Quiet day...

[David Eastwood]

It's been a little quiet here today, so I thought I'd add a thought or two.

1. Any new guitar tends to be inspirational, at least for a while. My X20 arrived 10 days ago. I've played more in the last 10 days than I have in the last year or more. Tunes that I thought I'd long forgotten have found their way back under my fingers. I'm not sure I've ever owned a guitar that just invites me to pick it up and play quite so much as this one.
2. My guitars have always been tools. I've never regarded them as precious. How come I keep wiping fingerprints off this one?
3. My wife loves how it sounds, and has actually commented on it more than once.
4. It's incredibly difficult to photograph - it's such a chameleon.
5. See 1.

[Captain Jim]

The last 10 days have toughened up my callouses.

[byudzai]

Thank you for the post! As a dude waiting on three Emeralds I prowl this forum a lot looking for goodness. This is perfect.

Is that red or amber?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by byudzai

Thank you for the post! As a dude waiting on three Emeralds I prowl this forum a lot looking for goodness. This is perfect.

Is that red or amber?

It’s red. Told you it was a chameleon

[raysachs]

1. I'm in a very similar position in terms of having a new X20 (also red) but a somewhat different position in ALSO having a new to me but earlier model X7. And I absolutely loved the Martin 000-15M I had before - I moved to carbon fiber more for the care and feeding aspects than the sound/playability aspects. I like the Emeralds as much as any acoustic guitars I've had previously (and I've had a couple of really nice ones) but not MORE THAN except in terms of the ease of ownership as we move into the cold weather and humidity management season, which I REALLY don't miss at all!

So I've been playing more acoustic guitar recently than I have in a long time, because I'm mostly an electric player and my acoustic playing has always come in bursts rather than constantly. But I'm actually finally making the effort to learn to fingerpick now after never really having the patience before, and I'm making real progress so it keeps me really stuck on the acoustic instruments for a while. So I'm loving it and playing a ton, but I've been playing a ton for the past couple of years, making up for lost time after 30 years of barely playing at all.

2. I have not been wiping fingerprints off! My guitars always get a little funky and I like playing them a bit more once they have. And without the condition of the wood to worry about, I'm doing less to keep these Emeralds clean and cared for than my previous wood guitars. It's a luxury of sloth that they enable!

3. My wife doesn't care. She's happy that I'm enjoying myself so much playing these days. She's probably glad I'm playing more acoustic and less electric because it's not as loud! But she's too kind to say so...

4. They are nearly impossible to photograph. My X20 is red, my X7 is Amber. I wouldn't be able to tell you which is which from a few feet away (different shape and size aside, obviously). The colors of these guitars are pretty much meaningless they're so UN-apparent. I would hope that if I'd sprung for one of the wood veneer versions that it's beauty would be much more obvious from some distance because these carbon weave finishes may as well all be black AFAICT. To me this is not a bad thing - they're still cool looking objects and I tend not to buy guitars for looks anyway, having done so in the past and then never really seeing them after the first several days - they're just guitars after all. They're for playing, not looking at. This is the only photograph that I've done where you can see the color AT ALL, and it took a lot of light and a good bit of photo-processing to pull the colors out to the point that they're even visible in the photograph. And, still, it's really subtle...

untitled-2-2-Edit by Ray, on Flickr

-Ray

[kramster]

Originally Posted by byudzai

As a dude waiting on three Emeralds

That's just plain crazy! And I can relate to the wait.

[Captain Jim]

Sloth? That might be my speed these days, but I always wipe the finger prints off the top at the end of a session. And the strings and back of the neck.

I don't like playing a skanky guitar.

[kramster]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I don't like playing a skanky guitar.

Darn skankyness.

Gee, I don't know. There may be a time and place for skank--makes for good blues.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Gee, I don't know. There may be a time and place for skank--makes for good blues.

And that's what I'm all the time trying to pull out of these contraptions, so maybe that's why I relate so well to sloth and skank and just general funkyosity...

There's an old saying that a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind - I feel the same way about guitars. To a point - I mean I want them playable and the playable-er the better. But a little skunge up around where my arm hits the heel helps me hold onto it better. And down below the strings makes for a kind of natural pickguard... These carbon fiber guys are so shiny anyway I like to let some build-up keep the shine in check...

-Ray

[kramster]

Originally Posted by raysachs

And that's what I'm all the time trying to pull out of these contraptions, so maybe that's why I relate so well to sloth and skank and just general funkyosity...

There's an old saying that a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind - I feel the same way about guitars. To a point - I mean I want them playable and the playable-er the better. But a little skunge up around where my arm hits the heel helps me hold onto it better. And down below the strings makes for a kind of natural pickguard... These carbon fiber guys are so shiny anyway I like to let some build-up keep the shine in check...

-Ray

Darn near well said!

[Captain Jim]

I think the saying is: a clean desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. A sentiment I completely agree with.

Not sure how that translates to a guitar... a clean guitar is a sign of a skanky mind?? I'm good with playing some low down dirty blues, but it will be with a guitar that has good hygiene.

I changed strings on the X10 today; with the strings off, it is easy to clean up the fretboard. When I'm done playing, I always take a few seconds to wipe down the guitar. I like fresh strings now and then, too. Just showin' my guitars some love and respect.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by raysachs

I have not been wiping fingerprints off! My guitars always get a little funky and I like playing them a bit more once they have. And without the condition of the wood to worry about, I'm doing less to keep these Emeralds clean and cared for than my previous wood guitars. It's a luxury of sloth that they enable!

To be honest, the only reason I started doing this was because I can see them every time I walk by! I usually do such cleaning at string change time, but because it sits in the light of a window, the fingerprints are obvious.

There’s also a bit (ok, a lot) of the “this is the most expensive guitar I’ve ever owned, I’d better look after it well” factor, too. I expect I’ll get over that, in time. Probably when I buy another one

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I think the saying is: a clean desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. A sentiment I completely agree with.

Not sure how that translates to a guitar... a clean guitar is a sign of a skanky mind?? I'm good with playing some low down dirty blues, but it will be with a guitar that has good hygiene.

I changed strings on the X10 today; with the strings off, it is easy to clean up the fretboard. When I'm done playing, I always take a few seconds to wipe down the guitar. I like fresh strings now and then, too. Just showin' my guitars some love and respect.

OK, I'll cop to a bit of a wipe down when I change strings. Nothing all that intensive but I'll at least wipe the dust off and some of whatever gunk may have built up. And I like good sounding strings, but I play mostly Elixrs and Martin Monels, both of which last a good long time, so I don't change them all that frequently. If it's warm and I'm sweating at all, I'll wipe the strings down periodically, but that doesn't seem to happen all that often.

-Ray

I clean my guitars when they get embarrassing. And I don't embarrass easily. If Ray is correct about desks, then I have an incredibly healthy mind--thank you Ray.