#1
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Looking for Emerald vibrant vs standard weave comparisons
Today I learned from Simon@Caulfield that "vibrant weave" is not really carbon fiber. I found that it is actually texalium, "a fiberglass-based fabric that has a proprietary finish and a thin coating of aluminum on the surface".
This immediately makes me wonder if a vibrant weave Emerald guitar sounds different than a regular CF of the same model. I know that the former hybrid series from Rainsong had some fiberglass mixed with the CF in order to create a less bright guitar. My Rainsong Smokey is a good example of this. Does this mean Emerald vibrant weave guitars could have a warmer tone? Can anyone who owns two Emeralds of the same model with a vibrant and standard weave maybe do a comparison?
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Emerald X30 Emerald X20 Nylon Emerald X7 Nylon Rainsong Smokey SMH Outdoor Guitalele Taylor 522e 12-fret ✝ Gitane DG-560 nylon ✝ Alhambra 3C CW Eastman AR910CE Recording King RM-991 tricone resonator Recording King RK-G25 6-string banjo Thomann Irish Bouzouki M1089 |
#2
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I had the same question on that last thread. Maybe emerald uses two layers? Wonder if they'll chime in on this.
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#3
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Quote:
https://compositeenvisions.com/produ...-high-density/ My Amicus is made of something like this, with a blue metallic weave- Emerald had it as an option in a few different colours for a while. Unless we hear from Emerald, of course, we won’t know what they actually use for ‘vibrant weave’ - but I’d think (hope?) it unlikely that they’d use fiberglass for the top of a guitar and still call it carbon fibre.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#4
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https://compositeenvisions.com/produ...7-23oz-245gsm/ Which is also true carbon fiber. I think this is what Emerald uses. Alistair mentioned that the base color is somewhat yellow-ish which is why they do not offer plain silver without a coating. That seems to be in line with the shade as produced here by the titanium coloring. Sorry folks, false alarm. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.
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Emerald X30 Emerald X20 Nylon Emerald X7 Nylon Rainsong Smokey SMH Outdoor Guitalele Taylor 522e 12-fret ✝ Gitane DG-560 nylon ✝ Alhambra 3C CW Eastman AR910CE Recording King RM-991 tricone resonator Recording King RK-G25 6-string banjo Thomann Irish Bouzouki M1089 |
#5
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1. Trade journal article about coloured carbon fibre:
https://www.compositesworld.com/amp/...d-carbon-fiber 2. The Alistair Hay intro video said carbon fibre with colour threads. 3. The RainSong CH series used a layer of fibreglass on sides and back, not the soundboard. Cheers.
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2018 RainSong H-DR1000N2/T copper burst - carbon fibre 2016 CA Cargo black - carbon fibre 2016 Fender Telecaster thinline 2014 Fender Concert Pro (New Hartford) - red spruce, mahogany |
#6
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Quote:
Hypetex seems to be the company that managed to produce true colored carbon fiber, including the silver "color".
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Emerald X30 Emerald X20 Nylon Emerald X7 Nylon Rainsong Smokey SMH Outdoor Guitalele Taylor 522e 12-fret ✝ Gitane DG-560 nylon ✝ Alhambra 3C CW Eastman AR910CE Recording King RM-991 tricone resonator Recording King RK-G25 6-string banjo Thomann Irish Bouzouki M1089 |
#7
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My understanding is that the only difference between the vibrant weave and the regular weave is a silver coating on the fibers.
When the instrument is painted with the transparent color the silver shows through which reflects much more light, and "vibrant" color is the result. I highly doubt there is any tone difference, as Emeralds are not completely regular carbon fiber anyway. My RainSong is pure carbon fiber, but the Emerald is not. |
#8
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As luck would have it, Emerald has just posted a video showcasing the vibrant weave. Here's the description from Facebook:
"This week's pick of the week consists of our vibrant weave offerings in the Emerald guitars lineup. The vibrant weave uses our durable and resistant carbon fiber that is then coated with silver material, later to be laced with our signature colourings that make Emerald Guitars stand out amongst the crowd." The Youtube link for the video that was sent out in email is not working right now, so I won't share it here.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#9
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Quote:
EDIT: to answer my own question, here’s the answer from Emerald’s FAQs: What are Emerald Guitars made from? Emerald Guitars are produced predominantly using various types of high grade carbon fibre bonded together in a matrix of epoxy resin but we also use other structural core materials sandwiched between the carbon layers to create a very lightweight and rigid structure. The great thing about composite guitar construction is that we have a broad pallet of materials which we can use in various different quantities and layers in the guitar to create many very different tonal properties yet once we create a desired layup for a guitar we can then easily repeat it to give great consistency from guitar to guitar. I assume that the ‘other structural core materials’ are not specified for proprietary reasons.
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo Last edited by David Eastwood; 09-05-2022 at 02:53 PM. |
#10
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No, it's not proprietary. It's pretty neat actually. |
#11
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Care to enlighten us?
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#12
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I received the Emerald email newsletter today and apparently Alistair's pick of the week this monday is all about vibrant weave. Unfortunately the video in the link was set to private.
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Emerald X30 Emerald X20 Nylon Emerald X7 Nylon Rainsong Smokey SMH Outdoor Guitalele Taylor 522e 12-fret ✝ Gitane DG-560 nylon ✝ Alhambra 3C CW Eastman AR910CE Recording King RM-991 tricone resonator Recording King RK-G25 6-string banjo Thomann Irish Bouzouki M1089 |
#13
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Well, when I did my install on my StagePro, I had to cut a large hole.
I was astonished at how thick the sides of my X30 were. It is a carbon outer layer, with an inner core, then another carbon layer. You can clearly see how much thicker the X30 is than my RainSong, which is ONLY carbon. I did grind away the outer layer of carbon on the piece when I was done, and it was a honeycomb interior core. I don't know the manufacturer, but probably something like this. https://compositeenvisions.com/produ...core-material/ So basically, on a vibrant weave, the inner layer will be carbon. The core will be the (assumed) Nomex core, then the outer layer will be the silver covered carbon layer. So, I would anticipate zero tone change from such a miniscule change on an essentially cosmetic layer. The materials on the X30 also explain why it's so heavy. That's a lot of extra resin and material. Also explains the tone difference from the X30 to the RainSong. The RainSong has MUCH more flexibility. |
#14
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Quote:
Thanks for the reminder!
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Martin 0-16NY Emerald Amicus Emerald X20 Cordoba Stage Some of my tunes: https://youtube.com/user/eatswodo |
#15
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EASY to forget! Never bad to post it again in a relevant thread though.
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