A Nylon String Acoustic story (Emerald content)

[brainfertilizer]

A few months ago, I switched to playing acoustic guitar as my focus...just about abandoning electric guitars completely.

Started with the Enya NexG 2. Still loving it. Got a Composite Acoustics Cargo, and liked it so much I got a Composite Acoustics GXi. Figured I'd never really need to get an Emerald. I was happy with what I got.

Some of the songs I'm working on are jazz numbers played on a nylon-stringed guitar, so I had to get one.

I got a Journey classical Carbon Fiber. It's okay. I have taken it on one trip, and the E string broke when I tried to attach the neck. Disappointing.

I got a Godin Multiac Encore Nylon. I liked the idea of the 4 microphones, so traded up for a Godin Multiac Duet Ambience Nylon. Wasn't totally satisfied, so I ended up trying out and buying a Cordoba Stage Nylon.

Absolutely loving it! Just a few days, and this is my favorite guitar.

But I am a greedy, lustful person.

I'm selling off a bunch of electric guitar gear (not *all* of it, but plenty), and so have a bunch of money coming into my Gear Fund. I started thinking about the possibility of getting an Emerald someday because of their beauty.

Looked up Emerald Nylon string guitars, because that's what I'm loving most right now. My steel-string carbon fiber itch is 100% scratched. Nylon string, tho, the Journey feeds back too easily and the snapped string the first time I took it on a, well, journey, just left a bad impression.

Saw that the X20 Nylon is at least $4400 brand new, but more if you get any of the pretty wood stuff. The X10 is a little cheaper, maybe, but in stock, the x10 slimline in plain-Jane black is still $3k.

So I did a what-the-heck search for a used one.

Found an X20 Nylon at Guitar Center. So recent they don't even have a picture up.

Still don't, and never will, because I just bought it.

Half the price of a new vibrant-weave (non-wood-top) X20 Nylon.

Listed as in excellent shape, and what can go wrong with carbon fiber, right? When I asked if you could see the carbon weave or if it had a wood top, he said it looked like a very well-flamed top, with just a bit of burst around the edges.

So I have no idea what I'm going to get in a few days.

I'm pretty sure I won't be disappointed, tho.

[brainfertilizer]

The full story is that the Guitar Center it was at is just about 80 miles from me.

I started thinking: can I risk waiting until the weekend to go see it and play it?

Do I just drive down there tonight and buy it?


And then I realized: just buy it! I have 45 days to try it and return it for a full refund if there's any real problem with it.

I would probably spend close to $20 shipping cost in gas just to get there, with the way gas prices are these days!

[David Eastwood]

This sounds like fun. It will be interesting to see what you end up with, and, more importantly, whether you like it.

I love the thought of a nylon-strung guitar, but I’m not sure how much playing time one would get in my collection. Some of the jazz standards I’m working on might sound rather good on a nylon crossover of some sort…

…heads to Emerald to check out X10 Slimline Nylon…

[brainfertilizer]

What webhosting do y'all use to post photos?

In the meantime, it is in excellent condition. Tan quilted wood top, one piece/asymmetrical, black burst on the edges, and a sort of Celtic knot, but triangle shaped, for the inlays.

While it is probably not what I would have chosen (I was hoping for something a little more eye-catching in red, yellow, or orange), but I still think it is very beautiful.

Interestingly, or maybe only interestingly to me, it has much higher tension than any other nylon string guitars. Makes for an interesting fingerstyle experience, in that it is nylon strings but with nearly the tension of steel strings.

Good tone.

Haven't plugged it in yet.

Neck profile is also more acoustic than classical or even the fusion style of the Cordoba Stage and Godin Multiac.

So I think I'll be keeping the Cordoba as a more hybrid-classical for certain pieces, at least for now. Using the Emerald for jazz may grow on me, and if it does, then it could take over everything.

Pictures as soon as i find a webhost. Suggestions appreciated.

[brainfertilizer]

https://flic.kr/p/2p62xPi

https://flic.kr/p/2p68WZG

[dgaemc2]

Brain fertilizer,

Congrats on your X20 Nylon!

Imgur is a great platform to post pictures.

[brainfertilizer]

https://imgur.com/a/pr6ZiWg

[brainfertilizer]

[brainfertilizer]

Nothing seems to work.
I post the link, it doesn't show up.
I like using the image tool, and it seems to only show a broken link.

I give up.

[steelvibe]

Your Flickr links work in Tapatalk!

Nice Emerald- congrats [emoji106]

[brainfertilizer]

It is clearly a high-quality instrument.
Very beautiful.
Sounds good, sounds good plugged in.

But...it isn't what I expected, and I'm not sure it's what I want.

With nylon strings, I expected more of a classical guitar sound. There's a plink to nylon strings on both classical guitars and the hybrid/fusion guitars like the Cordoba Stage that I've grown to love.

It's very similar to the plink you get with piezo.

This doesn't have it. It's very smooth. Almost like a hollowbody jazz guitar, with the neck pickup on and the tone turned down low. It's like it absorbs the attack.

So in sound, it really does sound more like a steel string than an acoustic.

But because it has nylon strings, it is much quieter than an acoustic. It's loud enough to be a practice guitar, but I don't think I'd want to play for anyone else without amplification...which is weird for such a full-bodied guitar as an X-20.

So it isn't as good a steel string as my Composite Acoustics GXi, but it isn't as good of a nylon string as my Cordoba Stage.

And if that weren't enough, the action is fairly high at the 7th/8th fret, where I do end up playing a good number of jazz chords. Now, I'm sure I can try to tweak the truss rod...and it looks like there's some room to sand the saddle down...but I'm not sure I want to take the risk before I'm 100% sure it's a keeper.

And on the plus side, it *does* sound really nice. The string width is nice, it plays well in the cowboy chord area, it is beautiful, it is indestructible, it sounds good plugged in, and I know I will never find a guitar this nice for this price ever again. I'm 93% sure if I get rid of it, I will mope around thinking about how I let such a prize slip through my fingers.

Ah well, it just showed up today. I have 45 days to decide if I can love it enough to keep it, or return it to Guitar Center for a full refund. Minus $20 shipping, but that's fair for a rental.

Heck, at the price I got it for, I could probably sell it on Reverb and make a few hundred dollars even after fees.

But I really don't want to do that. I want to love this guitar. We'll see if I can get there.

Sometimes love is just expectation management. I'm disappointed right now. If I take a fresh look at it tomorrow without pre-existing expectations of sublime wonderfulness, maybe it will seem more wonderful.

[steelvibe]

Well I don’t wannabe “that” guy, but you know what they say.....first impressions/bonding with a guitar, yada, yada, yada. Good find, because even if you move it along you are cured of FOMO.

[mountainmaster]

People often say that CF guitars don't sound like wood guitars. IMO the difference is minimal with steel strings, but nylon strings somehow seem emphasize that difference.

Your description matches my experience with the X20 nylon. Emerald nylon string guitars just don't sound like other/wood nylon string guitars. In my book that is not a bad thing if you can appreciate them for their unique tone.

What I like less is their lack of volume. I managed to increase the volume of my X20 by using Thomastik KR116 rope core strings. However, that makes the guitar sound even more like a steel string.

Actually the tone of my X7 nylon is somewhat closer to what one would expect from a classical guitar. Still, it is not quite there.
And in spite of being smaller its perceived volume is higher than that of my X20 (before I put on the rope cores).

[cleser]

Do you know what strings are currently installed?
I believe Emerald uses high tension Optima strings, which actually sound pretty good; but admittedly the treble on both my x7 and x20 nylons are rather subdued when played opposite a quality built wood classical.
It is a more subdued sound to my ears, not bright. You may consider replacing
/ experimenting with the trebles to bring out more of the sound you are expecting.

[dgaemc2]

Congrats on your beautiful Emerald!! Here it is for all to see!!