I'd love to see -- and hear -- a really traditional looking carbon fiber guitar

[JerryM]

Emerald is somewhat flexible but not really all the way, a 24.9 scale and 13/16 nut, with 2 1/4" scale is not really one they would go for, kept recommending the 24" scale to me with the 1 3/4" nut or the std.X20, well that's not what I wanted. I think they use the jigs they have and mix and match but a 24.9 would require some tooling? Anyway didn't fit the bill for me.
Traditional looking CF guitar???? OP they didn't have Carbon Fiber in 1942 and if it's traditional it's based on old standards not modern. I for one welcome the New Looks and technology that overcomes some of the negatives associated with traditional wood guitars.
No worries........
PS: Don't flame me these are just my opinions......

[mot]

A 24.9" scale on the X20 would be nearly perfect IMHO. I am OK with their standard 25.5, but I really like the 24.75 to 25 range a lot. I think 24 is a little too short though I could probably get used to it like I somehow manage with the 25.5 variety.

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

Headstock, bridge, even pickguard shapes are often used as identifiers of a brand. In fact, Martin actually trademarked their headstock shape, and Taylor trademarked their headstock, bridge, and pickguard designs. When Prince ordered his custom purple Taylor Jumbo, it was under the condition that the headstock logo was left off, as he did not want to endorse the brand. Thanks to Taylors unique headstock, bridge and pickguard, no one needed the logo to know what Prince was playing.

Oh, I get that. I'm quite familiar with branding, as a matter of fact. I wouldn't own a Taylor if it wasn't for their attention to brand and design -- as someone in the creative industry, that spoke to me when I was getting started.

While I totally respect the aesthetic choices some of these carbon fiber brands have taken with shapes and appointments and such, I still think there's an opportunity for a brand or a series within a brand to go with a very traditional look using a very contemporary medium.

It's not unlike these companies that make awesome recreations of iconic cars with modern materials like carbon fiber and fiberglass and modern engines and amenities. Obviously it's not going to be a mainstream thing, but like these small car companies, there could be success with a niche market.

I get that my idea and opinion isn't popular with current adopters and I wouldn't expect that. But I guarantee that I'm not the only person who'd be much more drawn to simplicity and tradition in a guitar made from modern materials.

Anyway, just an idea I thought I'd float a while back. And in any case I've got several wood guitars to buy between now and when someone inevitably makes something closer to what I'm suggesting...

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by JerryM

Traditional looking CF guitar???? OP they didn't have Carbon Fiber in 1942 and if it's traditional it's based on old standards not modern. I for one welcome the New Looks and technology that overcomes some of the negatives associated with traditional wood guitars.
No worries........
PS: Don't flame me these are just my opinions......

They didn't have bolt-on necks, CNC, plek machines, or any number of modern construction techniques in the 1930s/40s but that hasn't stopped some companies from making fantastic pre-war-inspired guitars with modern technology. Applying carbon fiber to these classic designs is just taking one more step. I think it will look fantastic when someone inevitably does it.

[Acousticado]

ataylor, a number of years ago, I would've agreed with you. I hope that one day a CF builder will offer what you're hoping for, but in the interim, hang out here long enough and you may just be compelled to try something completely different. That's what happened to me and although I love quality wood guitars, for a time now, I'm more enamoured with the innovations happening in the CF world.

[Captain Jim]

I get this. Guitar players tend to be traditional.

I also participate on a motorcycle forum... plenty of traditional guys there who think electronic fuel injection and water cooling are ruining the sport.

Didja hear about that new acoustic guitar innovation? Hide glue. Set your watch back 80 years.

Some of the Martin maniacs still think of Taylor as "that young upstart." Taylor? That company that makes guitars by putting a tree in a machine... and out pops a guitar, untouched by human hands!??

Of course, I am joking. I am a Taylor fan. I've done the factory tour twice, and I live a couple thousand miles away. My family still buys me Taylor stuff (t-shirts, jacket, picks, etc, etc) for gift-giving occasions. Heck, I still own 4 Taylors. I bought my first carbon fiber, a RainSong Shorty because it is SO similar in size and shape to a Taylor Grand Concert.

What would happen if a guy tried a completely non-traditional guitar that sounded as good (some might say better) as his favorite Taylor? AND, it was ergonomically more comfortable? Didn't require messing with humidity concerns? An off-set soundhole that directs a good portion of that great sound to the player?

What would happen...

[kramster]

[CFW]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

On the emeralds we used to sell, the bridges were molded as part of the body, or at least that's what it looks like. But whether the bridge is part of the top, or glued on, would have zero affect on vibration transfer, that is left to the saddle.

I know the bridge on mine was carved separately and glued on. I'm just curious where this 'integrated' idea came along.

[Kray Van Kirk]

Here's the Leviora. The back and side and top are all constructed separately and then subsequently joined, which (as far as I know??) is different than other CF makers.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Kray Van Kirk

Here's the Leviora.
...

Leviora tops look a little strange in some photos, yours included. Like light is reflecting very unevenly from the fibers. Do you have any explanation for that?

[Kray Van Kirk]

This guitar is unfinished, so there's no laquer to smooth over the carbon fiber. The sheets are directly exposed, and they are unidirectional so there's no crosshatch pattern like an Emerald.

Other than that, I am clueless!!

[ac]

Oooops. Already just answered. The unidirectional is a lovely look, I think.

Rainsong and others, maybe even Emerald, have used this for different builds.

[CFW]

Originally Posted by perttime

Leviora tops look a little strange in some photos, yours included. Like light is reflecting very unevenly from the fibers. Do you have any explanation for that?

That's the way the fibers lay in that unidirectional fabric. As opposed to a typical 'weave' where fibers are at 90 degrees to each other, and obscure that waviness.

In a spread tow carbon fabric, you can see some of the waves.

[Irishrep]

Now I am confused. I am not a luthier, but my emerald x20 has the bridge molded into the top of the guitar. Every saddle on every other acoustic guitar I own is sitting in a slot that is cut into the bridge. I think that means that the vibration is translated to the top by vibrating through the glued on bridge. In my simple mind, the resin coat of my emerald permanently bonds the bridge as the part of the top. If i am incorrect then I stand corrected. I think the whole idea is pretty cool.....ie something else i don't have to worry about. The bridge is the interface on the top that i am always inspecting on my wood guitars, as all of the tension is concentated on this small piece of wood. I watch to see if it is lifting or if it is tilting due to the top moving. In my old age- I am starting to like things that i do not have to be constantly be fiddling with to have good results. One set up and you are done. Tune it and it stays in tune. Time is a finite resource.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by Irishrep

Now I am confused. I am not a luthier, but my emerald x20 has the bridge molded into the top of the guitar. Every saddle on every other acoustic guitar I own is sitting in a slot that is cut into the bridge. I think that means that the vibration is translated to the top by vibrating through the glued on bridge. In my simple mind, the resin coat of my emerald permanently bonds the bridge as the part of the top. If i am incorrect then I stand corrected. I think the whole idea is pretty cool.....ie something else i don't have to worry about. The bridge is the interface on the top that i am always inspecting on my wood guitars, as all of the tension is concentated on this small piece of wood. I watch to see if it is lifting or if it is tilting due to the top moving. In my old age- I am starting to like things that i do not have to be constantly be fiddling with to have good results. One set up and you are done. Tune it and it stays in tune. Time is a finite resource.

You are correct...the Emerald bridge is integrated/molded into the top. Apart from the tuning machines, stainless steel frets, nut, saddle and bridge pins, Emerald guitars are one piece.