My Custom X20 has arrived

[VJP5]

Put me in the 'another satisfied customer' category!!! I thought when I saw the shipping video, it surpassed my expectations. But seeing it in person really knocked me out. It is all I could ask for and have been enjoying the heck out of it since I got it the other day. I am glad I went with the narrower nut width. Although I prefer 1 3/4", the overall neck width of Emerald's are a tad too wide for me. The narrower width trims just enough off the entire neck to make it a little easier for my hands. I have not noticed any tonal differences from this vs the straight carbon top I previously owned (not that I expected one).

For those who may have questions, here are my spec's:
Pao Ferro Veneer
1 11/16" nut width
14" radius
Gold Tuners
K&K (w/o the ghost piezo)

And the eye candy (first 2 from Emerald):







Already thinking about an X7 to replace my Journey RT660....

Thanks for looking.
Vince

[David Eastwood]

What a lovely warm-looking guitar - and the gold tuners were an excellent choice.

How are you liking the sound, especially compared to what you’ve owned and played before?

[SpruceTop]

It's A Beauty, Vince--Enjoy Your X20!

[KevinH]

Very nice. I love Pau Ferro, and you found a good piece.

Emerald does leave a lot of space between the outer strings and the edge of the fretboard. I wonder if you could cut a new nut with the usual 1.50" E-e spacing to make it feel like a narrow neck with the string spacing of a 1-3/4" nut.

[RP]

Congrats. She's a beauty....

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by KevinH

Very nice. I love Pau Ferro, and you found a good piece.

Emerald does leave a lot of space between the outer strings and the edge of the fretboard. I wonder if you could cut a new nut with the usual 1.50" E-e spacing to make it feel like a narrow neck with the string spacing of a 1-3/4" nut.

*Kevin, that's my only criticism of my Emerald X20. I like the option of thumb-fretting or great-barre-fretting a chord/note. You could probably do what you want to do but I've never done it.

*That's my only criticism of Ovation nuts, too.

[dgaemc2]

Wow...That looks incredible!! Congrats

[Captain Jim]

Beautiful! Congratulations!

[VJP5]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

What a lovely warm-looking guitar - and the gold tuners were an excellent choice.

How are you liking the sound, especially compared to what you’ve owned and played before?

Thanks David. I think it's 'warm' looking also. Probably even more so in person. I am very happy with the tone. Side by side with any wood guitar, I am pretty sure you could tell the difference. Not good or bad, but just different. On its own with your eyes closed, you'd be hard pressed to not say it was a very good sounding guitar. The strings have a lot to do with it, too. I think carbon guitars are much more sensitive to string selection. These come with D'Addario's, which are typically not my favorite. But so far, I am really like them.

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

It's A Beauty, Vince--Enjoy Your X20!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by KevinH

Very nice. I love Pau Ferro, and you found a good piece.

Emerald does leave a lot of space between the outer strings and the edge of the fretboard. I wonder if you could cut a new nut with the usual 1.50" E-e spacing to make it feel like a narrow neck with the string spacing of a 1-3/4" nut.

Once you find the toggle to move the piece around and/or flip it, the choices just got to be insane. I flipped this piece and moved it down a little and am elated with the outcome. I bought a used X20 specifically to see how I would like the neck. It was the best 3 month investment I could have made. It was the deciding factor in going to a size I normally wouldn't get.

Originally Posted by RP

Congrats. She's a beauty....

Thanks.

[VJP5]

Originally Posted by dgaemc2

Wow...That looks incredible!! Congrats

Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Beautiful! Congratulations!

That means a lot coming from one of the resident experts

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

*Kevin, that's my only criticism of my Emerald X20. I like the option of thumb-fretting or great-barre-fretting a chord/note. You could probably do what you want to do but I've never done it...

I recently did that on my Journey OF660. It has a 1-3/4" nut, but they left too much (for me) room outside the strings. I bought a blank nut and was able to increase the string spacing by nearly 1/8". So it's a 1-3/4", but feels much roomier, and makes it possible for me to thumb fret the E. I might have to try that with my X20.

[Redduc]

Hi,

Absolutely beautiful!

Still loving mine!

Ian