Originally Posted by fingerling
I just got a NOS Taylor GT 811e on a NOS Taylor closeout sale at LA Guitar Works. I've been interested in the GT line since the release and probably would have gone for the Urban Ash if not for this sale and the mixed, some good many not, reviews of the Urban Ash, although I think it was berated unfairly and was the nicest of the AD level GTs when they first came out. I wanted the GT as I need a shorter scale length given some dexterity and reach issues with my fretting hand. So I've got a Larrivee T-44 with 22.8 inch scale length and a Larrivee O-40 with 24 inch scale length. I'd had a 1994 Taylor 612c(e) but the 25.5 scale length (reduced in the newer x12s) was too much for me. I was interested in the GTs as they are really the largest guitar you can buy (not custom) with a 24 (and 1/8) inch scale length. I've had a Martin Jr Dread in Sapele and it did not compare in the least to the Larrivee O-40 all mahogany I have now, so sold the Martin. I find the nonsense over this being a GS Mini silly as the body is 15 inches, the same as a GC or x12 Taylor. Only the length at 18.5 inches is a bit shorter. The GT if you get real about it is really between an OO and OOO size, depending on the maker and a lot of people on the Forum play Martin OO or OOO no problem. As for the 811e and the bellyaching about price. Well I get that, but if you look at every maker, the pricing on smaller guitars is about the same as for larger ones. My Larrivee T-44 costs the same as a Larrivee D-44 dread with the same details. So you have to get over that. But the good news is that the Taylor 811e is both beautiful in terms of finish, woods, and sound. I was looking for a spruce/rosewood guitar to round out my set and this is really a vibrant guitar with lush overtones, great bass and treble both and the mids are not so scooped either. I know that folks like to berate Andy Powers as a marketer and bemoan the old good days at Taylor in the 90s. That said, the C-class bracing really does a good job of getting bass out of a smaller guitar while keeping the other sound in balance and crisp. Yes, the GS Mini is loud too, it has a larger sound hole, but alas every GS Mini, including the Koa Plus, has left me disappointed. Perhaps I haven't played a good GS Mini, but I've played a lot of them. And at the end of the day the 811e hits it out of the park in terms of sound, how it fits and feels sitting. And the nut width complaint, that it is too small at 1 23/32 rather than 1 3/4 is pretty much nonsense. My Larrivees are all 1 3/4 and to be honest the 1 23/32 width the short scale is easiest to play. My goodness the Santa Cruz Firefly, generally lauded as the penultimate small guitar is specced with a 1 11/16 and folks pay a lot more for that guitar than the Taylor GT. All in all, I did my research on the Taylor GT and the 811e in particular and watched and heard a bunch of videos. The videos, apart from a few, just don't do it justice. It's a bigger and better sounding guitar that the GT haters really should give a try. I think you'd be really surprised if you're looking at a OO or OOO spruce/rosewood guitar and are not locked onto the Martin sound.
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