Double neck Emerald guitar ‘has turned heads everywhere’

A professional musician and songleader has said his custom double neck acoustic guitar turns heads everywhere he plays it.

We built Chris Mason from New Jersey a Chimaera Woody double neck acoustic guitar, featuring a 6-string baritone neck and a standard 6-string neck. Chris choose to have hand-carved slotted headstocks on both necks and added a flamed maple veneer with a clear finish to bring his Emerald in line with his other collection of guitars. Five months on from receiving it, Chris sent us his thoughts on his custom Emerald.

I began my journey with Emerald Guitars on 13 October 2014, three years ago from the date of this review! I was a sophomore at William Paterson University, studying Classical Saxophone, working as a guitar player teaching children’s music classes and in worship settings on the side.

My first inquiry was originally for a baritone guitar, but over the course of almost two full years of e-mails back and forth with Alistair, and later with Sean, we would all come to my Custom Chimaera, which has turned heads everywhere I’ve taken it.

Every email interaction with the team at Emerald has been a pleasure every step of the way. Not only is it immensely different to be interacting with a personable team while working together to design an instrument that is just right for you, but it makes the wait for that instrumenting that much sweeter. My Chimaera arrived at my door on 20 May 2017.

While it took almost a full year from the date of the official order to arrive, it is worth waiting for perfection. Yes, perfection. As soon as you pull this instrument from its case, its appearance is striking. Double-neck guitars will turn heads wherever you go, but the slotted headstocks and offset sound holes are real conversation starters. Without playing a single note, people are intrigued.

Once you strum this beast, the real fun begins. The lightweight body of the Chimaera is incredibly well balanced sitting or standing, and its contours feel amazing to the player. Switching between necks is seamless and strumming either set of strings feels completely comfortable.

The Chimaera’s tone is beautifully rich on the low end and crisp and clear on the high end. The balance in tone comes as a complete shock for such a narrow-bodied instrument, but carbon fiber is a surprising material for music!

Songleader

My primary use of this instrument for the beginning of its life with me was at a summer camp as their Head Songleader. this means that I was in charge of the music at a sleep-away camp in the Berkshires for 2.5 months. While the Chimaera is a softer-spoken instrument unplugged, when plugged in for 600 people every morning, this instrument is a DREAM.

The electronics installed in this Custom Chimaera reproduce the tone and balance of this instrument flawlessly. Our sound team didn’t even touch the EQ when mixing this instrument for the first month of us working together! Only after relishing in the natural gorgeous tone of
this instrument did we begin to explore everything it’s capable of!

From being in tune on every (and I mean EVERY) fret to having an action that any player will appreciate, the Chimaera is only better the longer you have it. Its weather resistant properties, a beautiful flamed maple veneer top, and eye-catching slotted headstocks (hand-carved by Alistair himself) make this instrument a one-of-a-kind beauty in the guitar world and in the Emerald lineup!

Among the 80+ (yes, you read that right) musical instruments I own, this guitar is the top of my lineup and will be until I make my next big purchase with Emerald! You’re missing out if you’re still ‘just thinking’ of becoming a part of the Emerald family!

We are so grateful to Chris taking time out of his hectic schedule to send us his thoughts on his Chimaera 6/6 Woody double neck acoustic guitar. If you would like to see more photos and specs of Chris Mason’s Chimaera click here to check out the Emerald Custom Shop Portfolio Item. You can also give Chris a follow on Facebook @ChrisMasonSongLeader, Twitter @chrismasonmusic or Instagram: @chrismasonmusic

If this review has inspired you to inquire about a custom Emerald of your own, get in touch!