Opinions on possible Emerald order
 

Stuck in my own head. I may order myself a Virtuo....but I'm stuck on what I'd order. When I got my X30, I specifically wanted a Padauk, and the veneer I saw was clearly, 100%, no question IT.

Now I'm torn. N+3 is not at option, so forget it.
I know it's my choice, and no one else's opinion matters in the end....but trying to get some thoughts from others on what they would do!

I was thinking Quilted Maple, in a blue. I did talk to Alistair today, and there are a few other options that may work.
I'm now thinking if I did quilted maple....I'd do the teal from the latest shipping video, with a blue burst (instead of vintage amber, but the same style) to a vibrant blue carbon.

Or, I'm thinking another Padauk...to complement my X30.

Or perhaps a Harborica....perhaps in a clear, with natural vibrant silver layered carbon? (Need to ask about that yet).

Or perhaps Spalted Chen Chen. I like the lighter color there....but I've never considered Spalted Chen Chen before.

Quilted Maple that I would select.
https://i.ibb.co/fvfsqCQ/Screenshot-20211201-022619.png

Padauk that I would select.
https://i.ibb.co/G33vymS/Screenshot-20211201-022304.png


Harborica that I would select.
https://i.ibb.co/nr64kZt/Screenshot-20211201-022429.png


Spalted Chen Chen that I would select.
https://i.ibb.co/ggYJFHj/Screenshot-20211201-022846.png

For me personally, I always found/find I much prefer the lighter colored AND highly figured wood grains. My first woody was a cocobolo after seeing the very first one produced. But it was just too dark in the finished product. My next one was a Ziricote with an incredible sapwood grain pattern but again the finished product was just too dark. The third was a Royal Ebony which was great. It's light enough but with the dark figuring so that the final product really popped.

For your choices - and again, for me personally - the quilted maple is definitely light but not enough grain variance for me. That said, I have seen some Emeralds that look sexy although I generally almost always hate the colored ones. The standard burst type finishes tend to look better in quilted maple, IMHO. Oh yeah, and I HATE teal!

I've never been a fan of the redness in the padauk and so not a fan of that one either, especially with those wide stripes. With the haborica, I've seen a few that have been okay but again with the wide dark stripes it would be too dark for me.

That leaves the spalted chen which for me is the best you've got up there. It's very much like the Royal Ebony in that it's light in color with darker and highly figured wood grain although the grain patterns don't quite pop as much as the darker Royal Ebony lines.

The spalted chen woody topped guitars have always been my favorites along with the Royal Ebony. So, that would be my choice but in a natural color. But of course that is just MY opinion. Ultimately, it's up to you!

There's no question that Emerald's veneers have something for everyone. I, for one, reside in the less is more subtle approach, and so chose Black Limba for my recently acquired X20. It's perfect for me but I understand not everyone's mug of Guiness. However, I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out...https://emeraldguitars.com/galleries/x20-black-limba/

I love the quilted maple. It takes a stain so well, and will work with virtually any colour.

Like Randy, I prefer the more subtle approach - and would actually prefer no veneer at all. Let that lovely weave show!

Well there you have it, and I'm sure you're decision is now made ;)

I understand the difficulty in picking a veneer. So many nice choices. But it's hard to visualize the final product. I agree with Methos1979 in that many of the ones they show for sale on the website are quite dark under normal lighting conditions. So when making my choice I tended to avoid the nice, really well lit photographic images and focused on the shipping videos where lighting is more realistic. I ended up picking one of the Pao Ferro veneers that has a nice wide sapwood stripe down the middle and, I'm hoping, a mix of lighter browns with some dark streaks to the sides.

Of the choices you presented, I'd vote for either the Maple or Candy Stripe Padauk.

I'm sure any of them will look great!

Wood grain looks very different with a clear finish applied. Fortunately, Emerald now has a Gallery Showcase feature that allows one to see what various veneers look like in their finished state...https://emeraldguitars.com/image-gallery-showcase/

The darkness is one reason I'm struggling a tad.


This was the veneer I picked for my X30 in April 2020.
https://i.ibb.co/255n9W3/IMG-20200324-104510-1.jpg

This is how it turned out in the sun.
https://i.ibb.co/tDgBxK7/130967152-1...626401-o-2.jpg

This is while playing.
https://i.ibb.co/QC9wHJG/Screenshot-20211129-095208.png


So yeah, if I did a quilted maple or the like....I just don't want to darken up the quilting so much that it's hard to see unless it's in the sun....

Joel, your own personal mug of Guinness turned into a one-of-a-kind Moville mug of Guinness.

I have no clue what kind of wood chen chen is, but that spalted chen chen looks stunning.

To throw another veneer in the mix, there have been a couple of examples of lighter Claro Walnut recently that have been amazing....

Your X30 is beautiful. I love the look of my Curly Tineo…

https://emeraldguitars.com/galleries/x30-curly-tineo/

Good luck with your choice!

Yeah, looks like I found a used mint black quilted maple Virtuo that I'm going to do, so all of my other thoughts are out the window.