How we can help Emerald???

[kanefsky]

I think the best way to think about the standard weave is that they're putting a tint on top of the black carbon, so it can only get darker than that (unless of course the "clear" coat on a black carbon Emerald is darker than the colored tints).

I noticed that purple over standard weave shows up in some older shipping videos but isn't currently offered on the 3D builder. I don't know if that was ever a standard option or if they discontinued it because purple looks like one of the darkest tints they have. I imagine it must look something like an eggplant in person under normal lighting . Orange is another one that's only available in vibrant.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by RP

some have posited flaws in the company that may have led to their demise.

Sometimes it is simply what it says on the tin.

The owner got to the point where he wanted to retire. Rainsong is/was a small business. Continuity of small business when an owner dies, retires, or is simply unwilling to put in the massive amount of work is a huge challenge.

[kanefsky]

It would be cool with the new factory if Emerald could setup two or three little spaces with different lighting conditions and had at least one photograph of each stock guitar in each of the different spaces. One could look like a typical living room in terms of lighting (plus maybe some furniture or other objects for context) Another could look more like a stage with a spotlight shining right on the guitar. A third could be outdoor light (real or simulated).

It can be really hard to judge the pictures of stock guitars that show the guitar in isolation with the background removed completely. You don't have any reference to understand the lighting conditions, what other familiar objects look like in the same context, etc. The shipping videos are really useful for adding context and motion, but you don't really have a good sense for how much light is shining down on the guitars so you might mistakenly think it's just typical room lighting conditions.

[dgaemc2]

Originally Posted by kanefsky

I think the best way to think about the standard weave is that they're putting a tint on top of the black carbon, so it can only get darker than that (unless of course the "clear" coat on a black carbon Emerald is darker than the colored tints).

I noticed that purple over standard weave shows up in some older shipping videos but isn't currently offered on the 3D builder. I don't know if that was ever a standard option or if they discontinued it because purple looks like one of the darkest tints they have. I imagine it must look something like an eggplant in person under normal lighting . Orange is another one that's only available in vibrant.

I am certain they no longer offer purple over standard weave because of how dark it must have been.

My Vibrant Purple Virtuo was surprisingly dark upon arrival (more so than my Vibrant Blue Uke). It still looks cool with direct sunlight through my window, but pretty much looks black in normal room lighting.

[koa&cedar]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

The way to keep a company running, assuming that it is otherwise being run well, is to contribute to their revenue stream.

Therefore, the simple answer to the OP's question is not to add cost to the process by adding questionable features (i.e. those that may or may not add to the customer experience) but instead is to continue buying product. Here, we generate GAS by egging each other on and that seems to result in repeat repeat repeat ... customers (i.e. the same people buying again and again). How many here own just one Emerald?

That, to me, is probably the best thing AGF can do for Emerald.

Tony

With all respect to you and Emerald, I never wanted to own more than one at the time. I guess I am weird. I am one wife, one car, and one guitar kind of person, so to each their own...

IMHO, what you suggested is the easiest way to help Emerald Business thrive, but I think the best long-term help is positive criticism and feedback about what needs to be improved in the tone department. I think way too much focus is on everything else but the sound. We need to remember that it is a musical instrument first and foremost.

Originally Posted by BlueStarfish

...#4 New product idea — an X25. The X20 has a 15” lower bout, it’s OM sized. The X30 has a 17” lower bout, it’s jumbo sized. The biggest segment of the acoustic guitar market is 16” lower bout (dreads and GA’s) … it’s time for the missing X25 model with a 16” lower bout.

Now, this is actually the best idea, IMHO. But I wouldn't want it to be in the dreadnought shape—a small 16'' jumbo would be much more elegant.
Also, I think the SJ is currently the most popular shape, especially in the high-end guitar world, and is favored by the best guitar artists.

If 16'' guitar won't happen, they could at least introduce the new X30 mk2 like they did with the X20, but with focus on the tonal improvements...

Long live the Emerald

[RP]

Originally Posted by kanefsky

Alistair said they sold "about 1200 guitars" in 2023 in the latest shipping video, which would be about 23 per week.

The average number of guitars per shipping video is about 13, and not all of those are custom orders. They skip some weeks too. I counted 511 for 2023 which would mean somewhere around 7 stock guitars sold for every 5 custom orders.

For those who didn't see, I cataloged all the guitars in the shipping videos for the last year and wrote a web app so I could instantly view any configuration and obsess over what finish I wanted to custom order . You can check it out here: https://datamagic.com/emerald.

I agree with the comment about lighting. I have a black X20 and a blue Virtuo (standard weave) and I love the colors but under normal lighting conditions it's hard to tell them apart. The still photos of stock guitars (from the front) on the website are hard to distinguish too, which is good in the sense that it matches what you'll see at home, but is different than the shipping videos where all the standard weave colors are very distinct and gorgeous.

The part about very few people wanting carbon fiber guitars reminds me of electric cars. It might be true until one day it's not.

There are a few things that you may or may not know that might tend to mess up your stats.

a) All custom-ordered Emeralds don't appear on Shipping Videos. I'd say that about 1/3 of the ones I've purchased did NOT appear in a shipping video.

b) Last fall Emerald had a 25% off sale on stock guitars, and they did a massive business from that. Ergo that's going to skew the % of 2023 stock guitars.

c) Emerald initiated their 3D Guitar Builder in the last two years, and I can't help but think that feature must have increased the number of custom instruments compared to years past...

[kanefsky]

Originally Posted by RP

a) All custom-ordered Emeralds don't appear on Shipping Videos. I'd say that about 1/3 of the ones I've purchased did NOT appear in a shipping video.

Conversely, all Emeralds that appear in Shipping Videos aren't custom. It probably comes close to evening out.

Originally Posted by RP

b) Last fall Emerald had a 25% off sale on stock guitars, and they did a massive business from that. Ergo that's going to skew the % of 2023 stock guitars.

They could easily repeat a sale like that once a year in which case you'd skew the numbers going forward if you didn't count those.

Originally Posted by RP

c) Emerald initiated their 3D Guitar Builder in the last two years, and I can't help but think that feature must have increased the number of custom instruments compared to years past...

Once again, if you're interested in how things will look going forward then you'd certainly want to include whatever impact the 3D builder has.

[kanefsky]

I should add that I really don't think it's even worth arguing over whether the ratio of stock to custom is 7:5 or 1:1 or whatever it might be. Really they're all custom guitars, and it's just a matter of whether you have to wait for your guitar to be built or if there's one with the specs you want already built.

If I were to spend a lot of time analyzing anything, I'd be more interested in the relative popularity of the different models, finishes, etc. (including ones they don't currently offer but might potentially add). Presumably the shipping videos skew more in favor of the more distinctive models and finishes, so I'm guessing the custom guitars that don't make it into a video are more likely to be common models and/or finishes and the stock guitars that do make it into a video are likely to be less common models and/or finishes.

[dgaemc2]

Originally Posted by kanefsky

I should add that I really don't think it's even worth arguing over whether the ratio of stock to custom is 7:5 or 1:1 or whatever it might be. Really they're all custom guitars, and it's just a matter of whether you have to wait for your guitar to be built or if there's one with the specs you want already built.

If I were to spend a lot of time analyzing anything, I'd be more interested in the relative popularity of the different models, finishes, etc. (including ones they don't currently offer but might potentially add). Presumably the shipping videos skew more in favor of the more distinctive models and finishes, so I'm guessing the custom guitars that don't make it into a video are more likely to be common models and/or finishes and the stock guitars that do make it into a video are likely to be less common models and/or finishes.

I agree that ALL are custom guitars either spec'd by individuals or Emerald employees. My X7 is my only guitar that I actually specified using the 3D builder because I wanted a specific pickup system that wasn't available in the stock inventory at the time. All others were purchased from stock because they were exactly what I wanted and available.