Just ordered Emerald Chimaera - Page 4

Acousticado · #46 05-19-2017, 07:48 PM

Thanks for the update, Richard. Glad you're still really liking your Chimaera. I like mine so much, I'm presently upgrading to a new coco woody 6/12. Like you, I've had Gotoh Stealths on my 6/12 Chimaera and Emerald no longer offers the lightweight Stealths (11.9g/ea.), now offering Gotoh 510s (18:1, 33.2g/ea., I think) as standard.

I'm curious as to why you swapped out the Stealths for the Gotoh Delta 510s, especially since I assume they're much heavier. actually, I don't know the difference between the Deltas and those that Emerald in now installing as standard. Do you know the weight of the Delta 510s and how do you feel about the extra weight/balance? I'm really curious about this since my order is in the works and I may have options with tuners. Thanks!

richardpavelec · #47 05-19-2017, 08:23 PM

I play with Medium gauge strings. Days after my guitar arrived, two of the Stealths stripped on me. Alistair and Gotoh bent over backwards to ship me replacement 510's. So, no complaints there. I am pretty sure my problem is the reason why Emerald stopped with the Stealths. I am sure those Stealths are fine for light string players. They sure were small! But, they always made me nervous. And sure enough...POP (on two shafts). No worries..now I have 510's and they are smooth as a baby's butt!

richardpavelec · #48 05-19-2017, 08:27 PM

yeah, to anyone reading and thinking of ordering an Emerald:

just avoid Stealths, B-band A2 PU and the noisy ovation body finish.

also, maybe tell Ali to make your fretboard with more of flat/satin black finish, rather than the stock shiny finish (which is fine but if it were brushed latin or flat, would have more of an ebony look).

Acousticado · #49 05-19-2017, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardpavelec

I play with Medium gauge strings. Days after my guitar arrived, two of the Stealths stripped on me. Alistair and Gotoh bent over backwards to ship me replacement 510's. So, no complaints there. I am pretty sure my problem is the reason why Emerald stopped with the Stealths. I am sure those Stealths are fine for light string players. They sure were small! But, they always made me nervous. And sure enough...POP (on two shafts). No worries..now I have 510's and they are smooth as a baby's butt!

Thanks. Iirc, you have two 6 necks. Even with the 12 neck, this 18 tuners in total, I had no problems with the Stealths. I use light gauge strings. That said, although I can tune fine and it holds, they have felt kind of spongy (for lack of a better term) to me. I've heard that Emerald stopped using them because of failures, so there were likely problems even beyond yours.

Again, please let me know how you find the weight/balance difference between the 510s and the Stealths. Would you wish for lighter tuners if you could get them? I should add that with 18 tuners as opposed to your 12, the weight/balance issue is likely a bigger deal to me than you.

richardpavelec · #50 05-20-2017, 11:09 AM

just as Ali says, those 510's do make the guitar a little top heavy.

the guitar is already light weight so, i just mounted some counterweight inside the body, at the bottom.

in my case, since i installed two Dtars, i just mounted both dual-AAA battery-packs inside the body, at the bottom. adding a little more weight would make it perfect but for now, its fine.

another work-around is getting a strap that has a grip on your shirt (like the inside if leather. this way, the placement of the guitar (around your body) cannot slip down. follow? i have a nice lamb-skin strap that is perfect for this.

Acousticado · #51 05-20-2017, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardpavelec

just as Ali says, those 510's do make the guitar a little top heavy.

the guitar is already light weight so, i just mounted some counterweight inside the body, at the bottom.

in my case, since i installed two Dtars, i just mounted both dual-AAA battery-packs inside the body, at the bottom. adding a little more weight would make it perfect but for now, its fine.

another work-around is getting a strap that has a grip on your shirt (like the inside if leather. this way, the placement of the guitar (around your body) cannot slip down. follow? i have a nice lamb-skin strap that is perfect for this.

A-ha! Interesting that you mention adding a counterweight to the inside of the body. In my discussions with Alistair about heavier tuners, many months ago I offered that idea to him in a fashion to add some sort of counterweight to the underside of the removable access port on the back, even of a sort that could be adjusted to a player's balance preference because the number of tuning machines varies depending on the buyers preference (e.g. layered weight shims). He didn't give an opinion about it. Thanks for the follow-up info, richard.

richardpavelec · #52 12-19-2018, 04:16 PM

Hello all.

Remember me?

Proud owner of Chimaera 6/6.

Just finished putting together a new system for that doubleneck.

Check out the photos and YouTube link

https://youtu.be/rO8_5KJBGFc

Earl49 · #53 12-19-2018, 04:58 PM

That is quite the audio rig, Richard, but would certainly give you incredible tone control.

I like the full Crystal Ice finish on the Chimaera too. Emerald generally does not do Crystal Ice finishes on the tops any more, but non-glossy back and sides are a no-cost option. Most Chimaera (Chimaeras?) are 6/12, but I see the advantage of 6/6 necks too - no fiddling around getting to your favorite alternate tuning.