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Location: big island | With great fear and trepidation, swallowing hard and sweating profusely, expecting the tomatoes to start flying in my direction, I confess to having a tragic yet eye (and ear)-opening experience last evening. (I'd much rather have had a hemorrhoid or a PERI-ANAL ABCESS!) If you, the reader, cannot handle seeing the "T" word and it receiving a favorable comment, then please, stop reading now!
I admit to owning a Big Baby Taylor that I purchased on eBay nearly three years ago for $300 plus shipping, used, but in great condition. Because of its laminate construction and bolt-on neck, it has survived the humidity here very well. I installed a passive Fishman under saddle pickup and have used it as a back up for many gigs. The action is superb and the neck is very comfortable. I had not taken it out of its gig-bag since I acquired my W597 until last night. After tuning it up and fingerpicking a few tunes I had to come to grips with the fact that acoustically it sounds far superior to the Adamas. (DUCK!~!) It also has more volume. (DUCKING again!~!)
I have wondered why so many W597s show up for sale on the bay but I only noticed that AFTER I got mine. I remain so very elated with the Adamas plugged in. It absolutely shines and I have not heard any guitar sound better natively, without effects.
After 38 years of playing "normal" guitars, I am having a bit of discomfort with the angle of my left wrist while playing a roundback standing up at gigs. I purchased one of those "Slip-Grip" pads on the bay and applied it slightly above center back which has helped somewhat, it just does not stick there very well.
Okay...time to go take a shower and wash the tomato sauce off... |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Brave, boy. What did you say your address was? |
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Location: big island | nearly 5600 miles from your address. ain't i lucky!?! |
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Location: Omaha, NE | I love my Taylor. Its a 714ce, and is an absolutely wonderful guitar. |
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Location: closely held secret | The key here is "w597". If you compared it against a textured-top model (Adamas I, II or the Ute), you may have had a different opinion. Sorry, but I just don't feel the smooth top models have the Adamas voice. |
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Location: big island | i have had three taylors, all bought online. an 814ce brazilian anniversary, their 955 jumbo model and the big baby sapele laminate. i was quite disappointed with the 814 and the 955 and re-sold them directly. the big baby, which i kept, is quite impressive for its quality and sound especially at $400 new. i had a taylor GS maple on layaway at a local store just before i decided to get my adamas. the second time i went in to visit the GS, which was brand new, i noticed the top was already rippling and the store had just gotten it in from the factory the week before. i took the money and ran. it had a sweet voice but i did not think it was going to endure the environment and my gig schedule for very long. |
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Location: big island | wabbit,
i thank you for that opinion. i have not had the opportunity to play the I, II or UTE models with the textured tops. but i knew that i had to be missing something here...
only wish i had found you guys first!
how do the textured top models compare to the smooth tops plugged in? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Every bit as good. |
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Location: big island | live and learn. mahalo, jeff! |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I've written this at least a dozen times on this board over the years - the Taylor Big Baby is THE best bargin in reasonable priced guitars. My son bought one a few years ago and it just blows away alomst everything else in the house. He lives on his own, 3000 miles away now, but that has nothing to do with the Taylor. The TBB competes pricewise with the cheapest celebs. Soundwise, well, I already said it. The W597 is a decent guitar but it's no adamas. But you would certainly expect it should sound better than a TBB... But it doesn't.
Dave |
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Location: SE Michigan | I owned a W597 for a couple years but I sold it. It was a very good guitar but not particularly excellant in the area of unplugged tone.
I have owned quite a few Ovations as well as other brand guitars. I think that in-general most higher-end wood box guitars have a more pleasing unplugged sound, however there are also many excellant sounding Ovations and Adamii.
One thing to keep in mind is that Ovations sound much better out in front of the guitar and you as the player dont actually get as much tone as your audience. Wood box guitars tend to sound better to the player but do not project quite as well to the audience.
I also have sampled a few of the low-end Taylors, the 110 and 310 I think, and they were awesome for the price. Based on the ones I sampled I think the regular Taylor baby is an over-rated turd of a guitar, but I hear great things about the big baby. |
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Location: big island | whoops! forgot to mention i did also own an "over-rated turd of a guitar" baby taylor. it sucked more than a kirby vacuum. but the big baby is a whole 'nother animal. it does not do so well with hard strumming though. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Great word, "mahalo" |
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Location: Lebanon, TN | Hmm okay time to be the W597 fan boy.
First things first I agree about the Big Baby. It is about the only Taylor that I would spend the money on for a Taylor because I think it just sounds so good for the money. I also love my Daughters mahogany Martin D-15 for similar tone/dollar related reasons.
Now the W597. I have had my CB since 2000 and I love the sucker. I love the satin vee neck, I love the sharp almost piano like tone and the balance across the range. The action is great and the cobalt blue when light hits it is phenomenal.
I recently had Tony Calman's Millenium shipped to me with a view to buy and sell my W597. I sent the Millenium back to Tony. Beautiful but it just sounded different from the CB and yet why as they are basically the same construction and materials. So the CB stays.
The Woven tops are stable so it shouldn't be a manufacturing variance, I just dont know exactly what it is, but I constantly turn to mine as my "guitar to reach for" of choice. Maybe the medium body has some effect and I would love to see a W597 in a contour to see if that changes things. Personally I get really clear 'crisp' bass when playing it so it is 'bassy' enough for me with a combination of strumming and finger picking.
I wont be selling mine unless I find something better and nothing has come along so far.
YMMV and this is only my 2 cents :D |
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Location: big island | thanks tupp and brian for your replies. sheesh! this ain't hurtin' me as much as i thought. i take back the hemorrhoid and PERI-ANAL ABCESS druthers... |
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Location: big island | Mahalo for the advocacy, Stuart. Have you played a I, II or Ute to compare your W597 with? |
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Location: GA USA | May the fires of a thousand volcanoes flow down your spineless back and singe your already hairless butt.
Is that more what you were looking for? |
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Location: big island | captain,
now just how in the world would you know if my butt was hairless or not? |
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Location: NJ | ". . I am interested and hopeful to hear my 47RI when it arrives . ."
Make room in the closet for all the others . . . you'll need it. |
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Location: south east Michigan | I think that over time you'll find us to be a pretty tolerant and open minded bunch. |
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Location: big island | aloha brad,
yup...so far, so good! i ain't so sure about that captain_lovehandles guy though. however, i did see him post that i was in contention for being one of his favorite people after about nine of my posts. now he wants the fire goddess, "pele", to burn my butt up! i suppose that would be a quick cure for any hemorrhoidal or PERI-ANAL ABCESS problems... |
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Location: closely held secret | I didn't say or mean to imply that "all smooth top Adamii suck". I'm simply saying that acoustically, they don't compare to the textured-tops. |
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Location: Michigan | Thanks Captain,you said what I have been trying to say for a few days now.
MY PERI-ANAL-ABCESS FEELS LIKE THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND VOLCANOES FLOWING OUT OF MY ASS.
I go in tommorrow for surgery to put out the fire.GWB |
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Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | GWB: As an ex-surgical care and ITU specialist nurse, I hope you feel better soon buddy
HW |
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Location: big island | hey GWB,
sorry to get so much "mileage" from your affliction! and i really wish you the very best for a speedy recovery.
aloha,
lanaki (randy) |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Lana, you have discovered by now what a broad minded and irreverent group this is. Everything from hemmeroids to steroids is a valid topic of conversation for both commisseration and ridicule.
Basically, anything that would entertain a 12 year old boy. |
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Location: big island | well...ain't this site all about boys and their toys? |
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Location: big island | not to be neglectful of the ladies here who play O's too! |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by guitarwannabee:
Thanks Captain,you said what I have been trying to say for a few days now.
MY PERI-ANAL-ABCESS FEELS LIKE THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND VOLCANOES FLOWING OUT OF MY ASS.
I go in tommorrow for surgery to put out the fire.GWB  |
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Location: GA USA | Originally posted by Lanaki:
...i suppose that would be a quick cure for any hemorrhoidal or... That's it. I was just wishing you good health, inside and out. I truly enjoy you and I'm glad you've decided to join us here at the TFC.
I mean OFC.
And HEY! I ate something called "lau lau" out of a lunch truck across from the Capitol in Honolulu. Great stuff. When I got back home I looked for some. But there's not a single Hawaiian restaurant in Atlanta. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | With all you guys being blown away , space must be crowded , no wonder the Klingons are upset... :D
:cool:
Vic |
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Location: big island | aloha cap'n,
in the song, "i'm going back to my little grass shack (in kealakekua, hawaii)" one of the lines is:
"lau lau is the kau kau at the big luau". since you ate the stuff from a roach coach, i mean maggot wagon, i mean lunch truck, yours was probably the pork variety. lau lau is generally a meat or fish wrapped in taro leaves first and then ti leaves and steamed. it is one of my favorites and goes so well with the poi! i no longer eat pork but enjoy the chicken and sweet potato variety lau lau.
when i was living in asheville, nc and working in the food brokerage business, i helped bob ingle set up his chain of supermarkets in your area. i was all over the atlanta area. i well remember spaghetti junction! |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Wait until you try a texture top - you'll be impressed. My 1581 and even my old SSB 1881 Adamas II completely blow away the couple of SMT models I've played. Just something about the finish and weave that limit the sound quality unplugged. Nothing quite like the original...or as close to it as we can get! |
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Location: big island | aloha andrew,
i'd like to get this one but funds won't allow it. one day...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Adamas-II-ORIGINAL-1982-Acoustic-Electric_W0QQi... |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | VERY NICE!!! That would do it! |
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Location: Hicksville, NY | Originally posted by Lanaki:
whoops! forgot to mention i did also own an "over-rated turd of a guitar" baby taylor. it sucked more than a kirby vacuum. which is why i end up acquiring the LXM :) |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Is that one of the 'textured top' ones you've all been talking about? I also like that one Lanaki. Normal Ovation headstock and uncarved bridge. If it had a cutaway (and I was rich) I'd buy one too. |
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Location: GA USA | Originally posted by Lanaki:
aloha cap'n,
in the song, "i'm going back to my little grass shack (in kealakekua, hawaii)" one of the lines is:
"lau lau is the kau kau at the big luau". I think that's actually from the hukilau song, isn't it? |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Originally posted by muzza:
Is that one of the 'textured top' ones you've all been talking about? I also like that one Lanaki. Normal Ovation headstock and uncarved bridge. If it had a cutaway (and I was rich) I'd buy one too. |
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Location: big island | cap'n,
stop tellin' me my business! dangit, i'm beginning to think i deserve number 5150...
yes, hukilau song is the correct answer. i should have used my "phone a friend" option! |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | This group puts the "and..." back in anal retentive.
(in Lithuainian that's actually quite funny) |
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Location: big island | cap'n,
when we play those two songs at our gigs, we do it medley style. we start out with "little grass shack" and lead into "hukilau" so it's all one song to my mind. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | ...."in Lithuainian that's actually quite funny"....
I was wonderin who was encouraging you.... |
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Location: GA USA | Hukilau was one of the first uke tabs I went to find, though it's still a bit advanced for me. Jumpin' Jack Flash is coming along though. |
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Location: big island | it's a gas, gas, gas... |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by Lanaki:
... so it's all one song to my mind. I have the same problem with \'One For My Baby\' and 'I Wanna Be Sedated'. |
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Acoustic Remorse...