RIP Emerald guitars
 

Got an email today from Emerald guitars saying that they're hanging up their Carbon fibre moulds.......

REALLY sad that a really progressive builder has had to stop production because Parker (y'know, the Parker fly?) were bought out by a big multinational and have stopped supplying fretboards.

Emerald cant afford to re tool to build new moulds for new fretboards.

These guys built the wonderful x5 travel guitar

http://www.musicgadgets.net/images/x5_2Dlife.jpg

as well as some.... well.......

slightly less......

conventional instruments including the alien

http://www.emeraldguitars.com/images.../alien_vid.jpg

and Steve Vai's Ultrazone guitar

http://www.emeraldguitars.com/images...allery_lg9.jpg

YET another Irish, Christian guitar maker.........

sadly gone.......

you'll be missed!!

That's a real shame. :(
They built some very unique and stunning looking guitars, and from the sound samples I heard when checking out their website some time ago, were really viable as the solution to a tough, durable guitar.

My impression is that they were way ahead of their time...I have got a feeling someone else will start producing unique looking CF guitars in 20 years time and make an absolute profit due to the prices of instrument grade soft and hardwood going up in price.

Rick Turner, who posts here sometimes, posted a letter he received from the proprietor of Emerald Guitars which explains the company's demise. It was essentially a supplier issue caused by a change of ownership at the supplier. I think the post is well worth a read, even if it is on another forum. Things going dark in the Emerald City.

Weren't there rumblings some months back about supply issues in general of carbon fiber / composites due to demand from the military and the new 787 dreamliner? Were those resolved? I'm thinking this would have affected Raisong and Composite Acoustics as well as the now in stasis ( could there be a comeback? ) Emerald guitars.

Read the letter; what an incredibly nice bloke Alistair is. I sincerely pray the very best for his future.

I got the e-mail from Alistair also. I bought an X5 from him and absolutely loved it. I sold it to a friend in preparation for getting my Rainsong. Now I wish I hadn't.

I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he somehow has a comeback someday. The X5 really was an incredible travel guitar!

Amen. The man certainly seems to have his priorities in order and his heart in the right place!