McPherson Sable vs Emerald X20

[tbeltrans]

This morning, David E and I met at my condo's community room to check out each other's guitars.

David brought three Emerald:

1. Emerald X20
2. Emerald Amicus
3. Emerald X20 7 string fan fret

I brought two McPherson:

1. Sable
2. Touring

Of primary interest to me was the stock X20, though I found the X20 7 string and Amicus to be lovely instruments also. The Amicus reminded me of a mandolin and there was nothing in David's collection to compare to the Touring, so the remainder of this is about the X20 and Sable.

The bottom line for me (and David agreed) is as David put it "a wash". The X20 and Sable were, as far as we were concerned, equally good. In discussion, we each slightly preferred our own instruments, largely because that is what we are familiar with.

If one of the instruments had been significantly better than the other, I am sure we both would readily GAS for that one.

From my perspective, here is how the Emerald X20 seemed to me...

My first impressions were:

1. It is just as easy to play as the McPherson. I recall somebody here saying the Emerald was a bit "stiff" compared to the Sable, but that was not my experience. If anything, it felt a bit looser, probably because I had Elixir HD Lights, which consist of light gauge 6, 5, and 4, with medium gauge 3, 2, 1. This is what my Taylor guitars all had on them when I purchased them and I like those strings David's Emerald had Elixir PB Lights, so they were a lighter gauge on the top three strings.

2. The X20 felt larger than my Sable, probably as David pointed out, it is a bit deeper, especially with the curved back. This didn't pose any problems for me, but I was expecting it to feel smaller based on what I had read here. The body sizes when placed back to back are pretty much identical.

The string spacing is a bit wider on the Emerald. I compared the X20 and the Sable "nut to nut" (no, don't go there...) and the string spacing between the two is identical.

However, where the Sable has a 2 3/16" spacing at the saddle just like Taylor, the X20 has a 2 1/4" saddle string spacing. The difference is noticeable but not at all problematic either way.

The fretboard on the X20 has a curve to it, while the Sable fretboard feels flat. This is one of those things one gets used to, and probably contributes to why we each ever so slightly preferred our own guitars.

As for sound - I like them both! They are closer than I expected based on what I had read here. Both are clear and I thought the Emerald had a nice round bass and warmth. I can't honestly say I preferred the sound of one over the other.

As far as I am concerned, if I saw these two instruments hanging side by side in a guitar shop, I would have a VERY difficult time deciding between them and would likely end up buying both.

I hope this is helpful to somebody reading this and trying to decide. Well, I suppose my post makes the decision that much harder. You win either way.

Thanks David for a great fun morning...

Tony

What a great review! Some really good guitars and some really good reviewers.

[David Eastwood]

What an excellent way to spend a morning - great company and conversation, and five excellent carbon fibre instruments along for the ride.

Tony and I have been trying to get together for about a year now. Many obstacles later, we met this morning, as he has written above.

Apart from a very brief and inconclusive encounter with a Touring at GC a while back, this was my first experience with McPherson’s instruments.

The Sable and the Touring are both very fine guitars indeed. If I'd never played an X20, I think I could be very happy with the Sable. They feel very similar; the Sable's neck profile is definitely slimmer, but not overtly so. I'd miss my arm bevel, having got used to it over the last 3 years, but overall the size and proportions of the Sable fit me very well. The sound is remarkably similar also - if pushed for differences, I'd say the X20 is a tad more percussive in tone with a rather brighter attack, but that could just as easily be the string gauge difference.

The Touring is one of those "how the heck did they fit all that sound into this little thing?" guitars - very much like my first impressions of a CA Cargo, and a rather fine Taylor GS Mini owned by a friend of mine. It's also a very good example of how significant the neck profile is to the feel of a guitar - I was very surprised that the neck was actually 1 3/4" at the nut, because it felt much skinnier. Having had a few tastes of similarly sized guitars now, my mind wanders in the direction of an X7, but I really shouldn't go there

The McPhersons are beautifully made - there's a lovely solidity to them, and a little extra weight, but that's unnoticeable when playing. I have to say I really don't care for the textured finish on the back and sides - but again, when playing, it's irrelevant.

All in all, a very worthwhile exercise - and I got to meet another fine member of this great forum!

Oh, and while driving home, I realized that, apart from me retuning the X20 from open D to standard, and back, neither of us touched a tuning machine in 2 hours

[steelvibe]

Really appreciate your input here gents! Nice reviews!!

[Captain Jim]

That was a fun read from both participants! Thanks for sharing. I've had the opportunity to play the McPherson carbon fiber offerings, and they are very nice guitars; not ready to make any changes with my Emeralds, though.

It is a good time to be a carbon fiber guitar player.

Reminds me a bit of the CF gathering at Kramster's place where we had the opportunity to try other brands... nice to be able to do some A/B/C comparisons once in a while.

[jdinco]

Sounds like a great way to spend a morning. Or a day ! Good write ups.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

That was a fun read from both participants! Thanks for sharing. I've had the opportunity to play the McPherson carbon fiber offerings, and they are very nice guitars; not ready to make any changes with my Emeralds, though.

Much the same conclusion that Tony and I came to this morning.

It is a good time to be a carbon fiber guitar player.

Indeed it is - or even a guitar player in general!

Reminds me a bit of the CF gathering at Kramster's place where we had the opportunity to try other brands... nice to be able to do some A/B/C comparisons once in a while.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Tony and I could not have more different playing styles, yet we were each able to evaluate the guitars equally well. It was a fun, instructive and educational time.

Plus he’s a really nice guy, and we had a lot in common

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Much the same conclusion that Tony and I came to this morning.



Indeed it is - or even a guitar player in general!



That sounds like a lot of fun. Tony and I could not have more different playing styles, yet we were each able to evaluate the guitars equally well. It was a fun, instructive and educational time.

Plus he’s a really nice guy, and we had a lot in common

In our travels, I've had the opportunity to meet more than a few people from various forums where I participate. With only one exception, they have all been just the way they present themselves on-line. And, that one exception was on a boating forum, and I kind of expected the guy to be curt and to the point... could not have been a warmer, friendlier person, a real delight. Before retiring, he was a physician and apparently his work related writing was to the point.

It's fun when our similar interests bring us together. Both write-ups were great!

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Much the same conclusion that Tony and I came to this morning.



Indeed it is - or even a guitar player in general!



That sounds like a lot of fun. Tony and I could not have more different playing styles, yet we were each able to evaluate the guitars equally well. It was a fun, instructive and educational time.

Plus he’s a really nice guy, and we had a lot in common

Awww shucks... Thanks David, and I could say the same about you so I will. David is a really nice guy and I do hope not too much time passes before we do it again.

The fact that we have different styles, yet could evaluate both guitar equally well, certainly points to the fact that both instruments are quite versatile.

I do have one problem resulting from today's adventure though. I just saw a brand new X20 in the AGF classifieds and now I am thinking and my wife seems OK with it if I were to jump on it. Uh oh and I thought I was done.

Try before you buy is what I always say. Well, I did this morning. However, I am tempted but just not quite enough...yet. This one is brand new with the pinless bridge that I just read a thread about here. Hmmmm.

Tony



Tony

This is exactly the kind of interaction that makes this forum worthy.

[raysachs]

Sounds like a fine time, and interesting observations about the sound of the two. I had a X20 I liked at first but didn’t really bond with over time. And an X7 I liked more at first and really bonded with over time - sound wise, but I eventually found the X7 smaller than I liked in a primary guitar, and sold it. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have. I was interested in an X30 for a while, based on sound clips, but I’m really not interested in that much size or volume. Lately, I’ve been wanting to check out a Sable based on descriptions of the sound, which was somewhat counteracted by Alex’s comparison video, in which I didn’t hear much difference.

And now both of your observations kind of match my impression that the X20 and Sable sound quite similar. Which makes me less interested in a Sable, and makes me think if I really decide I have to have a carbon fiber guitar again, I may just get another X7. Which I know I like and it wouldn’t be my primary guitar next time, so I don’t think the small size would bother me for how I’d use it. But I think for a while at least, I should relax a little about humidity and just enjoy my two wooden guitars, since I really love both of them. If one of them really is damaged by humidity or lack thereof, that would be soon enough to start thinking more seriously about carbon fiber. And that day may not come…

But I found both of your observations really interesting, and more food for thought…

-Ray

[jdinco]

Originally Posted by raysachs

And now both of your observations kind of match my impression that the X20 and Sable sound quite similar.
-Ray

Hi Ray, I must have missed that conclusion?? I owned both, at the same time, and an X7, I never thought they sounded anything alike. Not good or bad, but very different. I still have the Sable. Just my experience. Good luck with your new guitar, no matter what it is.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by jdinaz

Hi Ray, I must have missed that conclusion?? I owned both, at the same time, and an X7, I never thought they sounded anything alike. Not good or bad, but very different. I still have the Sable. Just my experience. Good luck with your new guitar, no matter what it is.

What I said in my original post that started this thread about the sound was:

As for sound - I like them both! They are closer than I expected based on what I had read here. Both are clear and I thought the Emerald had a nice round bass and warmth. I can't honestly say I preferred the sound of one over the other.

This doesn't say that they sounded the same, but instead that they were not as far apart as I expected, based on reading other folks' comments in this forum.

David and I both played fingerstyle with bare fingers, no thumbpick. So that may have contributed to what I heard.

In all fairness to those whose X20 and Sable descriptions I have read, we all interpret whatever we read in our own way, completely separate from what the poster may have actually intended. I came away thinking Sable=warm, woody and X20=not warm, not woody (more carbon sounding). I felt that the X20 had a nice round sound that is pleasing to the ears. Though the Sable also has its own sound, it was not that far off from the X20. Again, maybe bare finger playing contributed to this perception.

Tony

[buzzardwhiskey]

I will weigh in on what I hear, or more accurately don't hear, in my Sable.

Essentially, I hear a kind of multi-band compression that's missing or less prominent in the other CF guitars I've played, including a few Emeralds.

For instance the lowest E, if played alone and really hit hard, is not "allowed" to sound out and bloom in the same way that other guitars allow.

It's this bloom in multiple frequencies that seems carefully moderated that makes the guitar seem very balanced, and kind of "woody", but also darker.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

In all fairness to those whose X20 and Sable descriptions I have read, we all interpret whatever we read in our own way, completely separate from what the poster may have actually intended. I came away thinking Sable=warm, woody and X20=not warm, not woody (more carbon sounding). I felt that the X20 had a nice round sound that is pleasing to the ears. Though the Sable also has its own sound, it was not that far off from the X20.

Are you saying that's what you came away with from reading other people's impressions, or from now having played both?

Because based on what I've read, I've heard the same thing, that the Sable is warm and woody (again, to a given listener's interpretation). And having owned an X20, I didn't find it warm or woody. I found the X7 much closer to the sound I want to hear from an acoustic and my interest in the Sable comes from that same place. I'll still probably check one out when I get a chance. I'm pretty sure I'd have loved the sound of the X30, but I just don't have ANY need (or want) for something that big and loud. To my ears, the X7 and X30 sounded like bigger and smaller versions of a very similar sound - the X20 sounded quite different to me.

So I guess, basically. the more the Sable sounds like an X20, the less I'd likely be interested in it. But if I play one and don't like it, I KNOW I could buy another X7 and have the sound I like, even in a guitar that's a little smaller than ideal. So that's the safe choice in the back of my mind.

And I may not buy a new guitar at all, for the foreseeable future. I love both of my current acoustics, love the variety, and seem to be doing just fine managing the humidity issues. But there's something about the convenience of carbon fiber, right out on a stand in any conditions, that I love and am still tempted by.

-Ray