[Mark L]

OP,

If by chance you’re looking for a 12 string acoustic guitar, I believe the Emerald X20-12 to be tha absolute best 12 string available, ever. I include my current Custom Shop Martin 0000 (J body), Takamine 400S-12and Rainsong WS3000, as well as numerous past Taylors, Guilds, Martins, Yamahas and even the 3 Collings O-12’s I’ve played.

The Emerald X20-12, acoustic or amplified, is superior in every way, imo. An astoundingly good instrument, flatpicked, fingerpicked, strummed, acoustic or using the electronics. I love mine, bought through agf classifieds.

There are other good CF guitars, the 3 I’ve kept are the Rainsong Al Petteway LE (extremely good instrument), the Rainsong WS3000 (no longer made), and the Composite Acoustics Cargo (a surprisingly fine and interesting “travel” guitar).

There are several players I am aware of who prefer the CA Cargo and the RS Parlor to the Emerald X7, which is also an excellent parlor.

So I’ll stick my neck out and shoot you an answer to your “what’s the deal” query: they’re excellent guitars made by an excellent, forward looking company, that are enjoying an apparent surge due to mostly their inherent excellence and locally due to a minor, often humorous push from some of their fans (fanclub?) that post a lot in this forum.

Emeralds are not all perfect, and the experimental nature of their guiding creative force, Alistair Hay, can lead things a bit too far off the beaten path now and again, the attempts to introduce unproven CF tuners being a case in point. Wood veneers are not necessarily for everyone either I think. For the most part though, there are several Emeralds I wouldn’t mind trying and perhaps keeping, X20 6 string and a nylon string being foremost, and perhaps a Bari as well. Perhaps a plain black Chimaera 6/12?!

Finally, OP, always remember when reading on fora such as these, that you’ve likely never heard or seen any of these posters play. Me included. While some do have youtube or soundslice sites (for better and worse), you more often don’t know if they strum/sing, flatpick fiddle tunes, play in altered tunings, Travis pick, thumb and 3 classical finger style, play swing or bebop or Gypsy, etc. You don’t know if they play John Denver, Thelonious Monk or JS Bach, or all 3 (at the same time?) and then some. Do they plug in? I have often been shocked, when I’m able to go audition an instrument at some seller’s house, at the gap between owning an instrument and being able to play it. Witness the current comments in the general posting forum under the topic “do you own a guitar which highlights your bad technique” or somesuch. Geez.

How does one really judge an online comment, or critique of an instrument? Op, you have over 12k posts in 12years, so you must be somewhat aware of the nature of the game.

And really, people have been known to beat the internet drum about a brand just to keep the consciousness and value up when it’s time to sell their lifetime keeper, after a couple of years of possession, to the next guy in line. Lots of business and marketing degrees out there.

So finally, with best wishes to all, what was the question??
I kid, gentlemen, I kid. It was, iirc, “what’s the deal?”

“Ymmv”. “Play music”.