Emerald Kestrel
 

Anybody try one yet?

https://emeraldguitars.com/wp-conten...trel-QM-VA.jpg

Interesting guitar! Emerald has a couple of nice sound clips of the Kestrel on their website. Very clean, crisp tone, acoustically as well as amplified.

I wonder how one would ever get the opportunity to play one before buying? They appear to be exclusively direct to consumer.

Livingston, you won't find one in dealerships. Emerald only sells direct to consumer. However, they are good about their return policy if you buy from stock, the guitar comes back in like-new condition, and within the specified time frame. You would be out the original $55 shipping charge, plus whatever it costs you to mail it back to Ireland (~$90 the one time I did it. The guitar that I returned was awesome and perfectly built, but did not quite fit me, so I went custom).

Being a brand new model, it will be a while before you might get lucky enough to find an owner near you for a test drive. Most of us who own Emeralds are quite open to sharing. (I have five, but not a Kestrel). I suggest paying attention to the Carbon Fiber room, where there is a lot more traffic and discussion of Emeralds.

That is an awesome piece of quilted maple on that beautiful Kestrel.

"That is an awesome piece of quilted maple on that beautiful Kestrel. "

Which begs two questions for me - is that a layer of veneer on a carbon fiber top, or is it carved solid wood? Is carved solid wood able to compete with carved spruce, redwood, etc, for a truly excellent acoustic guitar?

I've got a few guitars with exceptionally visually interesting back and side wood, but I only ever look at the front... So I wonder why?

Very thin veneer.

If it's like every other Emerald with a wood-looking top, it's a razor thin veneer on a carbon fiber top. And the back and sides are also carbon fiber, but without the veneer. The veneer is just there for aesthetic purposes - people with equivalent all carbon and carbon+veneer models seem to find no notable difference between the sound of the all-carbon tops and the carbon+veneer tops.

Because not everybody only ever looks at the front?

I found this video which shows a bunch of the emerald guitars. The Kestrel comes on about 2 minutes in.

I wonder how a Kestrel would look with a fan fret?

NGD
 

Here's mine that I just unboxed. Typical, flawless work by Emerald. Very fast-feeling neck. The one pleasant surprise was how thin the guitar body is. I guess I was expecting a body thickness more typical of my other wood archtops. This feels more like a semi-hollow. And of course, it's very light!

https://i.imgur.com/KpLiOKw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Isf4m05.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Jth6bMa.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/alJXF48.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iy8T7Gm.jpg

That's really rather lovely. I'd love to hear more after you've had a chance to play it for a while.

Maybe I missed it, but is the Kestrel strung with acoustic strings? Looks like PB’s on there. 12’s?

Yes indeed. I guess they're 12s. I string all my acoustics with mediums and these feel pretty light in comparison.

I'll put on some flatwound Black Diamonds in a bit.

Backcountry, I'm interested in hearing your take on this guitar after you put some flats on it. I have seen a few of your posts and from what I have seen you have some traditional archtops. Your guitar looks great.

I have been a fan of Emerald for a while and I'm looking forward to your opinion regarding the tonal aspects of this guitar. I have played regular Emerald's and one of Alistair's custom guitars so I'm not concerned about the build quality. I also own a AT with a Krivos pickup.

Thanks Backcountry. I wonder what a set of acoustic 13’s would do in terms of top response, since that’s what you’re used to. I play that gauge on dreadnoughts, and am fine both with a flat-pick and various methods of fingerstyle, from bare to thumbpick. I also have a really nice 900 series Eastman archtop strung with acoustic 13’s in nickel bronze, which I like.

Next question: how arched is that top? I’ve looked at available photos and have not het seen a good one showing the actual degree of arch, and the general contours. Not sure I personally would even be able to take such a set of photos if called upon, but if you get a notion and have opportunity, do you think you could snap a couple at an angle that shows the top? Thanks.

Fwiw, put me down as a real fan of what Emerald is putting out! I’ve grabbed “a couple” myself in the past year or so. Great stuff.

To my eye, the top is not very arched at all. Nowhere near my others.

Turns out the guitar body is about 3" deep but feels much thinner due to the ergonomic shape. The guitar hangs nicely when standing, with the fretboard at a slight angle upwards, maybe 10 degrees, so seeing the fretboard is really easy and natural.

It's a slight neck diver, not as much as my others, and with the built-in armrest it's very comfortable to hold and play.

It's very resonant and sounds great unplugged or through the Krivo pickup.

I got in touch with Jason (Krivo) as my B-string was way too loud and he suggested removing the B-string pole which I did and it fixed the problem.

Thanks Backcountry.

I like the way the Kestrel sounds in the few clips I’ve heard, and being a fan of both emeralds and archtops, I naturally want to audition one.

Just, it looks to me almost like a slightly arched flat top with f holes and a harp tailpiece. I’ll bet the sustain is terrific, and probably much longer than many wooden archtops. And how about overtones?

There is currently a red Kestrel in stock on the Emerald Website that I have been thinking about. Not sure how long it will be there. This will give you an opportunity to audition. I have no idea what the resale value would be as I haven't seen any second hand yet. Doubt you will lose that much if you don't like it though.

The black one
 

I bought the black one a few days ago. Hasn't arrived yet. I'll report when I've had a chance to play it a bit.

Hey thanks mot. Just so happens it’s bad timing for me for (yet another) guitar purchase, if you know what I mean.....

That is a nice looking Emerald though!

Yep! Same here. Already have something else on order.

It will be great if Emerald Kestrel can come with a solid headstock like X20...
I don't like slotted headstock

I would talk with Alistair (Emerald Guitars) as he is open to discussing customization aspects (I had them build a customized X20-12) such as a solid headstock

2019 Emerald Guitars Kestrel price?
 

Does anyone here recall the 2019 Emerald Guitars Kestrel standard black carbon fiber guitar price?

Cheers, Kevin

My recollection is that they were around $3k when introduced - maybe a tad under.

The Kestrel’s tone reminded me of Pat Metheny’s Ibanez signature guitar. Cool video, what a great promo for Emerald.

I purchased a Kestrel during the 25% sale and it has become my daily go to guitar except that for the past couple of weeks I have been SO busy that the poor thing is actually getting dusty! Even in retirement, life gets in the way.

Hmmmmmmm...Estoy muerto de cansancio!

Tony