X30 - Curly Tineo veneer - It arrived!

[Warren01]

My X7 was in the last shipping video, and just before Easter break. I was curious as to why I hadn't received any shipping notice so I waited a week before contacting them. Never heard anything till early the next week, so I sent off another email. Finally received 3 emails saying it was shipped almost two weeks ago, and the next day the guitar arrived! Not checking tracking every 10 minutes was a godsend.

[boneuphtoner]

What a gorgeous instrument! Hopefully it will arrive on time for you. I second the advice to not keep checking the tracking- easier said than done - but when you are not speaking of domestic shipping, predictability goes out the window

[Frettingflyer]

That is one of the best looking Emeralds I have seen to date, congrats on that. Also curious as to your X30 impressions both when new, and after the honeymoon too.
Enjoy that and I hope it helps make some great music.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by Warren01

My X7 was in the last shipping video, and just before Easter break. I was curious as to why I hadn't received any shipping notice so I waited a week before contacting them. Never heard anything till early the next week, so I sent off another email. Finally received 3 emails saying it was shipped almost two weeks ago, and the next day the guitar arrived! Not checking tracking every 10 minutes was a godsend.

Thanks! I'm not going to bother checking tracking too often. It'll either show tomorrow, or it won't. I'm fortunate in that I have instruments to play (and sell, lol), so it will arrive when it arrives.

Originally Posted by boneuphtoner

What a gorgeous instrument! Hopefully it will arrive on time for you. I second the advice to not keep checking the tracking- easier said than done - but when you are not speaking of domestic shipping, predictability goes out the window

Thank you! Yup, I won't go crazy with tracking exactly because of that.

Originally Posted by Frettingflyer

That is one of the best looking Emeralds I have seen to date, congrats on that. Also curious as to your X30 impressions both when new, and after the honeymoon too.
Enjoy that and I hope it helps make some great music.

I appreciate that! I saw a similar look on one of the shipping videos and based it on that. I'll definitely post up a review. Thanks!!

[mikealpine]

Well, at first the tracing said it would be here on Friday, then magically changed to simply “Shipped”, with no indication of a delivery date. Not going to stress it; it won’t change anything. Maybe I’ll check it once on Monday, but it’ll get here when it gets here.

[mikealpine]

She arrived yesterday. I will do a more thorough review after I have a few days with it.

Visually, it is beautiful, at least to me. The fretboard dots are very subtle, but the side dots stand out very well. In retrospect, I might have been better off with gold dots for a greater visual effect, but I'm not unhappy.

Overall, the guitar is very comfortable to play for being such a large guitar and me at 5' 5" tall. I'm very lean, with no rib padding, and really appreciate the rib bevel. Played the guitar, seated, for two hours last night with a buddy and was never uncomfortable.

I was worried the trebles would be lost to what was reported as a very prominent bass. That isn't the case; the trebles are clear and present. In general the guitar sounds terrific.

There are two areas I am curious about with other X30 owners.

The first is that I hear a kind of metallic "ting" when playing the open B string and a little on the open high E string. It may be that the action is a tad low, and I will ask my local tech to take a look.

The second is that the low E can the thunderous in comparison to the A string, and I found that I had to be very careful or the low E dominated the sound, especially if doing some kind of a walk-down bass line ("G - F# - E" kind of thing). And if fingerpicking, I had to be careful not to catch that string with my thumbnail or it was significantly louder than the rest of the strings.

Overall, the guitar sounds terrific and it was easy to coax big sound with little effort. I'll add more details after my tech checks it out and some more time with the guitar.

[jklotz]

Awesome Mike, glad you finally got it. My X-20 is at the tech's now. I found a couple of high frets I'm having him level out. Let us know what you think after the tech takes a look at it.

[RP]

Glad to hear it, Mike. Enjoy....

[KarenB]

Beautiful guitar, Mike! I'm sure it will sound as beautiful as it looks.

[boneuphtoner]

Glad it arrived safely! Yes, the low E string notes are very powerful - but I love it - some of the cello music I’m playing, especially some of the descending lines with a strong crescendo, really take advantage of this - I typically would just lay into it like the other notes, and the low G would just thunder out - it is an awesome effect. Only Martin rosewood dreads could come close.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

There are two areas I am curious about with other X30 owners.

The first is that I hear a kind of metallic "ting" when playing the open B string and a little on the open high E string. It may be that the action is a tad low, and I will ask my local tech to take a look.

The second is that the low E can the thunderous in comparison to the A string

That would be a pretty accurate description of my X30, even though it has a custom 664 mm scale length and is tuned down to D.
The only difference is that my "ting" is more prominent on the high E (or in this case D) string and happens in all positions.

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

The first is that I hear a kind of metallic "ting" when playing the open B string and a little on the open high E string. It may be that the action is a tad low, and I will ask my local tech to take a look.

Yes, I have noticed the same thing in the "b" string It was more prominent with Elixir PB nanoweb medium 13 56. Less prominent now that I am using Elixir PB nanoweb 12 53.

I didn't notice it when I first got the guitar with the original strings. The action was low and I was fixated on a buzz in the bass strings (so it might have been there).
After changing strings, I have adjusted the action higher, and lower by using the truss bar and it did not eliminate it. I don't remember it being as prominent using D'Addario EJ-16s.
I have decided to go down in tension, and on my next string change I am going to use Elixir PB nanoweb 11 52s.

[ZebraKing]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

That would be a pretty accurate description of my X30, even though it has a custom 664 mm scale length and is tuned down to D.
The only difference is that my "ting" is more prominent on the high E (or in this case D) string and happens in all positions.

I've been wondering about talking to Emerald about getting a longer scale to accommodate my large hands, but I'd like to keep standard tuning. How was your ordering experience with the 664 scale and any other issue with having it longer than normal?

[mikealpine]

Hi everyone! Busy weekend pickup up my daughter from Towson (at least her stuff, she comes back on Wednesday), which is why I haven't responded yet.

Originally Posted by RP

Glad to hear it, Mike. Enjoy....

Thank you! I will, if I can get that tinny sound worked out. It is pronounced enough that my wife asked me about it as as I was playing some open chords. I don't think that should be a stand-out sound.

Originally Posted by KarenB

Beautiful guitar, Mike! I'm sure it will sound as beautiful as it looks.

Hi Karen, and thank you! Visually, it is one of the prettier I have. We'll see what happens with the sound, overall.

Originally Posted by boneuphtoner

Glad it arrived safely! Yes, the low E string notes are very powerful - but I love it - some of the cello music I’m playing, especially some of the descending lines with a strong crescendo, really take advantage of this - I typically would just lay into it like the other notes, and the low G would just thunder out - it is an awesome effect. Only Martin rosewood dreads could come close.

I am finding I can tame the low E, though through an amp it was really loud. I'm sure I can both calm it and use it to my advantage whenever I really want it to pop.

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

That would be a pretty accurate description of my X30, even though it has a custom 664 mm scale length and is tuned down to D.
The only difference is that my "ting" is more prominent on the high E (or in this case D) string and happens in all positions.

I'm a little concerned about that tinny sound. We'll see what my local tech says, and then I'll bounce it off Emerald.

Originally Posted by jdrnd

Yes, I have noticed the same thing in the "b" string It was more prominent with Elixir PB nanoweb medium 13 56. Less prominent now that I am using Elixir PB nanoweb 12 53.

I didn't notice it when I first got the guitar with the original strings. The action was low and I was fixated on a buzz in the bass strings (so it might have been there).
After changing strings, I have adjusted the action higher, and lower by using the truss bar and it did not eliminate it. I don't remember it being as prominent using D'Addario EJ-16s.
I have decided to go down in tension, and on my next string change I am going to use Elixir PB nanoweb 11 52s.

Thank you for this info. I was hoping to go with 13s, just because the size of the guitar almost seems to warrant it. Not sure what it ships with. Whatever the strings are, they don't feel like my usual Elixirs...I'm not sliding around the neck as easily and feel a roughness to the strings that I'm not used to from my other acoustics. Hoping my guitar tech can figure out what that "ting" is, though. As I mentioned above, when my wife easily points it out from being out in front, that's not a sound that I think should be present in a guitar of this price range. I'll update after he has had a chance to look at it. I am dropping it off on Tuesday afternoon.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by ZebraKing

I've been wondering about talking to Emerald about getting a longer scale to accommodate my large hands, but I'd like to keep standard tuning. How was your ordering experience with the 664 scale and any other issue with having it longer than normal?

I ordered long before Emerald decided to cut down on custom orders. There was some misunderstanding though.
I had actually specified 670 mm, but 664 mm turned out to be a better choice for drop D tuning. If the scale had been any longer it would have forced me to drop down even lower to get a tension I am comfortable with.