Emerald Guitars book project

wickedwahine · #1 10-13-2018, 05:05 PM

For the past few weeks, Alistair Hay and I have been corresponding about an upcoming project, as I approached him with the idea of writing a book about Emerald Guitars. I have previously written two other books about luthiers/companies, Building and Owning a Bettah Ukulele: the Story of Moore Bettah Ukuleles, and Listen With Your Heart: the KoAloha Ukulele Story. As background, I am a former attorney, but also have a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California.

Both books have been self-published in a hardcover, coffeetable-style book format. The KoAloha book is also in a softcover and e-book edition. Alistair and I have not formalized which formats we will use for this book about Emerald, although it will definitely be available in the coffeetable format, as that will best showcase the beauty and creativity of his creations. The Okami family wanted to make their book more readily available, and since the large hardcover was about $100, they opted to allow me to make a softcover version of the KoAloha book for around $39, and an e-book version for $9. I will completely defer to Alistair on which versions he prefers, and make this book available in some, or all, versions.

If you would like to see a preview of what the prior books in hardcover and softcover looked like, you may do so here: http://www.blurb.com/user/staciblevi...e_preview=true

The e-book preview is here: http://www.blurb.com/b/7247108-liste...t?ebook=588579

If you choose to see them, the Po’okela version of the KoAloha book is the hardcover - I say this because formatting is very different from the softcover version so you can get an idea of what the Emerald book will look like.

Our vision of the Emerald Guitars book will include profiles of some of Alistair’s most creative projects (such as Steve Vai’s Ultra Guitar, the Phoenix and Suileach violins, Bahamut, the Tibetan guitar, etc). In addition, it will include historical background on the creation of Emerald Guitars, and information about the various guitar models available.

Like both of my previous books, this book will also include interviews with owners of these instruments. I am happy to speak with any Emerald owner (or waiter!) about everything from why you bought an Emerald, why you love your Emerald, the ordering process/wait, etc.

So if you have a personal story about your Emerald guitar(s), and would like to be interviewed, please PM me your contact info so I may follow up with an interview. I can conduct the interviews in whatever format you prefer, video chat, telephone, in person (if you are in Southern California) or via email - and have used all of these formats in the past.

In addition, because the coffeetable format hardcover will include full-page photographs, I need many high-quality images of Emerald Guitars. So I would also like to put out a request for anyone that has high-resolution images of their guitars and that is willing to have them published.

Thanks very much for reading this, and I hope to have the opportunity to interview some of you for this project.

jwellsy · #2 10-13-2018, 05:45 PM

This is a cool project!
What size ____ pixel x ____ pixel resolution do you prefer?

Kerbie · #3 10-14-2018, 09:06 AM

Courtesy bump for a new sponsor.

Earl49 · #4 10-14-2018, 09:53 AM

Very cool project, Wahine. I would be happy to contribute my Emerald story to date. The best I can do for digital photos is an iPhone 8, but I have some dormant photography skills and should be able to get some good shots that could be send at full resolution. Emerald's glamor shots that come with the guitar are spectacular but not especially high-res.

I have the PM function turned off here, but my email address is part of my profile. We have corresponded before off-line so you have mine too, and I'll ping you with a reminder email now.

kramster · #5 10-14-2018, 10:16 AM

I like this...can I put my hard cover coffee table model order in ?

wickedwahine · #6 10-14-2018, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwellsy

This is a cool project!
What size ____ pixel x ____ pixel resolution do you prefer?

For personal photos, the bigger the pixel size the better. If looking at overall image size, anything in the 5MB range is perfect. I can always downsize them if they are not going to be full-page images, but can only enlarge them so much without destroying the image quality.

wickedwahine · #7 10-14-2018, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramster

I like this...can I put my hard cover coffee table model order in ?

If you are so inclined, as you have a very vast collection of Emerald Guitars, I'd love to include you in the interviews...

kramster · #8 10-14-2018, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wickedwahine

If you are so inclined, as you have a very vast collection of Emerald Guitars, I'd love to include you in the interviews...

Vast you say?? In that case if it os ok within gang there I'll do it by golly... be an honor.

wickedwahine · #9 10-15-2018, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramster

Vast you say?? In that case if it os ok within gang there I'll do it by golly... be an honor.

Thanks so much, sending you a PM.

#10 10-15-2018, 09:23 AM

Wicked;

This is a great project and I look forward to the results.

A year or so ago, Alistair had a picture with him standing in front of a large, flat, world map--sort of a-world-to-conquer icon. I think that map with Irish flags denoting locations of Emerald guitars would be a nice part of the book.

Also, as a follow up you might consider a book dealing with composite guitars. In the old Carbon Fiber Guitar Forum there was considerable discussion about such a book based on the information from the makers and forum members. Such a book could be funded by the various makers and would make a great coffee table display. Could start with Macaferri and move through Rainsong, Emerald, CA, and so forth.

Anyway, the Emerald book should be quite beautiful. It's a cool project and I wish you well.

wickedwahine · #11 10-15-2018, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvanB

Wicked;

This is a great project and I look forward to the results.

A year or so ago, Alistair had a picture with him standing in front of a large, flat, world map--sort of a-world-to-conquer icon. I think that map with Irish flags denoting locations of Emerald guitars would be a nice part of the book.

Also, as a follow up you might consider a book dealing with composite guitars. In the old Carbon Fiber Guitar Forum there was considerable discussion about such a book based on the information from the makers and forum members. Such a book could be funded by the various makers and would make a great coffee table display. Could start with Macaferri and move through Rainsong, Emerald, CA, and so forth.

Anyway, the Emerald book should be quite beautiful. It's a cool project and I wish you well.

Thanks Evan, I'll have to look into finding that photo, was it on his Facebook page? I'll check there for it.

You have a number of Emerald nylons, right? Would you consider letting me interview you for the book?

#12 10-15-2018, 12:07 PM

I've had five custom nylon string guitars from Emerald--I'd be happy to talk about the experience.

You could PM your questions which would give me a chance to formulate answers that don't wander too much. Just a thought.

wickedwahine · #13 10-15-2018, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvanB

I've had five custom nylon string guitars from Emerald--I'd be happy to talk about the experience.

You could PM your questions which would give me a chance to formulate answers that don't wander too much. Just a thought.

Yes, I am doing a number of these via email - it gives folks time to think about what they want to say, and edit if necessary before returning them. A couple of folks wrote essays, others prefer phone or video chat so they can be more conversational.

Thanks Evan, I will have them ready to go in a week or two and PM them to you then.