Emerald X-7 acoustic tone

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by JackDaniel

... (I only own CF). will never go wood again.

Because of the tone, or the environmental robustness, or?

I own two CF guitars now, and enjoy the mix of CF and wood. But I live in a fairly guitar friendly climate. I find myself picking up the Emerald and the Journey more and more, just because their shape makes them so comfortable to play.

[guzzijeff]

Thank you all for your very helpful & honest opinions!… and thank you, Ray, for your offer. Gotta love AGF!

[Gemini11]

I just gone mine in Thursday. Ordered from Emerald’s stock and I have to say it’s a knockout so far. I would say it’s on the warmer side of balanced in tone but still very much in that range. I had a CA Cargo that I gigged with for a few years and it’s definitely more articulate than the Cargo although of a similar design. The other thing I found is how feedback resistant it is. Mine has a flame top veneer and I wonder if that has something to do with it but I was very surprised to find that. As lively and sensitive as carbon guitars generally are, I’m impressed by that because I play some places where you gotta floor it pretty good to cover the crowd. The quality of finish and detail on it is also very very fine. I literally played it about 30 minutes before going to play a short notice gig. It sounded great straight into my system and with a few EQ tweaks, I gigged it. I’d post pics or make a thread about it but I’m disappointed to find that AGF still has no mechanism whereby you can simply post pics from your mobile device or pad. It’s ridiculous.

Oh, and I should add one more thing that I think may have much to do with the tone of these guitars. At least on the X7, the neck orientation with the body allows for the saddle to be quite high compared to say a typical Rainsong or even the CA Cargo I had. It’s almost like an archtop, and allows for a very pronounced break over angle at the saddle and while still maintaining a playable action. And, the pinless bridge is brilliant.

[Methos1979]

I've owned several Emeralds over the years including both the old and new style X7's. My (new style) X7 was a custom woody I ordered myself and it was a gorgeous guitar to look at and fun to play. The comfort bevels on all Emeralds make for an extremely comfortable guitar to sit and play.

I remember the tone being surprisingly warm for a carbon fiber guitar and relatively pleasant overall. I find that all the Emerald guitars I have owned had significant 'wolf tones' at certain frets and strings and I remember the X7 being the most prominent of line. I found that my X7 was not an overly loud guitar as compared likely to your Larivee, at least.

These days I'm playing RainSong guitars mostly for how well they amplify but I also find them louder than the Emeralds I owned of comparable body size and they also don't suffer from the wolf tone issue. Another thing I absolutely did NOT like about my X7 was the pinless bridge. Unlike the previous poster that found the pinless bridge 'brilliant' in design, I found mine to be deeply flawed. Maybe they've improved it?

[JackDaniel]

I must admit that I also did not like the wolf tones now that you mention it. Forgot about those... Although I haven't noticed any in my x7. I recall them in my x30 and x20.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by JackDaniel

I must admit that I also did not like the wolf tones now that you mention it. Forgot about those... Although I haven't noticed any in my x7. I recall them in my x30 and x20.

There was a period a couple or so years ago where wolf tones were the ‘complaint du jour’ about Emeralds.

Originally Posted by Methos1979

I find that all Emerald guitars have significant 'wolf tones' at certain frets and strings and I remember the X7 being the most prominent of line.

It’s a little unfair to state that ‘ALL Emerald guitars have wolf tones’. I’ve never experience the phenomenon with any of mine, and there are obviously many, many owners with the same experience - either that, or none of us are discerning enough to be able to identify them

I haven’t seen it mentioned for a long time, either here or in a couple of other CF-related groups I frequent - and you just know that if it was prevalent, Facebook would be the place where folks would complain about it

[Gemini11]

Haven’t heard the first one in mine. Seeing as how this X7 weighs noticeably more than the OM I also currently have even though it’s smaller, I would agree it’s not as loud as the very light and lively OM but I have a pretty big voice and the X7 still hangs with me no problem. Louder than the little Cargo I had which could still hang with me ok. I’d say that’s a trade off compromise between acoustic sound and amplified sound because again, I’m pretty surprised how feedback resistant this X7 is. Can’t say if the pinless bridge has been modified or improved but it works straightforward enough. Put a pre-bend on the string and it goes right into the slot. You might have to dance one or two strings out on a change but it’s easily not as bad as a stuck bridge pin.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

There was a period a couple or so years ago where wolf tones were the ‘complaint du jour’ about Emeralds.



It’s a little unfair to state that ‘ALL Emerald guitars have wolf tones’. I’ve never experience the phenomenon with any of mine, and there are obviously many, many owners with the same experience - either that, or none of us are discerning enough to be able to identify them

I haven’t seen it mentioned for a long time, either here or in a couple of other CF-related groups I frequent - and you just know that if it was prevalent, Facebook would be the place where folks would complain about it

Well, I would have assumed that the "I" in the statement would lead those to naturally conclude that I was talking about Emerald guitars that "I" have owned but just to assuage those that need to have every nuance of every statement clarified, please allow me to revise and clarify MY experiences with MY Emerald guitars:

I remember the tone of MY Emerald X7 being surprisingly warm for a carbon fiber guitar and relatively pleasant overall to ME. Please note that I am not making a blanket statement that ALL Emerald X7's will have a warm and pleasant tone but rather that I found that the one that I owned certainly did. That said, I have found in the past that all the Emerald guitars that I have personally owned and played (6 in all) have significant 'wolf tones' at certain frets and strings and I remember the X7 I personally owned as being the most prominent of line. Please understand that I am speaking from my personal experiences with the Emeralds I owned and played and that I am in no way implying that ALL Emerald guitars have wolf tones or that ALL Emerald guitar owners - past, present and future - will notice the presence of wolf tones, wolf notes, or any wolf-related tonal feature. In my personal experience with my Emerald X7 I have found that they are not overly loud guitars as compared likely to your Larivee, although I do make this statement having never actually played a Larivee 00 so that needs to be taken into account as well.

Hopefully, that clears up any confusion.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Well, I would have assumed that the "I" in the statement would lead those to naturally conclude that I was talking about Emerald guitars that "I" have owned but just to assuage those that need to have every nuance of every statement clarified, please allow me to revise and clarify MY experiences with MY Emerald guitars:

I remember the tone of MY Emerald X7 being surprisingly warm for a carbon fiber guitar and relatively pleasant overall to ME. Please note that I am not making a blanket statement that ALL Emerald X7's will have a warm and pleasant tone but rather that I found that the one that I owned certainly did. That said, I have found in the past that all the Emerald guitars that I have personally owned and played (6 in all) have significant 'wolf tones' at certain frets and strings and I remember the X7 I personally owned as being the most prominent of line. Please understand that I am speaking from my personal experiences with the Emeralds I owned and played and that I am in no way implying that ALL Emerald guitars have wolf tones or that ALL Emerald guitar owners - past, present and future - will notice the presence of wolf tones, wolf notes, or any wolf-related tonal feature. In my personal experience with my Emerald X7 I have found that they are not overly loud guitars as compared likely to your Larivee, although I do make this statement having never actually played a Larivee 00 so that needs to be taken into account as well.

Hopefully, that clears up any confusion.

Oh dear. It was not my intent to ruffle your feathers, but it would appear that I did.

Forgive me for misinterpreting your original statement. I consider myself duly clarified.

[jdinco]

I guess Methos didn't get the memo about "NOT criticizing Emeralds for ANY reason, on this Forum". Page 3 line 22.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by jdinaz

I guess Methos didn't get the memo about "NOT criticizing Emeralds for ANY reason, on this Forum". Page 3 line 22.

That’s right, and don’t you forget it!

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by jdinaz

I guess Methos didn't get the memo about "NOT criticizing Emeralds for ANY reason, on this Forum". Page 3 line 22.

Now that is just silly - this is an internet forum: everybody criticizes everything. For those who think I believe everything about Emerald is perfect, my red X10 only matches my eyes when they're bloodshot. But, the black on the back and sides of my X20 matches my heart. Umm... what was the question?

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Oh dear. It was not my intent to ruffle your feathers, but it would appear that I did.

Forgive me for misinterpreting your original statement. I consider myself duly clarified.

Oh no, I thought you were trying to be funny. So was I. I guess we both failed. I guess the smiley emoji just doesn't carry the weight it used to.

Originally Posted by jdinaz

I guess Methos didn't get the memo about "NOT criticizing Emeralds for ANY reason, on this Forum". Page 3 line 22.

Hey, I WROTE that memo, pal! You know, back when I was an overly-sensitive cult of Emerald guy! (Extra emojis for clarification)

[steelvibe]

So this is more WWF than UFC fighting??

Now I have to throw away my popcorn. I’m so disappointed.

[Captain Jim]

There's a cult? Does it cost to join? Do I have to shave my head... or anything else? Too many questions? I have some free space for a tattoo if that helps get me in.