Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 For some particular reason I've always had GAS for a doubleneck guitar. Being mainly an acoustic player an electric doubleneck would be impractical, and acoustic doublenecks have to be so overbuilt to withstand string pressure that their tone is lackluster at best. I've always thought a carbon fiber doubleneck would be the perfect answer to this, with the carbon fiber being able to strike a better balance of strength and tonal quality. However, whenever I shared that idea most people were . I also thought myself it would be too much of a niche instrument to ever be made. I was wrong . As far as I know they aren't in general production yet, but I won't be able to afford one for a very long time anyways. I'm GASing so hard right now.Here is a photobucket link I stole from someone at TGP:http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u...view=slideshowI looks like it's not too wide a body to be too uncomfortable, and what little I've heard it's not particularly heavy either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 I've heard you wanting a double neck guitar for a long time. I thought I remembered that you had finally got one. Double your maintenance headaches. Damn! That is a gorgeous guitar tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by FretFiend. I've heard you wanting a double neck guitar for a long time. I thought I remembered that you had finally got one.Double your maintenance headaches.Damn! That is a gorgeous guitar tho. I'd get a strong GAS attack for one periodically and each time I'd make a thread asking about different models, but never pulled the trigger on any. They all had tendencies towards different problems as a result of the string pull, and they all cost too much for what the quality of tone was likely to be. I'm surprised anyone remembered me pining for one.I'm just excited about a carbon fiber one because it addresses the build issues and will almost certainly sound better than any of its wooden counterparts. And there is the immunity to humidity changes and high resistance to temperature changes. Of course I don't need a doubleneck guitar, but how often do we actually need the things we desire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Interesting. Have you ever considered picking up a harp guitar though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by kwakatak Interesting. Have you ever considered picking up a harp guitar though? I'm afraid to even consider one, for how much they cost. But that Emerald isn't going to be cheap either. I just need a lot more money lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 That Emerald is probably the way to go...start saving your $$$! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Impractical on so many levels. Sound suffers. Costs more. Takes up more space. More finicky action. Harder to transport. Case must be custom. Heavier and more cumbersome to play. Higher depreciation. Difficult to sell if you tire of it. Advantages? Looks cool playing live. If there's ever an acoustic musical piece that requires you to shift on the fly from 12 string to six string, you're covered I guess. You might like it if you deal with alternate tunings a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 I agree. I see the impact as more of a "stage" instrument where the impact is visual and the practicality only being that you don't have to swap guitars within the same song. I suppose that with a decent pickup all other considerations are moot if it were to be used along with an amplified ensemble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by guitarcapo Impractical on so many levels. Sound suffers. Costs more. Takes up more space. More finicky action. Harder to transport. Case must be custom. Heavier and more cumbersome to play. Higher depreciation. Difficult to sell if you tire of it. Advantages? Looks cool playing live. If there's ever an acoustic musical piece that requires you to shift on the fly from 12 string to six string, you're covered I guess. You might like it if you deal with alternate tunings a lot. Hard to say how much sound suffers, as I doubt any of us here have enough experience with carbon fiber instruments to be able to say how much more bracing and/or how much thicker the top would be to withstand the extra pull from the strings. However, one additional tonal concern is how much one may like/dislike the sound of carbon fiber versus wood.I don't see how the action could be more finicky as most changes in action on acoustic instruments are a result of temperature and/or humidity changes. With carbon fiber those concerns are pretty much non-existant.Being heavier and more cumbersome to play has always been a problem for doubleneck instruments. However, this one's size and shape look like a step in the direction of making it more comfortable to play.I know doublenecks are niche instruments, and aren't for everyone. As with anything else in life, there are drawbacks and compromises that must be made for what you gain. Another thing some people seem to forget is that though an instrument may be impractical or the wrong instrument for them, that doesn't mean it's true for everyone else.I'm personally interested in a doubleneck acoustic mainly for the compositional possibilities it could open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by DarkHorseJ27 Hard to say how much sound suffers, as I doubt any of us here have enough experience with carbon fiber instruments to be able to say how much more bracing and/or how much thicker the top would be to withstand the extra pull from the strings. However, one additional tonal concern is how much one may like/dislike the sound of carbon fiber versus wood.I don't see how the action could be more finicky as most changes in action on acoustic instruments are a result of temperature and/or humidity changes. With carbon fiber those concerns are pretty much non-existant.Being heavier and more cumbersome to play has always been a problem for doubleneck instruments. However, this one's size and shape look like a step in the direction of making it more comfortable to play.I know doublenecks are niche instruments, and aren't for everyone. As with anything else in life, there are drawbacks and compromises that must be made for what you gain. Another thing some people seem to forget is that though an instrument may be impractical or the wrong instrument for them, that doesn't mean it's true for everyone else.I'm personally interested in a doubleneck acoustic mainly for the compositional possibilities it could open up. Basically the sound suffers because the soundboard is larger (space issues) and heavier braced. The extra string tension holds the top in place more firmly too. Action is more finicky because a larger top will move more in response to humidity. And again it's under more tension so inevitable neck resets might come on sooner. 12 Strings alone seem more prone to this than 6 strings. Imagine a 12 AND 6 string combined over a 6 or 12 separate.One nice bonus...I would imagine there are a lot of used ones out there to be had for cheap after the depreciation hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by guitarcapo Basically the sound suffers because the soundboard is larger (space issues) and heavier braced. The extra string tension holds the top in place more firmly too. Action is more finicky because a larger top will move more in response to humidity. And again it's under more tension so inevitable neck resets might come on sooner. 12 Strings alone seem more prone to this than 6 strings. Imagine a 12 AND 6 string combined over a 6 or 12 separate.One nice bonus...I would imagine there are a lot of used ones out there to be had for cheap after the depreciation hit. Carbon fiber is immune to humidity changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 I have an Emerald X7. Alistair is a great guy and I'm sure you'll be really happy. Give him a shout and he can make it happen... I've been wanting a baritone Emerald for two years, but can't come up with the cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 The only two acoustic 6-12 double-necks I've ever played for more than a few minutes were the Ovation shallow-bowl and the Alvarez Yairi...both sounded good plugged-in, but the A-Y sounded pretty good unplugged, as well. Also, the Ovation was extremely neck heavy, even when on a strap and played sitting down. The A-Y wasn't as bad, as I recall.I'd be very interested in playing the Emerald Chimera, if one ever turned up at a guitar show. Carbon fiber guitars intrigue me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steve Kitchen Posted December 10, 2012 Members Share Posted December 10, 2012 Just saw this thread, I own the Emerald Doubleneck you are looking at. Just a word that this guitar really is amazing. Many of your concerns are not really an issue with this guitar. I hardly ever tune the 12 it is so stable, it is lighter than most of my wood guitars. It really is the first practical Doubleneck acoustic voice is so nice. I did my first UTube using the new Blue Spark Digital mic acoustically into my Ipad. Hope this helps. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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