[rob2966]

Hey all,

I am giving serious thought to entering the realm of the harp guitar and the small bodied offering from Emerald is easily at the top of my list. Granted, given their scarcity I have not actually tried one before but I know I prefer smaller bodied guitars, and like what I have seen in reviews and videos. I did have some questions which some of you may be able to answer.

1. It appears the "default" tuning (low to high) of the sub-basses is F-G-A-B-C-D. Assuming I stay with the original strings (which is my intent), what are the limitations on tuning up and down? Are there rules of thumb to go by as to how far the string tuning can deviate?

2. Most of my current guitars do not have pickups in them. I use an external microphone or even the iRig Acoustic when "plugging in". I also don't envision playing this in a (loud) band situation so am thinking about not getting the pickup system (basic Opus model). On the X7, would the sound coming out of the standard sound hole be enough to cover the full range of the instrument? I notice there are three ports closer to the harp tuners, is the sound out of those critical?

Thanks
Rob