Carbon fiber is showing up in some unlikely places, like in the body of a specially designed guitar. Blackbird has had a steel-string guitar on the market for about a year, and now adds this nylon-string version to the mix. This one's a bit bigger than its steel-stringed brandmate, but at an ultra-lightweight 3 pounds, it's every bit as travel-worthy.

We like the idea of an acoustic guitar designed from the ground up, using computer modeling to create an acoustically efficient sound chamber. Carbon fiber is so strong, the top of the guitar can be paper-thin for better sound. Blackbird creator and techno-luthier Joe Luttwak tells us his hand-made instruments have been improved, and sound better than any other travel guitars on the market.

But how does this $1899 guitar stack up to our comparably-priced Martin D-28, the gold standard in acoustic git-boxes? Joe says he'll lend us one of his Blackbirds to test soon, and we'll play them against each other. If this Blackbird sounds as good as it looks, we'll be flying into the dark black night.

Blackbird Guitars