#16
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Earl
Our x20's arrived at around the same time, mine has a 24.9" scale length. Here are a few comments on mine. The build quality is amazing, only issue was there were 3 (4,5,6th) frets with rough edges. They must have just been missed on the final inspection. Took me a minute to finish them properly. As far as tone, I have gone through about 6 different sets of strings to find what works best for me and in my search I made an interesting discovery. How you hold the guitar has a tremendous difference in the overall balance the player hears. I alter between a traditional classical position with the guitar on my left leg (often using a foot stool) and the 'folkier' position with the guitar on the right knee, foot on the floor, and the neck level. The classical position puts the soundhole much closer to the player's ear, especially if you lean forward. This accentuates the high B and E strings, making them actually sound harsh. I tried multiple different sets of strings before I realized this. Once I realized this and now play with the guitar on my right leg and the neck level, it changed how I perceived the different sets. I had saved most of the ones I had used (or had extra sets). I went through them again and I realized the lower stings actually sound a little dull, lacking some upper harmonics. As suggested by others I found that D'Addario Nickel Bronze 11-52's sound great. So at least for today, I think I have settled on strings. Oh by the way, like you I play almost exclusively fingerstyle. I use a blue-chip thumb pick and fingers with short nails. The guitar does have an overall brighter tone. Now I just have to experiment with mic placement when recording Last edited by al_az; 12-06-2020 at 09:04 AM. |
#17
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Again, let me emphasize that I am not criticizing Emerald, just reporting my personal findings and judgments. My draft was sent before posting to clarify a few things, and Alistair was OK with what I wrote. |
#18
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I got one of the new X20s in July. The 80/20 strings it came with were too bright for me, and I replaced them with Santa Cruz low tension strings. That warmed up the sound, and the latest set on the guitar are EJ 16s. They are equally warm sounding. I primarily strum and pick, and the guitar has a nice, full base response. Mine has the 25 1/2” neck, and to my ears isn’t what I would characterize as overly bright. Similar to my RainSong, the notes are clear and resonant, in a pleasant way, and it’s very responsive to a light touch.
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1950 Martin 00-18 RainSong Concert Hybrid Orchestra Model 12 Fret Eastman E20OOSS. Strandberg Boden Original 6 Eastman T185MX G&L ASAT Classic USA Butterscotch Blonde Rickenbacher Lap Steel Voyage-Air VAD-2 Martin SW00-DB Machiche 1968 Guild F-112 Taylor 322e 12 Fret V Class |
#19
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I guess it bothers me a bit that you have to check with Emerald before posting a slightly critical review (or a concerned review anyway) of one of their guitars. What if he wasn't OK with it?
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John |
#20
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I think it’s just common courtesy. Any suggestion that he *had* to check with Emerald before posting it seems a bit silly.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#21
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RainSong ships their new guitars with 80/20s as well. Yuck!
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#22
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The latest update is with GHS White Bronze medium gauge strings. It is considerably harder to play with that much tension, but tuning down to Eb makes that easier and tames some of the brightness too. It's an adventure, but my Strings & Beyond order arrives today and I can now experiment further. I will find out what string works best - eventually. I've just never needed to do this in the past. My three go-to string choices (Elixir PB Nanoweb, EJ-16, and White Bronze) have worked well on all my other guitars. This one is an outlier. |
#23
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Those who are less familiar with Emerald customs should realize that there can be considerable communication with Alistair or those close to him during the ordering process so it's not the same as purchasing or even ordering a special order Taylor guitar. The notion of communicating dissatisfaction with Emerald would seem very appropriate...
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Fender Robert Cray Stratocaster Martin D18 Ambertone Martin 000-15sm Last edited by RP; 12-08-2020 at 11:01 AM. |
#24
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"Had to" is your words, not mine. It is certainly NOT a "common courtesy" that people do before writing something negative about a guitar. It was nice of Earl to run it past them and good that they took the time to respond with no issues. I can't really imagine Emerald doing any different no matter the issue to be honest. I don't know Earl personally, but my impression is that he is a top notch fella, so no misunderstanding there.....
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John |
#25
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"I guess it bothers me a bit that you have to check with Emerald". Earl has responded. Enough said. Carry on.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#26
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Yes, carry on.
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John |
#27
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A great detailed review!
There is a lot of variation between even two identical guitars at emerald, and constant changes going on. Stings do also have a huge impact, and might be a way of achieving the sound profile you are after. I do agree that courtesy would be to give a company opportunity to rectify issues before posting it on a public forum. But in the end it's always useful for potential customers to see the complete picture.
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Simon@Caulfield CaulfieldComposites.com / Etsy Store Custom Music Stands / Subscribe to My Newsletter |
#28
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Just a caveat that people shouldn’t go too far with trying to generalize Earl49’s detailed and honest impressions of his new custom X20 to necessarily extend to the new standard X20. They may sound quite similar and, then again, they might not. Keeping in mind the fact that the very talented Johnny Gallagher is an Emerald endorser, Johnny, on video, does describe the new X20 as “still the X20.” At that point, Alistair chimes in(I’m paraphrasing here), saying that they weren’t looking to make any drastic changes to their most successful design.
It would be interesting to hear Byudzai’s thoughts on the subject. |
#29
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