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September 2005
Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I don't usually make it a point to bad-mouth the "other" brands of guitar. But I have had soooo many people tell me how great Taylors are. I finally went to a local music store where they carry a large selection. I told them I was looking for an Adamas, and the guy asked me ...Hey! have you tried a Taylor? So I sat down and played a 614 and some other model, and they stunk! I told the guy I felt a good Ovation played better then the ones I tried. Then I snagged a 914 off the wall that he was hesitant on letting people touch (about $4000). I played it, and it played and sounded much better than the other 2. But I told him I felt the price was rediculous. I don't know about the rest of you, but as of now I think the Taylor craze is just a lot of hype! |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | a glass of warm 1% milk. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | All's it takes it takes is a decent Marketing campaign to convince the uneducated and uninitiated to believe something that isn't necessarily so . . .
. . . it's like the weeks leading up to Election Day.
They crank out a SHITload of guitars, do an agressive Promotional campign, and probably offer incentives to dealers who can have their sales staff "push" 'em and keep the numbers up . . . |
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March 2002
Posts: 15678
Location: SoCal | Taylor has one of the best advertising campaigns going. It sells a lot of guitar. The other thing they have going is that they build a very good looking guitar. Lot of stage performers buy 'em, plug 'em in, then look good and sound good. But for front porch playing, they're really just ok. And for the price, they're less than that. But that advertising is so good..... |
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May 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Toronto | They are indeed an attractive guitar. I picked up a 914 once and was disappointed with the overall tone and projection - it didn't do it for me. Disappointing cause I know if I got on stage with it, I would have been an instant success. Oh well - another lost opportunity! |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | . . . they make some real pretty (and expensive) furniture . . . |
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August 2005
Posts: 30
Location: Montreal Canada | I think taylor makes good guitars but highly overpriced. In the store I have difficulty getting 100% of the sound because of the noise and other factors. I have to bring it home play it look at it and compare. But unfortunately nobody will let me do that.
I live in montreal and few weeks ago I went to steve's music store to try their good stuff. They have a room just for the expensive guitars. I tried several taylors and martins. They all had a tag price of 1000$ and more. Then I see this guitar without a price tag made by Godin, a canadian guitar company. So I play a couple of things and I am really surprised at the quality. I thought the guitar would range in 700-900$ so I asked the salesman how much was it. He replies, 299$, they put it in the room with the expensive ones by mistake. I was really amazed and ashamed at the same time.
This goes to say, dont assume that high prices mean quality |
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March 2002
Posts: 15678
Location: SoCal | Godin makes great guitars under their Seagull line and Simon & Patrick. I tend to think the S&P's are a little ugly, but for the money you spend, both lines are outstanding. |
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June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Ignoring the whole "wooden box" vs. "plastic bowl" debate for a moment - IF you were going to buy a decent wooden box guitar, I have a hard time putting Taylor anywhere near the top of the list. That's a pretty broad brush to paint the entire company, and they DO make some nice ones like the Big Baby (best sound to price ratio in the business), but in the world of wooden box guitars there are some really amazing instruments to choose from that don't suffer from the over marketed, over hype, over price of most Taylors. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I have played a ton of taylors and have yet to find the one that speaks to me. I have the same problem with gretsch |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | As I've said before, I love Taylors. The best advertising for Ovations came from a Taylor player who told my wife that he got a great deal on one for only $2400. She thought for a minute that maybe having 6 Ovations wasn't so unreasonable.
I did try a Simon and Patrick the other day at GC. I thought it sounded as good or better than the Martins or Taylors right next to it, although the work wasn't anything fancy. It was $500. |
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August 2005
Posts: 43
| I had a Taylor 12 string jumbo - huge sound, but sort of sterile - it had sapele back and sides.
Found a used 414 (Grand Auditorium size with Ovankol b/s) and it was a good sounding guitar.
I think Taylors neck to body joint is really good, but overall they leave me a little flat.
I was thinking back on the Taylor 414 I had for a short while while I played my "new" beat up ebay Balladeer last night -
The Taylor was real nice, and the sound was good, but there's something better i like about the sound of the Ovation - even the shallow bowl like I have.
Vanilla or chocolate.... |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | I wouldn't consider buying a new Taylor; however the used market for Taylors is excellent. I used to own a 410 that was a straight acoustic, no cutaway. New, the guitar was $1250 at GC. I got it for $750 on eBay, mint condition. I loved the sound of that guitar, but it was too delicate. It drove me nuts trying to keep it mint, so I sold it on eBay and it's been Ovations for me ever since.
I've yet to play any Taylor with a cutaway and factory electronics that sounds as good as that 410. I've also played the straight acoustic 414 model and if you're a fingerstyle guitarist that is one hell of a guitar. The non-cutaway acoustic-only models really do shine, but you have to first like the Taylor sound. To my ear, Taylors have a lovely complex tone in the mids and highs. It's a completely different flavor than a Martin.
I know that buying a guitar on eBay is dicey, but with Taylors there's always lots of people that are looking to sell their 400 series and move up to the higher end models. That makes for some nice bargains on the 410's and 414's. Since the guitars are acoustic only they are usually not gigged and most Taylor owners tend to be somewhat fanatical about keeping them as close to mint as possible. |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 286
Location: North Idaho | I find the Taylor necks to be uncomfortable for my hand and am not impressed with the neck construction for such a spendy guitar. It's like buying expensive furniture made of particle board. I guess the most important thing is that most Taylor owners think they're great. |
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September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | tim, why did you wait so long before posting? Come back soon. |
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February 2005
Posts: 1132
Location: Parrish, FL | Hey Tim,
Don't be so quiet over there. :D
(and post pics of that 1547!!!)
Brad |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Hey, Tim! Another Idaho guy I didn't even know about. And you have a 1547? Can I come and see it? |
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February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | I have a Pacemaker on its way to me on the brown truck...coming from Idaho. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Yer gonna LOVE that Pacemaker, BHB!!
When I bought my first Ovation back in '76,
I vowed that a Pacemaker' be "next" . . . . it never happened.
Picked one up not too long ago . . . cheap.
Nice guitars.
Not as "precise" (up the neck) as my Legend12,
but a nice little, open "strummer" . . . .
(especially for recording) |
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February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | Well...we've gone from Taylors...to Idaho...to Pacemakers. What next? |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | We could always beat around the Bush for a while. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Bill, I think we would prefer that you do that in private. |
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July 2005
Posts: 176
| Don't make me go all Cliff on you all. You can't bunch all of the Taylors together based on your limited experience. Shame on you. Thank God I'm above all that.
I've played plenty I don't like, but I have a 712ce that is one of the best guitars I've played ever.
Yep, you'll pay a bit of a premium for the name, but that doesn't mean you can't find an exceptional guitar. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15678
Location: SoCal | How much was your 712ce? |
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December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Rephrase that: How much was the case that your 712ce came in? |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | A BIT of a premium? :eek: |
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July 2005
Posts: 176
| I paid $1000 new because of a finish crack.
But yes, I think a bit of a premium.
Used the Taylor 555ce-12 can be had for about $1500. The Adamas ME 1598 is about the same used. Sure you might prefer one over the other, but they are both excellent, well made guitars.
I might even argue that the Adamas is a better buy, but I would definitely argue that they are in the same ballpark. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | No, no, no. that would be bush. I'm talking about Bush |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | That too. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Oh Ok. It was just a suggestion. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Sorry, Bill. I'm a cwanky wabbit today. |
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Taylors ...