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My New Emerald X20
I was pretty much forced into getting an Emerald after all the good reviews and pictures posted here.
While I have gone the full custom instrument order in the past, I did not have the patience to wait 4 months, so I opted for what was coming down Emerald's stock guitars. I already have a Journey 660, so I ruled out the X7. i find my Martin HD-28 to have great tone, but it gets uncomfortable to play because it is so large... That left the X20 as the "just right" guitar. So I started the order process and got my new X20 with a Royal Ebony veneer top just before Christmas. Hated the strings it came with. Elixers of some sort. Replaced them with some Light Siminoff Straight Up Strings which I have used before. They sound good to my ears. The guitar's sound hole/port sounds unpleasantly loud to me at times, so I try to play with my ear far from it. Overall I really like the guitar. Had Emerald put a Baggs Anthem SL pickup in it, replacing the stock Baggs Element. The Anthem sounds great amplified in my living room, but I have not had the chance to see how it works in an actual gig setting. Here is a simple recording of the guitar from my Tascam DP-008EX. Left channel is an AKG 170 mic, the right channel is the Tascam internal mic. Mostly finger picking with Dunlop picks, a little bit of flat picking with a Prime Tone 1.44mm pick. https://soundcloud.com/user-70518085...ght-up-strings
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Martin 000-17 SM Martin HD-28M Lots of loud banjos |
#2
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That's a beauty. Enjoy......
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Martin D18 Martin 000-15sm |
#3
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That is indeed beautiful. Royal Ebony always delivers with the varied and interesting pattern, including your fine example. Enjoy!
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2014 Emerald X10 Quilted Maple 2016 Journey OF660 2020 McPherson Sable Gold EVO Honeycomb |
#4
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This might be a first for the AGF - someone suggesting that a guitar might actually be too loud
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#5
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They ship with D'Addario EXP-11 coated 80/20 strings. Like you, I also took those off almost immediately. My order of SUS strings is "out for delivery" this morning, so I will have both light and medium gauges sometime this afternoon. I really should call my buddy today and see what he thinks about my X20, having had it for almost a week now. |
#6
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I get the "too loud" comment. The first few notes on this recording reveal the kind of harshness that can result in over-playing the guitar. As soon as Pine drops back a bit in his attack the guitar becomes a mellow, controllable instrument. The recording is a nice piece of work.
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#7
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PineCone, the recording is very nice and congrats on your new X20!
I didn't realize Emerald was shipping with D'addario 80/20 EXPs. So that means that RainSong, Emerald and McPherson are shipping their guitars with 80/20s. The general consensus here on the subforum is that 80/20s are not well received- am I missing something? Here's the dealio, I did post a thread a couple days ago about giving 80/20s some love as this set of GHS Vintage Bronze currently on my OF660 is actually sounding really good. They are not technically 80/20 (85/15) but much to my shock they are easily one of my favorite sets. My father-in-law also commented on how good the Journey sounded when I had 80/20 EXPs on there at one time. I still have some WAV files of string recordings that I did with the Shorty and that guitar did sound marvelous with Martin Retro lights. The Journey definitely did not sound its best with them. Not a huge revelation for you gurus here but experimentation is a must as these things are apparently very guitar specific. Last edited by steelvibe; 01-02-2021 at 01:14 PM. Reason: follow up... |
#8
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a wonderful guitar, congratulations! and thanks for the soundcloud track which, like everyone, I really enjoyed. It is a pleasure listen to your playing. How do you feel about the sound of the X20 in strumming? Interesting... |
#9
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That's A Beautiful Emerald--Enjoy!
My late-2019 Emerald X20 Transparent Green has a rather dark tone and it came with factory-installed D'Addario 80/20 Bronze strings. My first thought when seeing the brighter coloring of the strings was: Where is the usual set of phosphor-bronze strings most makers factory-install on their guitars these days? After a few minutes of playing time, I realized that the slightly brighter-toned D'Addario 80/20 Bronze factory-installed strings are probably what may sound best on this guitar. Confession: Being that I get a lot of mileage out of a set of strings, I still have the same factory-installed set on my Emerald X20. I may experiment with other string formulations when I feel the need to change what's currently on the guitar.
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 01-02-2021 at 01:30 PM. |
#10
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Now, when I play other guitars that don't have that upturned soundhole like the Emeralds, it feels like part of the sound is missing. Give your X20 lots of playing time, and you will soon get used to controlling the volume. I really appreciate the rich, balance sound that guitar gives. Emeralds ship with D'Addario strings. I find I prefer the sound with Elixir PB Nanowebs; I haven't used Polywebs in a long while and I need to give them a try again on the next string change. Congrats on the new X20!
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Some CF, some wood. |
#11
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Thanks for the comments and kind words.
Overall, I think it is better for fingerpicking than strumming. For strumming I have an HD-28 that I prefer for its tone. I am getting some of Scott Memmer’s Charmed Life Picks which should be here next week. I am curious to see & hear how they work with both the X20 and the HD-28. I tried to make a before-and-after string change recording but had some technical issues I hope to overcome before posting them. Playability and comfort of the X20 is excellent. Might be able to try it out in a band situation next week, old time and bluegrass. Haven’t tried the GHS Vintage Bronze strings. My OF660 currently has DR Sunbeams on it, probably light gage.
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Martin 000-17 SM Martin HD-28M Lots of loud banjos |
#12
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For the record, I tried a couple different carbon fiber picks a while back... didn't do anything for me.
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Some CF, some wood. |
#13
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A lovely instrument! Congratulations!
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McCollum Grand Auditorum Euro Spruce/Brazilian PRS Hollowbody Spruce PRS SC58 Giffin Vikta Gibson Custom Shop ES 335 '59 Historic RI ‘91 Les Paul Standard ‘52 AVRI Tele - Richie Baxt build Fender American Deluxe Tele Fender Fat Strat |
#14
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Last year I bought a sampler pack of V-picks, with seven different types. Keeping them all out on the table by my usual guitar chair, it is fascinating to hear how much difference a change of pick makes. Same guitar, same day, much different tone.
My "normal" pick is a basic celluloid in heavy gauge these days, but medium works too. I have acquired several packs of Taylor branded ones at Road Shows (remember those?) although I'm sure they are the same as the Fender and other branded celluloid picks. I've bought a few other types too. So far no excursions into boutique picks like Charmed Life or Blue Chip. |
#15
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Wow! What a beautiful Emerald.
"forced into getting", you're not alone with those who acquired guitars after joining the AGF. Congrats and enjoy. |