Taylor Guitars Are Over Rated (imo)

[Tone2TheBone]

Martin all the way my friend! Good to see you post here 'bout time.

[street music]

As for plugged sound on acoustic-electric IMHO it would be Takamine all the way! I have listened to a lot of different brands being played on stage and for my ears the sound of an Takamine just has a great tone . As for other choices in the plugged department Epi or Gibson has about the same I have heard from the high dollar Martin. Now when you just get down to an acoustic you open up a whole can of brands depending on the tone you like. :

[markb]

As for plugged sound on acoustic-electric IMHO it would be Takamine all the way! I have listened to a lot of different brands being played on stage and for my ears the sound of an Takamine just has a great tone . As for other choices in the plugged department Epi or Gibson has about the same I have heard from the high dollar Martin. Now when you just get down to an acoustic you open up a whole can of brands depending on the tone you like. :

When I do sound for open mics I find Takamines need far less work on eq than other brands, Gibson and Martin included. To be honest I like the sound of the factory fitted Fishman Natural in my J45 but can't kid myself it's anything like the sound of the guitar.

[oldguy]

Martin all the way my friend! Good to see you post here 'bout time.

(I invited Del, Rob.....thought he ought to get in on the fun.)

[just strum]

(I invited Del, Rob.....thought he ought to get in on the fun.)

Was that his introduction?

[wingsdad]

A prime factor in the 'Taylor sound' -- unplugged -- is that Taylor's tops are by design sliced thinner than most manufacturers' solid-tops. While this allows for freer vibration of the top, it also diminishes the strength (power) of the top's low frequency vibes as it enhances the mids and highs.

It's this top design and tonic character that made Taylors so popular for recording. When recording a steel-string acoustic, the top is the 'main ingredient', since it's where you aim your mic(s). Getting a true natural tone reproduced to is a challenge, especially digitally. Taylor's top simplifies the issue.

Conversely, or conseequently, Taylors going direct rather than mic'd can sound thin & brittle because an Under Saddle Transducer (UST) relies picking up the top's vibrations. Thin in, Thin Out. Or, as the saying goes, Crap In, Crap Out.

Therein lies the challenge with a Taylor: the preamps -- onboard the guitar, and of the mixing board or amp it's fed to -- that the transducer's signal get fed to have to be skillfully worked to get anything close to a warm & natural tone.

So it's up to the skill of the sound or recording engineer to rise to the challenge. Most don't, because they fail to recognize and understand the Taylor top factor. A weak engineer can make a $3,000 Taylor sound like a $50Toys R' Us special.

Besides the sound issue, the thin Taylor tops are inordinately susceptible to cracking. Made close to the Pacific Ocean, regardless of how 'climate-controlled' the Taylor factory is, when you take a Taylor to a particularly dry climate -- like the New Mexico or SoCal dessert (where I live), if you don't religiously tend to careful 45-55% RH monitoring and maintenance, you'll eventually have a brittle-topped Taylor that will sound even thinner than it would in say, more humid zones like New England, the Pac Northwest, Tennessee or Florida.

If you read Taylor's Warranty carefully (go to their website), you'll find the stern warnings about caring for the humidity and how if you don't, you void the warranty.

Interestingly enough, Taylor makes a big deal about attending to humidity on their site and in their 'Wood & Steel' magazine. Our lawyer Fretters will understand what that's all about: fair upfront warning, in writing and video. You don't heed it, you're the negligent owner. Tough cookies if the top cracks.

Good luck dealing with Talor Customer 'Support' when your top cracks.

We have a Taylor dealer here in town. He sells them OK. Many (Taylor a/e's) end up getting traded in to the Takamine/Ibanez/Godin-Seagull/Tacoma dealer -- the store I shop. Either because they disappointed the owner with their plugged in Barney Fife sound, or their top developed hairline cracks and they found themselves SOL with Taylor on a warranty claim attempt. So the Taylors end up selling as damaged used goods. They get jack on their trade. Better off turning to e-sleaze-bay to unload them on someone who wouldn't know a crack in a top unless they could stick their finger thru it like Thomas the Apostle.

I have 2 (Japanese) Takamines. Santa Fe series. By design, Tak's preamps are modular (not sure on the G-series Korean and Chinese Taks). Takamine has about 4 preamps...the ultimate of which is the 'Cool Tube', a tube preamp. All can be swapped, as simple popping a tab and pulling the unit, and pulling 2 plugs & jacks. It's one reason Tak's preamps are up on the upper bout next to the heel. A little tougher to read the controls than if it was mounted like most others, in the waist of the upper side. But its' in the stiffest section of the side, interfering less with any side vibes.

[sunvalleylaw]

A prime factor in the 'Taylor sound' -- unplugged -- is that Taylor's tops are by design sliced thinner than most manufacturers' solid-tops. While this allows for freer vibration of the top, it also diminishes the strength (power) of the top's low frequency vibes as it enhances the mids and highs.

You and I have discussed this, but I guess this is why I prefer rosewood/spruce Martins. I like that throbbing, low end that almost vibrates you. : Nothing against Taylors or those who prefer them, just not my sound.

[Algonquin]

Appreciate the review Del... and please say hello to Linus and Lucy for me
(One of my YouTube favourites)

Welcome!
David

[oldguy]

Appreciate the review Del... and please say hello to Linus and Lucy for me
(One of my YouTube favourites)

Welcome!
David

That was the first one I watched! Loved it!

[wingsdad]

You and I have discussed this, but I guess this is why I prefer rosewood/spruce Martins. I like that throbbing, low end that almost vibrates you. : Nothing against Taylors or those who prefer them, just not my sound.

Same here, SVL. I've got nothing against Taylors. They are what they are, and they make a fine guitar for what they are. I've played on many of them...friends' guitars and trying them out in the stores, new and used. Personally, to my ears and the acoustic tones I desire, the 3 Tacoma's I've owned and the 2 Taks I still own all kicked their a$$, hands-down. The best butt-kicker of them all, by far, was a Tacoma JK28C-E4 Koa/Spruce cutaway Jumbo that I sold to Rocket several months ago. When I bought it, I'd A-B'd it against a used Taylor 914 model, a top-dawg.

It's those thin tops...they take the heart right out of a Rosewood back/sides.

It's so tricky to contain the low-freqs of a big-sounding acoustic when recording it, such that they don't overpower the presence of the critical mids and clarity of the highs. A Taylor's naturally mid/high-boosted (or bass-cut) tone makes it much easier.

[markb]

It's so tricky to contain the low-freqs of a big-sounding acoustic when recording it, such that they don't overpower the presence of the critical mids and clarity of the highs. A Taylor's naturally mid/high-boosted (or bass-cut) tone makes it much easier.

I think you've just nailed what Taylors are designed for, Wings. Fitting nicely into a mix without difficulty. Sadly this tends to make them a bit bland played in a solo context. I've only had to mix one Taylor with ES live but it sat in the mix nicely. At soundcheck it sounded thin and awful to me but once the bass and electric guitar joined in it all made sense.