Newbie to the CF Guitar world and wonder...

[KenG]

...if any of ou out could give me an opinion and comparison experience of Emerald X20 to a Taylor guitar.
A short explanation is perhaps in place. My present go to guitar is a Taylor 814ce 2014 model. I live in northern Sweden where the weather is dry to say the least during the winter.
I travel a lot in work and sail a lot in the summer.
I decided and got a certain acceptance from the wife to get a new guitar that is more tolerant regarding temperature and humidity.
I've ordered an Emerald X20 woody with a tear drop mahogany venneeer and am looking forward to it.
To the question if anybody should have the time to answer.
How would you compare Emeralds neck and playability and general sound/tone to Taylors. Since all Taylors have the same neck don't worry if it isn't a 814 and if it's some other model.
All answers much appreciated.

[Acousticado]

Hi Ken and welcome to the AGF. I own an '02 Taylor 814c (with L.R. Baggs Anthem). I also own an Emerald Chimaera 6/12 doubleneck. I won't comment on the tone comparison because there are others here who can likely give you a better direct X20 to 814ce comparison, but regarding the necks, if you like Taylor necks (as I do), the Emerald necks are pretty close in profile. You'll have no trouble adjusting between the two guitars.

[Kerbie]

Welcome Ken. Wish I could help you, but I haven't played an Emerald although they do interest me. I'm a fan of carbon fiber... I have a Cargo Raw which has filled a valuable niche for me. Hope you find what you need here and I hope you'll hang out with us on the AGF!

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Hi Ken, and welcome to the forum.

Had you asked which carbon fiber guitar is closest to your 814ce, I would have told you the Rainsong WS models are the most obvious choice. For someone looking for an all weather 814ce, the Rainsong CO-WS1000N2 as good as it gets. The tone, although not exactly the same, is as close as you will get to the 814ce from a carbon fiber guitar, the body is about the same size and shape as the Taylor GA, and although the neck is a bit fuller, transitioning between the two takes little effort.

Since you already ordered the X20, the above is moot, but although the X20 is lighter overall, with a different shape and feel, I don't think it will be any trouble to go back and forth between the two guitars. And while the X20 is quite different tonally from your 814ce, you might find that to be a good thing.

Congrats on the new X20, and when you get to a/b it with your 814ce, please be sure to post a review.

[ac]

As to comparing necks, I think the Emerald necks might not be identical to Taylor, but not that much different.

The Rainsongs, have the thickest necks of all the CF guitar on the market, AFAIK.

Really, it's what you are personally comfortable with. I thought hand size might be a factor, but I recall some have written that they have very small hands and still like the larger size of the Rainsong necks.

There's no way to predict what is comfortable or not for each person, or more easy to play or not.
I have smaller size hands and can say that my Emerald is comfortable for me.

I've played Rainsong, but not for any real length of time so I don't really know if after playing an hour or two, it would have been a problem for me or not. They are nice guitars for sure, but I personally prefer the Emerald neck.

[Finger Stylish]

A fuller neck shouldn't be a deterrent. For me, the thin neck requires the lowest action on the string neck set up because on chords that require good hand strength, the thumb / hand has already been compressed past the point of the most clamping strength with the thinner necks.
The N2 neck is a bit beefier, but I notice the challenging chords that require the most clamping strength are easier on my Rainsong. I can play longer sets with my Rainsong than my Taylor.
As Ted scripted, "transitioning between the two takes little effort." I would put it more like this,
It takes conditioning at first, but fear not, it is worth the little effort.

I've owned three Emeralds, including the X20. I've found that Emerald Acoustic guitars come very close to the ease of play and quickness found in electric guitars.

I also have a Rainsong Parlor which has a much fatter neck than the Emeralds. It turns out that I like both necks and my guess is that a player adapts to the neck he or she plays.

[KenG]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

Hi Ken and welcome to the AGF. I own an '02 Taylor 814c (with L.R. Baggs Anthem). I also own an Emerald Chimaera 6/12 doubleneck. I won't comment on the tone comparison because there are others here who can likely give you a better direct X20 to 814ce comparison, but regarding the necks, if you like Taylor necks (as I do), the Emerald necks are pretty close in profile. You'll have no trouble adjusting between the two guitars.

Thanx nice to hear about the neck similarities.

[KenG]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

Hi Ken, and welcome to the forum.

Had you asked which carbon fiber guitar is closest to your 814ce, I would have told you the Rainsong WS models are the most obvious choice. For someone looking for an all weather 814ce, the Rainsong CO-WS1000N2 as good as it gets. The tone, although not exactly the same, is as close as you will get to the 814ce from a carbon fiber guitar, the body is about the same size and shape as the Taylor GA, and although the neck is a bit fuller, transitioning between the two takes little effort.

Since you already ordered the X20, the above is moot, but although the X20 is lighter overall, with a different shape and feel, I don't think it will be any trouble to go back and forth between the two guitars. And while the X20 is quite different tonally from your 814ce, you might find that to be a good thing.

Congrats on the new X20, and when you get to a/b it with your 814ce, please be sure to post a review.

Thanks for the input, I will post when I can get to play them back to back

[KenG]

Originally Posted by ac

As to comparing necks, I think the Emerald necks might not be identical to Taylor, but not that much different.

The Rainsongs, have the thickest necks of all the CF guitar on the market, AFAIK.

Really, it's what you are personally comfortable with. I thought hand size might be a factor, but I recall some have written that they have very small hands and still like the larger size of the Rainsong necks.

There's no way to predict what is comfortable or not for each person, or more easy to play or not.
I have smaller size hands and can say that my Emerald is comfortable for me.

I've played Rainsong, but not for any real length of time so I don't really know if after playing an hour or two, it would have been a problem for me or not. They are nice guitars for sure, but I personally prefer the Emerald neck.

Thanks, I agree that one can adapt to different necks and guitars. I hardly play my Breedlove these days since I find the Taylor wider neck 1 3/4 vs 1 11/16 is my choice.