Need counseling on bonding with my Emerald X30

[riptide]

I bought an Emerald X30 at the 25% off Anniversary Sale. I've been struggling to bond with it since I received it. The playability with the adjustable bridge, neck and frets is wonderful, and the Ghost pickups sound great plugged in.

But...acoustically, I just haven't bonded with the sound. It is not rich and full to my ears. Sounds weak and tinny to me. On the advice of a friend who has an X20, I replaced the stock D'Addario EXP19 strings with D'Addario XS phosphor bronze. I went with a slightly lighter gauge than the stock 12-53; I used 11-52 which is what usually have on my acoustics.

The wood acoustics I own are a Lowden S25 Custom with spruce top and rosewood back and sides, a 1976 Japanese Washburn D-25 with solid spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides. The fullness of their sounds are far superior to the X30 to my ears (unplugged).

I've been telling myself that carbon is different and my ears just need to adjust to the X30, but, its been several weeks, and it just hasn't happened. I felt that the XS strings were an improvement and warmed up the sound a bit, but its just not there yet. Do I need to use heavier gauge strings? The upper unwound strings sound particularly weak to me.

I have another carbon fiber guitar, a Composite Acoustics Cargo. I had issues with the sound at first until I finally settled on Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 Bronze medium gauge 13-53. Because of the short scale, the heavier weight strings don't bother me. It sounds much better to me now than the X30.

Do I just need to reboot/reset my ears?

[David Eastwood]

I’m really not sure how to advise you, except to say that ‘weak and tinny’ are adjectives rarely used to describe an X30.

Of course, it’s conceivable that it’s just not to your taste, in which case I presume you could return it, if you’re still in the 30-day window.

Maybe have your X20-owning friend give it a try, and see what he thinks?

[Earl49]

I bought (and later sold) a stock X30 at the end of 2019. There were setup issues at first, but I fixed them myself. Prior to that there had been no setup problems from the factory on several purchases since 2016. My guess is that is why they now Plek everything.

I found that the bass E string was WAY hotter than all the others (very boomy) both acoustically and plugged in. I was forced to adapt my playing for that one guitar -- not really an ideal option, as I switch back and forth between guitars. That X30 now lives with a friend who loves it and that huge low E tone works for him. X30 might not be for you. In my experience, once you've noticed a problem with a given guitar it never really goes away.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by riptide

I bought an Emerald X30 at the 25% off Anniversary Sale. I've been struggling to bond with it since I received it. The playability with the adjustable bridge, neck and frets is wonderful, and the Ghost pickups sound great plugged in.

But...acoustically, I just haven't bonded with the sound. It is not rich and full to my ears. Sounds weak and tinny to me. On the advice of a friend who has an X20, I replaced the stock D'Addario EXP19 strings with D'Addario XS phosphor bronze. I went with a slightly lighter gauge than the stock 12-53; I used 11-52 which is what usually have on my acoustics.

The wood acoustics I own are a Lowden S25 Custom with spruce top and rosewood back and sides, a 1976 Japanese Washburn D-25 with solid spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides. The fullness of their sounds are far superior to the X30 to my ears (unplugged).

I've been telling myself that carbon is different and my ears just need to adjust to the X30, but, its been several weeks, and it just hasn't happened. I felt that the XS strings were an improvement and warmed up the sound a bit, but its just not there yet. Do I need to use heavier gauge strings? The upper unwound strings sound particularly weak to me.

I have another carbon fiber guitar, a Composite Acoustics Cargo. I had issues with the sound at first until I finally settled on Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 Bronze medium gauge 13-53. Because of the short scale, the heavier weight strings don't bother me. It sounds much better to me now than the X30.

Do I just need to reboot/reset my ears?

Have you checked your neck relief? If there isn't much, if any, and the neck looks flat, add some neck relief and hear what happens. An Emerald X30 should sound like Thunder Child with all its guns ablazing.

[RP]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

I’m really not sure how to advise you, except to say that ‘weak and tinny’ are adjectives rarely used to describe an X30.

Of course, it’s conceivable that it’s just not to your taste, in which case I presume you could return it, if you’re still in the 30-day window.

Maybe have your X20-owning friend give it a try, and see what he thinks?

I totally agree with everything that David has said. I had an X30 which I quickly sold because its tone was too "boomy" for my taste. "Weak and tinny" ? Not mine...

[mountainmaster]

If the guitar already sounded thin with the 12-53 string gauge then 11-52 would probably make that worse.

IMO an X30 sounds best with beefy strings, preferably tuned down to D. I always use 13-56 sets. However, my X30 has a scale length of 26". So it is not quite comparable to a standard X30.

I originally had my X30 set up for 14-59 strings even, but as it turns out I overestimated the strength of my left hand. It absolutely roared that way though.

All that being said, I am still not quite happy either with the sound of those pesky treble strings.

[mikealpine]

I had that issue with the B string. My local guy filed out the nut slots a bit more and may have worked some other magic, but I no longer have that “ting” I was getting in the B string. The guitar sounds plenty full and rich. Maybe ask a local guitar tech to take a look?

[waterboy]

I was wrestling with an ambivalence to my X30 for a while, even to the point of thinking of selling it. I got a good setup and moved to nano web 80/20 11’s and it became my favorite and go to guitar.
Interestingly, my then tech of choice (a very well respected guy who had done great work for me before) was leery of working on a CF guitar and I decided to find a new tech who had some history with CF (I had an Anthem put in at the same time), so choice of tech is important.

[koa&cedar]

But...acoustically, I just haven't bonded with the sound. It is not rich and full to my ears. Sounds weak and tinny to me... The wood acoustics I own are a Lowden S25 Custom with spruce top and rosewood back and sides, a 1976 Japanese Washburn D-25 with solid spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides. The fullness of their sounds are far superior to the X30 to my ears (unplugged). I've been telling myself that carbon is different and my ears just need to adjust to the X30, but, its been several weeks, and it just hasn't happened.

I felt the same when I got mine last year, so I would wait and try many different things before selling it. Now in my case and IMHO there were 3 possible reasons, but sadly I didn't wait or even try them at the time. The guitar went to new customer very fast, which I regret.

Now, maybe the stock strings on mine were old or just the wrong type. Or the setup wasn't done optimally for the tone. And the last option might be that these guitars are not as tonally consistent as I would think and I got a bad one. I still dream about getting the great sounding one

I started to read X30 posts already in 2018 I think and I was quickly hooked. Virtually any way. There were many posts of people who really raved about them after they got them, so I was collecting their experiences and words to get the best possible tonal image I could. Also went to listed all the YouTube recordings. This was an ongoing game for me for about 3 or 4 years, as I just couldn't afford to buy 4 K guitar, well not before I would try it and it blew me away literally. There were 3 of the members, which made the biggest impression on me. One of them was owner of several great guitars like Santa Cruz or Froggy Bottom, the 2nd one owned few 25K guitars in the past and the 3rd one was named Goodallboy (I miss him on this forum a lot) - he used to play many of the Goodall standard models (for my taste one of the best guitars tone ever for the money and a real 3D experience) and he owned a great luthier made guitar too. Same as the others, they spoke very higly about Emerald X30 when they got them. One of them also owned X20 and while for him it was a good enought guitar, the X30 was another level tonally...

Just when I wanted to order the guitar, period of lots of sales happened - many of the guys from CF forum sold their X30s. Many on Reverb or elsewhere as well. Most went back to wooden guitars, some to X20 and some to try Sable and others for example.

This was something shocked me a bit and I can't understand it yet. Usually if a 1st minute of playing the guitar can blow me away, It will stay with me. After hearing a really good guitar once, a 30K one, this rarely happens - that sound haunted me for years and it still does and most of the guitars in my current low budget don't move me at all. Never tease yourself with something you can't have eventually.

But one day last year I just decided I can't wait anymore and ordered X30. As I said before it went to new customer quickly. The one I owned actually didn't have that big low end people talk so much about. I didn't feel it as too much (would prefer more actually) and guitar wasn't as loud or dramatic as I wanted it to be. Yes the bass was all over the place in a sense it lacked the tight and punchy quality, but I really didn't like the trebles. Very thin to my taste. Lack lots and lots and lots of meat. As I said maybe the strings or setup were not optimal, but a 4K guitar I will buy should have a much beefier and fatter trebles.

But there was no issue with the B string some people report or any other as well. Finaly I was tonally similarly unimpressed as with most Taylors or Yamahas.

I do really regret that I didn't check if stock strings were 11' or 12' or very old. For my taste 13's on the treble is minimum anyway, so maybe a change would make some improvement.

But then I also talked with someone who sound nice on his X30 and he felt the same about X30 trebles as he always prefer wooden guitars for that register. He used a lot of equalizer to make trebles thick and nice and tame his boomy bass. But tone can be a very subjective thing.

So for now I wait and hope soon enought in my life the new X30 mk2 (tonally improved to my taste) will be born. But at the same time I am still tempted to order a fanfret X30 with their current 25% off

Final Verdict: Praise the Emerald. The did a tremendous job in the CF world already.

A Hui Hou Kākou

[Groberts]

In my experience, .011's are not the answer to solve a 'tinny' sound. I understand that's what you use and are comfortable with. It is simply my experience that lighter gauge strings sound 'lighter' and more lean than heavier strings, especially in the treble strings.

Side bar: I realize your question is about playing in acoustically, but does your X30 have the Ghost Piezo and K&K? When I plugged mine in, the K&K added warmth and fullness.

Can you still return it or did that window close? I am guessing it has.

Post some pictures of your X30 if can.

[martingitdave]

I remain interested in owning a loud, powerful and strong bass responsive Emerald one day. But, without one to try locally, I haven't ventured into that brand. I purchased a Sable instead, which sounded amazing to me as a player. It wasn't until I had my friends play it that it sounded only mediocre from the front. So many variables!

[riptide]

Friends, thank you all for your replies. I don't feel so alone in my craziness, and my X30 angst has somewhat subsided.

First, I want to say that I don't consider myself able to reliably remember how the guitar sounds day to day. But today it sounds better to me.

I took SpruceTop's advice and tightened up the truss rod. There was no tension on it at all. I have it tightened now for just a smidgeon of relief and everything sounds better to me. I am not interested in the scientific method enough to loosen it again just to find out if I am imagining an improvement.

Unlike in some comments, I find the guitar very balanced string to string. No extraordinary booming bass.

Groberts, I have the Ghost Piezo and K&K. Plugged it, it sounds wonderful. I have a photo of my guitar in the original post, but, I can see it in the thread in on one of my computers, but not the other, so, here is a link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oZd...ew?usp=sharing

Emerald's FAQ's state that the guitar must be returned within 10 days of receipt, so that option has passed.

Waterboy and Koa&Cedar, thank you so much for sharing your similar X30 experiences. So, maybe I'm not crazy?

At this point, I will continue to play it and try out other strings and heavier gauges. I like the 80/20 Elixir nanowebs on my CA Cargo, so I may give that a try.

One minor annoyance is that the slot for the D string on the nut appears to have been cut too deep, as I get some buzz on the first few frets. Of course I can raise that height at the bridge for just that one string, but... I'd rather not. Unfortunately, all the guitar techs are located 4 hours away from me in Seattle. I'll live with it for now.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by riptide

I took SpruceTop's advice and tightened up the truss rod. There was no tension on it at all. I have it tightened now for just a smidgeon of relief and everything sounds better to me. I am not interested in the scientific method enough to loosen it again just to find out if I am imagining an improvement.

Interestingly I noticed the same thing just yesterday when I adjusted the truss rod a bit. It is strange indeed how much the tightness of the truss rod can affect the tone of the X30.

I also switched from Elixir phosphor bronze strings to D'Addario XS. So far I really like them but I have to postpone my final judgement until they are settled.

[Groberts]

Hey Riptide, your X30 is beautiful! Wow, I really hope it comes around for you. If not, hit me up. Ya never know. Is that Koa?

I haven't changed strings yet on the X20 I got. They still sound good a month later. Daddario EXP .012-.053 I think? The action and set up was superb on this guitar and also on the X30 that I returned. I returned the X30 mostly because I didn't love the red color. It's just not me. It actually sounded better amplified at my Duo gig, but I am madly in love with the X20 that I got from the 25% anniversary sale. I figure I can order an X30 with a wood top that I like another time. ..if I feel the need as time goes forward.

Here is my X20. You can see why I fell in love with it.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by riptide

Emerald's FAQ's state that the guitar must be returned within 10 days of receipt, so that option has passed.

You are correct - I mistakenly said 30 days in my earlier post.