taylor or another guitar
 

Latley I have been on the AG discussion forum and it seems like when ever somebody brings up the topic of buying a taylor some one always tells them to go buy a martin or larivee because they have better bass responce and the top wont give overdriven(whatever that means) I am looking for and all around guitar some models a I have checked out are the 714ce and the 514ce. Any question, comments pointers. Would any of you trade your taylors for something else?

sj

Hello sjenkins17,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm guessing that anyone who owns or has owned both Taylors and Martins would tell you that both are good guitars.

Personally, Martin, although a good guitar, never turned my crank much. I like the sound and playability of my Taylors.

I attend bluegrass festivals where there are a lot of Martin guitars...and many of my friends have them.

I play my Taylors just as hard as they play their Martins and 'no' Taylors are not overdriven....at least not anymore than Martins are IMHO.

Play some different guitars and make your own decision....thats what I did even though some of my 'bluegrass' friends don't completely understand my love of the Taylor sound.

But even my Martin friends are impressed with the sound of my 814CE.

Best of luck.

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RL

Hello Again,

By the way, you might want to check out this website in which a Taylor owner by the name of YoGeorge compares his Taylor's to some of his other guitars.

It's under the thread called:

"Bob Taylor's Secret Formula"

http://www.coredatasys.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html

His assessments are interesting.

Hi sjenkins17
Dito what RL said.
Although I have not found a guitar that I would trade any of my Taylors for that does not mean the others are not excellent guitars, I just prefer the Taylors. Just play em all and buy the guitar that has the perfect combination of Sound Feel and appearance. Maybe it will be a Taylor maybe not. The 514 and 714 are both GREAT guitars but be sure to play the 3s 4s 6s and 8s as well.
Have fun!
Bill.

thanks for the input. I will try the other model as well

SJ

Hi, sjenkins17! Welcome to the forum.

I'd strongly suggest trying both guitars and picking the one that you fall in love with. These "this guitar is better than that guitar" discussions are pointless, and I wouldn't put much stock in them. Tone is very subjective, and Martin and Taylor guitars have different tonal qualities which appeal to the individual buyer. Both are very well-built guitars with excellent warranties. I've heard that Taylor has better customer service, and this may be a major buying point to some people. Martin, however, has been in business for .... er... a long time. That, too, is a buying point for some people.

Tone an playability are what these two major American guitar makers are known for. They're both worth a look.

My choice is obvious, but I admit that the Taylor guitars that I like aren't the favorites of others. That's why you really need to play a bunch of guitars and buy the one you fall madly in love with.

J.R.

As far as an all-around guitar the Taylor x14's (Grand Auditorium body shape) would be in my opinion the way to go. It is purposely designed to be an all-around guitar by one of the most knowledgable guitar builders in the world, Bob Taylor. It sounds beautiful played fingerstyle. You so very clearly hear every note. The strings sound like six little bells. It sounds beautiful when strummed. Rich ring and chime.

However, cedar-topped guitars (the 514 and 714 come standard with cedar - you can special order two different types of spruce tops) are pretty much thought of as excellent for fingerstyle and not the best option for strumming at all. That's not to say they don't sound good strummed, but spruce is usually considered a better way to go for that. For lack of a better description, overdriven means broken up, rattled, distorted. Someone out there correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe cedar is MUCH more likely to get overdriven. By the way, some people like the gritty sound of a guitar being overdriven - all depends on the type of music being played.

Lower line Taylors are constructed the same way the upper end Taylors are as far as bracing and all such things. That is most definitely not the case with Martin.

Taylor guitars also have a totally new and innovative neck design. Improves playability and intonation. Taylor already had the most playable guitars. They already had the best intonated guitars. Somehow they increased their lead over the competition. Cool. Like to use a capo? Like to use it high on the neck? Want it to sound in tune? Get a Taylor. You can get a free video about the neck from Taylor. I'm surprised more folks on this forum don't rave about it. It's awesome!

Be aware you can get a Taylor with 3 different neck widths ( 1 11/16 inch, 1 3/4, or 1 7/8) Make sure you get what you mean to get.

By the way, special ordering a different nut width is a no-charge option on all Taylors. That's nice! Getting a spruce top for one that normally comes cedar-topped is also no charge.

Now don't ask me why I have a Martin! Long story...get a Taylor!

Obviously Martin doesn't make junk. You've got to try them out for yourself...just make sure guitars you're comparing have fresh strings on them. If the strings don't look good, ask the shop to put some new ones on. I've seen people pick up $3,000 guitars with old, funky, dead, and green from sweat strings then conclude it's a horrible sounding guitar. Ding-dong? Anybody home? http://taylorforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by mapletrees (edited 02-12-2001).]

I definitely agree with those who have given advice ... you do need to decide for yourself ... or have someone come with you to help you decide ... in the end, it's your choice.

At this point, the only thing I'd trade a Taylor for is another Taylor or a Goodall. I did trade one Taylor for a Larrivee, but I kept that Larrivee for only a few months ... it was traded in for a Goodall.

That said, I've been also playing a few Collings that have tempted me ... but not for long ... so, there may be a day that I won't have any Taylors and I'll be on to something else ... but that time is far from here.

Hi; I had a nice martin d16tr, spruce and rose wood dreadnought.It was a nice guitar but I found the sound to be thick and boomy,I think personaly Taylors have certain shimmer in their voice that I find more pleasing.Maybe blue grass players are looking for that sound or I dont interpret it the same. Or maybe I just had a pig? but any way I still like Martin guitars,but I will take the Taylor shimmer any day.

There is, unfortunately, a group of posters who are so bitter about Taylor's internet policy that they try to discourage anyone from buying a Taylor guitar. This, in an effor to punish Taylor until they see the (their) light.

Yes, Martins are more bassy but that could also be restated to say they are unbalanced. That is not even universally true for Martins as they have a plethora of models and bracing patterns to yield a lot of different tones. The 'classic' Martin sound is bassy though.

In the local bluegrass playouts I've been very happy playing my Taylor. The Taylor balance may give less boom but I have a better chuck. (as in boom chuck boom chuck...)

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George Wilson

sjenkins17, I just bought a new 810, and since I did extensive listening to Martins, larrivee's and others I came to one simple conclusion: This particular 810 really sounded way superior to the other makes IMHO.
But, I really think you should make sure the model you try has the new neck design. In my 810 the difference was not insignificant.
It really is amazing how big a difference there is when the intonation is right on.
Precision in this area is where Taylor now seems to have it over the other makes.

Great advice-as everyone else has mentioned, just play a bunch until one grabs you. If you are looking for an all-around, you may want to look at a spruce top instead of cedar. Cedar sounds great when fingerpicked, but, as mapletrees said, does break up under serious strumming. Spruce sounds good for either. Cedar is also softer, and more likely to scratch/dent than spruce. Your choices (514ce & 714ce) are excellent, all-around guitars (just make sure you look for the spruce top). Enjoy the journey-it's half the fun to getting a new guitar-and let us know what you end up deciding.

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ihs' Gear

As the owner of many guitars including some high end inboth Taylor and Martin. Let me say this. As the owner of the highest end of both spectums A 910B Taylor and a martin D-45 neither is my favorite. My TaylorK-14C is. All are great guitars. I cant speak for Larivee because ive never owned one. I do know all these builders make excellant guitars. I cant judge which one is the best only what I like the best. Go try some out and my bet is that one will just grab you. Thats the one to buy. Dont buy a guitar because your friend tells you it the best. Find what you like and buy it. My K14C is my favorite but I like the 300 series better that the 500s I like the 600s better that the 800s. Its all just a matter of what you like. Pick what you like! If its a martin, breedlove, larivee or taylor you cant go wrong if it strikes you right. They are all good. With martin you know they have to be good because its the guitar all others are compared to. This comes from years of building excellant guitars. Ive had a bad one but that happens. I wont blast them for one mistake. Taylor has impressed me with outstanding service, consistant quality and most of all the great sound of an unconventional build style. I like the fact Taylor is not afraid to take the leap into technology meeting wood. Its not grandpa's guitar but his sounds good also. There is more than one way to skin a cat but eackh way seems to do the job well. Hold it, listen and play. You will know when the right one comes along whatever it may be. JW

Howdy

No... i would never trade my beloved 310 for any other maker's guitar. Simple as that. I believe that i am not being biased because i do try other makes. Each time i go into a music store, i make sure i try other guitars and still, my 310 beats the pulp of out them~

Just everything about Taylor makes me really impressed about them. Even Bob Taylor. He's pretty crazy sharing his secrets and techniques with the whole world, but it is his desire to make acoustic guitars in general the better. Like others have said, because of HIM, other well-known luthiers are changing some of their ways too!

Now, if the question was "would you trade your Taylor(s) for another Taylor," then that's an interesting question to tackle with! But for me, i'd probably not... my 310 is me first one and she's still the sweet charmer! And everyone still gravitates to my 310 at church... their hands always try to reach her... http://taylorforum.com/ubb/tongue.gif

Blessings
nick

Although I've traded several Taylors ... I have not traded my first one (GA-BE, the one that made me go nuts over Taylors) ... and I'm almost 100% sure it will never go (except for financial reasons ... and it will definitely be one of the last to go).

That said, I don't know if I have a Taylor or Goodall right now that I'd trade in ... of course, if the right guitar came ... I don't know which would go, though.