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  #1  
Old 09-14-2018, 12:53 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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Default I Played the "Kramster" Collection

We had a lot of fun tonight. I played a lot of guitars!!!

I Love the Emerald X30. I am a small person so while I would not purchase a guitar this large, the sound was truly amazing.

The X10 blew me away amplified. The 6 separate piezos on each string created AMAZING string separation, like nothing I have heard before. I could really see famous bands playing this guitar, it's that good!

I LOVED the Rainsong OM. A comfortable size like my shorty and it really did well unplugged or amplified. While Rainsong remains super vanilla with their design, I really liked how they amplified. He had another model there too which was bigger, but the OM sounded better. I think I might have to think about installing something in my Shorty.

The X7 and X20. They are really nice guitars. But the X10 and X30 really shined. In a big way!!!

The McPhersons are seriously well built, and unplugged did nicely. Amplified they really need help. Kramster and I both agreed this could be remedied with some EQ and such.

I can't comment on the Savoy as the strings were so beat up it really is not fair to comment.

I played Emerald guitars when they were first coming out. They have come a long way. I love the design of the soundholes, this has made a big difference for me personally and what I heard. And we all know they are beautiful aesthetically.

Oh, and I played the Journey. It's nice, and I really think quite suitable for a travel guitar and a camping guitar. I liked it!

Every Carbon Fiber guitar has such a different personality. At one point I had Kramster plug in the X10 while I held the X30. Then we would switch. We just kept mixing it up. There we no bad guitars in the bunch, just different. While one may have not been pleasing to me, others might like it just fine. We took turns standing back and listening, picking up different nuances with each guitar. A fun exercise!

We have more choices today with CF guitars than we did even five years ago. This really makes it fun to pick one out. So find a friend who owns one and play it. Yes, you may have to take the "risk" of buying direct from a manufacturer, but surely enough opinions here to help!

Enjoy the journey...
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  #2  
Old 09-14-2018, 01:45 AM
strongdad strongdad is offline
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Nice, sounds like a good time! Its great to read stuff like this because I have to rely on second hand information to make my decision. I'm really torn on which cf guitar to go for and not being able to play them makes it almost impossible. Very cool you got to play so many at once kindness!
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Old 09-14-2018, 02:45 AM
byudzai byudzai is offline
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Should I change my order to an X30 from an X20????????
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Old 09-14-2018, 04:35 AM
mountainmaster mountainmaster is offline
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So what did you think of the X10 unplugged? Do those individual saddles have any negative effect on the acoustic tone? Or was it still better than for example the X7 unplugged?
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Old 09-14-2018, 05:03 AM
kramster kramster is offline
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Yup...here she be! Jamin' away.

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YUP....
Emerald: X-20, Center hole X-10 (Maple) and X-7 (redwood), Spalted Chen Chen X 10 level 3,
CA: Early OX and Cargo
McPherson: Early Kevin Michael Proto
Some wood things by Epi, Harmony, Takamine, Good Time, PRS, Slick, Gypsy Music, keyboards, wind controllers.. etc
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Old 09-14-2018, 05:07 AM
kramster kramster is offline
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YUP....
Emerald: X-20, Center hole X-10 (Maple) and X-7 (redwood), Spalted Chen Chen X 10 level 3,
CA: Early OX and Cargo
McPherson: Early Kevin Michael Proto
Some wood things by Epi, Harmony, Takamine, Good Time, PRS, Slick, Gypsy Music, keyboards, wind controllers.. etc
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Old 09-14-2018, 05:09 AM
kramster kramster is offline
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YUP....
Emerald: X-20, Center hole X-10 (Maple) and X-7 (redwood), Spalted Chen Chen X 10 level 3,
CA: Early OX and Cargo
McPherson: Early Kevin Michael Proto
Some wood things by Epi, Harmony, Takamine, Good Time, PRS, Slick, Gypsy Music, keyboards, wind controllers.. etc
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Old 09-14-2018, 05:16 AM
kramster kramster is offline
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Guitars were plugged into a Bose T1, preset was just basic acoustic guitar with piezo. Some EQ and maybe different presets would make some difference on some that sound less ok.... new strings on many would really help as well. Kindness is a bundle of fun energy and very tuned in to this guitar stuff ...and a great person as well as you all can prolly tell...just sayin'.
So Mini Phoenix CF Guitar Fest was a success .
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YUP....
Emerald: X-20, Center hole X-10 (Maple) and X-7 (redwood), Spalted Chen Chen X 10 level 3,
CA: Early OX and Cargo
McPherson: Early Kevin Michael Proto
Some wood things by Epi, Harmony, Takamine, Good Time, PRS, Slick, Gypsy Music, keyboards, wind controllers.. etc
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  #9  
Old 09-14-2018, 06:47 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainmaster View Post
So what did you think of the X10 unplugged? Do those individual saddles have any negative effect on the acoustic tone? Or was it still better than for example the X7 unplugged?
The X30 played the best both plugged in and unplugged. If it had the 6 separate Piezos it would be unreal unplugged.

The 6 separate piezos create INCREDIBLE separation. And yes I do think it has an effect on the tone when unplugged. This is why the X30 does better unplugged.

I think the best of both worlds would be to own and X10 and an X30. This are the best of the Emerald guitars IMHO.

Oh and BTW, I am hugging the X30 in that picture...
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Phoenix Guitar Co. Custom Classical Guitar
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Last edited by Kindness; 09-14-2018 at 06:59 AM.
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Old 09-14-2018, 06:57 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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My goal with Kramster is to have a string changing fest. I want to get fresh strings on all of these guitars so I can post a really good comparison. I would like to get all fresh strings on the Emeralds. We need a string donation please!!!

If the X30 was not so big or contrarily I wasn't so small, lol, I would own that guitar right now!

The X10 I am still smiling over. I can't remember the setting Kramster had it on, but it sounded awesome. When he switched it to the "magnetic" setting on the guitar (hope this makes sense), it wasn't good. Perhaps there is a purpose for this setting that I am not aware of.

As far as small guitars which I favor, let me just say this about the X7. It has improved a lot since I played one of the first versions. But my Shorty and my Cargo still produce a better sound. The X20 is nice, but again, I want fresh string on it so I can re-evaluate it.

Kramster, let's get strings ASAP. I am all about fairness here. I want to see what we can get out of the X7 the X20. Congratulations to Emerald for really making noticeable improvements. I haven't played any of their guitars in over five years and it was cool. And as Kramster noticed, my skill as a guitar player has improved dramatically which made it even more fun!
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Pre Peavey Cargo
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Old 09-14-2018, 07:13 AM
jwellsy jwellsy is offline
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Thanks for the review(s), sounds like you had a good time.

I'm hoping to get my first Emerald (an X30) either today or tomorrow and I'm already thinking about what my next one will be. It'll either be an X10 or an X7 with Level 2 pickups.
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Old 09-14-2018, 07:13 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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Another thought. Design.

I don't know how Alistair did it, but he sculpted the X30 in such a way that it sits in the lap beautifully. OMG it felt so at home in my lap, just sayin'!

The craftmanship that goes into this guitar is just awesome. The design of the soundhole, the balance of this guitar. What you get for the price really is astounding.
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Pre Peavey Cargo
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  #13  
Old 09-14-2018, 07:22 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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The Rainsong CH-OM.

Outstanding guitar. I think what still draws me to the Rainsong guitars is that they play well both plugged in and unplugged. Yes, some of the videos I have posted of Rainsongs are not good examples. The factory strings I typically do not like.

The CH-OM has an acoustic sound, much like my Shorty. Yes, the RS guitars are quite vanilla in design. That's why I pushed them on the Abalone for the Forum Limited Edition. I am proud I had a voice in that guitar!

If you are looking for your first CF guitar at a more reasonable price, I would pull the trigger on a Rainsong. You won't be disappointed.
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  #14  
Old 09-14-2018, 07:40 AM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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Lisa, considering Kramster's "collection," it is impressive that you were able to play your way through it in one evening! Nice review and observations!
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Old 09-14-2018, 07:43 AM
Kindness Kindness is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Jim View Post
Lisa, considering Kramster's "collection," it is impressive that you were able to play your way through it in one evening! Nice review and observations!
Dear Lord I was there 4 hours!!! The Bose speaker were great so I could stand back while Kramster played. Then we would switch. It did allow for some great observations indeed!
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