Anyone own a Taylor acoustic (dreadnought vs. grand auditorium body size)?

N

Nowhere Man

New member
I am probably going to buy a Taylor pretty soon so I have a good acoustic, but don't know which body style to go for. I think I will get one with the on-board Fishman blender pre-amp, so I can play it live without hassles. That is in the future, however, and for know I will basically just use it for recording and small gatherings. Any thoughts about these guitars in general and dreadnought vs. grand auditorium body styles would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Have you been to Taylor's website? They have info on the differences between the body styles, including some info about the sound of each. The dreadnaught is going to give you more low end, and will probably be a little louder. The grand auditorium models will have more of a balanced tone usually, which is great for recording. If you are looking for a great sounding acoustic that will do well recording and playing live (eventually) the x14ce (Grand Auditorium) is a great guitar. I've played both 514ce and 714ce models extensively, and they are well worth the money. I've also recorded with a 410 model on several tracks, and was really pleased with the sound. I don't think you could go wrong with any of these.
 
I've played quite a few Taylors and agree with everything Jon X has said. Dreadnoughts give a little more volume and are great live, strummed and picked. They can be a little boomy when recorded. Grand Auditoriums are generally preferred by fingerstylists.

Taylors are very nice guitars. However, in that same price range, I prefer Larrivee Guitars (I've owned two). Take a look at Jean Larrivee's website www.Larrivee.com. Either way, you will end up with a fine guitar. BTW the Fishman Blender is a good idea. Both luthiers offer this.

DUKE-X

[This message has been edited by tdukex (edited 03-02-2000).]
 
Jon and the Duke are right on it. The only thing they may have missed is the physical size of the instrument - or rather, you. The Dreadnought is considerable larger than the Grand Auditorium, so the 'small gathering' set-up - I'm seeing sitting down on the couch type of thing - depending on your size may be less comfortable with the Dreadnought.
What type of music are you going to be playing on this guitar?
Taylor's are excellent guitars - but if you are looking at high-end acoustics, check out Collings, too. Yes, they are expensive, but they sure sound good.
Other brands of interest:
Breedlove, Bourgeios, Lowden, Goodall and Santa Cruz are all excellent.
And someone called Nowhere Man should also check out a pre-1969 Gibson J-160E - it was the acoustic rhythm guitar of choice for a Mr. John Lennon.

Buy it used, no point in throwing yer money away.

foo
 
Thanks for the replies. I went to my local (well, an hour away) music store today and played a ton of taylors for about an hour and a half. I am more confused than ever. I have determined that the grand auditoriums have a smoother sound with a nicer top end, but the drednoughts are a bit fuller. Either way, I was dissapointed/overwhelmed with what I heard. They all sounded very similar, except for a 25th anniversary 510ce. This guitar was thicker sounding than the rest, and the notes seemed to be a little beefier without being muddy (more like what I am looking for). I have heard so much about Martins, maybe I should give them a try. The size thing does not bother me, I just want it to sound good! The style of music varies, but mostly acoustic (duh :)) driven rock like Zeppelin, Tom Petty, and the Beatles. This place is getting a new shipment of Taylors later in the month, and I will play those as well as some of the Martins. Anyone know of a good Martin with these kind of electronics? I am rather unfamilier with that line. I would appreciate any further info/comments. Thanks again!
 
Just recently purchased a 614CE (Grand Auditorium)and it's a very comfortable guitar to play on stage with a fantastic sound due to it's curley maple construction (also nice to look at).It doesn't have alot of bottom end(hence no booming feedback) but has a nice bright even tone throughout the total range.This is the model Taylor recommends for the stage. The fishman blender system works
nicely. You can dial in some very nice tones.
Just started working with it in the studio
and so far am very happy with the sound.
Good luck in your search.
 
I have been playing a Taylor 815C (jumbo, florentine cutaway) for a few years and it knocks me out every time I play the thing. It was built prior to the time the Fishman was included, and I found it unmanageble with a stage mic, so after quite a bit of research, I installed a B-Band dual source (undersaddle condenser and floating internal condenser, on a small gooseneck, preamp, endpin jack with unbalanced stereo output) system. Very nice results.

Now that I have THAT one, I would next pick a mid line grand auditorium, mahogany and spruce Taylor, with the Fishman installed, for recording. The bass will be much more controllable than my jumbo and the guitars generally speak well. Dreadnaughts can be murder to record - almost as tough as my jumbo. They come through with a powerful thunk - but the sound isn't balanced when you listen to it played back.

Test the theory with a friend and run the scales on a few different kinds of test guitars. Ask your friend to listen to uniformity throughout the scale. You will likely find live and dead areas instead. The small to medium size bodies, if well built, offer the greatest chance for uniform response throughout the spectrum. So, they record well. You may also discover that the guitar you like best - the one that knocks your socks off - is NOT the one that will give you the best results when recording. What's good - personality, if you will - in a live performance becomes a mixing headache when you are not playing live.

Don't be afraid of Taylors; they have the building process down cold. They are aggressive when it comes to new designs - witness their neck / body joint that the rest of the industry is now conceding was a good move. They've experimented with sleeve and finger joints in their necks, and the results are pretty impressive.

You will not have the same guitar as a Collings or a Manzer - but you will love the guitar you have. There's also good advice in this thread about other brands - Larrivee, Gibson, Martin etc. None of these are slouches! One of the best things to happen to the music business in the last generation is the growth of small luthiers - as were Bob Taylor and Jean Larrivee before they got big - with the musician being the hands down winner. Today, it is easy to get a killer guitar! Twenty years ago, that just wasn't true.

So go forth and buy. Life ain't a rehersal and this is what makes it worth the payments!

[This message has been edited by Treeline (edited 03-10-2000).]
 
Nowhere Man, you're doing the right thing--play them and listen. I've gone to music stores, played three identical Martins, with two sounding utterly boring and the third just about jumping out of my hands with energy. Sooner or later, trying some of the finer guitars pointed out by the people above, you'll pick one up, give it a strum and angel choirs will start to sing in your head. That's the one you buy!
 
I too am in the market for a new acoustic and as a result have played quite a few recently. I've been concentrating on lower end Martins and Taylors but I have played Larivees, Tacomas, and Takamines as well. I have started doing a lot of Bluegrass flatpicking so I'm sure I want a dreadnaught size and therefore have no idea what the cost of the grand concert Taylor's are. Some lower end Martin's that I would look into are the D-1 and the D-16. If you want to spend a little more and get into the standard series, the D-18 and D-28. All of these guitars are available with fishman electronics (although that's not the brand I would choose). Of all the guitars I played recently the D-28 was the clear winner. I played a Taylor 410CE which had a comparable sound but just didn't play as smoothly. I thought the D-1 for hundreds less performed very well though. Some things to keep in mind when you are checking out guitars are the age of the guitar and the strings. An older solid body guitar will have opened up and changed in sound (hopefully for the better) and obviously older strings can have a real negative effect on the sound. Also the brand of strings can cause problems. I don't really like Martin strings but that's the way they come strung so what can you do?
 
Absolutely. If I enter a music store and see a new guitar with strings that have obviously been on the guitar for a while--you know how they darken, get gritty and ugly and oxidized and sound like kaka--I walk out. That's not a place I want to do business with. Any good music store will spend a few bucks to replace the strings on their display guitars at least a few times a year so that you can actually hear what the darned things are supposed to sound like before you buy them.
 
Boy, do I agree with that. Strings make all the difference, and the odd thing is that you can get really complacent about them. After all, they sound the same now as they did an hour ago, don't they? And a day ago, and a week - well, somewhere along that line, they miss the bus.

New strings - of the proper gauge - are the only fair way to play your instrument: fair to your guitar and to yourself. The cost $$ but so does food, and you need that as well.

I've used D'Addario for many years as a consistent high quality and affordable string - have them on right now. But one design that just blew me away is DR handmade. They're steep - about 9 or 10 bucks a set - but there is a real difference. When I want to be good to myself, I'll pick up a set.

[This message has been edited by Treeline (edited 03-19-2000).]
 
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