NGD Emerald X30 turquoise on silver weave

[mountainmaster]

Let's start with the glamour shot...



Kind of pale, right? Well, I am happy to tell you that it does not look like this at all in real life.
I have not seen the guitar by daylight yet, but by lamplight here at home the color is more like the X20 in these glamour shots: https://emeraldguitars.com/gallery/x...tisan-midi-pu/
Or maybe just a tad more green.

The action is low, just the way I like it and the neck plays like butter. I had the guitar set up with 14-68 strings in DGCFAD tuning and that practically makes the whole house shake when I hit those low strings hard.

But ... and why does there always have to be a "but"? ... I had ordered a 670 mm (26.38") scale and what I got is 662 mm (26.06").
It was supposed to be a semi-baritone but with this minimal scale extension I would not even call it that.

[kramster]

That is cool looking... take it up in the mountains of the Netherlands?

[David Eastwood]

I love the sheen the silver weave gives it - looking forward to seeing a daylight shot or two.

As an aside, I don't think Emerald always does themselves a favour with their studio shots. The colour rendition, while dramatic, really doesn't represent what the guitars actually look like. Some of the studio shots of my recent acquisition are embarrassingly over-exposed. I'm no expert in studio lighting, but I don't think I'd have let these out of the camera.

Odd about the scale length, though. It will be interesting to hear how they respond to that - I know it's not what you ordered. In practice, does that missing 8mm make a significant difference to the way it feels and plays?

[KarenB]

Really sweet looking guitar. I'm not sure what the "on silver weave" means. I don't remember seeing silver weave as a custom option. Please explain.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by KarenB

Really sweet looking guitar. I'm not sure what the "on silver weave" means. I don't remember seeing silver weave as a custom option. Please explain.

Not entirely sure myself, Karen, but I gather that Emerald has different varieties of carbon fibre fabric to work with. The 'silver weave' has a lighter grained look than the more subdued standard offering, which is perhaps a better match for the regular colours - and, I suspect, less expensive. I've seen a number of examples of its use in shipping notices and videos in the past.

Maybe the OP can add more detail.

Or, of course, you could just ask Emerald

[Song]

Congratulations on that beautiful x30!
Sorry to hear of that missing almost 1/3 of an inch (.32") of scale length.

[raysachs]

Man, that’s a cool looking guitar - I’ve never seen that type of option on an Emerald before. Hope you love it. Man, that scale length thing really sucks though. I mean to spend the extra money on a custom and probably more yet on a non-standard scale length and have them get it wrong by no small amount! I’d be bummed - they should either build you another one or give you a pretty hefty redund on that...

I hope you love it anyway,

-Ray

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Odd about the scale length, though. It will be interesting to hear how they respond to that - I know it's not what you ordered. In practice, does that missing 8mm make a significant difference to the way it feels and plays?

Regarding scale length I believe every mm counts. I noticed the guiter was easier to play with those heavy strings than I had anticipated. The downtuning of course helps but still I expected the chosen gauge to make me work pretty hard. I had already bought a medium 13-56 set should that have been the case.

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Not entirely sure myself, Karen, but I gather that Emerald has different varieties of carbon fibre fabric to work with. The 'silver weave' has a lighter grained look than the more subdued standard offering, which is perhaps a better match for the regular colours - and, I suspect, less expensive. I've seen a number of examples of its use in shipping notices and videos in the past.

Maybe the OP can add more detail.

That is correct, except for the "less expensive" part. I too learned about this option from the shipping videos. I think I once saw a bright orange finish and a regular blue one with this silver weave.
Curiously this X30 seems just as black on the inside as my X7. I guess only the outer layer is silver weave.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Regarding scale length I believe every mm counts.

I’m sure it does - I know from personal experience, and lots of anecdotes here, that our hands are able to detect surprisingly small differences.

That is correct, except for the "less expensive" part. I too learned about this option from the shipping videos. I think I once saw a bright orange finish and a regular blue one with this silver weave.
Curiously this X30 seems just as black on the inside as my X7. I guess only the outer layer is silver weave.

I phrased that badly - I meant to imply that the standard weave would be the less expensive choice.

[casualmusic]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

The action is low, just the way I like it and the neck plays like butter. I had the guitar set up with 14-68 strings in DGCFAD tuning and that practically makes the whole house shake when I hit those low strings hard.

But ... and why does there always have to be a "but"? ... I had ordered a 670 mm (26.38") scale and what I got is 662 mm (26.06").

It was supposed to be a semi-baritone but with this minimal scale extension I would not even call it that.

Congrats on the cool X30!

Perhaps in the production bustle of multiple custom necks the layout guy grabbed the wrong template? The long side of the X30 standard fan fret is 26" (26/25).

It's great to hear that silver weave results in colour more visible at household light levels compared to the standard all black carbon fibre fabric.

Cheers

.

[steelvibe]

Wow! Cool guitar....one that shakes the house!! Sorry the specs aren't exactly how you ordered them and I hope you are made happy regardless. The sliver weave definitely changes not only the color but how light is reflected. I've not seen many of these but those with the silver undertones look more like a satin fabric.

I wonder if Emerald would take the guitar back and make another to the specs requested? It would be a pain, but this guitar could still be sold as-new and the buyer could still get what he wanted.

On the other hand, while I've found scale to be an important aspect of play, I've also found that I can adapt from short to long scale instruments without too much trouble--but I do have a preference and a special order is a special order.

I'm not sure what I'd do in this case.

[GuitarLuva]

That's an interesting color for sure, congratulations. The X30 is an amazing instrument.

[mountainmaster]

A photographer I am not, but here is my attempt to capture the actual color of my X30.
It does not quite match the example I supplied to Emerald, which was a guitar they had made previously and which shifted more towards the blue end of turquoise.
Luckily I also like this color so all's well that ends well, but as EvanB said "a special order is a special order". Emerald would do well to pay closer attention to the customer's wishes.

Anyway, here are indoor pictures by (cloudy) daylight.


In its natural habitat with some friends





A few odd angles





And yes, it still has a dark side sometimes

[kramster]

Nice...very Emeraldy... Sunlight will have at it in a lil different way.