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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | O.k., spent some time with the new Tak this weekend. First, I put new batteries and strings on the other models for the comparo just to keep things even. Included besides the Tak were the 1581 Ad-II, 1651 Legend Ltd, Book Elite, and the EA-68 Viper. I then played each for about an hour with and without various effects on the Zoom, and I even made some loops with one guitar and dubbed some melody and lead lines with another. Here’s my personal take . . .
COMFORT: The first thing that struck me about the Tak was the comfort. It is nice and light, and the smaller OM size just feels really good to hold. It fits my body size and type (5'9", 180 lbs, relatively athletic for an old guy). I thought the neck felt short, but measurements revealed that it is a pinch longer than almost everything else in my studio. I also felt like the wider neck (1-7/8") kept me from inadvertently fuzzing out an adjacent open string on some chords, thereby resulting in very clean chord structure. I have stayed away from wider necks all my life because of my small hands, but this guitar now makes me think that this may be baggage from my learning days as a pre-teen. I wouldn’t say it is more comfortable than a Strat or the EA Viper, but it is more comfortable than a deep bowl.
TONE: The tone is light and crisp. Some folks might refer to this as a “woody” tone, but I haven’t played enough all wood guitars to know. It does not boom like the deep bowls. Plugged in, it compares very well with the Legend Ltd and the Book Elite, although a bit lighter. The 1581 Ad-II sounds like a cannon next to the Tak. The Ad-II sounds like a cannon next to anything. The 1581 also has a crisp bell-like tone as well, but it is lower down. Think of a bell choir with the Tak a few notes higher in the range. The resonance and sustain are excellent. On the downside, the Tak seems more susceptible to feedback. After playing the others, I would have to adjust the volume with the Tak to prevent feedback. This is a well-known advantage of Ovation. It isn't terrible, just something you have to plan and make adjustment for, particularly if you are gigging with multiple guitars.
APPEARANCE: The Tak is simply breathtaking. It is every bit as beautiful as the Book Elite from the front. The spruce top is more blonde than golden, but the Brazilian Rosewood back and sides are incomparable. The neck is darker on mine than others appearing in this posting, and the finish is more of a semi-gloss than the satin sheen seen on some O’s. The tuners look very fancy and allow very minute adjustments, noticeably more so than on the others.
OVERALL: I will gig with this guitar. I have an art gallery show next month where I am playing three hours of background solo instrumental stuff and will very likely use this guitar with the Zoom, loop machine, and the Trace. Although I prefer a cut-out in order to noodle around above the 12th fret, it can be done a little on the Tak, but nothing higher than E. I may use the Tak on occasion in the Praise band (along with the Ad-II), but it won’t take over as my primary guitar. That remains the role of the EA Viper which continues to be my guitar of choice these days because it simply can do everything. The Tak and Ad-II both have better acoustic tone, but the EA Viper is very acceptable. For lead lines, however, I much prefer the Viper, plus it is the most comfortable of the bunch to hold and play, particularly in the E to G range (and above) in the upper frets.
VERDICT: The Tak is a sensational guitar and I am glad I jumped on this when I could. I would not sell it back to the factory for what I paid. Thanks to cwk2 for bringing it to our attention, and to StephenT for validating the news with his review. It isn’t a do-all guitar and won‘t take the place of others, but it will get played, and will be the only all-wood flat box acoustic guitar in my collection. It may be too early to accurately rank it, but if I had to, I would put it No. 5 behind the EA Viper, Ad-II, USA Strat with SRV pups, and the ES-335 CRS TD. Obviously, the Strat and ES-335 are for entirely different purposes, and this ranking may be subject to change when the OFC guitar arrives, but the Tak is most definitely on the A team. |
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Professor, nice review. Nice to hear it's found a place in your line-up. I'll bet as time goes on you'll find yourself useing it more and more.
I really like the 1 7/8" neck for the same reason you quoted. Playing some chords on a std neck would present some buzz if not executed just right. This neck is more forgiving.
I'm really enjoying mine. Looking forward to trying some different strings to see what else it might have to offer. Any one know what gauge these are? They seem pretty light.
Even entertaining thoughts of maybe looking in to an accoustic amp. :)
Dave |
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Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Good review, Prof. One of the things I really like about this board as opposed to others, is that while we all love Ovations, there's a real appreciation for other makes of guitars. Ice cream........ |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | I would love to hear (and spend some time with) this guitar. It really sounds like the pics I've seen - very, VERY nice. As usual, I'm jealous. |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | I hope someone is bringing one of these to the tour. |
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Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Good review, Prof. One of the things I really like about this board as opposed to others, is that while we all love Ovations, there's a real appreciation for other makes of guitars. Ice cream........ Paul, I was just thinking that same thing today as I spent some time over at the Acoustic Guitar forum. I cannot tell you how many threads I read bellowing the Taylors and Martins. Hey - they're great guitars! But they're not the ONLY guitars! For Christ's sake - in addition to those two, there are O's and A's and Tak's and Guilds and Yairi's and...ok, you all know the routine by now...geez!... |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Wease,
Grab Jeff and Cliff and come one down. I think I have a couple extra guitars we can all play.
(I mention the others only so that there is a buffer between me and all of you sick puppies!) |
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Originally posted by Weaser P:
Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Good review, Prof. One of the things I really like about this board as opposed to others, is that while we all love Ovations, there's a real appreciation for other makes of guitars. Ice cream........ Paul, I was just thinking that same thing today as I spent some time over at the Acoustic Guitar forum. I cannot tell you how many threads I read bellowing the Taylors and Martins. Hey - they're great guitars! But they're not the ONLY guitars! For Christ's sake - in addition to those two, there are O's and A's and Tak's and Guilds and Yairi's and...ok, you all know the routine by now...geez!...
This board is truely blessed! |
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September 2006
Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Need some thoughts from the experts. I'm thinking of trying some medium strings on this guitar. I see on the Takamine site they ship with light strings.
Am I going to have trouble with the nut being built for light strings? Wiil the string grooves be too narrow? And if I decide to go back to lights, will the string grooves now be too wide after using mediums?
Good grief this board has me paranoid! I use to just string with whatever gauge I wanted, without any thought to these things.
And, will mediums be alright on this guitar? The pics of bridges being torn off, in other threads, has me spooked too.
Good grief!!!
Have we picked up anymore guys getting in on these?
Dave |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I put mediums on mine and it worked just fine but it played harder. A little bit more sound. I tend to want to play the smaller bodies more like an electric and put a lot of feel into the fingering. That's hard with mediums so I switched back to lites. I have been using mediums on the EF340S BG and they work fine. I also got recently a Merrill C-28(braz/adri)dread and it is absolutly killer. See the Witco marriage thread. I use mediums on that too and no problem. The approach to these guitars is more strumming and single line stuff whereas the OM gets more bends. |
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | cwk2, thanks for the your thoughts on the strings. I suspect I will end up staying with lights also, but, out of curiosity I just want to hear what it sounds like with mediums. As far as needing more sound, I don't believe it's necessary. This little guitar really projects a FULL, clean sound, accoustically! Your initial assessment was bang on.
I may at some time "want" another guitar but I will certainly never "need" another guitar! This one for me, has it all!
Dave |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Bill, does the 75 still have mediums on it? Didn't feel like it but what the heck do I know ...
FYI, I played this guitar at an open mic sort of thing last wednesday. Felt completely at home of course. Sumpthin' bout a wide neck on an OM sized body just "works". The guitar sounded really good to me, and according to a few others through the house PA also sounded really nice. Nobody mentioned my singing ...
Dave |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Dave, those were lights. I changed them just before you came here. I really don't like the mediums on this guitar but love them on the blewgrass340. Go figger. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | OK, 61 arrived. It's as good as 71, back and sides not so dark. Good to have a spare one of these hanging around. |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I used mine for the first time in practice last evening, and will use it again this Sunday. This is because one of the numbers has a lot of strumming. The other band members commented on the wonderful acoustic tone. |
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Originally posted by cwk2:
OK, 61 arrived. It's as good as 71, back and sides not so dark. Good to have a spare one of these hanging around. Was curious when it would resurface. Nice to hear it has found its' way home.
Was into the big city today to see our daughter so was able to pick up a set of EJ16 and a set of EJ17. I think I will try the mediums on the CB and stay with the lights on the EF75J for now.
May do an open mic/jam tomorrow and am yet to decide which of these 2 to take. Want to hear them both through a system. Will probably decide as I go out the door if I go. :) If I don't care for the mediums on the CB that will most likely be the kicker.
Haven't done a jam session in over 10 years...maybe it's time again.
Dave |
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February 2004
Posts: 80
Location: Tampa, FL | Well, I decided to try to get one of these after spending my morning reading through the posts about this guitar.
I spoke with Brother Bobby, but no luck. He might be getting one in a few weeks.
I left a message with Sigler and I'm supposed to hear back from Randy.
I'll keep you posted.
If you know of one, reach me at just_strummin @ yahoo . com
Regards,
Mark |
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Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Biting my lip ...
Trying hard not to spill the beans ...
I hate this ...
Dave |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Please don't explode all over the board, Dave. No one wants to have to clean up the mess.
Just say it. |
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Posts: 548
Location: Up North | Isn't Al a Takamine dealer? |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | i just saw al listed as a takamine dealer on dave's EF75 pages last night. so, i guess he is. |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | All I know is that I "heard" the factory had a very few of these left and a certain eclectic dealer of high end and vintage guitars had secured them ... |
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Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | I'd be real tempted to get one, but with the order in for the OFC guitar, I'm not going to be able to spend any money on other guitars for quite a while... |
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October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by Tupperware:
All I know is that I "heard" the factory had a very few of these left and a certain eclectic dealer of high end and vintage guitars had secured them ... "eclectic" and "vintage" being the operative hints. |
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Dropcloth spread around computor in anticipation of spewing beans!
And the vortex continues to spin! |
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OT: Tak EF75J
