REEE Reassessing the Sable - looooong...
 

About a year ago I was without a carbon fiber guitar. I was thinking of getting a Sable, but my finances at that time would have required me to sell one of my two other acoustics, probably my 000-28EC, which is my second favorite of two wooden acoustics. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY like the EC, just not as much as my CEO-7 - I seem to have a mahogany preference these days. But I stumbled onto a used Sable for a really good price at Guitar Center, so I bought it, knowing I could return it easily. Long story short, I liked it, but not enough to sell my EC, and it went back after several days of ruminating. The whole saga was written about in real time, here:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=629338

Then this Spring, my financial situation had improved, and I really wanted a carbon fiber guitar to bang around, to leave out all the time, to play in times of very high and very low humidity, to stick in a hot or freezing car for weekend trips, etc. Having previously owned an Emerald X7 and liked it, I bought another. It was my cheapest option and a guitar I knew I liked.

All was well, until I got a chance to play an X30 this summer, which is worlds different. It was pretty stunning and I couldn't stop thinking about possibly upgrading. But I wanted to be able to spend more time with it to see how the size and bass heavy sound of that guitar wore on me longer term. And then, several weeks ago, I got a chance to borrow that same X30 for two full weeks - perfect! Thanks Carol!

So, knowing I was gonna have an X7 and an X30 available for a couple of weeks, I ordered another Sable, figuring I'd have a good full Carbon Fiber shootout of the three models I'd liked and was seriously interested in. And I could return the Sable, but I'd have some shipping costs to eat. It took the Sable almost a week to arrive, during which I wore out the X30 and X7 - my goodness, what vastly different guitars. For anyone wondering 'what about an X20', I owned one once, didn't particularly like it, and I have at least a mental block about getting another.

The X7 is kind of a little parlor sized blues box, lots and lots of mids, right up my alley. I like the sound of it a lot, but it's sort of a one trick pony to my ear. It's a trick I like a lot, but not super versatile. And I really wasn't loving the small size of the X7, particularly with the short scale, and bridge position leading to a VERY short neck. I'd never really liked that, it feels sort of cramped, and was liking it less and less.

The X30, OTOH, is a HUGE guitar. The various bevels and curves on it make it play like a smaller guitar than it is - I found it more comfortable than I've found dreads at this point in my life, but it's still a real lap and armful. the sound is deep and rich, but sometimes TOOOO deep. Man, does that thing have some low end! There were moments when I really loved that, but overall, I found it kind of much, like I needed to really go easier on the three lowest strings than the three highest, just to keep some sort of balance. There were basically things I liked and DIS-liked about both of these Emeralds.

And then the Sable arrived. And it was Goldilocks time! A perfect size - basically an 000 / OM size, very comfortable to play, as I'd remembered. A great neck, not quite as great as the Mod-V necks on my two Martins, but the next best thing. It's not a light guitar, but it's not as heavy as the X30. And the sound was just so well balanced across all of the frequencies - I was comfortable playing it pretty much like I played the X7 or the X30 and it sounds great for anything I wanted to do with it. It sounded waaaaay better than I'd remembered from a year ago. It may be a newer model - it's got a far less ugly logo on the headstock. I don't know what else, if anything has changed. It came with a nice Reunion Blues soft case, which I prefer to the hard shell case. But my IMPRESSION of it changed vastly. And basically, within a day of having all three, there was no question that the Sable was staying. It was so clear. And it somehow sounds fuller than either of my wooden guitars, maybe due to the longer scale length?

So now I own a Sable. And instead of my carbon fiber guitar being a backup, a bad conditions guitar, kind of an afterthought, it's a co-equal member of my three-acoustic herd. I don't just pick it up when I don't want to pull out one of my wooden guitars - I play it whenever I'm in the mood to, which so far has been a lot. I returned the borrowed X30 - it's a great guitar, but not for me. I put my X7 up for sale and I've gotten some interest, but I'm kind of leaning towards keeping it. I have a cheap Alvarez out at my daughter's place in Oregon for when we visit out there, which we do a good bit. I'm thinking I may just take or send the X7 out there and let it replace the Alvarez - it's a far better sounding guitar to my ears. And short of full-on catastrophe, nothing is gonna hurt it when it sits out there for long periods unattended.

So now I find myself in the enviable position of owning three acoustics that could each be my only acoustic, each wonderful in it's own way, all somewhat different, but all sort of all-rounders. There's more overlap in sound between the Sable and my EC than my CEO-7, but it sits kind of between the two. The CEO-7 is pretty mid-forward and the EC is more scooped - the Sable is just so well balanced it can kind of be whatever I want it to be in the moment. I could almost get by without the EC, but I like it and it's the only one of the three I actually like looking at, which isn't important but it ain't nothing either...

I'm not gonna call it a NGD - I've had it close to a month. But here's a picture as proof of life. No glamour shots though - you've seen one Sable, you've seen 'em all. And IMHO, it's nothing special to look at. But it's wonderful to play! I've been around the block with Sables now, but I believe this one is gonna be with for a long long time.

-Ray

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...80b30532_b.jpgIMG_3164 by Ray, on Flickr

Nice write up, Ray - you have a very complementary trio of fine acoustics there.

thanks for a great comparison post! i'm saving for another carbon fiber for next year, with the Sable and X-30 being my top choices. i was leaning towards the latter because of the electronics options. what do you think of the plugged-in performance of the two?

I’m the wrong guy to ask - I basically never play plugged in. I plugged the Sable in just to see if the electronics worked. Never went near the plug on the X30.

Sorry,

-Ray

Congrats on finding your compatibility with the Sable. Nice guitar!

Congrats Ray ! I love my Sable, I can't imagine it going anywhere either. THe looks kinda grow on you over time. I pulled out the UST and the rubber pad under the saddlesince I don't plug in either, the action is now really low, which might not be your thing, but it plays so easily. No buzzing. I get a lot of compliments on it from other players.

That is a great write up and review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.........except now I want a Sable even more then I did before :D Thanks, I think

Best sounding CF guitar I've played and the best neck too. Looks wise I'm not bothered. Forward material may as well have forward looks. The Touring is another great sounding guitar that belies it's little size. That little sucker packs a punch.

I'm surprised the X30 is heavier than the Sable. The one thing I immediately noticed about the Sable other than how cool it is was the weight.

I didn't weigh them, but it sure felt to me like the X30 was notably heavier. This was after handling both a LOT. But I will say that my initial impression was that the X30 was sort of an appropriate weight for it's massive size, because when you pick up something that big, you expect some heft. The Sable's weight is initially more surprising because it's a small enough guitar that you don't really expect it to be so heavy. And, yeah, that was one of the first things I noticed about the Sable the first time I played one over a year ago. But after repeated handling, I'm pretty clear that the X30 was heavier, not by a huge amount, but by enough to notice. Since I play seated, the weight isn't a problem or issue with either of them, but the sheer physical size of the X30 was, for me at least. As good a job as Emerald has done of making a huge guitar more comfortable to play than it has any right to be, it's still just a BIG old boat of a guitar...

Now, for sure, someone is gonna weigh both and prove me wrong, but that was my pretty clear impression... ;)

-Ray

Very nice writeup on your journey to selection.

Also, you have huge cajones mounting that Sable on a door.

-T

Great review and nice photo. I've always liked the honeycomb finish on some of these guitars. I especially like it when it's the black (dark grey) along with the gold-ish honeycomb as it just pops. I've always wanted to try a Sable but the weight and long scale scared me off. Do they come with pickup systems? If so, what flavor? I like that it comes with a gig bag. My RainSong's came with the most ridiculous, over-the-top hard cases that they SO don't need!

It's a solid door, that thing isn't moving. And I leave the door open all the time, so having it come off if I were to swing the door shut isn't an issue...

-Ray

I guess for a plain black guitar, the honeycomb or basketweave gives it a little bit of visual interest, but as I sit here, looking across the room at it, all I see is a black guitar...

They do come with pickup systems, but I know bupkis about what kind or how good it is. I plugged it in once, to make sure it was working, but I basically play plugged in once every millennium or two, maybe to put something down on a looper so I could figure out how to approach a lead, but I'll usually just pick up my electric for doing that, and it almost never happens anyway. When I record, I mic the acoustic sound. Thus, acoustic guitar pickups are something I've never needed or bothered to learn anything about. So, I can't be of any help on that one...

-Ray

Congrats! Great story.

I really enjoyed owning the honeycomb Sable. I played it at home all the time. I was dissapointed when finances forced me to sell a bunch of guitars during the pandemic. I've certainly made up for it since, but haven't purchased another carbon fiber - yet! :-)

I'm projecting; my kid would definitely find a way to break it. ;)

-T