Kestrel Report - piece by piece

[mot]

Playability and sound are the two things I am most concerned about in any instrument, but I will leave the sound off until later. I'll also save the travel, arrival, guitar details and initial reactions for later. For now just playability.

First here is a link to a picture of it in the elements.https://photos.app.goo.gl/V5ncoRe1BAFNaXwR7

Playability - pretty awesome. Not sure what the neck is. I am thinking shallow C. It feels good whatever it is. Nice and solid. With the bridge and truss I can dial in pretty much any height I want on the stings.

The guitar feels great sitting or standing. In someways it feels a little smaller than an X20 (back to front thickness for example) and in some ways it feels bigger (wider bout). I can't slouch (sitting) as much as I can with the X20 or an L1 sized guitar, but it's still comfortable playing while sprawled out on a couch.

The Kestrel strings feel a little narrower up the neck too, but that's not a problem. I am not a fast enough picker for that to be a problem for me.

Let me know what else you want to know. I will get to other topics, but you can lead the discussion.

[Captain Jim]

Looking forward to the whole of your over-all impressions. Such a fine-looking guitar!

What is the width of this beautiful guitar?

[SpruceTop]

That is a great-looking guitar!

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by EvanB

What is the width of this beautiful guitar?

All the dimensions here, Evan - 16.5” is the answer to your question.

https://emeraldguitars.com/guitars/s...tions/#kestrel

[oscarvan]

Sooooooo SEXY!

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by mot

Let me know what else you want to know. I will get to other topics, but you can lead the discussion.

Is it just me, or is that instrument crazy thin?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

Is it just me, or is that instrument crazy thin?

Compared with what? The Kestrel is not primarily an acoustic guitar...

[JimCA]

Originally Posted by mot

Let me know what else you want to know. I will get to other topics, but you can lead the discussion.

As an owner of an acoustic-only X10 and an Eastman AR805 archtop I'm most interested in acoustic-only sound comparison between your X20 and Kestral.

[mot]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

The Kestrel is not primarily an acoustic guitar...

The Kestrel is about the same size and thickness of a Super 400 or L5. The thicker arch tops have more bass and they vary by as little as an 1/8 inch in some models where you can hear the difference. You can find fully acoustic arch tops clocking in at 3 inches or maybe less. The Kestrel is 3.5 inches thick and can hold it's own in a chunka chunka situation without need of amp even if it's providing the rhythm for a brass section. As a soloing instrument it'll likely need to be amplified if in the same group with the brass though.

Nice thing is that it can go both ways as the need arises. I haven't tried it with any players yet, but I think it is easily loud enough to solo with a django style group without any amplification. I want to check it for feedback issues too. I suspect it will be fine, but I haven't checked in a loud-ish setting yet. I was at a venue this evening where I could have tested feedback if I had thought to bring the Kestrel with me.

Compared to the X20 or X30 the Kestrel has a noticeably weak bass. However this guitar can pin a fly to a wall across the room in the midrange without an amp in ways those flattops could never do.

[mot]

Originally Posted by JimCA

As an owner of an acoustic-only X10 and an Eastman AR805 archtop I'm most interested in acoustic-only sound comparison between your X10 and Kestral.

I would love to try an 805, but haven't had the opportunity. I would guess it's sound is similar to the Kestrel, but I don't know.

I don't have an X10. I have played one, but I don't remember enough to make any sound comparisons.

I remember the X30 in that it's like a big brother of an X20, but the X10 didn't register in my memory as well.

[mot]

Originally Posted by mot

However this guitar can pin a fly to a wall across the room in the midrange without an amp in ways those flattops could never do.

This is because of the physics of the body and those F-holes. Basically this baby has about a 90 degree projection off the face where the sound is a lot louder than anywhere else. It's even louder than what the player hears.

[JimCA]

Originally Posted by mot

I would love to try an 805, but haven't had the opportunity. I would guess it's sound is similar to the Kestrel, but I don't know.

I don't have an X10. I have played one, but I don't remember enough to make any sound comparisons.

I remember the X30 in that it's like a big brother of an X20, but the X10 didn't register in my memory as well.

OK, but I was asking about your Kestrel vs your X20 (sorry, I mistakenly said your X10 ).

[mot]

No worries. Anything particular?

The X20 blends the chords a lot more than the Kestrel when strumming. The Kestrel has less overtones I think.

I spent some time at a Guitar Center a few years ago trying to decide whether to get the Rainsong they had in stock. I felt it's chords where crisper than the X20. I finally went with a Lucky 13 which felt more bluesy.

The Kestrel is on the other side of that Rainsong in crispness. For busking on a busy street without an amp those Kestrel chords will likely cut through a lot more.

[kramster]

That is a fine looking guitar.