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  #16  
Old 05-30-2019, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
I ordered the Barbera active pickup with onboard tone and volume controls for the ultra-thin 7, and have been very happy with it. Alistair had recommended it and I later found that Kirt Sand uses the Barbera in the Mahogany model. If it's good enough for Mr. Sand it's good enough for me.

I've used B-Band, K&K, Shadow, and various other pickups and liked the active Barbera best. It is part of the X10-OSN thin-bodied electric now in process. It's clean and allows me a great deal of control at the guitar.
The on-board tone and volume controls of the Graphtech saddle pickup system on the X10 is pretty good. I like that each string is individually picked up. I can definitely tell the difference between the K&K's 3-transducer each between two strings setup. The volume control is so non-linear so as to be almost useless but if I dial up a pretty hot signal and then back it off a bit it does allow me some control. The tone knob is much more linear although extremely subtle.

I wasn't crazy about it at first but now that I'm used to it I'm finding that I like it a lot more and especially at louder volumes I use it quite a bit between songs of different volumes and effects levels. It's great for rolling off some of the harshness of the treble strings which already much better than a steel string guitar but this just adds another layer. With my personal setup it's more than enough.

But if I'm trying to just plug & play at an open mic it's not enough unless the person running sound knows how to deal with a fingerstyle player which is surprisingly (and annoyingly) rare. The last time was a bust. Next time I'm going to bring my little Headway EDM-1 and see how that works. Using that straight into my Bose and I can get a great tone so should be doable at an open mic, one would think.
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  #17  
Old 05-30-2019, 06:36 PM
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The each string pickup is a valuable addition. The subtlety may be a common feature of tone control--at least, it has been in my experience. However, once I got it dialed in on Barbera it became an important part of the tool.

My suspicion is that the more you play the Slim, the more you're going to like it. Somewhere along the line you might try a distortion petal with the nylon--really interesting stuff.
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  #18  
Old 05-30-2019, 07:58 PM
jwellsy jwellsy is offline
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Originally Posted by guitarwebguy View Post
You might look at tapastring, I’ve switched all my instruments to this innovative approach. https://www.tapastring.com/strapkeeper0605.htm
Do you happen to know which one fits Emerald's best, Tapastring or Tapastring two?
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  #19  
Old 05-30-2019, 08:12 PM
BT55 BT55 is offline
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Do you happen to know which one fits Emerald's best, Tapastring or Tapastring two?


You can also look at the Music Nomad Acoustic-Loks. They fit metric, standard and Taylor end pins. I tried Tapastrings on Taylor’s and they did not fit.
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  #20  
Old 05-30-2019, 08:52 PM
guitarwebguy guitarwebguy is offline
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Jelly’s - WIsh I could give you an answer but my Emerald is not yet shipped - I will post as soon as it arrives and I get a chance to fit a Tapastring to it!

BT55 - Did you have the correct one? Tapastring makes 2 different models, and one of them is specifically for Taylors
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  #21  
Old 05-30-2019, 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by guitarwebguy View Post
Jelly’s - WIsh I could give you an answer but my Emerald is not yet shipped - I will post as soon as it arrives and I get a chance to fit a Tapastring to it!

BT55 - Did you have the correct one? Tapastring makes 2 different models, and one of them is specifically for Taylors


There was only one model when I purchased mine. I contacted Tapastring about the problem and they showed no interest in it not fitting. I wrote off my purchase and decided never to do any future business with them.
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  #22  
Old 05-30-2019, 10:37 PM
Danz567 Danz567 is offline
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Originally Posted by jwellsy View Post
Do you happen to know which one fits Emerald's best, Tapastring or Tapastring two?
I’ve ordered a Tapastring and I’ll let you know when it comes as to how it works with my x20.
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  #23  
Old 05-31-2019, 05:47 AM
jwellsy jwellsy is offline
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Originally Posted by Danz567 View Post
I’ve ordered a Tapastring and I’ll let you know when it comes as to how it works with my x20.
That would be great! When they come together, would you mind also trying it on the upper bout strap button?
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  #24  
Old 05-31-2019, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Methos1979 View Post

Then there is this strap with a built-in locking mechanism which looks slick but the straps are pretty plain and ugly and I like my leather strap:

D'Addario Accessories Auto Lock Guitar Strap (50BAL00)
I ended up ordering the D'Addario locking guitar strap as it was the only option between the two that was Prime and would get here in time for tomorrow's gig. As expected the strap is very plain, just a black nylon. I will say that the strap is very well made and the nylon is heavy duty but it's also very smooth and slick (slippery) which makes the guitar slide around when you don't have 'control' of the neck or body so if your guitar is even the slightest bit top or bottom heavy it will rotate. Turns out the X10 is every so slightly top heavy - first I've noticed.

All that said, the locking mechanism works very well and as advertised, clipping on and off relatively easily and the guitar is indeed held in place firmly with no worry about it falling off. Because it's not as wide or padded as my much preferred leather straps it's not as comfortable but since the guitar is also very lightweight it's not all that uncomfortable either. I practiced with it today for a good hour and although I did notice the feel as being less comfortable it really only was noticeable when I actually thought about it. So I guess from a piece of mind standpoint (not worrying about my beautiful custom guitar hitting the pavement!) it is the lesser of two evils and I don't have to worry about attempting to cut off the bottom strap button.

Maybe D'Addario will offer these in a more attractive decorative leather strap down the road or at least with a wider and padded decorative nylon. Note that the do offer a couple designs and a plain black padded strap with these locking device tabs built in but nothing nice enough to make me want to buy it over the plain black.

Photos to follow.
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  #25  
Old 05-31-2019, 10:34 AM
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  #26  
Old 05-31-2019, 01:25 PM
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You could use the D’Addario ends, take one of your leather straps and replace the nylon part.
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  #27  
Old 06-02-2019, 06:21 AM
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Originally Posted by BT55 View Post
You could use the D’Addario ends, take one of your leather straps and replace the nylon part.
I was considering this before I received the strap but it would take a modification of the leather strap I'm not willing to do. I used the strap at yesterday's gig and it worked great. As expected, once we got rolling I complete forgot about the strap. I'll likely continue to use it (vs. attempting to cut off the bottom strap button) when I feel the need for a locking strap.

Truth be told, the only time I ever have an issue with any guitar coming off it's strap is when I've taken the guitar off my body while leaving the strap on the guitar. Then when I put it back on the bottom gets 'turned around' and that's when the guitar suddenly pops off a short time later.

When I'm playing most of my acoustics which the guitar cord plugs in through the strap that automatically holds it in place. But with the X10 the input jack is separate. So no check there. What I need to do is fully remove the strap - at least the bottom - when I remove the guitar and then put it back on and reattach.
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  #28  
Old 06-04-2019, 12:49 PM
ceciltguitar ceciltguitar is offline
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Something else to possibly consider:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=548668

And other related threads: (prolly getting to be more than most of us want to read...)

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...ight=straplock

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...ight=straplock

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...ight=straplock

Lotsa folks on this forum seem to like Schaller:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...p-locks-nickel

Tapastring seems popular:

http://www.tapastring.com/strapkeeper0605.htm

Inexpensive possible solution:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...-blocks-4-pack
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  #29  
Old 06-05-2019, 07:10 AM
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All the systems above were either considered or do not apply as I don't have a jack-type bottom strap button.

I should mention that Emerald did reply at least in part to my question. They said that they frequently install strap lock systems at the factory and that you can removed the stock bolt/nut buttons and replace with screw-in types. So that's good info but I'm still not too keen on attempting to remove that bottom button although worst case I'm sure I could cut it off with a dremel tool but getting in there without damaging the guitar might be hard. I'll likely just stay with what I have for now. I've got that new system pictured above that works when I need it.
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  #30  
Old 06-08-2019, 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by jwellsy View Post
That would be great! When they come together, would you mind also trying it on the upper bout strap button?
I got my Tapastring yesterday. It works great on the bottom jack strap button but it is too big for the top button. I really don't need one on the top button anyway as my strap fits the top button nice and tight.
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