N(to me)GD Emerald Select Series 11/17 koa

[wickedwahine]

To put it mildly, I love this guitar. AGF forum member mkatz was kind enough to sell me his Emerald Select Series 11/17 koa guitar to play while I wait for my custom color x7 to be built. I have to say, it has made me question my loyalty to all of my other guitars.

For starters, it is the perfect size for me. As a 5’4” woman with small hands, my Taylor K24 dwarfs me. This is so incredibly comfortable - both body and scale size. I have played ukulele for many years, and adjusting to the large guitar size has been challenging. This cradles just perfectly for me, making it a dream to play. As for the neck and nut size, they also are a great fit. Plus, I need a travel guitar and having one in a gig bag about the size of my uke case makes this a nobrainer for me.

The offset soundhole is not a new concept for me, as one of my custom ukuleles also has this feature, but I find it definitely helps the volume for the player, given the size of the instrument. Speaking of sound, I put on some Elixir Phosphorus Bronze medium strings, my string of choice for slack key playing, and it sounds great tuned in Taropatch tuning.

Aesthetically, the koa veneer is stunning. It has a nice bit of curl to the grain, and beautiful chocolatey brown streaks. As an ukulele player, and someone with a deep love for Hawaii (my grandparents’ ashes are scattered there, as mine will be too), koa is my favorite wood in all the world. The fact that this guitar has a bit of the place I love makes it even more special to me. And the fact it is a select series makes it even more special.

I got this guitar as a stepping stone to my own custom X7, but I cannot lie, it will be very hard to let it go. I suppose if for some bizarre reason I did not like my upcoming X7, then I would keep this and sell that. (Earl49, you have first dibs on this koa one). But I doubt that I won’t like the blue one. It really comes down to the fact I have four different guitars, for four different purposes.

My Taylor is a solid koa, for steel string slack key. My Cordoba is a nylon string for non-slack music, and I like it was the Espana series. My Yamaha silent is so I can play without disturbing everyone in the house, and the Emerald will be my travel guitar. But truth be told, I have now fallen so in love with this guitar that I am giving SERIOUS thought to selling my Cordoba and ordering a nylon Emerald. I would hate to give up the Cordoba, but I think the Emerald might be worth it. Mitch, thanks so much for letting me be its foster owner before it finds its forever home.

For those that would like to see it, these are the professional photos from Emerald. https://emeraldguitars.com/product/x...v=7516fd43adaa

For those that want to hear it, this video shows it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pTZFRs0go

[Captain Jim]

Very nice. The X7 is such an intimate guitar; not in sound (great balance), but in the shape/feel of it. The koa veneer is striking. What a beauty!

I'm looking forward to hearing/reading some reviews of the new X7 - I'm thinking they will be different enough that you may need both!

This will definitely make the wait easier!

You got a good one!

[jdinco]

I sold several highly rated wood guitars once the X7 and X20 showed up, so I understand it when you start questioning other guitars. Great review, can't wait to read what you think of the new X7.

[bsman]

Boy that’s gorgeous! I have an old (2010) X7 woody that’s a bit battlescared these days from a fair amount of air travel and going to work with me every day, but I still enjoy it. It’s just a perfect, intimate little package that fits nicely on the couch, in a motel room at 2am, or plugged in to my 180 watt Loudbox.

[121]

The pre 2018 X7s are a great little guitar.
Your Koa Select Series X7 is strikingly attractive,
you should be very proud.

Of my two present Emerald guitars, I tend to play
the 2016 X7 more often than the 2016 X20.
The X20 has a fuller/richer sound,
but the X7 is more comfortable to play
because of it's shorter scale and smaller body, resulting in
much longer playing sessions.

IMHO the new 2018 X7s will be very popular too, and
I'm eager to see some NGD posts on these 2018 X7s.

[Methos1979]

Congrats! You will eventually be in a unique position to comment on the differences in tone and playability between the old-style X7 and the new. I've owned an X7 (old) and it was a great little guitar. I'm seriously considering the new X7 custom woody but I'm on the fence.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by jdinco

I sold several highly rated wood guitars once the X7 and X20 showed up, so I understand it when you start questioning other guitars. Great review, can't wait to read what you think of the new X7.

I'm in the same boat. Several of our carbon fiber guitars have seen little play time since the Emeralds showed up here. The CA Cargo went into the closet once her X7 arrived, and has not been out since.

And the wooden ones..... they seldom leave their cases anymore, even though they are all outstanding guitars. I need to get more aggressive about selling them off.