NGD and Build Log - Emerald T8 Woody Opus
 

Yes, that's right - new guitar order day for me!

Guess I'm an oddball as compared to most of you here. I'm a traditionalist with an modern edge. So, the T8 is for me again, being much trial and tested by myself.

And now "the wait begins", as they all said. Till that day arrives, my faithful '13 Amber Opus with black hardware shall keep my days easy....

Congrats on the order! Great that Emerald will do that T8 still - and they do such a great job with the woodies! Enjoy your Opus during the wait, and (of course) we'll look forward to any updates.

Thanks Capt!

I wanted that lefty T8 that was on eBay a while ago, and Sean offered to modify it to a righty for me. When I was about to pull the trigger, someone got ahead of me and got that lefty T8.

Not wanting to leave me disappointed, Sean graciously offered me a new T8 build! And why not all the way, I thought? A Woody was on my mind and followed with the 2-3 weeks decision making process to come out with the best color/material combo my budget can offer.

The black carbon weave, woody top combo, inspired by the Feb select series was what I wanted my T8 to be - unflashy, down to the ground rootedness - the guitar you just want to play after a day of hard work. I have also opted for the crystal ice Opus finish for that impeccable road tough functionality, and saving some cost along the way. Best of both world.

By the way, it was very very hard to choose between getting a T8 again, or a X7. Having played the X7 side by side with the T8, there is just something about the T8 you can't resist...

And may I add that Sean is indeed a first class CS person, always responsive to my queries and accommodating to my request.

Hopefully the final product looks good as intended!

Wonderful! I still have the original MacNichol road trip T8!

Nice buy! I forgot about that Gem...

Congrats on the future arrival.
Welcome to the "I'm waiting for my Emerald" club. Maybe we should have some sort of self-help group!:rolleyes:

That's right John.

It's like a time capsule only to be opened in 5 months time.

So pandaroo, like all other Emerald fans, is tired with the wait for all these unborn woodies, has requested me for some sneak peek in xtjohn's X20 colors thread.

And I thought it is better to update my own thread rather than to hijack xtjohn's thread. I'm gonna share with you guys some updates on the development of my Woody T8, and of course, pics.

Some background:

2 months back, I happened to come across a lefty T8 in opus black listed by Emerald over at eBay. I was very tempted to acquire the T8, and had been communicating with Sean to turn it into a right-handed T8 for me. But I had a problem - I have two amber T8 opus and one need to go before a new one comes in. And when someone had decided to buy one of my T8s, at the moment when I am all ready to buy-it-now for the lefty T8, Sean informed me that it was bought by someone else!

When I thought it was all over, yes - Sean offered me a new T8 build! After cracking my head on the options available, and with the select series just launching and going hot, the resistance is futile. A Woody is the only way to go, I think. And the design process began....

I wanted something that looks earthy, down-to-earth. Something non-flashy, and really looks and feels warm that you want to embrace anytime, to create rhythm from the heart, just like my trusty amber T8. Heavily inspired by the custom designed Amicus and steam punk Daedalus guitar both with Camphor Burl veneer, I therefore opted for a Bubinga top, black carbon weave configuration.

And one day, when Chicago Todd's X20-12 Woody arrived, goodness grace - the Ziricote top is so captivating and immediately I started to harbor thoughts of changing the Bubinga top to a more brown tone woody top. So I emailed Sean, and he told me there is still some leftover veneer from Todd's build, good enough for the smaller sized T8! And he proposed this for me:

https://preview.ibb.co/iZurt5/Full_Size_Render.jpg
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Sean advised to me that the above is the only way the veneer can be laid out if I don't want any sapwood.

Feeling disappointed but not given up hope, I tried to superimpose the shape of the T8 onto the veneer pics to explore whether other lay out is possible.

So this might be how it looks with the original lay out:

https://preview.ibb.co/mWmt6Q/IMG_3455.jpg
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My concern is I do not wish to have the diamond shaped heartwood getting too near to the sound hole, so l proposed this to Sean:

https://preview.ibb.co/f52N0k/Full_Size_Render_1.jpg
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I'm even ready for this if I have to use the sapwood:

https://preview.ibb.co/cjas0k/IMG_3493.jpg
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Just when I am going to compromise with myself and accept second-best with the sapwood, Sean - Yes Sean, came back to me with THIS:

https://image.ibb.co/m2XuD5/Full_Size_Render_2.jpg
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WOW! And this will be the top of my new T8! Hopefully it will look like this, with some mirroring:

https://preview.ibb.co/fUGX0k/IMG_3494.jpg
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For all your viewing pleasure, Woody-Heads out there ;).

This is really 1st grade customer service, kudos to Sean and definitely the man behind - Alistair! And man do I enjoyed the hands-on experience in the development!

Ok, that is very cool.

Hooley Dooley that looks good!

Thanks for the compliment, guys.

There's something I really enjoy in the process, and it resonated with a personal quality of myself - never say never, and never give up. There is so much possibilities with a piece of veneer. These are Mother Nature's art pieces. You never know what you will get till you turn the building over. I'm so glad that Emerald withstood my persistence and am grateful that the outcome turns out to be good, at least to myself.

Thanks for sharing the process with us! That is going to be spectacular! :up: Great customer service and communication.