Taylor Guitars

[Cape]

The past five days have been very good indeed. I've had a Taylor artist in playing about 10 one-off Taylors. I can't understand why he hasn't use my Tanglewood.

To top it off his step dad is an old jazz master of the Sax and Clarinet (60yrs exp!!! and this 75yr old dude is young enough at heart to be well into PT, and not harping on about the old days), man I have'nt heard great instruments played so well in years.

And the fact they are praising me and the other engineer for making the recording spot on means everyone gets a pat on the back, it's cool bananas

Now why can't it always work that way.

[BattleAngel]

Well no one else has responded, so I'll chime in. I was just jamming with my new Taylor 712 and it's great. There are guitars I like better, but it's a very very solid and reliable guitar and I can get "my sound" on a taylor easily. I might consider selling some stuff and getting a Breedlove though... that's like a Taylor but better imho.

Glad your session went well! As far as I know, Taylor never financially endorses anybody so he had to pay for those 10 custom shop guitars!

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by BattleAngel

Glad your session went well! As far as I know, Taylor never financially endorses anybody so he had to pay for those 10 custom shop guitars!

Well, it depends on what you mean by 'financially endorsing'. They certainly didn't pay list. prices...

[BattleAngel]

I thought this had been a staple in Taylor's policy since they've been building guitars, that they don't give away guitars or really give discounts. I mean I know that it clearly makes business sense to do so, and that Taylor is definitely a business, but I thought it was sort of like how Marshall for years was known as not to give amps out even to big artists.

[Ruphus]

Hey Cape,

first congrats to the session. I can very well see what must have made it so great. ... Quite the opposite of when a couple of kids finger on their keyboards for techno or hiphop nursery rhythms.

What fascinating guitars are concerned, as I once mentioned already on this board, should you come along a store that holds Tacomas check out what modern calculation can add to traditional guitar building. If you like light as feathers build, resonating like hell stuff it should be worth it. Especially those satin finished models.

Ruphus

[BattleAngel]

I think Tacoma makes a pretty solid guitar. I'm not crazy about them but they get the job done. I think the best "for the money" guitar investment is probably a Larrivee for steel and a Cordoba for nylon. Larrivee makes some guitars in the 700-1000 range that crush anything in the price range, I think. Their parlor is terrific.

A good, pre-new technology neck Taylor is a great guitar though. My old 810 has a way more authentic flavor than my new 310 and 712.

[Randall]

I've seen very expensive acoustics at places like Gruhns, Gibson, Martin (took the grand tour in Nazareth several years ago) NAMM etc. that sound like ass, and visa-versa, I've seen cheap Martin knock offs that sound pretty damn good, and I've seen many you couldnt give me to build a fire in a blizzard, each one has it's own personality, playability and most importantly, tone, finding the right one can be a frustrating experience, my current fav is the Jumbo Washburn custom I've mentioned before, I was prejudiced against maple bodies for some reason ( the too bright, brittle etc, stereotype ) untill I picked this beast up and played it, warm, fat, loud and sweet is what she is and I was floored as everything I had been fed to believe abot maple bodies went flying out the window, needless to say and being the little slut that I am, she had to come home with me, the thing will sustain and ring a chord all day if I want it to across all 6 strings, and records beautifully, definatly a keeper. as far as strings go my favs are the Elixer polywebs .010 -.047s, one more thing, I believe all acoustics used in the studio should have the Buzz Feiten tuning system http://www.buzzfeiten.com/ installed in them, OK I'm through ranting and raving, I feel better now

[Ianneve]

Just like all companies Taylor gives away guitars to a certain few people. And they give big discounts to certain others. They have a program where they give artists deals on factory 2nd's. BUt There is a new builder named Gray "Burchette" who blows them away and is very cheap in comparison. GRAMEL104@aol.com I sold all my Taylors.

[Randall]

my buddy D R Autin worked as a designer/ luthier for Taylor and Gibson for several years, you ought to hear/see the ones he's built for himself ooh la la , hell, go to his website and listen to some of the audio clips, he's a madman on acoustic one of the very best in my oppinion the man is sick and thats hard to come by, http://www.drauten.com/ he has an E mail address at the site also if you want to ask any questions about Taylor guitars or acoustics in general he is very knowledgable on this subject and will answer them for you

[ozraves]

Here's some nice guitars:

www.mayesguitars.com

[Your Add Here!]

What's the deal with Taylor guitars kiln-drying their wood? I'm not impressed. Wouldn't go near one myself.

[shikawkee]

Taylor 12-strings sound awesome but I've found some of their guitars to be too bright for recording. The best recording guitars I've used are Santa Cruz and Collings. There are cheaper guitars but not better sounding IMO.

P.S.-I like the Buzz Feiten system in theory but then you're out of tune with everyone else !

[Randall]

not true,is a piano out of tune with the rest of the band? unless you have Phil Petillo http://www.petilloguitars.com fret wire < on the guitar, I know Phil he is the inventor and patent holder of the piezo pick-up and a number of other guitar related inventions, he dropped the neck into the body of an acoustic guitar I built several years ago, it can be a painfull experience, (the wire) you are never in tune anywhere but an open string, is it discernable?, no, thankfully, the Feiten system allows all strings and chords to be in tune harmonically with each other anywhere on the neck which is why it is endorsed by Satriani, Via, Malmsteen and a host of others

[shikawkee]

[quote]Originally posted by Randall
[b]not true,is a piano out of tune with the rest of the band? ]

Every fretted instrument in the ensemble would also have to have the Feiten system to really be in tune.

[dtobocman]

Originally posted by shikawkee
Taylor 12-strings sound awesome but I've found some of their guitars to be too bright for recording......

I use a U195 (somewhat dark) to record my ultra-bright mahagony Taylor (512ce). It's perfect.

Also, miking the bridge of the Taylor yields nothing but sitar-like overly resonant signals that are unusable. 12th fret mono or x-y is where it's at with my 512ce.

184s, 451s, and 4033s are the wrong choice for my Taylor, but I use them for my Nylon and my Yamaha steel string. Also, the super-treble clean transformerless solid-state preamp (a la Grace or GML) might not be the best choice for the Taylor; mine likes input transformers quite a bit (I use a Summit TPA-200B).

The Taylor's not too bright to record with; you probably just need to adjust your mic selection and placement technique slightly to make it sound as good as it can.

[Randall]

"Every fretted instrument in the ensemble would also have to have the Feiten system to really be in tune"

LOL, if this was true, nobody would ever be in tune and Antares would have more money than Microsoft !!

[shikawkee]

If you have the Feiten system in your guitar but another guitarist in the session doesn't, are you in tune with each other ?

[Randall]

absolutely!! the only thing it does is allows your 1 individual instrument to be in perfect pitch anywhere that you fret it, for example your holding several strings on lets say the 8th 9th and 10th frets and also want to play a couple of open strings along with your chord voicing, the whole thing is going to be in perfect pitch, has no effect on other peoples instruments

[Cape]

Yes, he might be endorsed but your right it's a discount he gets and a custom build, not a freebie.

The style of playing is very finger picky. I used KM184's but wanted to use Beyer M160's, why you ask, because I wanted too. The client wanted the Neumann's so we went with that. I hate a recording thats not mellow, to me all that twang twang twang brightness just hits a bad nerve on solo guitar, irritating after a while.

[RobMacki]

Just curious, any you guys ever played a
BreedLove ?
The owners used to work for Taylor back when each guitar had the indiviual attention.

The sweetest guitar I ever played!! (I own a Taylor 514c and love it.)
This Breedlove was a Walnut back and sides and Redwood face!
A
M
A
Z
I
N
G
!

[shikawkee]

Originally posted by Randall
absolutely!! the only thing it does is allows your 1 individual instrument to be in perfect pitch anywhere that you fret it, for example your holding several strings on lets say the 8th 9th and 10th frets and also want to play a couple of open strings along with your chord voicing, the whole thing is going to be in perfect pitch, has no effect on other peoples instruments

Okay, but my question is if you're in tune up the neck but I'm not how are we in tune ?

[Randall]

those look reaaal sweeeeet!!!!!

on an unrelated note, I was watching the CMA's last night and I could not believe how many Takamines all these country people are playing, practicaly everybody!!!! Man can't these people at least afford or have enough pride to play something, anything AMERICAN MADE??? if I was the CEO over there at Martin or Taylor every one of these inbred, hillbilly, green toothed pimplefaced, hat toteing, boot shuffling, rednecks would be playing one of my guitars, whatever little bit they cost to build be damned, this is a freaking travesty, as a matter of fact you see more Takemines around Nashville than any other brand, why is that? The Garth Brooks syndrome? he endorsed them for a while I remember his cute little signature model with the guitar shaped soundhole, am I starting to read like Andy Rooney here folks? How about, Chevrolet, Harley Davidson, Kirby, Martin? or something comparable, and pleeeezzee nobody jump in here and say what a wonderfull value or how good Tak's sound, I know better from experience

[ozraves]

Originally posted by RobMacki
Just curious, any you guys ever played a
BreedLove ?
The owners used to work for Taylor back when each guitar had the indiviual attention.

The sweetest guitar I ever played!! (I own a Taylor 514c and love it.)
This Breedlove was a Walnut back and sides and Redwood face!
A
M
A
Z
I
N
G
!

Breedloves are some finely crafted instruments. I like something with a lot more projection but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Breedlove for someone seeking a quality acoustic.

Steve
www.mojopie.com

[ozraves]

Originally posted by Randall
those look reaaal sweeeeet!!!!!

on an unrelated note, I was watching the CMA's last night and I could not believe how many Takamines all these country people are playing, practicaly everybody!!!! Man can't these people at least afford or have enough pride to play something, anything AMERICAN MADE??? if I was the CEO over there at Martin or Taylor every one of these inbred, hillbilly, green toothed pimplefaced, hat toteing, boot shuffling, rednecks would be playing one of my guitars, whatever little bit they cost to build be damned, this is a freaking travesty, as a matter of fact you see more Takemines around Nashville than any other brand, why is that? The Garth Brooks syndrome? he endorsed them for a while I remember his cute little signature model with the guitar shaped soundhole, am I starting to read like Andy Rooney here folks? How about, Chevrolet, Harley Davidson, Kirby, Martin? or something comparable, and pleeeezzee nobody jump in here and say what a wonderfull value or how good Tak's sound, I know better from experience

I've never owned a Takamine. I've played a few really good ones. A good one plays about as good as any Taylor or Martin I've played if not better in certain instances. I like more sound from a guitar. I do own a Hirade No. 8, which is 20 years old. It's a handmade Classic guitar from Mr. Hirade's (founder of Takamine) workshop. It's pretty damn good.

Steve
www.mojopie.com

[RobMacki]

The only Takaminie I would own would be a classical. I used to oun a really sweet one (Rosewood/Cedar) But had to sell it about 10yrs ago for cash.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Ianneve]

This is a topic I perhaps know more about then I do most things. 2 reasons they play Taks. #1 they are stupid and not talented. :>) #2 Garth played them and they sound decent plugged it. Acoustics all sound like shit plugged in. I have had ALL of them and the best Acoustic pre (Pendulum) and even with an Olson through the pendulum the Tak comes close plugged in. If you can stand to touch it that is. Ick. SO, I guess there are more then 2 reasons but mainly it's cause they can easily plug them in and go in any situaltion. And cause Garth did it, and cause they can't tell the difference betwen an Olson and a Tak. So there you go.. Oh, and most of them aren't even really turned on anyway. LOL. It's a Prop, just like their cowboy hats.

[Ruphus]

Ok, now that the enemy lays on the floor I might join you guys, ehe.

Taka ... what? Seems one more prove that somehow image gets to arrange anything. I always wondered what people wanted from these heavy, dull sounding dangs. Furnitures with strings somehow.

Seriously, it´s puzzling.

Send me in a big acoustics guitar store and I will come back ... without a Takamine.

[ozraves]

Yamaha made some real nice acoustic guitars back in the 1970s. You never hear anyone jonesing for one but you see some pros playing an old Yamaha from time to time.

The last time I bought an acoustic I tried out everything in Okahoma City, which is not saying all that much. The only Takamine that made the cut was one of the Santa Fe series. It played really well but it didn't project even though it was a tad on the musical side.

The two that I liked the best in terms of musicality and projection were the Taylor 612 and the Tacoma parlor size with the koa back and sides. I ended up getting the Tacoma as I found it at a fire sale (yes, real fire) for a little under $600.

Steve
www.mojopie.com

[e-cue]

Taylor 314 and a Royer 122 into an MP-2 into a 33609... didn't need a second mic. I got one of the better acoustic guitar tones I recorded this year out of that combo. I first had a C12 up, and it was too bright for the track, so I switched to the Royer and *presto chango* everything fell into place. I'm not mad at the baby series Taylor makes either, as long as the player is up to pair.

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally posted by Randall
... I was watching the CMA's last night and I could not believe how many Takamines all these country people are playing, practically everybody!!!! ..

The real question is how many were used on their records.

Many people are not about to take their prized older guitars on the road so they'll find the best deal they can for endorsing a new guitar.