Hi Z... welcome to the dark side! I also started my CF journey years ago on a CA Cargo Raw. It was a very fine guitar... incredibly durable, easy to play, great travel guitar. Its short, 22.75" scale made the 1.75" nut width almost acceptable to me. But when Emerald said they could build me a CF with a 1 11/16" nut, I switched to the X-7. My Cargo found a wonderful home with a friend who wouldn't trade it for anything! It's rapidly becoming his go-to guitar.
The X-7 just fits my hands better, so it's a keeper. Both are excellent guitars. I found the Cargo Raw a little more of a boomy bass-heavy sound. The Emerald is better in the mid-range and trebles and has a more balanced tone. And that balance is very appealing to me.
Great choices out there... I wish you a lot of luck finding just the right one!
|