Thinking about a Taylor or other High-End Acoustic

  • Thread starter Thread starter azraelswings
  • Start date Start date
Freddy said:
Agree, it is a matter of personal taste.

Out of curiosity, though, why the dislike of cedar? I keep gravitating towards them.
Click to expand...
Exactly, Knocks them then doesn't say why. I suspect he has no idea really. Cedar as a tone wood has rich and unique history and can produce a very fine instrument. It is what it is. There are many more variations in species and types of spruce used in instrument making so I'd be interested in his thoughts on that .
 
Glad to hear you're going to show yourself a little guitar love after your duty...you deserve it!

I play a Taylor 414. Taylor makes some great sounding acoustic guitars(probably some not-so-great ones too, haven't played them all), which is why I bought it. I probably would've gone for a fancier accessorized model like the 900 if I wanted to spend the money at the time I bought it in 2001. The different types of woods they use in the different models sound different tonally, so sit down with them and compare. Before I bought, I compared Taylor, Guild, Gibson, Breedlove, and Martin, just to get an idea, as well as some less expensive brands like Takamine and Fender. The Taylors project well and have a great tone.

The other two guitars I would like to have are a Gibson J-200 and a Martin D-28. I played a D28 a couple of weekends ago just doodling, and man what a TIGHT sound the guitar has. Absolutely beautiful. Much different than a Taylor or Gibson. Not necessarily better, just different....tight and clear.

Anyway, have fun shopping!!
 
Freddy said:
Agree, it is a matter of personal taste.

Out of curiosity, though, why the dislike of cedar? I keep gravitating towards them.
Click to expand...

Cedar tops lack what I call the "bip" factor. Too subdued for my tastes as a player and an engineer. Note that I'm talking steel-strings. Cedar tops on classical and flamenco guitars are totally different animals and are very much to my liking.
 
RRuskin said:
Cedar tops lack what I call the "bip" factor. Too subdued for my tastes as a player and an engineer. Note that I'm talking steel-strings. Cedar tops on classical and flamenco guitars are totally different animals and are very much to my liking.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I'm half way to thinking my next purchase may be a classical guitar (I haven't owned one for years).

If I don't get one of those I will maybe see if I can find a spruce-top that will give me some "bip" :)
 
Hey All,

Thanks again for all the insight. I'm bumping the thread because a shopping experience last week threw some curve balls at me:

I went to a store, asked if they had Taylors. Response, "All we have are used, we stop dealing them because we were having so many problems with them." Salesman mentioned cracks topping, happened to him personally. This is the first time I've heard this kind of criticism about Taylors. Tons of people hate the sound, but I've never heard a slight on their craftsmanship. Comments?

While there, I played a walnut back & sides Larivee. Thing sounded sweet. Didn't have a pickup. I'm more comfortable buying a guitar with factory installed electronics. I'm all sorts of interested in the 814ce LTD now. Having trouble finding them to play though.
 
azraelswings said:
While there, I played a walnut back & sides Larivee. Thing sounded sweet. Didn't have a pickup. I'm more comfortable buying a guitar with factory installed electronics. I'm all sorts of interested in the 814ce LTD now. Having trouble finding them to play though.
Click to expand...

I fell in love with a Larivee, but didn't get a model no. Beautiful tone & balance. I don't remember if it had built-in electronics, but it might have. I'd also rather buy a guitar with factory electronics, assuming they were decent.
 
azraelswings said:
Hey All,

Thanks again for all the insight. I'm bumping the thread because a shopping experience last week threw some curve balls at me:

I went to a store, asked if they had Taylors. Response, "All we have are used, we stop dealing them because we were having so many problems with them." Salesman mentioned cracks topping, happened to him personally. This is the first time I've heard this kind of criticism about Taylors. Tons of people hate the sound, but I've never heard a slight on their craftsmanship. Comments?
Click to expand...
I've been authorized for Taylors for a while now and have seen very few cracked tops. Those I have have been down to abuse rather than material or workmanship. They are well built and engineered rather than craftsmanship. Some love the tone others hate it. I won't comment because it is subjective to a large degree. I have some isues with the way they approach the construction of the guitar and their marketing but that dosen't make them unreliable in the way the salesman describes.

I've seen a few nice larivee guitars, but I don't get to see too many of them. The ones I have seen are nice if a little over priced here in the UK.
 
As with any solid top guitar they are way sensitive to humidity, even more so for the first few years. So the brand new guitar at a store is the most vulnerable. Especially after being shipped in a cold UPS truck in bone-dry winter climates, then recieved into a nice toasty warm (and probably even drier) music store where the anxious employees open the case to the cool new axe immediately to get the first licks on a fine piece of worksmanship... That kind of thermal shock on a dry guitar is a recipe for disaster, and the information to prevent it is not as well distributed as one would hope. :eek:

That said, I worked in a store circa 2000, and had two Taylors that ended up with cracked tops. The factory took them back and sent the store new ones, but yes I've had it happen. But it's not limited to Taylor, they all have issues at one time or another.

Taylors are fine, well built guitars that sound nice and have a mass marketability to them. There are worse deals in the music business for sure. But if you've got the money to throw down on something, best I've come across is Santa Cruz. Absolutely top notch in every way, mind blowing details, etc... I've never come across a better acoustic than my H13. And I've seen and played probably in the thousands. There are other really fine boutique acoustics, all very nice. Santa Cruz as a line, and the h13 as the pinnacle model, just fit me the best of the bunch. God bless America for all the options!

The Larivee's are nice, too. I'll definately give them a thumbs up. But they are also a "big shop" style guitar. For a truly exceptional piece, I'd stick with the small boutique acoustic shops.
 
Chances are that you were handed the "company line" as to why no Taylors. They probably lost or gave up the franchise for economic reasons.
 
Last edited:
azraelswings said:
I went to a store, asked if they had Taylors. Response, "All we have are used, we stop dealing them because we were having so many problems with them." Salesman mentioned cracks topping, happened to him personally. This is the first time I've heard this kind of criticism about Taylors. Tons of people hate the sound, but I've never heard a slight on their craftsmanship. Comments?
Click to expand...



Not at all in line with my experience. I've seen a lot of problems with their ES system electronics (LOTS of problems), but that's about it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
If I hear that I'm hearing "We don't take care of any of our guitars, we just hang them on the wall and sell them."
 
I love the sound of my Taylor 414CE. I tried higher end Taylors when I was buying mine and I thought the one I chose was the best sounding to my ears. Really, it's going to vary even same model vs another.

Larrivee, as mentioned, is also a great guitar.

I don't really care for newer Martins all that much. My cousin has a REALLY old Gibson acoustic and it sounds FANTASTIC. Best acoustic I have ever heard. Very old, though. I never bothered to check what model it is. He has it with him in Nashville, though.
 
Light said:
Not at all in line with my experience. I've seen a lot of problems with their ES system electronics (LOTS of problems), but that's about it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...
Yep, I refuse to work on their onboards these days, I pass therm on to another guy I know and he sends me the stuff that needs fine cabinet skills. I've heard they are getting better but for a long time three out of four Taylors were for fixing the onboard faults. Most of the other factory faults were to do with the neck joint and finish problems. Not many split tops, they are are wayyy too heavy and over braced for that. Not a criticism just an observation.
 
I think Light once made the point that Taylors are pretty great in a band setting - they have a brighter sound that's favourable in a mix - but that you can't beat a martin for solo playing. Having compared my D 15 to a friends decent Taylor (not sure of the model, cost $1500+) I'd be inclined to agree. I see Martins as the coca cola of the guitar world; absolute perfection. Whereas Taylors are definetely Pepsi - just a bit too sweet.
 
TelePaul said:
I think Light once made the point that Taylors are pretty great in a band setting - they have a brighter sound that's favourable in a mix - but that you can't beat a martin for solo playing. Having compared my D 15 to a friends decent Taylor (not sure of the model, cost $1500+) I'd be inclined to agree. I see Martins as the coca cola of the guitar world; absolute perfection. Whereas Taylors are definetely Pepsi - just a bit too sweet.
Click to expand...

Well there you go I'm a Pepsi man and prefer Martin... I'm confused now mate.:confused:

Bottom line, it's what works for you. There is no best or worst only a tool that will deliver what you want consistently and last a decent number of years.
 
muttley600 said:
Yep, I refuse to work on their onboards these days, I pass therm on to another guy I know and he sends me the stuff that needs fine cabinet skills. I've heard they are getting better but for a long time three out of four Taylors were for fixing the onboard faults. Most of the other factory faults were to do with the neck joint and finish problems. Not many split tops, they are are wayyy too heavy and over braced for that. Not a criticism just an observation.
Click to expand...



Shit man, we make a shit ton of money fixing those things. They SAY they are getting better, but I haven't noticed it yet. They send us parts by the case load, knowing that we are going to be replacing so many of them. Seriously, though, the person in the shop who does them is probably making a good 5% of their income off of those things these days. 5% doesn't seem like much, but compared to the number of guitars out there, it's pretty seriously over represented. They have made some changes which will hopefully be for the better (they have switched to a 9 volt battery, and a few other little changes). We'll see.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I think Taylors record beautifully. It's like they're already hyped in the areas that we tend to hype guitars with EQ, and they've already got most of the 315Hz stuff taken out of them as well. That's why (in my opinion) a lot of home recordings that use Taylors sound pretty fantastic. They just don't "wow" me when I'm playing on the patio. And when you hear a beautiful acoustic guitar on a recording, it's usually a Martin being played in Nashville. Like this guy...just listen to the panned acoustic on "Rusting Soul." http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=18748684 That ain't a Taylor.



My preference is to have the full spectrum in the low end...I'll take out what I don't need, and not a smidge more. Martin HD-28 VR; Larrivee D03-R.
 
Light said:
They have made some changes which will hopefully be for the better (they have switched to a 9 volt battery, and a few other little changes). We'll see.
Click to expand...

I've had my Taylor 314CE for, I dunno, eight or ten years, and it uses a 9V battery. When did they change and what was it before? FWIW, mine still works fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top