Melt;

You may be rambling, but I think you're doing it nicely--recognizing the timing of the mess, the qualities of the instrument, and somewhat assured that Emerald is not going to give you the brush-off.

I suspect that you haven't heard from Alistair because his wife has probably demanded a no media get-a-way, which he probably needs.

I look forward to hearing how it all resolves and appreciate your ability to get beyond the immediate problems to an assessment of how the guitar sounds and feels.