2018 - Purchase Considerations
 

2018 is going to be the year I buy one. I have kind of narrowed it down between Tonedevil and Emerald (at least in my head). Here are my current thoughts:

I will probably only ever buy one harp guitar (but who knows). I'm slightly leaning towards an X20 with a custom 24.75" scale (my fav). I'm also a little on the fence about the super trebles. I guess I'd rather have them and not always use them than wonder, but they are a bit pricy.

If I go with the Tonedevil, I will probably go without the super trebles but ask for a custom scale. The reason I would choose the Tonedevil is that I "think" I would probably have a preference for the tone of the wooden guitar. However, I don't have a lot of experience to base that on -- Of the CF guitars I've played, I've only liked the Rainsongs. And the Emeralds sound pretty darned good in the videos... The ergonomics of the Emerald and the advantages of carbon on a big instrument under high tension factor in too. Pickup/plugged in sound is also a factor for me. I probably will want to gig with it locally, so that pushes me a little bit towards the Emerald as well.

I was wondering if anyone here can speak flexibility (balance between the strings) when plugging in with either of these, plugged in tone and unplugged tone. Also any other suggestions, guidance, or considerations would be appreciated. Nudges in one direction or another are fine too. I'm just trying to research and carefully consider my options. Thanks!

I have not played a CF guitar, harp or otherwise, so I can't comment on the sound, but I personally would need to play one first before buying one. Wood guitars, especially with spruce tops, are pretty safe bets, but CF is a totally different material, and videos are not going to tell you much about what a guitar will sound like in person. I'm obviously partial to Tonedevils, and am extremely happy with both of mine. :D

Plugged in, I can get awesome sound with two mics, and I've done some recordings with my S18 that sound professional, but the onboard pickups leave a lot to be desired in my opinion. They are not active (no battery), that might be part of the problem, and perhaps I really should use a pre-amp rather than plugging straight in to an amp or recorder, but I'll take a decent mic over the onboard pickups any day. Gigging, it probably doesn't matter so much, and your major concern will be taming howling feedback from that big top. There again, a mic may be a better option.

Do you have room in your budget for a Pasadena-made Dyer? They're notably better than the TD.

They're on my radar for 2018. Do you have any experience with them??

Thanks for the feedback so far. The Dyer's are definitely out of my budget by the time I ask for a shorter scale and a 1.75" nut. They look sweet though.

I might reconsider my 1.75" nut requirement and just deal with the narrower neck on the Timberline. Still also considering the Tone Devil and the Emerald as well. I know what I "think" I want, but I may not "know" what I really want/need since I haven't played one. I might be better off to get a Timberline in hand and move forward from there.

On the other hand I already have a few too many guitars. If I plans to buy an entry level harp guitar an then another one later just means even more guitars..... sigh.... :ha::guitar:

Still trying to figure it out....

When I talked to Dyer a while back, they had a demo harp for sale for a very reasonable price.