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Check out the new "Standard" Emerald models
I was just looking at the Emerald website. New "standard" models now include a X20 12 string, X20 baritone, X20 7 string fan fret and an X20 nylon string. The nylon string is gorgeous and Evan is recognized as a driving force behind the development of carbon fiber nylon strings.
I wonder if there is a new X10 model coming. Thanks Alistar and Evan for pushing the boundaries. |
The headstock on the nylon string may be the most beautiful I've seen. But the fact that it requires so much hand work by Alistair makes it relatively pricey, for an Emerald. But it's still reasonable for what is essentially a custom instrument.
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kbenson;
Alistair is renewing the X10 line. I should be receiving the new X10N within a few weeks and pictures should be showing up on this forum within that time frame. In my estimation, Alistair doe not just make fine musical instruments, he makes beautiful works of art. |
I've been having chronic GAS for an Emerald, but the fact that I'd have to buy one sight unseen and that larger financial priorities keep popping up have kept me from getting one.
I do kind of hope they keep the traditional soundhole. I'm a bit of an odd duck in that I like the tone of soundhole pickups. |
Rusty;
If and when Alistair starts his instrument road trips you will have the chance to hold, play, and decide. Something to look forward to..... |
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My next Emerald may be a new X10, (or a X20N or a synergy)! So many great choices. |
This is absolutely beautiful...
Emerald Guitars: Amicus (B,F#,B,D,F#,B): www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj9ElCc5Tyg Tony |
I'm hoping for an Emerald electric guitar.
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I haven't been able to access their site all day.
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I know how to build guitars but the workings of a website is a completely foreign language to me. Yes as you saw we are expanding our range. We have selected some of the customs we were building most often and have built production tooling for them. There are a few others in the pipeline also including the X10 and a new full size harp guitar. The other news that may not have been picked up on is that the X20 is now available in left handed. Until now we could only offer the non cutaway designs as lefty but we are now completing a Lefty X20 mould giving Leftys the proper Emerald experience. This will be the only dedicated Lefty cutaway carbon guitar in the market I think We have been pretty busy over here and going by the recent response thats not going to change any time soon. Thanks for all the amazing encouragement and words of affirmation over the last few days. My inbox has been bouncing. Alistair |
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I want you to apologize right now, young man, and tell that nice Mr. Hay that you won't monkey around with his website any more! |
Seems the last week or so, most of the posts in this CF sub-forum have been regarding Emerald. I wrote to ask them about current time from order to delivery and was told "4 months" on a standard model.
I'll be interested to see how the "road trip" plays out. I put my name in. |
This is hot stuff! Rainsong is sort of stogy, takes its time and goes for a long run. Peavey is still living in the past, Blackbird is creative as all get out, but takes its time. Alistair is running free.
I've met Alistair, and he has become one of my indulgences. I've lived a Spartan life but I've retired to a number of indulgences; I smoke, drink, play guitar, write, garden, and, as my wife of 49 years puts it, pretty much do what I want to do. I want to support a luthier who is advancing 500 years of R&D for guitars. I count myself as a patron and I give a little water for the brush. Alistair is now making my 3rd Emerald CF nylon string guitar. I think that's pretty exciting stuff and one reason Alistair is a person of interest. He is serving up one innovative instrument after another. I love it! |
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stodg·y
ˈstäjē/Submit adjective 1. dull and uninspired. "some of the material is rather stodgy and top-heavy with facts" synonyms: boring, dull, uninteresting, dreary, turgid, tedious, dry, unimaginative, uninspired, unexciting, unoriginal, monotonous, humdrum, prosaic, staid, heavy going;. |
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I also don't think he meant it as a dis toward RainSong, he owns a P12 nylon. Correct me if I'm wrong Evan, but I assume you meant that, in comparison to Emerald, RainSong is merely less adventurous? I always thought that pioneers were always the most adventurous? :cool: |
Alistair seems to have figured out a proprietary method to economically produce molds and forming/injection of materials and finishing that other composite guitar builders have not. This has to give him a big leg-up on the competition. Combine this with the new direct sales, road trip business model and the sky appears to be the limit. Good on him. Others better be paying attention...hope so, it'd be good for us players.
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The Sky???
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How many Emerald guitars exist in the world? Hundreds? Last February I posted here, asking if anyone in the Boston area had an Emerald X7 I could demo. I did not get one reply of any kind. I guess with the road-trip model, I might eventually get to play one. But this does not seem to be a market-leading business model. Carbon fiber guitars are a niche in the guitar market, and Emerald is a niche within that. This is not to knock Emerald. I'd like to own (pending an audition) one of the new X10s with a woody top and headstock in green, thanks. I think these guitars are artwork, and are unique in the guitar world. But artwork has never been a sky's-the-limit business. And with a 4-month or more wait for a guitar, Emerald seems much closer to a boutique business. |
A full size Harp Guitar in the pipeline!! Incredible! You can talk about marketing strategies, availability, compare vendors etc. But you forget there is just a magic in the Emerald City. With a 4 month wait it kind of tells you "if you build it they will come".
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I would say that yes, Emerald is a boutique business. But I think that is perfectly fine. And it's pretty cool,not to mention unique, for a guitar builder to be boutique in volume and customization options, but mainstream in price. Think about how many guitars they would need to crank out to feed a dealer network. Emerald would need to be an entirely different kind of business, with many more builders and a much larger facility, and probably not in their lovely Irish countryside, either. Alistair and his crew have plenty of orders coming in to keep them busy, and a lot of variety to keep them interested. And, as Alistair said, they like the direct customer interaction. Sounds good to me!
BTW, Emerald has over 24,000 followers on Facebook. Only a tiny fraction of those people would have to actually become customers to keep Emerald thriving. |
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The website is back. Apparently that whatdoyacallit was disconnected from the thingamebob. Merlin has it all sorted now.
On the website note.... Please bear with our website over the next few weeks. We are developing a completely new one but it will take another couple of months. The existing website can't really handle our current offering but its patched up and will hobble along for another while. I don't think Evan or anyone else disrespects Rainsong or any of the others. This is a very complicated business and we have all chosen different paths based on various experiences and strategies. I just do what I do and try to not look over my shoulder too much. We are all apples and oranges or maybe in my case Im a Pineapple. Alistair |
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P.s. I never said that Emerald's business model is market-leading in terms of quantity manufactured and local dealer availability. Arguably, their flexibility, innovation, extent of customization, very reasonable pricing and delivery times, and the road trip offering, is. Like I said, as a foundation, their sky's limit is up to how they define success. |
Glad to see the web site back, Alistair. I have a small simple business web site, and also a ukulele club website. These are sometimes not trivial efforts. And my web sites are WAY simpler than yours. As a CF fan, I would love to try an Emerald. They look wonderful and get glowing reports here, but not being able to test-drive one is a real hurdle to laying down the money.
Regarding "stodgy" may I suggest that Rainsong is a bit like Martin, with a more conservative, traditional approach. Emerald would be more like Taylor - innovative, willing to think outside the box a bit and try new things. |
OK, I misspoke myself. What I was trying to get at is that I believe Rainsong has been fairly traditional in its instruments. This is not a slam; my RS 12 fret Parlor is pretty much a traditional instrument--one that has been refined to an incredible level of excellence.
And yes, I do believe that Peavey's CF offerings come from past CA creations--refined and excellent, but no longer fresh innovations. And I believe that Blackbird and Emerald are the best innovators of composite instruments. Based on my ownership and experience I believe that all the CF makers are producing worthy instruments. Alistair's willingness to customize appeals to me the most. |
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I think it was at another forum, but someone was wondering why Rainsong didn't have more contemporary features on their guitars, so he sent them an e-mail. Rainsong responded that since most acoustic guitarists tend to resistant to anything new or different, they tried to make their guitars fairly traditional, other than the carbon fiber.
I personally find Emerald's designs more interesting, but I don't have an issue with Rainsong trying to be a gateway for the hide-bound traditionalists. :) |
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