Emerald nylon + Tonewood amp

[ealmasy]

Originally Posted by ed62

Well its on there now and boy does it sound nice on a sable!!!....I just cut 4 one
inch squares and had to fold them in half to make the alien tape thick enough to be higher than the padded rests on the tonewood amp..put one in each corner of the TW..you can pull the TW off easy enough on the sable which has a sandpaper like finish on the back but it seems pretty secure when its on there...Bet it would stick really well to a gloss finish...Its worth buying that tape just to have around the house because ive used it for quite a few different things already...its pretty neat stuff!!!

Excellent – thank you. Alien Tape ordered!

[Aspiring]

I'm interested in hearing how this works out. I have an x7 nylon that I quite like but it is a bit quiet unplugged.

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by cleser

Thanks all for the insights, I wonder if it can be installed at the factory via custom order?

They can be installed in the factory if you ask the sales guys. However, if its an x7/x20/x30 your going for (and you dont have massive hands) it's quite easy to reach down within and place the inner part.

The only thing worth noting is the curved back on the x20 may mean you have to place it quite central on the back of the guitar.

Simon
(formerly Simon@Emerald)

[Earl49]

Simon, glad to see you are still around. Hope that your move on from Emerald means bigger and better things for you.

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Simon, glad to see you are still around. Hope that your move on from Emerald means bigger and better things for you.

ah you guys couldnt keep me off here even if you wanted to
I hope so too!!

[ed62]

Originally Posted by ealmasy

Excellent – thank you. Alien Tape ordered!

I tryed 2 longer strips of alien tape the length of each of short sides of the tonewood today instead of the 4 corners just to see and boy did it stick to the sable.Stuck maybe a little too well..I had all I could do to get it off but it finally let loose and slowly pulled off the back LOL....Needless to say I cut the strips a little shorter and stuck the tonewood on my resonator where I plan on keeping it for awhile anyway....Its on there good and it starts to lift off when I tried get it off so I think Im good..... My advice is to start with the corners and see how that works for you with the cargo

[ed62]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I'm interested in hearing how this works out. I have an x7 nylon that I quite like but it is a bit quiet unplugged.

This really doesnt add a whole lot of volume to the guitar its mainly just adding reverb or delay effects which may make it seem a little louder but not much

Thank you Ed. My CF push has been toward nylon strung instruments. My experience is that they may have great tonal qualities, but poor projection. For a moment I wondered if the Tonewood would resolve the problem. In my thinking amps don't count--I want a CF guitar that competes with a classical nylon string acoustic guitar.

[ed62]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Thank you Ed. My CF push has been toward nylon strung instruments. My experience is that they may have great tonal qualities, but poor projection. For a moment I wondered if the Tonewood would resolve the problem. In my thinking amps don't count--I want a CF guitar that competes with a classical nylon string acoustic guitar.

Yeah Evan ive been following your nylon thread and this is definitely not what your looking for to achieve your goal...the tonewood does work well for adding effects acoustically but increased projection is beyond its capabilities

[Aspiring]

Evan,you summarize my thoughts on my X7 nylon brilliantly. The projection part if what I was hoping to improve as well.

Originally Posted by EvanB

Thank you Ed. My CF push has been toward nylon strung instruments. My experience is that they may have great tonal qualities, but poor projection. For a moment I wondered if the Tonewood would resolve the problem. In my thinking amps don't count--I want a CF guitar that competes with a classical nylon string acoustic guitar.

In all fairness, I should also point out that the carbon fiber nylon string guitars electrify quite nicely.

[Aspiring]

I replaced the LR Baggs stock pickup with a Schatten HFN. It does work well that way.

Originally Posted by EvanB

In all fairness, I should also point out that the carbon fiber nylon string guitars electrify quite nicely.

[GuitarLuva]

Okay, I have a Tonewood Amp and some Emeralds (x20 &x30) and also for a good comparison, a Yamaha LL-TA Transacoustic guitar. First of all, to EvanB the Tonewood Amp name is misleading as it's not an amp at all just think of it as a removable Transacoustic system that can be placed on any guitar, or nearly any guitar. It has already been mentioned, due to the curves on the back of the X20 it doesn't fit in the recommended spot you have to move the unit towards the center of the back of the guitar to get it somewhat flat and IMO this makes playing the guitar very uncomfortable and not worth it on the X20 (at least for me). It fits on the X30 in the recommended spot with no issues. I think the quality of the effects from the TWA are good, at least equivalent to Yamaha's Transacoustic guitars. I admit I only really use the reverb and sometimes a subtle chorus effect. I have tried the other effects the TWA provides but I honestly have no use for them.

The TWA can be real finnicky to get working good depending on what pickup system your guitar has. It works fine with UST's, Barbera Soloist, LR Baggs Anthem set on UST only, Schatten HFN SBT. I have also tried it with the Anthem SL but you can't dial out the mic so it makes it unusable with that system. I think the TWA is a neat idea but the unit adds a lot of weight and bulk to a guitar that certainly won't be for everyone. You also have to remove it and reinstall it every time you want to use it which can also be annoying. I thought about selling mine as it just sits on a shelf and hasn't been used in over a year. Maybe I'm spoiled because I have a Yamaha Transacoustic. When the system is integrated into the guitar it makes it painless as you only need to press a button to get some effects. Also worth mentioning is the TWA does not increase acoustic volume of the guitar but the Yamaha does. It's a subtle increase but it is noticeable at least to my ears.

If I was the OP I would look to something like this:

https://www.vivacemusic.com.au/shop/...lt-in-effects/

That is the same Transacoustic system that Enya uses in their guitars. I would get Emerald to buy it and install it in the guitar at the factory. I thought about purchasing this myself but I'm not sure how easy it would be to install in an already built guitar. One day I might revisit this as I really do enjoy having some pain free effects while sitting around the sofa or campfire. Hope this is not too much info to dissolve!

[rmp]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

OK, so now I am interested in a Tonewood Amp and that means... questions!

I see that it still requires a pickup, but does it work with passive pickups such as the K&K? Edit: This question answered. Yes, it does. Should have used the forum search.

It uses the back of the guitar as its "speaker" so I would be surprised if it turns your guitar into a really loud monster. But does it make the guitar any louder at all?

And I don't get the choice of effects though. There are some effects that are not very useful for acoustic guitars like overdrive and auto wah, but there is no chorus?
IMO chorus is the modulation effect that works best with an acoustic guitar. I guess the Leslie would come close but that is a more complex kind of modulation which adds overtones etc.

Volume: It can add volume depending on how you tweak things like master gain, and the preset gain and volume. Most of the time, I set it so that the volume with the tone wood engaged, is right about where it is if I turn the pickup volume to 0. So same over all volume, just with the tonewood effect audible.

But yes you can "add" some volume if you want to. Not enough to to have any hope of doing a small venue with it.

Effects: I have really no interest for anything other than the reverbs and they delay which also does have reverb.

Most of the time the "hall" reverb is just right for me. I've yet to experiment much with the other effects like the way, and stuff (Distortion. No thanks, got a bunch of amps and electrics to scratch that itch.

Running the DI Out to my fishman works good, but I need to spend more time adjusting things to get it right to my ears.

For just sitting around on the deck or other places in the house, and using the amp definitely UPs the personal experience of playing and noodling around, it lets me go places that normal I probably wouldn't go... if you can catch my drift there.

My wife Deb thinks it sounds incredible when she's in the room and I'm farting around with it. And she usually doesn't take much notice, we've been together since 9th grade (1973), and I've been playing guitar just about all my life... There aint much I do that she hasn't heard about a million times.

[ac]

Originally Posted by GuitarLuva

If I was the OP I would look to something like this:

https://www.vivacemusic.com.au/shop/guitars/guitar-accessories/double-s3-guitar-pickup-with-built-in-effects/

The prices in you link are in Australian dollars, but actually it is much cheaper than Tonewood.

Another variation of the effects pickup is below.

In US dollars direct from China, price is pretty good. You could almost buy two for the price of a Tonewood . . . . but of course, assembly required.

https://8soundsmusic.com/products/fr...system-pickups

A different glimpse of package contents for assembly from Italian site:

https://www.mercatinomusicale.com/mm...id5771248.html