Emerald Guitar needs North American Headquarters

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

Emerald's model appears to be working for them.

Thats true.

But it doesn't work for me.

Many of the posts on this subforum, suggest that it does not work for other people as well.

1. Why should we have to rely on meeting strangers to try out a guitar
2. Every instrument is different, I and most people want to play THE actual guitar we are thinking of buying. These are not $800 instruments.
3. Its hard to service a product across a 3000 mile ocean.

Forget what's best for Emerald for a second, wouldn't you want them to have an outpost here?
Sometimes I wonder if some of the people posting here are in some way working for Emerald.

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by KarenB

AZliberty, I wouldn't buy a car without test driving it first. To each their own.

......touche......

[RP]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

...Forget what's best for Emerald for a second, wouldn't you want them to have an outpost here?

And that's a very different question to which most of us would answer a resounding "Yes."

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

Forget what's best for Emerald for a second, wouldn't you want them to have an outpost here?

It certainly would be nice. Of course, it would have to be in Minneapolis, so that I don’t have to travel to whatever far more likely place that they might choose.

Sometimes I wonder if some of the people posting here are in some way working for Emerald.

Darn. Now you know our secret. We’re all paid Emerald shills

Seriously, there’s plenty of representation for Rainsong and McPherson here, and the country’s not exactly crawling with retail outlets for either of them.

Why begrudge one brand’s current popularity over others?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

or you...

We need a materials Engineer, Money, Acoustic engineer, Money, a strong business person, Money, a test musician(s), Money, and a name.

The name is THE most important parameter. Everything will happen once we have a name.

It has to be simple yet catchy.

How about this....

"CREPUSCULAR"


The Crepuscular Guitar Company or CGC for short

...or how about "Carbon Fiber Machines"? "CFM"

Oh wait, that's already being used...

[domen]

It's true, I see, from the shipping videos, that most of the customers seems to be on american soil ... right now, but things could change, at least I think Alistair would like to expand globally, even though he can't / want to give up at the moment to a 'family' business idea which is one of the strong points of the Emerald Guitars. We all love a direct and unique contact with the manufacturer of the object we desire. We all love being able to express what we want and make it happen rather than adjusting to what we find. Which big brand allows something like this? Everything has its pros and cons. I don't think there are any differences, in this case, between the American and European markets. Even in Europe (or Asia) you can't try a new Emerald except by going to Donegal (and with the pandemic it's not really the time to travel). What do we do? do we ask Emerald to set up headquarters in every nation so that we can please? And if their headquarters is on the west coast, would we also ask them for one on the east coast? and then? maybe home assistance? This is the business model they have chosen and it seems to work. Maybe will not suite all but many seem to like it anyway a lot, otherwise Emerald would not have all these customers here and all this attention.
Of course, I agree that it is a matter of investing a lot of money (perhaps for some it is not, but for many it is an amount that is often paid, a little at a time, via bank loan). In my small way, wanting a very good acoustic guitar with many customizations, I had no doubts in choosing an Emerald (which I haven't received yet). A risk? probably, I do not hide a bit of anxiety, but it is mitigated by the hundreds positive reviews that I found. When I will take possession of my Emerald I will be able to have my say in a more complete way. I don't think it's possible to compare buying a car with buying a computer or a guitar, in any case. As I don't think it's fair to tell others how to run their business. If I am interested I buy, if I am not interested or if the time is not the right one for such a purchase, I move on.

[jklotz]

As it's been a month now since my guitar was completed and there is still no tracking info available, and with the difficulty getting email response (I know, it's covid and they are super busy expanding operations. Oh, and the time difference), I think they'd be well served with an office in the USA, where a majority of their sales are. Where basic repairs could be done, shipments could be monitored, customers questions could be answered, you could call without having to make an international call, simple parts could be stocked.

Just a thought

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by jklotz

As it's been a month now since my guitar was completed and there is still no tracking info available, and with the difficulty getting email response (I know, it's covid and they are super busy expanding operations. Oh, and the time difference), I think they'd be well served with an office in the USA, where a majority of their sales are. Where basic repairs could be done, shipments could be monitored, customers questions could be answered, you could call without having to make an international call, simple parts could be stocked.

Just a thought

I don't have a dog in this fight and i understand you do. In light of this, please take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. If I were waiting for an expensive guitar I would be equally frustrated but would like to just offer a different perspective. If Emerald had a US presence it would only make sense to also offer local experts who could do set ups and maybe have demo models. However, how many consulting shops would they need and where would the strategically place those field offices? In some cases it would as equally expensive to buy round trip airfare to this office than it would to ship a guitar there. Shipping guitars is ridiculously expensive unless you have the market volume and a contract agreement with US carriers (it's why we see "free shipping" from all the major US distributors). Even then you have to wonder if that shipping is really "free". I'm guessing at least some of that cost is passed to the buyer.

It just seems to me that in catering to a small niche internet group like us there would never be a pleasing of everyone. To me what makes most sense is paying a local luthier to set up the guitar if you don't want to do it yourself. Why keep it local? Because even shipping a guitar within the continental US will cost $100. Shipping a guitar back within the US would cost Emerald more than the value of any setup! So, who would pay for that, Emerald or you? A combination of both? In a perfect world I would love to walk into a guitar shop lined with all kinds of carbon fiber options but we are just not there yet.

As I've learned about the company and watched this evolve I think they are one of the most impressive guitar builders out there, and that is coming from a person who has yet to play one of their instruments. Keep on eye on them. I wouldn't be surprised to see Emerald expand into some level of US operations in the future. Also keep in mind that the carriers are so strapped right now with the onslaught of online ordering, logistical nightmares due to the pandemic, and even a massive shipping barge lodged in the Suez Canal!

JD;

You asked why we should have to rely on strangers to try out a guitar. It sounds like you think that's a bad thing when in fact it's been one of the charming benefits of CF guitars. This forum is loaded with stories of people meeting to share their guitars, share their music, and sometimes share a meal and/or drink. That's added value if you ask me.

[RP]

Originally Posted by EvanB

JD;

You asked why we should have to rely on strangers to try out a guitar. It sounds like you think that's a bad thing when in fact it's been one of the charming benefits of CF guitars. This forum is loaded with stories of people meeting to share their guitars, share their music, and sometimes share a meal and/or drink. That's added value if you ask me.

Maybe, and I'm just guessing here, jd meant that he thought that there should be a more formal factory-arranged manner in which to try out instruments...

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by EvanB

JD;

You asked why we should have to rely on strangers to try out a guitar. It sounds like you think that's a bad thing when in fact it's been one of the charming benefits of CF guitars. This forum is loaded with stories of people meeting to share their guitars, share their music, and sometimes share a meal and/or drink. That's added value if you ask me.

Why should someone have to join the acoustic guitar forum to test play an Emerald guitar?

I am sure that the vast majority of people who post at this forum are great people. That being said, except for a few of you who seem to know each other, most of us who post here know very little about each other.
As many of our signatures list the guitars that we own, it is apparent that many of us have thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars worth of musical instruments. That of course excludes other things that we own.

I have taught my kids not to give out their address and telephone number to people they meet and interact with on the internet.

Do you?

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

To me what makes most sense is paying a local luthier to set up the guitar if you don't want to do it yourself.

What would be helpful, is instead of Emerald support telling me to take my guitar to luthier for set up, that they have a network of luthiers, or at least luthiers that they know are reliable and who are willing to work on carbon fiber guitar's.
In looking at the list of luthiers in my area, one only works on specific brands, and others seem to be more interested in building wooden guitars. I am uncomfortable bringing my X-30 to these people as I am not sure they will significantly adjust the string height.
I suspect that what I need is to have the saddle adjusted.
Are they going to be willing to do that or are they just going to play around with the truss bar?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

What would be helpful, is instead of Emerald support telling me to take my guitar to luthier for set up, that they have a network of luthiers, or at least luthiers that the know are reliable and who are willing to work on carbon fiber guitar's.
In looking at the list of luthiers in my area, one only works on specific brands, and others seem to be more interested in building wooden guitar. I am uncomfortable bringing my X-30 to these people as I am not sure they will significantly adjust the string height.
I suspect that what I need is to have the saddle adjusted.
Are they going to be willing to do that or are they just going to play around with the truss bar?

Working on a CF guitar for basic setup is no different to any other guitar. Any competent tech should be able to handle it - and a tech whose first act is to tweak the truss rod without question is not a competent tech.

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by RP

Maybe, and I'm just guessing here, jd meant that he thought that there should be a more formal factory-arranged manner in which to try out instruments...

Yes, at the least. Trying out an actual stock instrument for buying would be better. Local "real" support would be best.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

Why should someone have to join the acoustic guitar forum to test play an Emerald guitar?

No-one has to do that. You can order a stock model from Emerald and take advantage of their generous 10-day return policy - just like countless people do from dealers here in the US for other brands all the time.

I am sure that the vast majority of people who post at this forum are great people. That being said, except for a few of you who seem to know each other, most of us who post here know very little about each other.
As many of our signatures list the guitars that we own, it is apparent that many of us have thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars worth of musical instruments. That of course excludes other things that we own.

I have taught my kids not to give out their address and telephone number to people they meet and interact with on the internet.

Do you?

Give us a little credit. I’ve met two very fine people through the forum, and shared my guitars with them. It’s pretty easy to do your due diligence and make sure you’re not meeting up with an axe murderer. There are plenty of ways to do this - and if either party to the agreement is uncomfortable with it, you simply don’t go.

You seem to be making this very complicated, if you don’t mind my saying so.