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#1
06-21-2022, 03:01 PM
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Taylor 724ce Koa 2.5 Week Eval and 727 BE Koa When?
  I've had this beautiful guitar for a little over 2 weeks now and I'm really happy with it now, after some development. I'm not too up on guitars, just recently began playing, but I have a Taylor 517 BE that I love, a couple GS Minis (one ostensibly for my daughter.) The 517 BE is a phenomenal guitar but I wanted a "different" sound than spruce and mahogany; for some reason the classical spuce/rosewood combo doesn't appeal. Probably I just like more midtones because I can't sing that well and want to drown myself out. I got the Taylor 517 BE after thinking I would end up with a Martin D-18 that my music leader in church uses and sounds great, but the 517 BE rang my bell more than that and the others I played in a few shops. After loving the 517 for a while GAS kicked in and I wanted something with more treble...I really liked an all myrtlewood Breedlove, great tone, a little muted, didn't pull the trigger though. Tried Furchs, Larrivees, all great ...but my dream was a solid all koa. The Taylor K24 BE, specifically. So PRETTY and almost like the mahogany tone with extra treble and chime. Perfect! Except for the price.  So when I saw the Taylor 724ce announced I was excited but the YouTube recordings sounded too high and tight, disappointing vs. the K24. Koa needs time to develop, I know all that IN THEORY. I saw a local Guitar Center got one in stock, that I could get a GS mini mahogany for an extra $200 as well, so I jumped on it, even before the 724ce was unpacked. Played it...great tone but high and tight. Well, what was the shipping like? Got it home, controlled temperature and humidity 45-55%, after a few days...still too high and tight. Should I return it, give up on my all koa dream? I checked on a few places, including Taylor's website, and they all said a common mistake was buyers would get koa at least half because looks, then are too impatient to wait for the resonance and bass to develop. Hmm, sounds like ME but I don't know HOW it would develop over time or if I got a bum model. Researched and found out a few things to do before that: 1) Different picks. Ordered some from Charmed Life, but he is backed up (no problem, I'll wait, will work for any guitar). A D'addario casein pick I ordered in was ALMOST good but to string-clicky. Spammed Guitar Center, thicker picks like 1.14-1.25mm mellowed the high trebles without hurting my strumming too much. 2) Changed to Martin Retro monel strings. THAT helped a lot! Much less high jangle and better tone definition. 3) After researching "interesting" (lol) threads on the Tonerite device, I decided there was a good probability it would help within the GC return period. Yep! After the first 24 hours on I noticed a good development in resonance and bass, definite improvements every time I pull it off to play; it's been going for about 10 days and really nice now. These respond well to Tonerite. And heavy play, both as much as possible. At this point, resonance and bass has developed REALLY well. Honestly I think it's better than the 517 now, and that's saying A LOT. A very haptic feedback on my arm and chest while playing I suppose. The thing that I really want though is a 727 BE. A Grand Pacific body Buider's Edition styling with all koa. I've left my 517 BE and 724ce together with candlelight and romantic music, but I don't think they're mating yet. Might be too stressful in captivity. Might also have to wait on dear old Andy for it, I'm sure there's requests now that the 700 series is koa-based. 
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#3
04-19-2024, 01:59 AM
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When I become better at guitar playing and have more time on my hands, I will build on my small guitar collection. These KOA Taylors have been on my wish list for some time...I think they look stunning. Such an alternative model to have in your collection
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#4
04-19-2024, 02:39 PM
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I really like my 724ce! It's very sweet.
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#5
04-19-2024, 02:46 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Be curious, not judgmental.
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