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  #16  
Old 05-10-2019, 12:33 PM
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And once again we see how responsive carbon fiber can be. I think the first awareness came with the vast change that accompanies string change. And then, nuts, saddles, finish product, and so forth. Pretty neat stuff.
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  #17  
Old 05-10-2019, 03:22 PM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Evan you're absolutely right the tops on the Emeralds are very sensitive, which could be seen as a blessing and a curse. I lean toward the blessing side. It's amazing the crazy sounds you can get when you gently press down on the top while playing something.
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  #18  
Old 05-12-2019, 07:41 AM
Puerto Player Puerto Player is offline
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Originally Posted by GuitarLuva View Post
This doesn't surprise me at all. So long as you just gently sand the outer layer you should be fine but like Jon said you don't wanna sand too much. Under the saddle is a very sensitive area on an acoustic guitar, it's where the vibrations are transferred from the saddle to the soundboard.



Puerto did you have the soundboard prep done on that guitar? The prep work is located under the saddle between the bridge and the neck yes. I never had another X20 to compare to like you just an X30 which is a whole different animal. My X20 from the factory was warm sounding, not that that was a bad thing. If you strum chords you wouldn't notice anything off. If you flatpick than you could hear some mudiness on certain notes. It wasn't until I went to install my pickup that I could tell something was not right. I could EQ the pickup to make it sound better. There was a lot of variables to consider, and the soundboard prep was the last one and one I nearly overlooked.

So yes sanding it off changed the voice of the guitar (unplugged). Made it brighter and clearer. I did reinstall the pickup again later last night, and while this install still does require a little EQ, it sounds amazing.

The whole purpose of this thread is I don't recommend the soundboard prep work. I love the X20 it is an amazing instrument. I enjoyed it up until the pickup install, had a few days of misery and scratching my head, now it's enjoyment again. I'm not mad at Emerald, but whoever did that prep work needs to up their game. I don't claim to be an Einstein, but I am brave and stubborn, and glad I figured this out on my own where others might've shipped their guitar back to Ireland.
I honestly don't know if it had the soundboard prep done, I never looked in there myself. My tech did pickup swaps. Maybe the Woody's with their extra layer of resin and wood require additional prep work. I wish I would have looked in there now. My guitar has maybe 60% of the mid's and highs as my other X20's. It's strange. It's almost like they're there, but can't get out, but they're not there, because both the PIZO and the Mic pickups can't find them either. As I said in another thread, I'm a bit "miffed" somebody played this $3500 guitar at Emerald and let it out of the factory sounding the way it does. It's on it's way back now, again. First time customs returned it to me because the USPS insured it improperly with the corresponding customs number. Never ends.
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2001 Goodall RGCC
2004 Goodall RPC-14
2022 Emerald X20 Hyvibe
2021 Emerald X7 Select
2020 Emerald X10 Woody Select 3-way
2016 Emerald X20 Artisan
2002 Gibson J185EC JJ Cale
2009 Gibson EC-20
1974 Alvarez Dreadnought
2013 Woody Tahitian hybrid Uke
2008 Zager 3/4 Size
Some camp fire guitars, classical's,
& electric's
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  #19  
Old 05-12-2019, 08:04 AM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Originally Posted by Puerto Player View Post
I honestly don't know if it had the soundboard prep done, I never looked in there myself. My tech did pickup swaps. Maybe the Woody's with their extra layer of resin and wood require additional prep work. I wish I would have looked in there now. My guitar has maybe 60% of the mid's and highs as my other X20's. It's strange. It's almost like they're there, but can't get out, but they're not there, because both the PIZO and the Mic pickups can't find them either. As I said in another thread, I'm a bit "miffed" somebody played this $3500 guitar at Emerald and let it out of the factory sounding the way it does. It's on it's way back now, again. First time customs returned it to me because the USPS insured it improperly with the corresponding customs number. Never ends.
Yeah I feel for ya. What you're saying is very similar to what I experienced with the pickup. It was picking up a lot of mud. It's singing now though so I can't complain. I thought they compensated for the thin veneer when they make the mold, so in theory a veneered top and a carbon top should be roughly the same thickness. Are they the same tonally, I don't know. Some say there's a difference. What you're describing is one of those weird issues and hopefully they can figure out what's wrong with it and let everyone know.
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  #20  
Old 05-26-2019, 09:21 AM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Puerto,

Just curious did you hear back from Emerald yet on the issues with your X20?
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  #21  
Old 05-26-2019, 01:14 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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Polyester or polyurethane resins, not epoxy, are used in laminating any composition (carbon fiber, glass fiber, etc.) of weave due to its rigidity. I use for aircraft laminate structures for lay-ups and repairs.

Polyester resin sands easily, epoxy resins typically don't because of their flexible nature, unless formulated as finishing resin for very lightweight cloths used in the radio control airplane and boat hobbies to repel the chemical attack of nitro-methane fuels.

Emerald uses a polyester resin. It sands and polishes up very nicely. As a kid in southern California I worked in a surfboard company. Polyurethane resin was used to wet-out the glass cloth over the interior foam structure. It sanded easily and could easily be polished to a gloss.

Polyester or polyurethane resin can be thickened with ground up cloth (called flock) to create an easily formed rigid structural filler for strengthening where needed. Because it's used in a normally non-visible area, after its application and shaping aesthetic attention is unnecessary.

Sanding through and into the cloth of any composite structure creates a weakened point in the over all strength of the contiguous surface. The area where the string ends are secured is one such area on a composite guitar top.

Last edited by Pitar; 05-26-2019 at 03:24 PM.
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