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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I've tried some Baby Taylors and was underwhelmed. Tried one last night that rang like a bell. A lot of sound for a small guitar.
Also.... LX 12 strings w/OP-PRO, on clearance for $695. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Try a Taylor BIG Baby. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I'm sorry....
I stand corrected.
It was a BIG Baby. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | The Taylor Big Baby sounds excellent for the price. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 659
Location: Hiram, Georgia | Tried a sweet sounding, Alverez Yari, last night at a local mom and pop store. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | Has anyone played any of Epiphone's Masterbuilt series guitars?
I was in GC a few weeks ago and played a AJ-500R and it was hands down the best sounding and playing guitar in the whole acoustic room!
Myself and another guy were the only ones in the room (salesguy popped in once to see if we had any questions...)so we were playing about everything (that we could reach :rolleyes: )and of all the Ovations,Taylors,Martins,Gibsons,etc,we both kept going back to the inexpensive ($549.00) Epiphone!
This is an all solid wood guitar and the fit and finish was fantastic,plus it was LOUD!!
Might have been just that guitar...new strings...or the fact that I hadn't had supper yet...but this guitar had a sweet balanced sound that for the money (and if you're into wood box guitars... :D )was the BEST deal in da house! |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Couple of years ago at NAMM I tried the 12 fret version of the AJ500 and I thought it was the best guitar at the show. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I had a great pizza last night. Lots of garlic on it. Tasted better than a Taylor. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Maybe this particular Big Baby was a one in a million, genetic mutant of some sort. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Maybe this particular Big Baby was a one in a million, genetic mutant of some sort. Not one in a million at all ... My son plays a Big Baby and it's incedible. It cost him $300. and sounds way better than a lot of my guitars. It's plain and cheaply made, don't know how it holds up over time (his is 4 years old), but man does it play and sound nice. Setup is quite good, nice neck, and really nice woody sound. Without question it's my favorite guitar in that kind of price range. It's a 15/16 size which makes it a lot more managable for some of us than a full sized dread.
Dave
Dave |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | I've also sampled some of the Taylor 110 and 210 dreads and I was pretty impressed with the sound. The tone/cost ratio seemed pretty reasonable.
But I also picked up on a certain "cheapness", lack of binding, thin satin finishes, etc. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | That's what happens when you try to make a mass produced affordable USA made guitar that sounds good, especially now with the competition from the Chinese. Compromises have to be made. The skill is knowing which compromises to make and still have a guitar that is acceptable in the market place. To me Taylor's entry level guitars are pretty nasty and only survive because of the reputation, profile, marketing and aspirational influence of their upmarket models, but I guess their sales volume would prove me wrong. As good as a Taylor 100 or 200 series may sound for the dough, there are people out there who will buy a more expensive, shiny, plywood, inferior-sounding import with fake abalone rather than an entry level USA-made guitar, purely on the "wow" factor. Some buy with their ears, others with their eyes. Strange thing is, while "thin satin finishes" may look cheap, it's part of the reason the guitars sound good.
Generally with an entry-level USA made guitar you get decent materials, great build quality, consistent quality control, good out-of-the-box playability and better sound than the price would suggest. What you lose is refinement and bling. The scary thing is the Chinese are improving constantly in terms of materials, build quality, consistency and sound. Their instruments have lots of "bling" and are becoming more refined with every trade show I attend and every shipment my company receives. But, their cost is way below anything comparable from the US. The days of sub $1000 US-made acoustics may well be numbered. Taylor should be OK, they're not too far from Tijuana. |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Just got back this evening from GC actually. I went there initially to purchase a capo, but also ended trying out guitars, at random in their acoustic room. In that same room, a young man was debating whether he was going to purchase a Taylor 210 or the Martin D-15, and asked me for a second opinion. I was a bit biased of course, and told him that he couldn't go wrong with the D-15, but I also handed him an Ovation 1771LX, and asked him to try it out.
He strummed a few chords with that Ovation ... flatpicked a melody or two, then he claimed that it was one nice sounding guitar. Just like that, he abandoned both the T and M, and end up purchasing the Ovation. I was pretty shocked!
I guess there's a first time for everything ... I just sold a man an Ovation guitar, and I'm not even employed there. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Well done. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I've tried that several times. The last time I was the one who walked out with the Balladeer 12, then sold my Applause 12 to the guy I was trying to sell on the Balladeer.
Tried to talk a guy into buying an Ovation for his girlfriend, but they didn't have much selection to compare with the Big Baby he bought for her. Just after he left I picked up a Takamine that was the same price and sounded way better. |
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GC visit