on a Nashville N-JM1100N2 on Reverb.com, and the purchase was made.

The Nashville jumbo is inimitable due to its construction, and its subsequent voicing is exquisite! I would encourage you to find one and try any Rainsong Nashville or Vintage Series guitar. Sell off the needed number of guitars, save up a bit, and go for it! I am thankful to own this treasured instrument!

Here is a link to Rainsong’s fusion top processing:

Keep on playing!
Fr. Irenaeus