Anyone near with x20 or x30 Emerald????

[martinngibson]

I have a D2HA Collings and it was so boomy to play near a mic that I experimented with strings and settled on D’Addario Nickel Bronze which took care of the boomy low end, it’s still very loud but the low E and A string mellowed out much better and they are the same gauge as the phosphor bronze that I removed. I assume you could use those on the X30 and it might react the same as the Collings.

[esimms86]

Originally Posted by RP

I'm still on my first set of strings on my X30 so haven't done any experimentation, but my guess is that there are parameters of string selection which would either enhance or reduce the X30's low end, but its inherent geometry is going to dictate wider tonal parameters. (FWIW I've never subscribed to the widespread notion that Taylors are (too) bright sounding. I've had several Grand Auditorium models there were very warm.) I previously owned an HD28, and my X30 has much more low end than the Martin. That's not a dig against the HD28 because it's a great guitar; but turning the question around, I don't think there's any string choice that would make an off-the-rack, new HD28 the equivalent of an X30 in the low end department. Give it 50 years or so, and that's a whole other discussion...

I previously owned two Taylor 814's and a Taylor 816 and found them all too bright sounding for my taste. Maybe it's the particular guitars I owned, and maybe it's just my ears, who knows? In retrospect, I likely would have been satisfied with a (cedar/mahogany) Taylor 514, which is know for its warm sound(that wood combination!). And then the Taylor Grand Pacific line purposely leans towards that close miked Martin sound(i.e., the design is based on the sound heard on classic recordings where mostly D18's and D28's, and also occasionally D35's ruled the day). Anyway, with an X30 on the way(to join my Kestrel), I'm not complaining!

[martinngibson]

Hopefully the sales department at Emerald will get back with me soon as to someone being within a decent driving distance where I can try an x30. Or an X20 at this point.

[RP]

Originally Posted by martinngibson

Hopefully the sales department at Emerald will get back with me soon as to someone being within a decent driving distance where I can try an x30. Or an X20 at this point.

Suggest to them that they should set up a network of US owners who would offer to share their Emeralds with prospective buyers. I've been bugging them about setting this up for six months or so...

[martinngibson]

That’s a very good idea. If I were them I’d jump at the chance. I can see where it would potentially sell a lot more of their guitars.

[RP]

Originally Posted by martinngibson

That’s a very good idea. If I were them I’d jump at the chance. I can see where it would potentially sell a lot more of their guitars.

I've thought so too....

[jwellsy]

Originally Posted by RP

Suggest to them that they should set up a network of US owners who would offer to share their Emeralds with prospective buyers. I've been bugging them about setting this up for six months or so...

You don't want it to be a shopping list for thugs. Contact info would have to be protected and voluntary.

I think this forum has worked well for people looking to play instruments in their area. It doesn't always work because the sought after instruments may be rarities for the area. But I've noticed that almost every request is met by a response, sometimes at a good distance, but worth a field trip for the serious searcher.

[RP]

Originally Posted by jwellsy

You don't want it to be a shopping list for thugs. Contact info would have to be protected and voluntary.

I totally agree with your second statement but despite having retired from the Virginia Dept. of Corrections don't see either how or why a "thug" would go the trouble to contact a rather obscure Irish company that builds non-standard instruments to track down owners to rob a plastic-looking guitar that wouldn't be easy to fence...

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by martinngibson

Hopefully the sales department at Emerald will get back with me soon as to someone being within a decent driving distance where I can try an x30. Or an X20 at this point.

I have volunteered with Emerald to be a referral contact if/when they make such a list, and have offered several times on this forum to meet with people - if they happen to be in my area. Email and phone number is good enough - I'm not giving out my home address until I've spoken with someone first, and probably more than once.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I have volunteered with Emerald to be a referral contact if/when they make such a list, and have offered several times on this forum to meet with people - if they happen to be in my area. Email and phone number is good enough - I'm not giving out my home address until I've spoken with someone first, and probably more than once.

I’ve done this twice with folks in my area, both of which resulted in the purchase of an X20

I have a third get-together pending with Tony Beltrans, as soon as we’re both comfortable with being in the same location.

As I’ve said before, if I was Emerald, I’m really not sure I’d want to take on such a register. Data Privacy in Ireland is governed by GDPR, and would represent a significant administrative load.

[martinngibson]

As popular as the x20 and 30 seems to be, I felt sure that Emerald would have found one in East TN by now or at least within a reasonable driving distance, or someone from here. There has been a few that offered but the drive was a bit much. If I wasn’t retired now, I’d have more time to drive and look but I’m working a whole lot more now that I’m retired than I was on my regular job.
😁😁😁
But I’ll be patient and if not there is a lot of people that seem to be happy with certain models of Rainsong so I may have to give those a try if my patience wears too thin.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

I’ve done this twice with folks in my area, both of which resulted in the purchase of an X20 ..... As I’ve said before, if I was Emerald, I’m really not sure I’d want to take on such a register. Data Privacy in Ireland is governed by GDPR, and would represent a significant administrative load.

I am a big carbon fiber enabler, and spearheaded the Phoenix Carbon Fest that Kramster so graciously hosted in FEB 2018. A test play there got my wife into her X7 Gen 2. We also got together with K-man again in fall 2019, which resulted in my buying an X30 that December. Once people actually try an Emerald, they tend to be hooked. As for Emerald, their issue is more about keeping up with demand while maintaining good QC, and staffing accordingly, not necessarily generating extra sales. I know that I don't have time to market my engineering services more when it is already tough enough to keep up with the work load.

I had not considered the ramifications of GDPR laws. There are lots of recent complaints from our UK cousins about not being able to access common US web sites, unless they use a VPN and set anywhere else as their location. So maybe the Carbon Fiber room here is the best clearinghouse for meet-up requests.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by martinngibson

As popular as the x20 and 30 seems to be, I felt sure that Emerald would have found one in East TN by now or at least within a reasonable driving distance......

Keep in mind that the carbon fiber segment is a tiny percentage of the entire acoustic guitar market. The total annual output of all the CF builders combined is less than one day of Taylor's production, and probably similar for Martin. The forum here is a zealous microcosm of the overall market. Notice that you rarely see any CF guitars in stores? To my knowledge I am the only person in Idaho who has an Emerald, and that is why I'm willing to share. Ditto for my Rainsong and Blackbird guitars. Until recently we had a stocking dealer who carried Composite Acoustics, but since Peavey has apparently stopped production of CA....

[steelvibe]

This idea has been tossed around here for years. I bought my first CF guitar from MacNichol G&M but never participated in a "road trip". I seriously considered it more than once though.

Didn't Emerald already state that they are somewhat wary of participating with such a program? I think that from a legal perspective they have to really be careful; even with a participant's permission such things could haunt Emerald later. If I were Alistair I wouldn't want anything to do with it either.

However, there has got to be some way that such a program could work and benefit everyone? I would imagine that MacNichol's program generated sales of instruments; those curious who turned into converts- many of us who are active here.