[gerardo1000]

I was a very early adopter of Emerald guitars, from the time when the brand was almost unknown in the United States, where I live. I started over 15 years ago with an "X20 shaped" all fiber glass guitar (!), then I bought one of the very first green X30s, with a center sound hole and an unusual saddle divided in 6 pieces, one for each string. My son still has, and loves, an X20 more than ten years old, with an 11/6 neck width and a center sound hole.
And two years ago I purchased a great X7 Opus, brand new at a price that I believe was around $950.00.
All this to say that I am sad (and a little bit disappointed, if I may) that Alistair decided to drop the Opus line. I understand that, due to the current well deserved success, Alistair may have decided to focus on the more refined and expensive Artisan line, but in this way he sort of "betrayed" long standing customers who cannot afford the Artisan prices.
Rainsong and Composite Acoustic sell models that range from $2500 to $3000, but they also offer some popular guitars (like the OM for Rainsong and the OX for Composite Acoustic) in a "striped down" version that make them affordable for a clientele that is less wealthy, i.e. the "Raw" series for Composite Acoustic and the "Custom Hybrid" series for Rainsong. These guitars have a price ranging from $1200 to $1500 in their only acoustic versions.
And these two builders have to share a percentage of the price with dealers.
Emerald sells directly, with no middle-men, and I am sure that, for Alistair, to build at least a model with a more affordable price is only a matter of will. Let's say, for example, an additional version of their best seller, the X 20, built with less appointments, may be a matte finish and everything that Emerald could think to lower the price without affecting the quality of the tone and the playability. Ibelieve that an X20 of this sort would be very welcome by Emerald fans who cannot or do not want to pay the Artisan prices.
Opinions on this are welcome !