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  #16  
Old 03-20-2014, 04:42 AM
Doubleneck Doubleneck is offline
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A Rainsong Shorty has been suggested but this is my favorite video of their Parlor. I think it shows the range and woody sound, and a bass that is really not lacking. I really think these are very tuff to beat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deUwYstR2Ms
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  #17  
Old 03-20-2014, 09:26 AM
Naboz Naboz is offline
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Simon, have you tried contacting Alistair at Emerald? They have "seconds" or blems that are reduced in price, and you can maybe pick one up in your range.
I have done so, but then decided to start saving (or looking used!) for one of the new Emerald harp guitars!
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  #18  
Old 03-20-2014, 11:49 AM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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Thanks for all the suggestions!!! I ended up finding a brand new Taylor GC3 for $750 including tax. I really hadn't wanted to spend more than $1000 on a guitar. The carbon fiber guitars definitely interested me more for the durability than anything else -- a huge maintenance advantage over traditional guitar construction. While I would love to own a Rainsong or Blackbird (in fact, the newly redesigned Lucky 13 seems like it would have been perfect for me), they really were just outside my budget.

Emerald guitars are definitely more affordable and I was quite happy with the X7 in many regards but it simply wasn't as versatile as a bigger bodied guitar and I do my fair share of strumming and using a capo. In my view, it is the perfect travel guitar!!!

I definitely considered going with a larger bodied Emerald. Used they were right at my budget limit but new they were a bit outside my budget. However, I really have a hard time getting past the Emerald default texture finish and if you're spending that much money it is a shame to have something you really dislike the look of. I know that Alistair does this to put his instruments at a really affordable price range but his full-gloss finishes look significantly better IMO.

I'm busy with other things at the moment but I'm going to try and write a more thorough review of the X7-OS within a couple months. It was a fun instrument!!!
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  #19  
Old 03-21-2014, 11:24 AM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Fay View Post
Thanks for all the suggestions!!! I ended up finding a brand new Taylor GC3 for $750 including tax. I really hadn't wanted to spend more than $1000 on a guitar. The carbon fiber guitars definitely interested me more for the durability than anything else -- a huge maintenance advantage over traditional guitar construction. While I would love to own a Rainsong or Blackbird (in fact, the newly redesigned Lucky 13 seems like it would have been perfect for me), they really were just outside my budget.

Emerald guitars are definitely more affordable and I was quite happy with the X7 in many regards but it simply wasn't as versatile as a bigger bodied guitar and I do my fair share of strumming and using a capo. In my view, it is the perfect travel guitar!!!

I definitely considered going with a larger bodied Emerald. Used they were right at my budget limit but new they were a bit outside my budget. However, I really have a hard time getting past the Emerald default texture finish and if you're spending that much money it is a shame to have something you really dislike the look of. I know that Alistair does this to put his instruments at a really affordable price range but his full-gloss finishes look significantly better IMO.

I'm busy with other things at the moment but I'm going to try and write a more thorough review of the X7-OS within a couple months. It was a fun instrument!!!
Congrats on the GC3 Simon, they are fantastic guitars. As for the X7, in the "sub compact" category it holds it's own but it just doesn't have the tone or headroom to compete with even a small body wood guitar. There is only one CF sub compact travel guitar that does that, it's the Blackbird Rider, which has been my personal travel companion for years. FYI I just got a used Rider in, which is rare, give me a call in case you find yourself back in the market.
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  #20  
Old 03-21-2014, 12:02 PM
jgillard jgillard is offline
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Hi Ted. You said
Quote:
"but it just doesn't have the tone or headroom to compete with even a small body wood guitar."
Have you tried an x7-os built since Emerald started including the truss rod as standard? (closed neck as well) I swear they must have changed something in their top design since mine does indeed hold it's own.
I do have experience in this area as I've owned two GSminis previously. Both a sitka and mahogany top. The X7-OS does not have the same bass as my Rainsong Shorty, but the actual volume is quite similar. It's just more balanced with stronger mids.

I'm just really curious as this has not been my experience.
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  #21  
Old 03-21-2014, 07:30 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Originally Posted by jgillard View Post
Hi Ted. You said
Have you tried an x7-os built since Emerald started including the truss rod as standard? (closed neck as well) I swear they must have changed something in their top design since mine does indeed hold it's own.
I do have experience in this area as I've owned two GSminis previously. Both a sitka and mahogany top. The X7-OS does not have the same bass as my Rainsong Shorty, but the actual volume is quite similar. It's just more balanced with stronger mids.

I'm just really curious as this has not been my experience.
Hi jg,

I only have experience with X7's built over a year ago.
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  #22  
Old 03-21-2014, 08:30 PM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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My X7-OS had a truss-rod and I spent a fair amount of time at some local guitar stores including a Guitar Center that had a ton of Martins, Taylors, Seagulls, Breedloves, and they had 5 or 6 GS minis. The GS minis were definitely a more "versatile" guitar in that they had a more balanced response.

The X7-OS had very nice mids and it did have great clarity. However, the treble response and bass were lacking. Also, the string volume was very disparate meaning it absolutely preferred playing certain pitch ranges and so there was a qualitative unevenness to the sound. Not something that you can't work around with technique but it does require you to "workaround". The GS minis were all incredibly hollow sounding as are most cheaper instruments -- they lack musicality. Of course, this is in comparison to better instruments -- say entry level Taylor like the GC3 I purchased or a Taylor series or a Martin solid wood series guitar. I think most folks can recognize a plateau of sorts that exists for the entry level "high-end" from builders like Martin, Larrivee, Gibson, Breedlove, and Taylor.

Oddly enough, the Seagulls I played outshone everything else in their price range by a clear mile!!! The sound was still a bit "empty" but I was seriously considering buying one of them as I thought they were a tremendous bargain as regards tone.

Back to the X7-OS, I did find the volume was excellent on my instrument when you were playing in the frequency range that it liked. Honestly, not that much different than my Taylor GC3. Not quite as loud or as vibrant but the guitar was plenty loud for most purposes. Again, for me the issue was one of unbalance -- the guitar could sound very good but the narrow frequency range limited the versatility of the guitar. You could overcome this by altering your playing style and that isn't a big concession to make when you are looking for a great travel guitar and one that is nigh indestructible. I really enjoyed it!!!
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Last edited by Simon Fay; 03-21-2014 at 08:36 PM.
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  #23  
Old 03-23-2014, 08:36 AM
jgillard jgillard is offline
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That's interesting on the tonal response of your formerly owned X7-OS. Mine seems to have a much more even tonal distribution then what you are describing. I can't say that the bass and treble are lacking in any way on mine. Mine is very balanced. I'm not complaining. I would love to try another one of these sometime to compare to my particular instrument, but that's not likely going to happen!
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  #24  
Old 03-23-2014, 11:33 AM
Doubleneck Doubleneck is offline
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I find it puzzling as well in that the "stick" on carbon guitars is that they may be too clear, without some of the overtones of wood but they are very balanced. I know both my Emerald and Rainsong seems very balanced almost to a fault in that the real world wants this overwhelming bass.
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  #25  
Old 03-23-2014, 01:15 PM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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I doubt very seriously that my instrument is different - the nice thing about carbon fiber seems to be the degree of consistency due to the homogenous material construction. Bear in mind, I'm probably coming at this from a very critical perspective. Just about every parlor guitar will be slightly unbalanced in regards to lacking bass.

The first few frets were the sweet spot for the X7-OS. Capo at the 5th fret or higher and listen to the quality of the sound -- Does it change? Mine definitely did. Pluck the low E and then play some notes on the D, and G string on the first few frets. Any difference in the volume or musicality of the note?

The Emerald sounded very pleasing for a lot of different things and the "balance" certainly wasn't unreasonable for what the guitar is but you absolutely don't get the same kind of response from that guitar as you would a larger bodied Emerald. In short, the X7-OS does have limitations and that doesn't mean it is a bad guitar at all. As I mentioned, I was impressed with the instrument on many different levels but I simply made a mistake thinking it would be satisfactory for me since it would be the only instrument I own. Based on the X7, I don't think I would have had any issues at all with a larger bodied Emerald and if I had more money to devote to my guitar playing hobby, then I would have kept the X7-OS for its good sound, durability, and portability.
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Last edited by Simon Fay; 03-23-2014 at 01:20 PM.
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  #26  
Old 03-23-2014, 03:37 PM
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Just did your suggestion on my X7-OS. I don't hear any issues at all. Since yours was new, I assume you were using the stock strings--but they should be fine.

I'm happy with the sound of mine past the 5th fret and of course, the lower frets. Maybe you compared it directly to something you like better past the 5th fret. If so, was the body size the same?
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  #27  
Old 03-23-2014, 04:47 PM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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"Issues" is not a word I would use to define what I was hearing. The quality of the tone changed as I went higher up the fretboard -- in short, it had a "sweet spot". It is possible that my guitar was qualitatively different than yours -- but I don't think that is likely. If anything, Alistair said his new polyester finish was yielding better sounding guitars. More likely, is that the way I critique a guitar is different. Again, the guitar didn't have any problems but rather had very "reasonable" limitations.
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  #28  
Old 03-24-2014, 01:09 AM
perttime perttime is offline
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We have our preferences in sound and differences in how we play.

Just from listening to available samples, I am convinced that the X7-OS does not sound like a big guitar. Played in certain ways it sounds very good to me - but with different players with different approaches, it will not replace a Jumbo or Dread.
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  #29  
Old 03-24-2014, 05:31 AM
jgillard jgillard is offline
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Quote:
I am convinced that the X7-OS does not sound like a big guitar.
You would be right in this. It does not sound like a "big" guitar. It's definitely not one! To me, it sounds very much like a "small" OM.

I don't know if it's my brain playing tricks on me, but as I've been playing my X7-OS a lot lately it seems to have become even more resonant and musical. It used to be whenever I picked up my shorty after playing my X7, I would be like... This shorty sounds so much richer. Why was I not playing this guitar instead. Now, the difference to me is very much less. They are quite similar in tone. The X7 just has a bit more midrange and a bit less bass. It's a different tone, but one that is equally pleasing to my ear. It works amazingly well for how I play.

I think if you read back through Simon's comments you will see that the X7-OS is quite an amazing "small" guitar. If you like small guitars, this one is a great choice.
Oh, and I did try what Simon suggested in Capo'ing up high. Mine is just as balanced as when not capo'd. It has a very sweet sound in the higher registers. Sounds great!

I don't have the most amazing recording setup, but I will see about doing a little comparison recording between my shorty and my X7-OS in a new thread. I will do some fingerstyle and some strumming.
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Last edited by jgillard; 03-24-2014 at 05:34 AM. Reason: added one thing.
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  #30  
Old 03-24-2014, 11:20 AM
Simon Fay Simon Fay is offline
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When it comes to "tone", it is always so subjective and no one individual is right or wrong. I am fairly certain my assessment of your X7 would be the same as it was for mine or rather close. I do agree that the guitars can sound very good, especially for fingerstyle.

And I think I have been pretty clear this whole time but I just want to reiterate, my dissatisfaction with the instrument lies solely in my plan to have used it as my one and only instrument. For a very small bodied guitar, I found it pleasantly loud, vibrant, and with great clarity.

Where I personally started to notice a lack of versatility is mostly with strumming and when I capo. I just could not get songs like Dave Matthew's Band "Grey Street" to sound good.
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