Taylor vs. Takemine

timamansio

Howayiz,

I'm in the midst of a (nice) dilemma. I want to buy a pretty decent acoustic guitar (with electrics on board). I've got about €2,000 to spend and have been looking mostly at Taylor and Takemine guitars. Only thing is I can't make my mind up (although I'm veering towards the Taylor at the moment). Does anyone have any opinion on either of these brands? Also, if you have any advice on other brands to look at in the price range I'd appreciate any input.

Many thanks

D!ve^Bomb!

well i've never played a taylor, but i have played a takamine, all be it not a 2k one:) and i thought it was absolutely brilliant.. although i think taylor have a better rep with the high end models

Eoin Madsen

Go with a Taylor. For 2k you should be safe, but make absolutely sure it's all solid wood - no laminate back or sides. Avoid guitars with big eq panels (some of the Taylors have very discrete controls which are better), and don't go with a cutaway unless you actually think you need one. In fact, if you don't need a pickup in the immediate future, avoid those as well. You can always have a Fishman fitted when you have a few more quid - right now you'll get a better guitar without than with for the money.

It's fairly subjective, but in general Taylors sound better than Taks to my ear. They're easier to engineer anyway. And the cheaper Takamines are a bit nasty sounding, which has put me off them. Both Taylor and Takamine make expensive guitars - ie you have to pay for quality. With that in mind, you might want to consider something of higher quality that costs less, such as an Avalon or a Furch or Stanford. For the 2 grand you'll get a better guitar.

Calina

I'd go for a Taylor, every time...

Malarky

Martins would be an option at this price too!

Doctor J

http://www.chrisguitars.com/acoustics.html

It wasn't me!

Never miss a genuine opportunity, eh Doc? Of those two, I'd say the Taylors are much nicer guitars, but that's quite subjective. I'd take an Avalon over either of them though any day. I nearly cried when the guys in Musician made me put the Avalon back on the wall. Most beautiful acoustic I've ever played, but for three and a half grand it'd want to be. :rolleyes:

timamansio

Just a short note to thank everybody who posted a reply. I really appreciate it

I'm almost convinced to go with the Taylor. Will try out Avalon (although it might be out of my price range) and Martin before I make the final commitment.

Thanks again folks.

Karl Hungus

I'd say Takamine myself, but I'm not that experienced with Acoustic guitars.

Shane Smith

Takamines are great guitars, used to have a Semi Acoustic and, casting the engineering aspect aside, it was a lovely guitar to play.

The thing with Taylor is that they are that bit more expensive and you could get more in your Takamine for the kind of money you're paying... :rolleyes:

fitz

More in your Tak for the money?
I'd say the opposite.
With Tak's you're paying for the name. 2k will get you a nice one, true, but put it against a 2k taylor, furch, stanford, or avalon, and you'll put the Tak back on the wall every time.

Thomann have two avalons in their blow-out deals at the mo, both under 2k.
Musicstore might still have some lowdens for 2k.
I'd try and get a taylor, avalon or lowden second hand.
Don't rush into it...find something that suits you.

HusseinSarhan

Tak have no bass in my experiences. i've played a few and not really liked them. Most Taylors I've played have been either amazing or not very nice. Once you get beyond the 3 series in Taylor the get VERY nice. Although they have generally more bass in thier sound than Tak they arent as bassy as say Martin, Huss and Dalton, Collings etc. Actually I have no idea what guitar to reccomend you because I dont know what type of tone you want. If oyu want a bright modern sound that is kind of "scooped" go for a Lakewood, Avalon, Lowden, Froggy Bottom or Taylor. If you want a warmer, more traditional tone go for Martin, Collings, Santa Cruz etc. for €2,000 you are into SERIOUS guitars here. You can get something outstanding! What body shape are you looking for also. Please dont buy a guitar for this sot of money without considering all of these thing carefully. My advice would be to forget the cutaway idea and to go for a guitar without an in-built pickup system, as most are ****e to be honest. By the way there are about a dozen really good luthiers in England that i would reccomend but I just dont know where to start. Right now, I'd love a nice Collings OM-2H or a number of other guitars to be honest. By the way those generalisations I made about "modern" and "traditional" re very broad, there is a lot a variance in each brand.

HusseinSarhan

Oh, it would probably work out cheaper to fly to america, buy the guitar and fly back than buy it here. Well, thats if they even stock it here, which they wont! I'm talking about higher end brands like Santa Cruz, Collings, Fylde or Breedlove. By the way, Perfect Pitch sells McIlroy guitars, supposed to be amazing, I played one that cost about €2500 or so once and it was nice. Not sure it was worth the money though. I think the setup wasnt amazing so i couldnt really judge it well. Just another brand to keep in mind. Seriously though, you could take a trip to the Acoustic Centre in London one weekend and pick up a lovely acoustic that you just wouldnt get here in Ireland.

preilly79

i sold my takamine to buy taylor, i guess that says what my opinion is!

if i had two grand to spend on a taylor my choice would be 310ce

the ce means it comes with the expression system, and while i dont know how good or bad it is i hear it's very very good.

if you're feeling very very flush try and go for the 310ce-L7 - this is tje Fall Limited version and has a STUNNING wood in it's back and sides. a beauty of a gutiar, but im not sure if your budget can stretch! music maker in town had one so maybe pick it up and give it a hug

jcoote

martin all the way

Eoin Madsen

Five months later, I would guess the argument is not that important to timamansio at this stage. I think the C in CE actually refers to the cut-away. But I don't think they presently do a non-cutaway with the expression system.

Spicy Lauren

My baby is a Takamine and she's the sweetest of guitars because she's mine!!