X7v3 vs McPherson Touring for Fingerstyle

[Emile640]

I wanted to see if any folks have experience playing both guitars via finger style. I’m wondering which has better tone & volume acoustically & which has better response and playability between the Emerald x7 v3 and the McPherson touring carbon fiber guitars? I totally get that the string lengths are different, and would probably be okay with the shorter scale of the touring as I am used to similarly string length instruments.

Thank you all in advance for your insights.

[new2guitar_eh]

Maybe have a scan through the sharing thread to see if someone near you has either of these they would let you try

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=646425

[Earl49]

FWIW we own a CA Cargo with 22.75" scale, like the Touring, and an Emerald X7 with 24" scale. I have also played Touring on a few occasions. Shorter is playable but the longer scale simply works better for both my big paws and my wife's dainty hands.

[Emile640]

Originally Posted by Earl49

FWIW we own a CA Cargo with 22.75" scale, like the Touring, and an Emerald X7 with 24" scale. I have also played Touring on a few occasions. Shorter is playable but the longer scale simply works better for both my big paws and my wife's dainty hands.

As I mentioned, I fully understand the vibrating string length difference. What I really want to know is how they differ sonically from each other in unplugged settings. I've read a few snippets here and there that laud the tone & response of McPhersons where Emeralds are described as more muted acoustically and that the Touring may sound considerably bigger than the X7. Really looking for the opinion on someone who has had some experience playing both.

[Earl49]

Lacking that direct tonal experience is why I only talked about scale length. The issue is less about vibrating string length and more about fitting fingers between cramped frets. The general wisdom around here is that McPherson guitars sound quite good but are acoustically quieter than other CF instruments like Emerald and Rainsong (RIP). You might have that comparison backward.

I happen to like the more Martin-esque tone of the Cargo just a bit better than the older and smaller X7's that we have. Cargo sounds better than such a small guitar really should, but the shorter scale length makes it slightly harder to play -- it is like being permanently capo'ed at the third fret. Doable but cramped. I have not played a newer larger V3 version of the X7 nor been able to spend any real quality time with a Touring. Since we have an X7 the Touring is totally redundant, to us. I'll go away now.

[steelvibe]

I played the Touring a few times and really like it. It is quite amazing what McPherson is doing. The 1.75 nut is helpful, because like yourself, I'm a fingerstyle guy. It feels a bit like a GS Mini, but a little more finger room.

I cannot answer your question fully because I've not seen much less played the X7 3.0. I don't see them up for sale very often though, so people must be hanging onto them. What I can say is that I played a used X10 that had horrid strings on it. Plugged in (Level 2) it was fabulous, but I was left pretty underwhelmed with it acoustically. Fresh strings would have done it wonders I'm certain, but I really found it no better than my OF660 tonally. It was dark sounding and surprisingly muted considering the size. I did not play it with a pick, which the X10 is probably more suited for anyway.

Also, in my opinion, the ergonomics of the X7 3.0 is a bit off. The bridge does fall in the sweet spot of the lower bout like a 12-fretter would, but the fretboard encroaches into the playing area in a way, where the picking hand of most players hovers right over the upper frets. To avoid this, players in many videos I've watched compensate by contorting their bodies, either pulling their right arm back, or into looking like a pretzel. The cost of keeping the X7 as small as possible I suppose.

[raysachs]

I’ve owned three X7s (two of them the current version) and currently own a Cargo. And I guess I technically owned a Touring briefly as well, as long as it took me to play it for an hour or two and hustle back to Guitar Center to return it - it was a used model. I liked the sound of the X7 the most of these three models by a good margin. And the Touring the least, also by a good margin. And lest you think I’m an Emerald fanboy or a MacPherson hater, I have a Sable that to my ears is overwhelmingly the best sounding carbon fiber guitar I’ve ever played, MUCH more to my liking than an X20 I used to own and also notably more so than an X30 loaned to me by a local forum member for a couple of weeks while she was overseas.

I’m not much of a fingerpicker at all anymore, but during my ownership of one of the current model X7s, I was trying very hard to be and got half decent in a limited way. And as much as I liked the sound of the X7, I found it ergonomically very challenging for fingerstyle playing. I’m one of those people who insists on resting my palm on the bridge for both palm muting and for anchoring and the bridge on the X7 is so far back toward the back end of the body that it was really uncomfortable to try to get my palm back there and still use that hand for picking. That’s why I ultimately sold that guitar. I later bought another one once I had largely decided that fingerpicking was not gonna be an emphasis of mine and the only reason I sold it was because the Sable I now own was so head and shoulders better sounding to me than any other CF guitar I’d played.

As for the Touring I played, maybe I was having a bad ear day, but it sounded incredibly boxy to me in a way that neither the X7 or Cargo did or do. I didn’t fingerpick with it, but I did some plectrum lead line picking and it still sounded quite boxy, as it did strummed. The Cargo has enough of a bass emphasis that it might sound pretty good fingerpicked, but my fingerpicking skills are so rusty at this point that I couldn’t really give it any kind of a workout.

Not sure how useful any of this is. I’ve certainly read others rave about both the Touring and the Cargo, so this is just one guy’s opinion. But I liked the current model X7 quite a lot, didn’t like the Touring at all, and am OK with the Cargo, glad I got a chance to buy one for a good price and check it out, but I’m pretty “meh” about it and will likely sell it when I get back to Oregon in April - if anyone wants one, let me know…

-Ray

[Frettingflyer]

This isn’t what you asked for, but I have X20 and Sable, so…The X20 sounds louder to the player for sure due to the soundhole and my family thinks it is a bit louder as well fingerstyle. The Sable gets the win on tone, but not by much and I haven’t tried them with the same strings yet. The Sable really livens up with a pick, but I play mostly fingerstyle and the X20 has more dynamic range IMO.
Sorry it is the next size up, but same manufacturers.

[Emile640]

Thank you all for the insight. I figure that I can just order the McPherson from MF with a 45 day return policy. Of course, I'd know pretty quickly if I like it or want to return it.

[Emile640]

Well folks, I received the touring yesterday and put in an hour to 2 on it. It's an excellent guitar that definitely sounds much larger than its size. The tone was very good and the neck is a slim profile, maybe a little too thin for me. Very responsive and has good dynamic contrast ability. Oddly enough, the short scale didn't seem to phase me at all.

I am however returning it for 2 reasons:

1) The 6th string becomes way too buzzy when tuning down below an E and that's with a .56 on there already
2) There is this gnarly smell coming out of it that was giving me a headache

[Cheers98]

Ah that new CF guitar smell! Not quite as pleasant as freshly cut cedar or spruce unfortunately. Leaving the guitar out of the case will make it go away after a few days but it seems you've already decided to return it.

[Emile640]

Originally Posted by Cheers98

Ah that new CF guitar smell! Not quite as pleasant as freshly cut cedar or spruce unfortunately. Leaving the guitar out of the case will make it go away after a few days but it seems you've already decided to return it.

Yes that must be it! I'd be happier with the Sable as I like to play in alternate tunings that make the 6th string not ring out on that scale of the Touring (buzzed/muted). Otherwise, the Touring is a nice guitar.

[Earl49]

The Sable probably would be more satisfying. Alternate tunings kinda call out for longer scale lengths and/or heavier strings. On my 25.5" scale guitars, I use mediums (56-13) for anything other than standard tuning. For really low tunings like Open F, I have used EJ-18 heavy gauge string sets (59-14).

My wife plays her Emerald X7 (24" scale) almost exclusively in Open G tuning [DGDGBd] with light gauge strings, but they are pretty loose at that tension. We have not had much success with the Cargo (22.75" scale) doing that, even with mediums.

[Emile640]

Originally Posted by Earl49

The Sable probably would be more satisfying. Alternate tunings kinda call out for longer scale lengths and/or heavier strings. On my 25.5" scale guitars, I use mediums (56-13) for anything other than standard tuning. For really low tunings like Open F, I have used EJ-18 heavy gauge string sets (59-14).

My wife plays her Emerald X7 (24" scale) almost exclusively in Open G tuning [DGDGBd] with light gauge strings, but they are pretty loose at that tension. We have not had much success with the Cargo (22.75" scale) doing that, even with mediums.

Thanks Earl. Yeah I think I'd be happier with it. I can play in CGCGCD and DADGAD on my Rainsong shorty using 53-12 but I use a 13 for the first string without issues although of course that 6th string can bend out of tune very easily with the lightest pressure.