A Nylon String Acoustic story (Emerald content)

[dgaemc2]

Originally Posted by brainfertilizer

Beautiful!

I did consider the harp uke. I think the tone is exactly what I'm looking for: nice bass resonance, nylon strings, etc.

But I do too many jazz or jazz-influenced songs. I need more than 4 possible bass notes, and probably need the ability for chromatics on a low E string. If Emerald had a 6-string baritone ukelele..............

...I'm probably going to jump on the Outdoor Guitar soon. Probably the closest I'm going to get.

I completely understand!!

However, I must say that the Harp Uke might be the funnest instrument I have bought in a while!

While it is limited to the 4 bass strings one can tune them as they see fit for a given song.

Here's an example of Jans lowering the bass strings a half step and the high G to F# to come up with this beautiful arrangement...

[brainfertilizer]

Also beautiful!

[dgaemc2]

Originally Posted by brainfertilizer

Also beautiful!

My goal is to learn that one all the way through. Work in progress!

[brainfertilizer]

I've put the X20 Nylon up for sale 3 times, it's never sold for what I hoped for, and each time I think about lowering the price to make it easier to sell, I play it again and realize I really do like it and would miss it.

I sold my Cargo...maybe miss it a little bit, but not really. When I want to play a steel string, the X10 makes me happy. I may anger some purists out there, but in the Guild vs Martin vs Taylor very broad strokes spectrum, the X10 strikes me as rather Taylor-ish. Very easy to play, brighter sounding.

The Cargo was great for how good the sound was for how small it was. So, yeah, I miss it for portability, I guess? But the X10 has the Krivo humbucker and the midi output, so I feel like I can do so much more with that if I ever want to.

So for travel, I have a Outdoor Ukulele's carbon fiber Outdoor Guitar. I keep it tuned to E standard and it works fine. It's my car trunk guitar, too.

When I play the X20 Nylon now, I don't know why I ever thought it didn't have a nylon sound. Maybe my ear has just gotten used to it, dunno.

The biggest problem I have right now is the X20 Nylon, X10 Slimline Nylon, and X5 Nylon are all just *slightly* different in feel, tone, and function, but all still good enough that I can't identify one significantly better to be my main guitar, or one that's significantly worse to be sold.

I guess that's a good problem to have.

The most recent acquisition is a Kestrel. I guess I violated my promise to not get any new guitars for 5 years, but someone had it for sale for fairly cheap, and made the persuasive argument that you rarely see one for sale.

I very nearly got a Composite Acoustics Blade instead...I had one before, and it's loud enough to practice without an amp. But there's usually one for sale, I can always get one later if I miss it that much. The Kestrel just got in, and I'm glad I got it. It's the acoustic/electric archtop I had always hoped the Rainsong JZ1000 was, and better as an acoustic than the Blade, so I made the right choice.

[David Eastwood]

I am seriously jealous of your Kestrel acquisition. I would dearly love to add one to my collection, but just can’t justify the price tag right now.

Patience, David, patience

[pima1234]

Wanting to post because I just received a custom X20 Nylon. Note, I did not specifically buy it to replace my concert classical. This thread was helpful in establishing expectations, and I had the opportunity to play one in advance thanks to an Ambassador.

Overall, I am happy with it. Mine also does not have the same volume/balance in the treble strings, and it isn't a replacement for a good concert instrument. However, I'm putting in the time with it, and since it will primarily be used amplified, I'm working out what that will look like.

It is comfortable, and I do not plan on using it with a footstool or support, just a good leather strap.

Specs: 12-fret, 2" nut, 20" radius, satin back of neck, Ghost piezo + K&K contact.

[brainfertilizer]

Excellent!
I'm glad my ignorant ramblings were able to help in some small way!

I have never been a performer, so I can be random and inconsistent in what I like and love and dislike. I'd love to hear how you are able to get it to work for you plugged in, or if you aren't able to, why.

I thirst for more knowledge.

[pima1234]

Still working on it.

When I plug my concert guitar in (with Barbera Soloist), it's just a different world. But, I've also had over 20 years with that guitar, not quite 8 with the pickup installed.

So, I want to give this a fair shake. I wouldn't have invested in it if I didn't think it stood a chance. I've been through a ton of solutions over the years. Nothing has been able to hold a candle to my concert guitar, but I rather expect that. The X20 Nylon is definitely the best crossover style nylon I've had. If I can achieve the correct balance between the strings (take out enough of the boominess of the bass and low mids, which really means taming the low E through the G string), and bring the high E out more without any brittleness, I'll be happy.

And, it's not just the pickups. That's just kind of the natural response of the guitar. There is a surprising amount of acoustic volume available, it's just not fully balanced, with the high E lacking headroom and projection. I would like to think that some high tech luthiery magic could accomplish what is needed, but I know very little about the build of a CF classical, in comparison to a more traditional one.

Originally Posted by brainfertilizer

Excellent!
I'm glad my ignorant ramblings were able to help in some small way!

I have never been a performer, so I can be random and inconsistent in what I like and love and dislike. I'd love to hear how you are able to get it to work for you plugged in, or if you aren't able to, why.

I thirst for more knowledge.