For me, being light weight and the reasonably small size is a plus. The aesthetics do not bother me, if all else is in order, and seem at home on an otherwise carbon fiber. With beautiful wood veneer added? It might be a tougher sell.
My first time looking at Emerald's distinctive guitar shapes actually put me off. I never realized how solidly entrenched I was in my idea of what guitars "needed" to look like.
Now, I am so comfortable with their designs that other designs seem uninteresting to me. Nothing negative about other designs, but I actually prefer Emerald's look.
I will also mention the same was true for CA's less traditional designs, Journey's design, and Blackbirds various non-traditional designs. I find them all appealing when once I certainly did not.
I look back and am surprised to see this change in myself and I still can't pinpoint why, and when I began to find formerly unacceptable designs--"acceptable"--then even "preferred".
Humans are bound by traditions. Traditions in our habits and practices, our aesthetics, etc. I recognize I still have many preferences still set in stone that probably have no logical reason, but will not disappear easily. For example, I much prefer gloss to satin for how a guitar should look. It doesn't seem "finished" unless it's gloss. That's not logical--it's just my strong preference.
The carbon fiber tuners, if they had the stability, feel, and longevity of Gotohs, would likely help me get past ANY difference in how they appear. First, I just need to hear some praise reports that are similar to what I've heard and what I've experienced with Gotoh before I'd step over the line with my credit card in hand.
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