NGD: Emerald X30 (Opus!)

[Llamarebel]

It's here, and it's wonderful. Played for about a half an hour and made a recording on my lunch break. To me, still sounds very similar to the X20, just when you hit low F, E, Drop D you feel it in your chest. Certainly no loss of clarity on the highs and mids. Fit and finish, is of course excellent. I had made an order of an X20 Opus, so when I upgraded early, they stuck with a one-time opus finish, which saved me some money, cheaper tuners, Crystal Ice back and sides. To my arms, doesn't feel a whole lot different than the X20 with the great bevels. I'll try to give more impressions as I play more, I had the Baggs Anthem installed, so I'll plug it in at church soon and put that through the paces. My playing was a bit rushed and not wonderful, so bear with the soundcloud!

[Llamarebel]

Imgur Link

Ll;

Congratulations! It is amazing how Alistair can make a good-sized guitar seem smaller and more comfortable. Your choice to nudge up to the 30 was both interesting and rewarding. Will you be giving us some audio/visual?

[Llamarebel]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Ll;
Will you be giving us some audio/visual?

Did the soundcloud not show up in the first post? It's on mine, and I posted a reply with an imgur link of images

SoundCloud

[acwild]

Congratulations! The sample that I hear sounds great! A new guitar is always an occasion for a celebration. A new version of a new guitar is reason for a month long celebration. Have fun!

[BT55]

Wow that guitar sings!! And vocals do too!

[Llamarebel]

Originally Posted by BT55

Wow that guitar sings!! And vocals do too!

Thanks! I had to EQ it in to relatively close to what it sounded to the ear, still a little more "tinny" at the high end than in real life but mids and bass is pretty accurate

[Captain Jim]

Sounds great! The guitar, the playing, and the singing! Very nice!

[GuitarDoc]

Very poignant renditions.

[jdinco]

Good stuff...thanks for posting that ! Guitar sounds fantastic !

[kramster]

Wow... great stuff...all sound so good...thanks!

[muser]

Originally Posted by Llamarebel

Did the soundcloud not show up in the first post? It's on mine, and I posted a reply with an imgur link of images

Thanks for both the sound clip and pictures.

Sound - What soulful vocals and playing in that montage! I can hear the bass, but what really struck me was the clarity of the highs and mids, and the crisp articulation. If any of us were discounting the X30 before this, I think you've made our buying decisions harder, hahah.

Pics - It's amazing how simple pictures taken in focus can be more informative than a whole gallery of studio shots. I really appreciate the closer look at those bevels. And I'm really loving the contrast of the Crystal Ice against the gloss. I'm leaning towards ordering one of the Emerald models with that combo, but wonder if going with an Opus finish would be wasting the custom possiblities of an Artisan. Your combo looks really good though, sheer practicality aside. I've even been mulling a full Crystal Ice guitar, but that contrast of matt and gloss works on your X30.

[Llamarebel]

Thanks all for the kind words. Spent an hour or so after work with the X30, even did some a/b with my D-35. First anyone on the edge about size, it most certainly feels smaller than my dread, despite larger bouts. As far as sound, I am super impressed by everything, the blend of highs mids and lows with strumming, clarity on flatpicking and finger picking. I don't find the bass boomy as I have with previous Jumbos I have owned. Really the only time I found myself preferring the D-35 was it seemed to have a bit more sweetness...or something with individual notes but I felt that surprisingly I liked the strummed sound of the X30 better. Love the crystal ice gloss combo

[Pine]

Originally Posted by Llamarebel

Thanks all for the kind words. Spent an hour or so after work with the X30, even did some a/b with my D-35. First anyone on the edge about size, it most certainly feels smaller than my dread, despite larger bouts. As far as sound, I am super impressed by everything, the blend of highs mids and lows with strumming, clarity on flatpicking and finger picking. I don't find the bass boomy as I have with previous Jumbos I have owned. Really the only time I found myself preferring the D-35 was it seemed to have a bit more sweetness...or something with individual notes but I felt that surprisingly I liked the strummed sound of the X30 better. Love the crystal ice gloss combo

Since I have the customized X10 on order, I was wondering how and when some of the details were ironed out. Did all the details happen when you ordered, or later when they began production? Did you specify how you wanted it set up, and did it deliver setup as you wanted?

[Braindead]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Sounds great! The guitar, the playing, and the singing! Very nice!

DITTO! On all points.