Another prospective Emerald buyer w/ questions!
 

Ok, I've got it bad and will probably pull the string on an Emerald x30 before too long. Two questions please for those in the know. 1) Is Emerald custom options pricing anywhere? Seems the webpage may be updating. I don't plan to go wild but would like to price out a few options I may go with before I lay money down. 2) Has anyone noticed in tonal changes with different wood veneers? Thanks - this forum has been fantastic for my research!

1) When I ordered my custom Emerald guitars I contacted sales for a quote. Even then I did not get a pricing per option, just the grand total.

2) Sorry, no veneers for me. And no pickups* or hard cases either. That is a good way to compensate for custom options.


* They did put a pickup in my X7 by mistake though. :D

Lay it out for Sales that you would like pricing for different options. They should provide you each piece individually

According to Alistair, there is no significant difference in tone with or without a veneer.

I’ve heard that stated before, but does anyone believe that it is true? I’m going to be going over my observations in a soon to be NCFGD, but infusing/layering a veneer of wood with the existing CF has to have some impact yes? It would seem to be more remarkable if it didn’t have an impact.

Why would one not believe him?

Capt. Jim quoted him saying there was no “significant difference” in the tone. That’s different than “some impact”, as you stated.

I would agree that it would make “some impact”, as well as believe it’s not “significant”.

I can only go off of my experience and my conversation with LA guitar sales.

My own experience is comparing a RainSong without the veneer to my Nashville jumbo. The only wrinkle there is they are not technically the same body size (WS versus jumbo) so I acknowledge it isn't truly apples-to-apples.

I got my D-15S from LAGS and although I didn’t get my RainSong from them, I knew they were a big CF dealer and I asked them about their experience with the veneers and they certainly said it makes a difference in their opinion- a more warm woody tone. And they used to be an emerald dealer before they dropped their dealerships and noticed the same trend with emerald.

I suppose for some individuals it might not be noticeable but with my fingerstyle it certainly changed my mind about RainSong after getting the Nashville jumbo.

yes. Wood veneers are thinner than good bond paper. There simply isn't enough mass or thickness to make any discernible difference.

Kevin told me the same thing. He could have easily said it did make a difference to get a higher $$ sale, but didn’t. The veneer on an Emerald is cosmetic. They are certainly beautiful, and for some it adds to the aesthetic experience. But my priority is tone, and I love the classic black look, too.

Thanks - another question, anyone using these Emeralds on stage regularly? Any issues with feedback? The top sound hole position has me concerned with feeding in to the vocal mic.

That is a very interesting question. One I hadn't considered. I look forward to the answers people post.

There was a question posted here recently about how to craft a feedback buster/soundhole plug for an Emerald. Seems like it might be relevant to your question.

when I’ve played on stage (indoor & out) I’ve never had feedback problems with my X20-12 due to nearness to my vocal mic

Putting half down when it's ordered and the other half ransomed after build makes custom features a lot more affordable.

My X30 definitely has issues with feedback, or some other form of resonance with the lower two strings.

One time I was standing there, and thought I heard a low resonance through the monitor. Touched my E and A strings, and it went away. Let them go, and it came back within about 15 seconds. I felt one of them vibrating, but I honestly don't recall which it was.
I took a step to the side to help prevent it.

My RainSong has no such issues. The Emerald body is very, VERY deep. It makes such a boomy low end that it must just be resonating perfectly.