#31
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Now you have me curious. Neither of my Emeralds have slotted frets (not that I can see anyway) how else would they stay on without glue? I'm also becoming more curious on how they do the whole process. According to their website the entire guitar, bridge included, is done in one process.
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#32
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When I had my messed up X20 I spoke with Alistair on the phone about it - he said the fingerboard and neck are all carbon fiber and the tangs were set into it. My inference here - it seems they would fret the guitar then do the black polyester coating OVER the frets, which is why there was leftover black gunk in the uneven fret ends on mine. Then the coating would have been removed from the frets during leveling/crowning/polishing. I could be wrong about that. I don't recall hearing anything about glued frets ala Parker.
Kevin told me the same thing about the bridge, which is why the custom bridges are so pricey. He said they mold the guitar as normal, then plane off the normal bridge and build the custom one in place.
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enough instruments to be mediocre at all of them |
#33
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#34
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I've only seen glued frets on guitars I would not want. Just saying.
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#35
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Parker Flys were expensive and very durable. Tang fretting in a composite guitar has generally meant that the fingerboard itself is not reinforced with carbon fiber fabric. Not having to cut into that surface opens some possibilities for a better end product. Modern glues are quite amazing.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 06-14-2019 at 04:27 AM. |
#36
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From Kevin at Emerald: It’s a conventional stainless steel fret installed into a slot and glued also. We haven't used the old parker style in a few years - last time was possibly 2007
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo Last edited by David Eastwood; 06-14-2019 at 07:58 AM. Reason: correcting date |
#37
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Also from Kevin re my recent X10 frets:
"They are slotted with tangs and a epoxy adhesive." |
#38
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My son has a 14 years old Emerald X-10 with the old Parker fretboard, and the frets are stainless steel simply glued to the fretboard without a slot. After many years one fret got unglued, we re-glued it with super glue and it has been OK for a long time so far.
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#39
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#40
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#41
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Intonation problem resolved, but...
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I wanted a higher action, though, so I took one of the saddles Emerald sent me and sanded it to the desired height and the intonation is spot on again. Yay! I don't know what's different now, but I'm glad to have solid intonation on this guitar. Do CF guitars "settle" somehow? Anyway, that's resolved, but... in the process of checking everything out on the guit, I discovered that the machine heads for the high E and the B strings were not sitting flush to the back of the headstock- I noticed light shining through there one day! So, I took off the two strings, loosened up the tuners and reseated them. Now they're flush like the other 4. I also noticed that the metal on my 10th fret bar has a rather deep pit in it--right at the fretboard line, on the bridge side,. I can't detect that it's affecting the tone and it doesn't bother my playing at all (i.e. I can't feel it), so, if Emerald had an authorized repair center in the states, I'd bring it there, but I don't know that I want to ship it all the way back to Ireland to get this fixed. I do like the guitar, and, overall, I give it a B/B+, since it now seems like it's dialed in--except for the pitted fret. I have to admit, though, I am a bit irked at the situation. Between that fret and the machine heads' sloppy installation, the guitar should never have left the factory. Especially for the $$$$. But, thanks you all for your input here, I appreciate it! |
#42
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I kinda forgot all about this thread, but since you brought it back to life I will add some more info to it. First off, the fact that your intonation issue resolved itself is rather odd, but hey, if it's fine now so be it. Carbon fiber guitars certainly shouldn't have to settle. Sounds like your saddle replacement had something to do with it. The pitted fret is bothersome though. My new X30 has 2, which I never discovered in my first couple of weeks of ownership. I'm still working on a long term solution. Regarding my X20, I did put a lot of effort into getting it setup the way I like and I must say all the hard work paid off. With all the changes I made I recently reverted back to Elixir light phosphor bronze strings and this guitar is playing and sounding like a dream. Strumming and flatpicking produces dreadnought like volume and tone (not quite as loud as my current dreads) and fingerpicked its nice and intimate. I also got more used to its size as I'm used to bigger guitars. I promised a long time ago to do a video comparing the tone of the x20 and x30. I plan on doing this as soon as I can now that I have another x30. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll get to it! |
#43
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[/QUOTE] With all the changes I made I recently reverted back to Elixir light phosphor bronze strings and this guitar is playing and sounding like a dream.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, mine does sound and play great now too, it really sings and resonates. I'm running DR Sunbeam Acoustic 12s on it, which are PB also--really brilliant overtones, especially now that they are intonated with each other--very musical. [/QUOTE] promised a long time ago to do a video comparing the tone of the x20 and x30. I plan on doing this as soon as I can now that I have another x30. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll get to it![/QUOTE] Yeah, do it! |
#44
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Since my custom X20-12 arrived last October (after taking 10 months to make) I’ve had to return it Emerald twice. The first time it went back is because the K&K pickup system was installed incorrectly, and I had to tell them that (one of the pickups was not functional). Recently it went back because I could not change the strings. It has a pinless bridge and the high A ball end is stuck in the bridge. This was the first time that I was changing the strings, so it was originally installed by an Emerald tech. Emerald requested that it come back to them to look at. It is frustrating that an expensive instrument that took a long time to create has problems. I love the look, sound, feel, and the ergonomics and would likely buy another one (if I could convince my wife) but that is so at odds with problems that should not be. Knowing that Emerald tracks this forum, I expect that their QC will continue to improve.
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Custom Breedlove 12 string guitar Breedlove Deschutes 6 string guitar Deering 12 string banjo Custom Emerald X20-12 guitar |
#45
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I forgot to mention in my previous post about the sustain on the X20, especially on harmonics. It really is out of this world type of sustain. I would love to A/B my X20 against a Taylor V-class to see which one would win the sustain test. Unfortunately my local music store stopped selling Taylor guitars. Quote:
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