New Used Guitar Yesterday

[tbeltrans]

Yesterday, I purchased another Emerald from a local forum member, David Eastwood. This time it is his 2018 X20 6 string. So now I have TWO Emeralds and they are both the older style with the pin bridges.

[IMG][https://postimg.cc/hXYHLY7G]

[IMG][https://postimg.cc/HcwRCsvJ]

These are both (Emerald X20 and X20-7) going over to St. Paul Guitar Repair so that Michelle and Ron can do their magic on them. I do that with every guitar I get, so it isn't a negative reflection on either guitar.

Now owning both McPherson and Emerald guitars, I can safely say that these makers build very different instruments and trying to compare them is like trying to compare apples to oranges. Both are of excellent quality and have their respective advantages.

As I would always say, try before you buy if possible, is really the criteria for making a decision between them, or , being true to AGF, get both!

Considering that it can be rather difficult to encounter even a McPherson in a local shop and to buy new, you have to order factory direct with Emerald, take your best guess and hope for a decent return policy. Of course, buying local used is also a good proposition.

Tony

[KevinH]

Congratulations on the new addition. The X-20 is such a nicely designed guitar. I see it has a place of distinction, having it's own chair and all.

[Earl49]

Tony, I'll be interested in your long term report now that you have both. Once you get to know them better, please keep us posted. My X20 has been around for five years and I like it a LOT, yet I still find myself playing the Rainsong WS-1000 plenty too. As you said, every brand builds very different guitars.

But I still find myself flirting with the idea of a Sable at some point too. I recently missed out (by one day) on a local sale at a decent price. We were both bummed, as the seller had to sell via Reverb and ship it away (fees). He would have netted more if I had called a day earlier.

[mountainmaster]

Congratulations! It is a beauty.

I prefer the old style pin bridge as well. IMO a pinless bridge is a solution to a non-existent problem.

I wish Emerald would still offer a pin bridge option. I would sooner get the Ghost piezo bridge with the individually adjustable saddles than pinless.
But then again I also like the Hyvibe system which cannot be combined with the Ghost piezo. I asked Emerald about it and apparently that combination did not work out well.

[steelvibe]

Congrats on your X20 Tony. I dig the color. Is this downsizing for David or is there a replacement Emerald on the way I wonders? Hmm.....

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Congrats on your X20 Tony. I dig the color. Is this downsizing for David or is there a replacement Emerald on the way I wonders? Hmm.....

From what David said, he is interested in another Emerald. I am sure he will drop in here at some point with the details. I feel VERY fortunate to be able to buy from him since:

1. He is a genuinely nice person.
2. He is local and selling used that would otherwise have to be ordered factory direct.
3. I can continue my "try before you buy" and "buy local" policies while still being able to get two Emeralds - the two models I am most interested in.

It is interesting that over in the jazz guitar forum, folks have been lamenting the belief that in the Twin Cities, it is getting harder to find decent guitars for sale. Yet, I purchased my Gibson Citation (a rare and legendary archtp - only 85 made), Jimmy Foster handmade 7 string archtop (very highly thought of among jazz guitarists), Huss & Dalton 00 with 1 7/8" nut, Emerald X20-7, Emerald X20, McPherson Sable, and McPherson Touring, all purchased locally so none of the hassles and worries I read in these forums from those buying online and all still in my collection.

Guess I am just lucky.

Tony

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Congrats on your X20 Tony. I dig the color. Is this downsizing for David or is there a replacement Emerald on the way I wonders? Hmm.....

There is indeed a replacement on the way!

While I could not come to grips with the extra string on the X20-7, I really did come to enjoy the fan frets. As I play most of the time in open D or DADGAD, I started to think that a fan fret X20 six-string would be just perfect for me.

Luckily for me, Tony was quite happy to enable this, by purchasing both my X20-7 a few months ago, and now, as he writes above, my X20.

This morning I ordered a purple X20, with a 25"-26" fan fret layout and an Element pickup. No veneer, no inlay, no other upgrades - #dreamguitar

Now the waiting begins...

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Congratulations! It is a beauty.

I prefer the old style pin bridge as well. IMO a pinless bridge is a solution to a non-existent problem.

I wish Emerald would still offer a pin bridge option. I would sooner get the Ghost piezo bridge with the individually adjustable saddles than pinless.
But then again I also like the Hyvibe system which cannot be combined with the Ghost piezo. I asked Emerald about it and apparently that combination did not work out well.

Emerald seems to continue experimenting and changing their builds so it seems to me that you find the year(s) that appeal to you the most and then look for those. Newer may be different, but may not always be better in everybody's opinion. I am sure what they are building now is a fine instrument, but I do prefer the pin bridge that all my other guitars have.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Tony, I'll be interested in your long term report now that you have both. Once you get to know them better, please keep us posted. My X20 has been around for five years and I like it a LOT, yet I still find myself playing the Rainsong WS-1000 plenty too. As you said, every brand builds very different guitars.

But I still find myself flirting with the idea of a Sable at some point too. I recently missed out (by one day) on a local sale at a decent price. We were both bummed, as the seller had to sell via Reverb and ship it away (fees). He would have netted more if I had called a day earlier.

I am going to be very interested in what St. Paul Guitar Repair can do for my Emeralds. Before I took my Sable there, I had played David's X20 that I now own. The three things that struct me about it compared to my Sable were:

1. It felt "looser" in terms of playability.
2. The extra 1/16" string spacing at the saddle makes a very noticeable difference in playability for fingerstyle. They both have similar spacing at the nut.
3. The X20 seemed more balanced, where the Sable seems more voiced like a dreadnaught.

After bringing my Sable to St. Paul Guitar Repair, it plays noticeably easier than the X20. But the X20 has not had any set up done to it, according to David - it is as it was fresh out of the box. In my experience, every guitar I have purchased has improved with a decent set up, and I am sure the X20 will not be the exception.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by KevinH

Congratulations on the new addition. The X-20 is such a nicely designed guitar. I see it has a place of distinction, having it's own chair and all.

Yes, we must keep these guitars comfortable if we want them to stick around.

Tony

[Captain Jim]

Congrats all around, Tony and David! Nice when it works out and one sale facilitates another. Win/Win!

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Congrats all around, Tony and David! Nice when it works out and one sale facilitates another. Win/Win!

Thanks Jim. Yes, these both were win-win except that the X20-7 cost me more than that one guitar. I found that a 7 string works very well for chord melody and ended up getting the Jimmy Foster 7 string for another $3,750 (though you can find them occasionally on reverb in the $10,000- $14,000 range since Jimmy died in 2011 and so the supply is limited).

Yesterday, I paid David back that favor of introducing to me the 7 string by playing a part of an arrangement I did of a standard that clashes on a 6 string, but blends beautifully on a 7 string X20-7, proving that he simply needs a 7 string too. Sometimes, the right tool for the job has just gotta be more strings.

Tony

[jdinco]

Way to go Tony, I hope it brings oodles of pleasure to you ! Now you need to get all the different colors !

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

There is indeed a replacement on the way!

While I could not come to grips with the extra string on the X20-7, I really did come to enjoy the fan frets. As I play most of the time in open D or DADGAD, I started to think that a fan fret X20 six-string would be just perfect for me.

Luckily for me, Tony was quite happy to enable this, by purchasing both my X20-7 a few months ago, and now, as he writes above, my X20.

This morning I ordered a purple X20, with a 25"-26" fan fret layout and an Element pickup. No veneer, no inlay, no other upgrades - #dreamguitar

Now the waiting begins...

Yes, I am the great enabler...(to be sung to the tune of The Great Pretender by the Platters and the vocalist's name was Tony).

Hmmm...purple. Is that in honor of Prince? While he was alive and operating out of Paisley Park, he periodically sold off gear. I bought some from him from time to time. So I suppose since I "enabled" him as a purchaser, it makes sense that your replacement for my "enabling" purchase would be purple. How is that for a stretch (to the breaking point) of the real truth (though it is true that I bought gear from Prince, but maybe not about your color choice...).

Anyway, I appreciate both purchases very much and hope we can get together to play guitar when your purchases are done and my guitars have been suitably set up.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by jdinco

Way to go Tony, I hope it brings oodles of pleasure to you ! Now you need to get all the different colors !

Gee thanks...I never thought of that. But now that you mention it...

Tony