The Solace - A carbon fiber Weissenborn style guitar

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 13 Jun 2022 1:21 pm

The Solace - a carbon fiber Weissenborn style guitar made by Emerald Guitars in Ireland.......one is tuned DADF#AD and the other is tuned GBDF#AD.......both have a candy striped padouk wood veneer and Ghost piezo and K&K contact pickups.......they are some of the most beautifully sounding Weiss styles that I have played......and extremely light.......

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 13 Jun 2022 1:21 pm

Here's Justin Johnson doing it justice.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkMOjjdVVg

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 13 Jun 2022 1:28 pm

Wow. How stunning.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 14 Jun 2022 6:56 am

Beautiful! And I saw on the site you can really customize them to your taste.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Jun 2022 7:06 am

You can customize the aesthetics and pickup options that they offer but they don't veer beyond that....I was angling for 7 strings but it was a no go.....anyhow, I'm delighted with these....

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 14 Jun 2022 8:19 am

Gorgeous.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Jun 2022 9:59 am

The control wheels are located in the player's side soundhole.....it's out of the way yet convenient and the guitar retains its clean look.....these are separate volume controls for each pup....I suppose there's a difference between this arrangement and a blend feature (electronics is not my strong point)......

Gino Marozzo · Post by **Gino Marozzo** » 14 Jun 2022 1:16 pm

What string guage did you use on the one tuned to GBDF#AD? I find the Solace seems to sound more open in lower tunings. Beautiful looking guitars.

Keith Aiken · Post by **Keith Aiken** » 14 Jun 2022 3:10 pm

howard how does it sound with out any electronic gizmos turned on? did you order them without hearing one in person?

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Jun 2022 3:37 pm

Gino Marozzo wrote: I find the Solace seems to sound more open in lower tunings.

I'm glad that you mentioned that - I have thoughts on that point and you are certainly entitled to them.......

Firstly, I'm using standard Dobro string gauges 56-18 and I only have to lower the 3rd string 1/2 step and lower the 2nd string 1 step to get the D/G tuning.....I go back & forth between G and D/G......

It's interesting with regard to the lower tuning and you're right, the Solace really opens up with a low tuning......if you view Justin Johnson's video he is playing in C minor....the darker reddish Solace was the first one that I ordered and it is tuned to DADF#AD.....most Weiss style guitars and players (that I've heard) use that tuning and we are so used to it, much like the Gmaj on most Dobros....so there is that distinctive sound that is ingrained in our minds.....when I received the first Solace, I was bowled over by the sound, the appearance, and the meticulous craftsmanship & quality of this guitar.....I know that Emerald Guitars sells very few of the Solace model and wanted to hedge my bets in the event that it could be discontinued, and so I ordered a second one....there is no inkling that this is ever going to happen, but, having been on this planet for 72 years, I know what can happen......

As I'm a mostly Dobro G guy, I thought that I'd put a G tuning on the second Solace and I like b0b's D/G tuning a lot....so that's what I did.....for the three months it took to build, I played the heck out of the D tuned Solace.....when the second one arrived, of course I noticed the difference in sound, tone, & timbre and thought that it sounded a little thin, but I don't like to use the word "thin" because these guitars sound anything but thin.....the reason for my knee jerk first reaction was because a D tuned Weiss sound was ingrained in my mind and that's what it's supposed to sound like.....well, after a couple of weeks that thought never crossed my mind again, and as a matter of fact, going back to the D Solace after not having played it in a while, my initial thought was "this sounds a little muddy".....tricks that our brain play on us (or at least me).....it's kinda like the G Dobro - we know how a Dobro is supposed to sound but if we put a C6 tuning on it, well, it's chaos (according to Heath Ledger's Joker)....although Gerald Ross plays the tar out of C6 Dobro and it sounds just fine....

Speaking of preconceived sounds, I wanted a G tuning on something other than a Dobro, something that would provide a non banjo-y/dobro-y sound and so this was the perfect candidate.....as I stated, I like the D/G tuning as it gives me Gmaj, Gmaj7, Gadd9, Gmaj9, D power chord, Dmaj, D6, Bmin, Bmin7 (I'm not a theory maven so if there's an error there, I wouldn't be surprised).....that being said, I am going to experiment with a lower tuning that has the same intervals to see how it sounds.....an A/D tuning....

1. A .021
2. E .030
3. C# .036
4. A .042
5. F# .054
6. D .060

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Jun 2022 3:57 pm

Keith Aiken wrote:howard how does it sound with out any electronic gizmos turned on? did you order them without hearing one in person?

With any guitar that I have, I initially play clean because IMO that's the litmus test...both acoustically and plugged in clean, I love how these guitars sound.....deep, full, resonant, good string separation.....full deep low end, nicely balanced midrange, and a pleasant treble without any tin even with my G tuning....a little bit of a different sound than wooden Weiss styles....I'm a huge fan of carbon fiber.....

The Emerald website has several performance videos of the Solace as well as Justin Johnson.....the Emerald videos are mostly played clean - maybe a little reverb.....Justin has this thing tricked out with a Cm tuning and various effects (no dirt, grunge, or metal) and it shows what can be done with it both in playing and getting the sound that is wanted......so that's how I made my decision.....

BTW......I'm in Asheville (mostly).....

Gino Marozzo · Post by **Gino Marozzo** » 14 Jun 2022 6:13 pm

I am in agreement with your description of the sound of the Solace. My reason for ordering one was that I was wanting a sound, in your apt description less banjo-y/dobro-y. I leave mine in GBDGBD or EBDGBD.

It sounds different from my wooden body weissenborns but each type have there on merits.

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