Emerald x20 Artisan or Opus?
 

Hi, I want to buy a x20 but I don't know whether to get the artisan or opus. The only differences between the two after removing the pickup is the gloss and tuners. I want to know what's the difference in the tuners (Gotoh 381 on opus vs Gotoh 510 on artisan) besides the ratios.

The other difference is that the Opus series is only available in black. Artisans are available in the range of colors and wood top options. There have been exceptions to this in the past, but I believe Emerald is strict on it now. They are very flexible, perhaps they'll make an Opus in another color for an upcharge.

Sounds like you already have a good handle on the differences. Opus gives you the textured back and sides, and only one color choice (black). They try to keep a few around, so it will ship quicker than waiting for a custom build of an Artisan. I don't need a pickup, but since I want a green Chimaera I will have to go Artisan - when the time comes.

Apart from the gear ratios, either model of Gotoh tuning machine should be fine. A lot of people like the 510's, but only you can decide if the cost differential is worth it to you.

Thanks for the reply! Is there really any real advantage of choosing the 510s over the 381s?

I think Earl nailed it. Slightly more fine-tuning precision with the 510s, but both are quality tuners. Unless you're really well acquainted with the subtleties, either will perform fine. It's really a question of if you think any additional cost is justified.

If I'm not mistaken, I think you can order the 510's on the Opus for a reasonable up charge. Check with Sean..

I have a red opus (including frost? red back) with 510s, so I am sure it's possible to get what you want. Just because it's not on the menu anymore doesn't mean you still can't order it. May be an extra charge or two though.

BTW, the 510s are my favorite tuners of all my guitars.

Strangely, black is a colour option on the Artisan, bet not many people order those ! :D

Hi @mot! Do you have any pictures of your red opus? I'm deciding between black and red and I'd like to see what you mean by frost. Did Alistair charge you extra for the 'frost'?

The 'frost' is actually what Emerald refers to as 'Crystal Ice', a finish used on the back and sides, with gloss on the top. It is slightly pebbly. Quite durable. I don't own one, but it seems similar to the 'road tough' finish on my CA Cargo.

http://www.paramountguitars.net/phot...5OpusAMBER.jpg

I like the Crystal Ice finish on the back and sides of my X7. Wasn't sure before seeing it, but I find it rich looking. I recall someone saying they had that finish on an Artisan... I think.

It was a very classy woody/Artisan/custom that made me contact Sean about an X7, but I couldn't make the 4 month wait work. They had an Opus ready to go and I jumped on that. It will be interesting to see what Emerald has in store with their customs as an "available without a wait" this year.

Patience? Yeah, that's a virtue I'm still working on. ;) Artisan or Opus, Emerald will make you a fine instrument.

I own both an Artisan and an Opus model. One being a 6 string and one a 12 string.

The differences are so slight it's almost not worth mentioning. I feel or hear no difference in quality.

After talking with Sean a great deal ( I have a Woody on order) I know that they have really tried to streamline there lineup. The idea being they can have some Opus models ready to ship or at least very close so no real wait time.

I think if they were to customize an Opus model such as color or tuners it might take as long to get as an Artisan model so other than maybe saving a few bucks I don't really see the point of trying to customize an Opus.

Both tuners are great and work well and not even something I remotely think of when I pick one or the other up to play.

If you don't require a Color choice or a woody top the Opus is the way to go as it's every bit the guitar when it comes to playing it & hearing it.

This of course is just my opinion and I get where being able to make some choices is really neat. I think that's what the Artisan is for.

https://cle.nps.edu/access/content/g...al_Ice_Red.png

Here is a picture of the side of my red opus X20. I tried to get the lighting so you can see the bumps.

I think Acousticado and benderman57 are on the money and answered this better than I could. I have gotten a scratch or two on this glaze, but the damage is really hard to see or notice unless you are looking for it. Probably show up more if I had an Artisan and I would worry about the guitar more too if it was smoother on the back and sides. I don't know that I could even get a picture that would show the scratch on the back. On the other hand I have lots of pick scratches on the top because apparently I can't keep from hitting it when I strum. Alistair suggested a way to buff them out, but they don't bother me so I haven't yet.

I think I didn't get charged extra for the "Crystal Ice" of the opus, but this was back when Alistair was looking at different finishes and I think I got one of the first test subjects with this finish - correct me if I am too wrong. If I had it to do all over again knowing what I know now I would probably still get an opus and try to talk Alistair into the blue finish with no electronics or maybe the green finish. Too many choices. I love the amber too.

I use several altered tunings, and sometimes it would be useful to have finer resolution on the bass strings -- they get really sensitive when you "slack" them. So far I've not felt the need to swap anything out for the really nice 510's, and did not order that upgrade on my Lucky 13 last summer. I'm pretty happy with what I got (SG 381 at 1:16 ratio). 510's would have been a $175 upcharge.

Thanks to the posted pictures above, I now have a better idea of what the crystal ice finish looks like. If I could get the Opus version of the Chimaera with a green top, that would be soooooo cool!

I have stock tuners (Gotoh at the time I ordered in 2014) on my Lucky 13. The Lucky 13 tuners aren't really noticeably better or worse than the ones on the X20. They do match the guitar very nicely. I would guess the stock Gotoh on the opus would be more than sufficient.

On the other hand, the stock tuners I have on my PRS Bernie Marsden suck (probably the worst cheap part on Asian made PRSi). Of course the Bernie costs about 1/4 of either of the other two.