FAQ

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Yes. Wherever this guitar needs to be, we'll get it there-including Antarctica (seriously).

RMC electronics option has an eight-pin connector which connects to the Polydrive IV preamp and features a 13 Pin connector.

Standard action is comfortable and easy-playing for most players, in most styles including fingerpicking and strumming. The string action as low enough make you want to play, but not so low as to lessen the full sound from chords or create buzz when you dig in and strum a bit harder. We can accommodate specific action requests when practical. Low action is usually well suited for lighter touch playing. 

Absolutely. It's a great guitar to learn on even though many folks that own a Blackbird are pros. Carbon durability means the guitar stays out of the case and enhanced portability means people on-the-go can play whenever and wherever. Now you can practice at your convenience and pick up your Blackbird whenever inspiration strikes, be it home, the office, the skies, the seas and the mountains. With a Blackbird, you never have to be more than an arms length from a great guitar for practice or performance again.

Please check the specifications page for each specific model. If you buy direct, we can customize the action for you with your preferred strings. Many dealers can do the same.

The Blackbird name was partly inspired by the song, usually one of the first songs learned on guitar, and also by the bird that inspired the song. Blackbirds are common here in San Francisco (as elsewhere) though they are as overlooked as pigeons. They are beautiful (and loud) singers- despite their diminutive size.

We sell through our custom webshop and through select dealers. We make instruments in small batches which means that we care about every single one- throughout its life-cycle. This means, we have personal relationships with our dealers and trust them as stake-holders in our business. Our instruments are quite unique and so often are our customers as well. We believe our direct connection with our customers makes our instruments better!

Six tips for stealth airline travel with a Blackbird Rider [and other small body guitars]

We all hate the notion of putting our precious guitars under the plane so we designed the Rider to get on as a carry-on. While no one has ever had a reported problem traveling with a Blackbird Rider on a plane, these are some useful best practices we’ve gathered to keep it that way. They are just precautions that will help you be safe rather than sorry, and likely useful for anyone who travels by air with a guitar even a wood one*.

1. Research your airline and flight- become informed about their rules and regulations because you then may find yourself better informed than the airlines' courteous staff. After the whole United Breaks Guitars incident (copy and past into YouTube search if you don't get the reference), I suspect that airlines are getting a bit more sympathetic to guitarists.
2. Get a small guitar designed for travel- In the event you have to engage any airline personnel, with a small guitar you can explain that this guitar is compact, light and is designed to fit in the overhead along with a full bin of carry-on luggage. Smiles and a friendly demeanor are useful in these situations- you don't want to be like Ben Stiller in Meet The Parents.
3. Present a non-guitar-esque package(see ours above)- You don't want your instrument to even register as a guitar to the airline staff- a streamlined guitar in a tight case is key. The rider is designed to slip past the radar -think SR-71 Blackbird; it looks very discreet to watchful eyes. The gig bag should also be as un-flashy, un-pocketed and I would argue black as possible. Wear a black jacket while your at it- its a good look for traveling anyway. Being un-flashy also helps prevent theft.
4. Avoid another carry-on if possible- If you just bring your guitar and only your guitar as a carry-on, it should be easier to get on the plane because you can say something like 'but this is all I am carrying, miss"
5. Wear your gig bag as a low-rider (excuse the pun)- Wear your soft case as a backpack. Make sure to loosen the backpack straps so the guitar hangs low on your back and voila you’ll be in stealth mode- the head should not be visible from the front view.
6. Overhead bin positioning- Once on the plane, put the guitar in the back of the overhead bin with top facing against the back of the compartment. This will protect the top, generally the fragile part of the guitar, and prevent the guitar from falling out when the door is opened (and bags shifted in flight).

*Other guitar airline travel considerations

• With a wood guitar, make sure you have a humidifier and loosen the strings (no need with a carbon fiber Blackbird of course!). If you know you will be checking your guitar under the plane you should get a very robust hard case. Get travel insurance that covers your guitar (and any other lost or damaged luggage while you are at it)

Email us with any other tips at info[@]blackbirdguitar.com 

Most of our customers find their Blackbird more comfortable than a conventional guitar. The Rider guitars a perfectly balanced on your lap and with a guitar support, are more ergonomic than many conventional guitars. To see guitar support on the Rider Pages under features.

Hollow neck/uni-body carbon fiber construction is the highest performance way to make instruments for the greatest responsiveness. Some models may be rather compact but feature uncommonly beautiful and rich sound-quality that is exceptional for its size, and thus a category all its own. We use the highest quality composite materials because premium cost translates into better sound and greater resiliency. The handcraft process is as laborious as it is expensive and our San Francisco-made instruments are built at the highest level of precision. 

Folks buy high performance laptops, bikes, and cameras to enhance their lives so players should have the same option available to them. Exceptional durability means freedom from the tyranny of worry that comes with travelling with a wooden countertop and so many customers play their Blackbirds more as a result. The bomb-proof and beautiful instrument ready to ride with you anywhere.

 What makes Blackbirds professional-grade?

These well-conceived and built instruments are easy playing, with better tone and reassuring resiliancy- great attributes regardless of experience level. They feature master luthier quality fretwork, set-up and ergonomic design for maximum playability. The sustain, clarity and evenness of our engieered composite tone materials and hollow uni-body design translates to superior plugged in experience. All of our models, are suitable for performance and studio work.

The short answer is the high bar we set for tone and playability. Our models all share a rich and deeply satisfying acoustic tone with remarkable frequency range, response and dynamics. Blackbird guitars and ukueleles are instruments for all occasions including the road.

Here is the long list of how we get a big sound from a small body:

1. Innovative, synergistic and patented design features to maximize resonance including: hollow neck and hollow head increases resonance chamber, body extension with back cutaway for access to higher frets, assymetric design, off-set sound hole (except Lucky/El Capitan), head sound hole (no standing waves from hollow neck and additional sound projection). 

• Composite materials are lighter, stiff in two-directions unlike wood, with high-strength to-weight ratio and therefore more resonant instrument.

1. Responsive soundboard and light bracing. That is the thinnest and therefore most resonant in the industry because we make it differently and out of a higher grade of carbon (pre-preg)  than all other competitors.

At first blush, it is the unique and sonically efficient design and high performance composite construction that different our models. Less obvious are the other elements which work in harmony to maximize resonance including: proprietary hollow neck uni-body construction, hollow head with sound port, light composite top assembly and luthier built for exceptional playability, tone and resiliance.

We've been building instruments since 2006 and have always been built to order due to increasing demand. Build time is 4-8 weeks depending on the model with a 20% deposit due at time of order. Note dealers carry inventory- a great alternative to waiting!

Blackbird guitars are primarily made of carbon fiber along with a bit of kevlar. This type of construction is similar to the structural skin of advanced planes, bikes, race cars and even fishing rods. We use carbon fiber because it sounds great, is bomb-proof and allows us to break out of the two-dimensional constraints of designing out of wood as well as being the only material stiff enough for the hollow neck construction.

We have also introduced a new material called Ekoa® which is being used in Clara, our newest concert Ukulele. It offers high performance with exceptional strength, dampening, resilience and even lighter weight than carbon fiber. Ekoa® is made with renewable plant fibers that reduce greenhouse gases and are produced using very little energy and no irrigation. With Ekoa®, musicians get what was previously unobtainable -- the experience of a vintage old-growth wood instrument in a lightweight, durable, and sustainable package.