For carbon fibre acoustic guitar owners—wood top for looks?

[kramster]

Originally Posted by 121

I prefer the Amber carbon fiber look.

That is a really nice one for sure.

[JES]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I'm not a regular here but really appreciate the welcoming vibe.

This thread confirms my gut feeling, which is that I'm not in love with the ebony. Most of the other wood tops aren't wide enough for a Balor. My wife likes the ebony, but it's not her bass and she tends to gravitate more towards figured wood than I do. And I do like the carbon fibre weave.

Leaning towards red now, simply because it's the one I've seen in person and I know I like the shade.

But I've also considered, amber, green, and purple (off book, as it were).

Has anyone gone for a satin finish on the whole guitar? The Emeralds look like they will show a lot of fingerprints. OTOH, so does my gloss black electric bass, and I play it at every gig....

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by JES

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I'm not a regular here but really appreciate the welcoming vibe.

This thread confirms my gut feeling, which is that I'm not in love with the ebony. Most of the other wood tops aren't wide enough for a Balor. My wife likes the ebony, but it's not her bass and she tends to gravitate more towards figured wood than I do. And I do like the carbon fibre weave.

Leaning towards red now, simply because it's the one I've seen in person and I know I like the shade.

But I've also considered, amber, green, and purple (off book, as it were).

Has anyone gone for a satin finish on the whole guitar? The Emeralds look like they will show a lot of fingerprints. OTOH, so does my gloss black electric bass, and I play it at every gig....

Hi JES! I can't speak for everyone here, but I know some of us started out by asking a few questions and were drawn in by the friendly vibe here. And then stuck around.

My feeling is: you can second guess yourself on all these aesthetic decisions; trust your gut feeling, then don't look back. If a particular veneer doesn't grab you right off, I would take it off the options.

Now, regarding the gloss finish: it does fingerprint. I use a small polishing cloth and wipe down any guitar I play when I'm done for that session... only takes a few seconds and the guitar stays looking great. Emerald uses what they call "Crystal Ice" finish on the back and sides of their Opus (you can also specify it on an Artisan or Custom). I really like that finish for the back and sides, but I think the texture would ultimately show wear if used on the front.

I have been playing the heck out of my Emeralds (I use a pick) and have no pick wear on the front - the gloss is durable and wipes clean without any fuss. One of mine has the Crystal Ice on the back and sides, the other is all gloss - Emerald does a beautiful job with both of those finishes; I think they look great together, but with a glossy top. I don't buy any guitar with resale in mind, but I think an overall Crystal Ice would be less desirable for resale: people are used to seeing that lovely gloss top on their Emeralds. But, like a choice of woody or color: you get to vote with your dollars. I would run it by Alistair before that decision.

Hope you stick around here - lots of good information and a depth of experience from the participants. Good luck with the decisions.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

Slightly off topic, but isn't it a shame that pretty much any mention of CF gets a thread sent away from the general acoustic forum, into our little corner of the forum?

On topic: Raw CF looks great, but so do the woody veneers. Buy whichever makes you most lustful!

A funny not relevant thing happened to me last week. A person starting up a CF guitar product line contacted me for my thoughts having read my threads on the AGF. I forgot to mention to him that the only CF guitar owner I've met in-person outside of Ted at LA Guitar Sales got their CF guitar when I gave it to them. I think we are off to the side because we would never find each other in the larger forum.

BTW, my bottom line to him was I think CF guitars sound as good as anything made, but the advantages vs the extra cost and the lack the wonderful look of real wood, make them not mainstream.

[seamusknives]

Believe me, I love beautiful wood and often use it on my custom folding knives. I also use lot's of carbon fiber.
Using exotic hardwoods for adornment on a carbon fiber guitar has me sitting on the fence. No doubt, it's visually striking but I ordered my X20 without it. Not having even played one at that point, I might have been conservative in my thinking and spending. In the back of my mind I kept seeing images of Dodge Caravans with the woody decals and thought that I'd just keep it the guitar pure and simple. Who knows, if I were to order another Emerald, I might do an about face.

[mot]

I have a red X20 without a veneer. I have some light pick scratches, but Alistair told me a way to wipe them off should I ever want to do so. I haven't worried about it yet.

On another note I could be interested in a custom jockteleg.

JES;

A number of Baylors have come out with wood tops. I believe that the veneers are treated like solid wood tops with two matched pieces making the face.

[Matt_Adamas]

I have no issues with the look of carbon fiber but I have a very soft spot for figured woods so that's where I lean.

The first Emerald I purchased (an X-20) is just amber carbon fiber but I bought it used just to see how I liked them.

The second one (an X-7) I ordered new and did so with a green quilt top which I love to death. I expect I'll sell the X-20 at some point just to order a new one with a figure top and the same pickup system as my X-7 just for consistency's sake.

My two other acoustics are Adamas and the carbon fiber tops are clearly visible and I'm cool with that.

For me I feel the wood tops are a statement that the modern can be merged with the traditional successfully.

[kramster]

Originally Posted by Matt_Adamas

For me I feel the wood tops are a statement that the modern can be merged with the traditional successfully.

yup I agree

[GuitarDoc]

Function is everything and aesthetics is nothing. If one buys a Porsche and it can’t get you to work...what have you got? But if one has a chance at a Victoria Secret model that can cook too...what further inspiration could One derive from handling such a model to say nothing about the wow factor by being linked to possessing such a model. My humble opinion..

[Captain Jim]

This discussion gets bandied about here from time to time. Looks don't necessarily make a guitar sound or play better, but life is too short to play a blah-looking instrument. Fortunately, the look of carbon fiber weave on its own is very cool. The wood veneer doesn't change the sound or feel, but plenty of us appreciate the looks.

One particular wood veneer over another? Well, that is like asking someone to pick your spouse for you. You think looks don't count? Tell that to your significant other - get back to us on how that works out for you.

Back to veneers: this one wrestled me to the ground...



Check out the curves on this model...





It is actually more subtle in person than how it photographs. (Back to the Victoria's Secret model comparison?). I've heard the same of the Artisan colors. This one makes me smile every time I pick it up.

Yeah, looks matter.

[jwellsy]

You guys are killin me

[kramster]

Originally Posted by jwellsy

You guys are killin me

That's why we be here.

Captain;

Blah looking? You really know how to hurt a guy. I'm going to have to get rid of my X10-OSN, Ruby red--so blah. I'm headed for the back room now, to lick my wounds.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Captain;

Blah looking? You really know how to hurt a guy. I'm going to have to get rid of my X10-OSN, Ruby red--so blah. I'm headed for the back room now, to lick my wounds.

Ah, Evan, I thought you knew me better than that. Your X10-OSN, Ruby Red is gorgeous! The carved slot-head is a work of art.

I like the modern styling of all the Emerald designs. By "blah," I meant all those guitars that just look like other guitars. My X7 is an Opus; black with a glossy top and Crystal Ice back and sides. It doesn't have color or a wood veneer, but I certainly wouldn't describe it as "blah." I think it is quite stylish. And, that beautiful X10 of yours certainly isn't "blah."

Rather than offend anyone, (because I am a diplomatic ray of sunshine) I won't point out any specific guitars. Like beauty, "blah" is in the eye of the beholder. Here's my test: when I leave my guitar room and turn out the light, what I see hanging on the wall makes me smile. If a guitar doesn't do that for you, it is probably "blah." I have owned a few "blah" guitars over the years... fortunately (for me), the ones I have now pass that smile test... even those old fashioned wood ones.