Evan B's thin body X10

Tony Tony Tony;

As the risk of hurting your feelings, you are way behind, you are still a young chick. But the bright side is that you can catch up to me in ten years, unless I'm still around. Don't hurry.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Tony Tony Tony;

As the risk of hurting your feelings, you are way behind, you are still a young chick. But the bright side is that you can catch up to me in ten years, unless I'm still around. Don't hurry.

The race that can't be won - time.

Tony

[ceciltguitar]

Evan, it would be great to hear what you have to say about your new thin body nylon string X10 now that you have been playing it for a month.

Cecil;

I'm getting to it. I've been comparing what I have and thinning. The X10 acoustic/electric won the acoustic race and I've just sold the Rainsong Parlor.

I'm now playing the 7 and 10 electric along with the 10 acoustic--thinking about whether one guitar would be enough or whether I need/want one acoustic and one electric.

The difficult competition is now between the 7 and 10 electric. I'm playing and taking notes and working up to a judgment.

Thanks for asking.

Evan

[kramster]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Cecil;

I'm getting to it. I've been comparing what I have and thinning. The X10 acoustic/electric won the acoustic race and I've just sold the Rainsong Parlor.

I'm now playing the 7 and 10 electric along with the 10 acoustic--thinking about whether one guitar would be enough or whether I need/want one acoustic and one electric.

The difficult competition is now between the 7 and 10 electric. I'm playing and taking notes and working up to a judgment.

Thanks for asking.

Evan

Go Unc Go!!!

[ceciltguitar]

If it were me, I would keep - and play - both of them. They were both custom made to your specifications.

[Fixedgear60]

Came across this video of a x30 nylon with open headstock.
https://youtu.be/Kbo6_t0you4

The opposite end of the spectrum from Evan's thin body x10 but what a lush sounding guitar! Visually stunning as always from emerald. Maybe there is something to nylon strings ;-)

I had not heard the 30 nylon--thanks for bringing it here. Very different from my thin-bodied Emeralds, not so far off from my 10 acoustic--but far enough to be distinctly different. The 30 is incredibly lush and inviting, and beautiful.

[ceciltguitar]

Hmm........is another mug just over the horizon, Evan?

[Fixedgear60]

Evan... any thoughts on your thin body emerald? How does it fit into your nylon herd or should I say “heard” ????
Who is in and who is out. Does it live up sound wise to it’s sexy appearance??? Enquiring minds want to know

Cecil; Not seeing any new mugs for a 30--it's too big for my taste and comfort.

Fixed; I'm getting there, perhaps in a week or so. I am determined to narrow it down to one thin bodied electric which is really difficult when I'm sitting here holding two marvelous guitars.

[Fixedgear60]

Evan... no rush... relationships with a new instrument takes time to coax out it’s true nature. Just wanted to makes sure I did not miss anything in your on going quest for the CF nylon holy grail :-)

Sorry its taken me so long to review the X10 nylon string electric. I'm faced with confoundment, and not sure what to do.

The 10 is a marvelous guitar. But a number of petty, personal problems are irritating. For example, the 7 electric has a solid black neck--as mentioned on another thread, the 10 is a fuzzy grey, which I do not like. That's pretty petty stuff.

The petty stuff continues with a number of other features. For example, the 7 had a battery box which I liked a lot. The 10 has a battery bag made easily acceptable by the offset sound hole. I had a La Patria with the battery bag in the center hole and had to practically de-string the guitar to change the battery. I hated that and while the 10 is easy to get to I harbor resentment against the bag.

A third petty objection is the glaze under the sound hole. You don't see the weave, you see a dul grey, solid finish. I suppose the finish makes for a better base for holding the battery bag, but I find it aesthetically offensive. Although I could see such a finish under a label placed under the sound hole for better adhesion of Emerald labels.

All that stuff is petty. In reality, the 10 electric is a smooth playing, great sounding guitar. Like the 7 electric, the 10 has a surprising acoustic for such a thin guitar.

The two electric Emeralds are joys to play and have impressive electric sound. But they bring me up against the fact that acoustic sound has been the basis of my search. So here I am with two fine electric guitars but find myself going to the X10 acoustic/electric guitar. And the 10 is not satisfactory in its projection. And so, I am back where I started.

I've used my brother-in-law's Ramirez as a base standard for classic guitar sound. I've tried three Blackbird nylon instruments and found that the Rider comes close, but is not comfortable for me. The Rainsong has great tonal qualities, but lacks the projection of a good wooden instrument. The Emerald acoustics also have marvelous tonal qualities, but lack the projective push found in good classical guitars. I played the Leviora and found that I liked tonal qualities but, in my estimation it did not match the projection of the Ramirez (and I found it uncomfortable relative to the ergonomics of the Emerald instruments).

My conclusion to all this is that CF works remarkably well for steel strings, but is has yet to be dialed in for nylon. I'm considering selling all my CF guitars and buying my Brother-in-law's Ramirez; but I've been spoiled by Emerald's ergonomic build and don't find the Ramirez comfortable. Or maybe I'll sell the two electric and keep the acoustic/electric 10. Or maybe I'll sell both 10s and keep the electric 7??????????????

As you can see, I find the situation confounding. I wouldn't mind starting back with Alistair on an acoustic/electric with a newly designed sound board, but I'm bot sure I have the time to extend the search. ****!

[Captain Jim]

Will Ramirez custom make a thin body for you? Realistically, do you think it would sound as good as their standard width body? It seems to me that the two things you have been looking for in a guitar: thin body and big acoustic sound, are opposing directives. Physics.

I think Alistair is a carbon fiber guitar design wizard. But even a wizard can't defy the laws of physics. If you want more volume, you have two options: bigger (and thicker) guitar, or amplify it.

When I look at the photos of that beautiful guitar you had commissioned, I can't imagine that thin body can make sound like a thicker body version of the same. Physics.

I am not trying to be harsh here, but I recall all the posts about what you wanted, and it seems that the guitar you have is what you were asking for. The petty (your words) objections have nothing to do with the function or sound from the guitar. When hearing what you wanted, I had concerns whether such a thin guitar would please your ears acoustically. Hey, I understand that when a guitar doesn't sound like you expected, it is easy to find other things to add to the "don't like" list.

I ordered an X10 with level 2 pickups shortly after Emerald introduced that design. I expected the X10 would be somewhere in the middle of the X7 and X20 I own, in terms of volume. On the first strum with it acoustically, I had two thoughts: what a beautiful balanced tone from highs to lows, and: it doesn't seem to have as much volume as either the 7 or the 20.

When I recorded them, the volume of the 7 and the 10 were sonically similar (as shown by vu and histogram). The 20 was obviously louder and richer (by my ears). The X10 is a different animal, with a great variety of electric options, but I have grown to really enjoy that delightful acoustic balance. We are out and about right now in our motorhome, and the X10 was my choice to bring along this trip. Visually, that red weave with the black edges is exactly what I was looking for... by the way, I was influenced by the red X10 custom you had made.

So, all that to say: you gave Alistair some "must haves" and left a lot of it up to him to please you. That was a leap of faith on both of your parts. What I see in your guitar is just what you requested.

I enjoy what you bring to this sub-forum, Evan. Sometimes you make me laugh, rarely you make me want to pull my hair out, but I always read and appreciate your posts. Maybe I am mis-remembering, but I thought you had said in the past that you use your Roland amp to keep up with bigger louder guitars... is that no longer an option?

Hey, your desires and your money. I'll be following along with interest to see what you come up with that meets all your criteria. I hope you have enjoyed and learned from the search/journey.

[esimms86]

Obviously, none of us could or should presume to make the decision for you but, if I were you, I’d keep the 10 acoustic/electric and also purchase the Ramirez.You state that the 10 acoustic/electric is your “go to” guitar, plus you can plug it in for added volume when playing with others. Further, CF guitars, by their very nature, can be left out of the case so that you are more likely to spend more of your waking hours playing guitar. In my short time with CF guitars I have found that that particular factor looms increasingly larger all the time.

You also are thrilled with the sound of the Ramirez, so it offers a nice alternative when you’re in a Ramirez kind of mood.

I do, however, wonder whether your location/climate poses a significant problem related to the proper care needs of a precious Ramirez.