Inspired by The Music

Story of the Virtuo

On the road to our 10,000th guitar, we look back at the stories that have shaped the past, present and future of Emerald Guitars. Since its release, The Emerald Virtuo has become one of our most popular models.

Lockdown Livestreams

The inspiration for the Virtuo came to Alistair from watching the live streams of three local musicians –  Johnny Gallagher, Mark Black and Davy K – after the world went into lockdown in 2020. Unable to perform live due to restrictions, they took their shows online, entertaining us from their homes. After weeks of watching the performers having to switch between guitars to get different sounds in one set, Alistair went about finding a solution…

Because they were restricted to performing solo, full band arrangements had to be done by individuals often using live loops to build up arrangements. To get the range of sounds required, they were switching between multiple acoustic and electric guitars, and using various different pickup configurations as well.

Johnny Gallagher played his trusty Emerald X10 in his performances, which had  a particular set of pickup options. At that stage, the X10 was Emerald’s only electric-acoustic hybrid guitar, but Alistair wanted to take things further…

Imagineering the Emerald Virtuo

What if there was a set of pickups that gave the player a range of tones to replace the arsenal of guitars usually relied upon?

Alistair went about developing a guitar that would give the best in acoustic and electric tones, and importantly, the only guitar required for any stage performance.

He utilized the slimline body shape previously found on the X10 Slimline, along with the Graph Tech ghost piezo system to deliver fantastic acoustic tones when plugged in.

Fishman fluence humbuckers gave a range of electric tones; vintage and modern-sounding humbucker tones along with coil tap to emulate the snap, not  to mention the airy high-end of classic single coils – all accessible using the onboard push-pull pots.

He also chose to include the 13-pin hexpander midi output as featured on the X10 for even more added possibilities when performing and recording.

The result was the ultimate hybrid guitar with a range of exceptional tonal possibilities, designed from inception to completion to be the only guitar you’ll need for stage and studio. 

Since its release, the Virtuo has found its way into countless hands in homes, studios and stages across the world. Thank you to all the musicians who inspired the Virtuo with their fantastic performances in 2020 and beyond.