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Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | Ok, As a Jr member I hope I don't start something
bad here , but, What is it about Taylor's that seem to be the brunt of a lot of negativity?
I love Ovation's, but , if we talk about strictly "Solid wood Guitars" I have the same passion for Taylor's. they are a quality guitar
and have found their Customer service to be right on Par with Ovation. Your Thoughts? |
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March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | don't take everything seriously :-)
In every movie you must have a "bad character", it's the same with guitar forums.
We all know that rue root of all evil is GIBSON |
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Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | I don't dislike Taylor guitars and have owned several upper end models, but can mention overpriced and overhyped to start. I think if Ovation handed out endorsement guitars to the degree Taylor has, you'd see a lot more Ovations on tour and in videos. That's an unsubstantiated opinion, I hasten to add. In my further opinion, there is a lot more 'bang for the buck' to be had with a number of other brands, Ovation included, than with Taylor.
There are Taylor owners on this board. More power to them. It's a matter of personal preference and taste, as well as value. |
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October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | Hey, to each his own. Being new to this forum I'm still feeling things out. The way I feel is if you like a guitar for what ever reason, enjoy it! |
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Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | According to the occasional post on this board by those who frequent other boards, Ovation bashing is far more common than Taylor-bashing is here. One of us owns a trebuchet for that, if necessary. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Taylors are OK, they're just not my cup of espresso. I just get much more excited about Collings, Taks and Merrills.
Gibson is the root of all evil, well said. |
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Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | BT, it's just one of the running gags. Like Llamas and short-sheeting Cliffs bed....
(which he actually doesn't know about, as he seems to pass-out by the toilet) |
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Posts: 18
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | I am a lover of different tones.. My collection includes a 1993 Taylor 612C, a (god help me) Gibson AJ, my 6756 Legend LX 12 string and an old Maxxas M3 (Custom division of Ibanez). I love my collection for it's diversity. I can pretty much play anything I want and have a guitar that is suited for it's purpose. Taylor was my first love and likely always will be, but I am not a guitar snob. If it has great tone and good action I will even overlook obvious flaws in looks! (Good example is I really don't like my pick guard on the Gibson AJ, but that is part of the reason my Taylor is named "Beauty" and my Gibson is named "Beast"! I still have to name the Ovation, it is too new to me to have gained that status yet. Butt it will NOT be "Bastard Child" LOL |
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Posts: 863
Location: Central Florida | Taylors, IMHO, are great sounding, well built guitars, but like CWK2, they're just not for me. I've owned two in the last couple of years, and kept one for about three months and the other for three days... Good guitars, just not my "thang." |
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Posts: 15663
Location: SoCal | I've got a Gibson AJ in the house right now that belongs to a friend who housed his guitars here during the fires. Great guitar.
Taylors are good guitars. I've played some that I really liked, but they cost too much for what you get, and they've never really punched the "buy me" button inside of me. |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Taylor's just lack personality. It doesn't make them evil, just banal for the price you pay. |
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Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | I "hear" everyone of you and respect your opinions. It IS about personal preference and what sounds and feels good to you may not to someone else. I will add though that I find with most of the big 4 or 5 large production (Taylor, Martin ect) Guitar Co you are paying extra for the name. |
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Posts: 1330
Location: ms | I`ve owned more Taylors than Ovations, more Martins than Taylors. Right now i`m down to one Taylor, its been staying with friends lately. Its one of the better Taylors i`ve had but i do think, crap i know they're over priced... |
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Location: NJ | Taylor builds nice furniture. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by cliff:
Taylor builds nice furniture. yeah, but you can't sit on it.
i've owned several taylors, high and low end. they just don't hold up as gigging guitars, especially in this environment, in my experience. they are not like timex watches but they do make nice ornaments.
an exception would be their big baby model. one of the very best bang-for-the-buck guitars. |
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Posts: 5563
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Don't judge the Taylor line by their lower series guitars which, as Paul mentioned, pretty much lack personality and are expensive for what you get...that I agree (look at Cleb's or Applesause's for example)...
I own three from their higher series: a 2006 810 Fall Limited: Madagascar Rosewood, flamed maple binding, acorn pearl inlay fret markers, expression system; A 1998 615 Custom Jumbo w/Brazilian rosewood (hands down the best sounding guitar I have ever owned - and that is really saying something: trust me; also a 1998 W-65 Claro Walnut 12 string. I also own some fine electric's and 11 Ovations and Adamas guitars, and one Martin and others...The ovations and I have a long history and are great instruments: plugged in they are my go to choice as well as the 12's in any situation (best 12's in the business in my opinion)...so I rotate my guitars depending on what I am playing and where...Sure the Taylor’s carried a big price tag BUT I have never paid retail for any of them and in some cases paid only half of retail or less...there are good deals available if you seek them out (or, as happened last week with the 1685-5, they sometimes fall into your lap!
To each their own...that's what makes it fun! |
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Posts: 1330
Location: ms | OOPS i forgot i do have a 415CE thats in the shop. |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I've only played one Taylor guitar that I really liked...and I bought it (a 30th anniversary 714ce). It is sooooo sweet.
I think that Taylor and Ovation are at different ends of the same string: Ovation revolutionized the guitar world by putting more technology into the guitar. Taylor did the same thing, only they put the technology into the plant. Both approaches are interesting.
One thing I will say for Taylor: Their stuff is insanely well made. The fit and finish is exceptional. And the NT neck is a really good design. And it looks like they finally have all the bugs worked out of the ES. The newest versions are wonderful.
But at the end of the day, and probably more for sentimental reasons than anything, I like my Ovation best. |
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Location: SoCal | ice cream.... lotta different flavors....... |
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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I've played a number of Taylor also, and the 9-- series is the only one that made any kind of impression on me. I do agree that they make a very nice guitar, but not nice enough to justify the price tag. Like any top-of-the-line model guitar, you can find some really nice playing and sounding ones, and you can also find some cows in the herd. I just feel like a good model Ovation or Adamas is the best deal out there for the same price as a cheap Taylor. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Boy, would I love to repond to this post ... |
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Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | i've played on taylor 914CE and it was compared head to head to Martin 0028 Eric Clapton, both of those guitars were sold by the same person with about the same price (over $3k), and Martin owned Taylor big time. Taylor had more comfortabl neck (for me) but sound wise, it wasn't even close. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I'm not a Taylor owner myself, but I own one of their neon signs, and I got a good night's sleep in a Holiday Inn Express. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I originally liked Ovations because they were different and they made sense. Thinking out of the box literally. Never really heard of Taylor until a few years later. I had 4 or 5 very nice and diverse Ovations when a friend bought a Taylor. I didn't think it sounded any better than my 1537 and SWMBO remarked that all of my Ovations put together didn't cost as much as his Taylor. That's what I like best about Taylor. They are nothing really special to me, except they make all of my Ovations seem very reasonable. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by Tupperware:
Boy, would I love to repond to this post ... I, for one, would rather hear what Standingovation would say..... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ |  |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Now that's brilliant!
I've had 3 Taylors over the years. Nice but they didn't stay. Their lower end strike me as a glass of warm 1% milk. Nothing wrong with it but do you really want that, or would you rather have a nice cold glass of whole milk to float your cerial?
Or is Becks better than Sharps or you pick the comparison. |
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Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | It's really hard to paint an entire brand name with a single broad brush. Sure, it's easy to say "Ovation is God and Taylor Sucks". But we all know that's not true. Some Ovations are really dogs. Same with Martin, Taylor, etc. The whole bunch have their high marks and low marks model by model. The "issue" that I have with Taylor is that I have had to try a LOT harder to find one that I liked. And yes, I have tried plenty of the high end models. Some were quite nice, but at the end of the day the word that my mind associates with Taylor is "ordinary". There are certainly exceptions (see below). In the Taylor-Martin comparison of similarly hyped and similarly priced guitars in the $3-$5k range, with Martin I actually feel like I'm getting something special, and with Taylor I feel like I'm getting ripped of by the name. I know that sounds grossly overstated, but that's just the gut feeling I walk away with 95% of the time. I can't change how my emotions react to them, I'm sorry. And because of this, yes my overall opinion is that I just don't like Taylors. Period.
Now here's a twist. Don't shoot me, but I am currently playing a Taylor 710-L9 and I actually DO like it. I'm borrowing it for a short time from another member. It's a short scale dread and it sounds and plays great. Everything about it is very, very nice. Trust me I am TRYING to find a reason not to like it and I can't come up with one. I guess I can no longer say that ALL Taylors have disappointed me - only 95% of them.
Dave |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Bang! Bang! |
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Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | Wow, I tried not to and didn't want to start a whole Taylor bash here, but, I'll say it again. To each his own. Maybe as someone who has only been playing for 6 yrs my ear isn't as trained as the rest of (or most of)you, but all I remember is going to G.C. playing many models and different MFG's and the 1 guitar I kept going back to was the Taylor 310. It was at the high end of what I could afford for a Solid wood guitar. I liked other models/brands for what they offered, warmer, brighter, the feel of the neck, price!, but there was something about that guitar that just sounded good to me, and made me want to play and improve.
Isn't that what it is suppose to be about???
The joy of playing music. I've heard some of your music on this website. I'm very impressed and wish I could be half of what I hear. I get the feeling that when I respond to a "Post" I am responding to a group of extra-ordinary musicians and a group of "people" who have been in the music business for quite a while. A group that knows what they are talking about. trust me , I'm not taking this too seriously, but, I think some of us need to remember what it was like our first few years of playing. The Joy we had when we got that first guitar that inspired us to play. What ever the make or model was. This is a an Ovation Lovers website first and for most. We joined because we have a passion for this "Guitar" lets not forget that and be open minded to understand the same passion for others. If I have offended anyone, broken and unwritten rule, I apoligize. Remember, I'm just a "baby" (LOL!!!) |
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Location: Cicero, NY | "...but there was something about that guitar that just sounded good to me, and made me want to play and improve.
Isn't that what it is suppose to be about???
The joy of playing music."
Simply put, yes. Buy what sounds good to you and enjoy playing it. The rest is just subjective opinion (whether experienced or not) and most here will agree with that (StandingOvation aside, that brazenly opinionated...well, never mind that now). No harm, no foul, BT.
Oh and we eat rules for breakfast around here. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by BT717:
Isn't that what it is suppose to be about??? YES!
and what anyone else thinks is totally irrelevant.
A group that knows what they are talking about. Got you fooled, din't we?
This is a an Ovation Lovers website first and for most. Man am I lost!
I thought it was the Sit-down Comedians Site... |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Everyone is going to have their favorite guitars and their less favorite guitars. It's all just personal opinion. Most of my least favorites all happen to be Taylors. So what? It doesn't mean anything. Other people gag at the guitars that I call my favorites. It doesn't bother me.
Dave |
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July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | Everyone has personal preferences.
Ovation, Adamas, Gibson, Guild, Martin Takimine and Taylor are the big boys, in Quality Acoustic Guitar market.
Then you have smaller builders like Collings, Santa Cruz, Tocoma, Huss & Dalton, Merril, Larrivee,
Breedlove, Rain Song, and other.
Then you have boutique builders Vince Pawless.
They all make fine guitars.
Which one is right depends on who you are and how you play.
Even inside brands there preferences.
I perfer traditional series with wood tops.
Does this mean Adamas or LX models are no good?
Certainly not.
Its just not for me. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Now that many have posted-- My turn. Everybody Needs Somebody To Cream On!
So we may as well pick on the most snobbishly expensive guitar company we can find.
And Taylor just begs to be picked-on!
Larivee is also a good choice, but Larivee doesn't seem so stuck-up!
Volvo is just as expensive as Mercedes!
But school teachers drive Volvos, and Lawyers drive Mercedes!
'nuff said! |
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October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | I hear a bit of the passion I tried to talk about!!
Cool! Here' to just playing, what ever it is!!!!! |
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What is it about???