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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Yes, I finally played a TAYLOR guitar that actually does not suck. In fact it’s pretty good. Well, actually very good. Almost too good. Arguably one the nicest guitars I’ve played in a while. Christ what did I just say ??? You see, I enjoy hating Taylor guitars. In general I think they are over-hyped, over-priced pieces of crap. Yes, I know you’ve all got a story – “You’ve got to hear my 914-whatever”, “You need to try a blah, blah, blah”. Ok fine, whatever. We’ve all got our favorites and or non-favorites. I’m a Martin guy and to me Taylor is just a brand I don’t care at all for. Period.
So a friend (a member here who shall remain nameless) contacts me and says “Dude, you’ve got to play this guitar. I know you hate Taylor, and so do I, but this guitar is different. I’ll send it to you to try out for yourself.” Jeff, if it says Taylor on it I’m NOT gonna like it. Maybe one of those new solid bodies, but an acoustic, no fucking way. “Dave, seriously I know what you mean. I’m looking hard for a reason not to like this guitar and I can’t find one.” Well, it’s a fucking Taylor so there’s reason enough for me. Ok Jeff if you want to waste your money shipping it to me fine, I’ll give it a few strums. But I can tell you right now I ain’t gonna like it, no how, no way.
So a week later the damn thing shows up. Model 710-L9. It’s a dreadnaught shortscale, acoustic only with rosewood back/sides and wide neck. Well, hmmm ok so in terms of configuration it’s right down my ally. So what, it’s still a damn Taylor. The fit and finish – beautiful. Binding – beautiful. Craftmanship and quality A +. Jesus man, this is a really nicely built guitar. How the hell can THAT be. Give it a few strums – well THAT doesn’t suck at all, now does it. Maybe I need to leave this out and play it a little more just to satisfy my curiosity. The more I play it, the more I like it. What the hell is happening here? Could this finally be the ONE Taylor that actually does NOT suck? Wow, maybe it is ???
The real fun comes in comparing it to other similar guitars. But hey, snicker snicker, I’ve got Martins, and I’ve got Takamines, and I’ve got Collings. This Taylor one-off might sound OK on it’s own but let’s sick the big dogs on it. Problem is that I actually do not have so many regular old dreadnaughts. My only Martin dread is the HD28VS which is a 12 fretter. Sound is too different from the Taylor to make a fair comparison (note to self – Martin inVENTed the damn 14 fret dread, got to get one of those). The other full dreadnaught is the Collings CW. I did compare them side by side, but it’s not a fair comparison. The CW is a $9k guitar and it sounds like it. If you didn’t know the prices of the Taylor and the CW you would pick the CW 10 times out of 10. But is it worth 4 times the price? Of course NOT. No way. But people who buy these kinds of instruments have a different definition of “value”. So the only real fair comparison I could put the Taylor through was the Takamine EF360 Blewgrass. Which is actually a pretty darn good test because the Tak 360 is one of my overall favorite guitars. If the Taylor could hold its own to the EF360, then THAT would be saying something.
So I put the guitars through their paces, back and forth, back and forth. Inspecting both as closely as I could. Listening as critically as possible. Leads, fingerpicking, cowboy strumming, etc. In the end, I must say that the Taylor represents itself VERY well. The guitars shine in different ways and it’s almost impossible to separate them. Different, yet the same. In terms of SOUND, no clear winner. The Taylor is louder and more crisp. The Takamine had a bigger bottom end, probably due to the longer scale length. The Takamine also sounded more balanced. But the Taylor had a great mid and upper end and just rang like a bell. It probably comes down to what kind of music you play. I would say for single line leads and fingerpicking the Taylor was better. For strumming chords up and down the neck, I liked the Takamine sound better. Setup and playability I would give the nod to the Taylor. It was just PERFECT in every way. The Tak was OK, but it needs a little tweek. There’s a tad of buzz on the low E. I’m sure it could be a good as the Taylor, but on this day the Taylor was the better playing guitar.
Fit, finish and quality is tough to judge because both guitars are damn near perfect. Not a single mark, glue drop, rough edge, etc. The quality of both instruments was just impeccable (Ovation could take lessons from either one of them). As perfect as they both were, I would have top give a slight nod to the Taylor. It just had a little more “sparkle and shine” for some reason. The herringbone trim on the Tak is very nice, but oh-la-la the wood trim on the Taylor was down right tasty. But that being said, I will criticize BOTH companies for making some un-called for compromises in material and design. On the Takamine, the pearloid bridge dots and fretboard markers are about as cheap as you could go. Very low class. They Taylor on the other hand has beautiful snowflake abalone inlays. But Taylor completely dropped the ball on the pickguard and tuners. That pickguard is the cheapest piece of shit I’ve ever seen. A nice guitar like this deserves a beveled and polished pickguard (that is standard on ALL my other guitars). It would add about $5. to the price of the guitar. Also Taylor really cheaped out on the tuners. They look like some kind of Taylor logo’d schallers. They hold tune fine, but are not smooth and look like they weigh a ton. The Tak comes with vintage open gear Gotoh’s which are super classy and high quality. So nobody is perfect.
So there you have it. A Taylor guitar that I actually do like – a LOT. I’ll have to change my signature line from “Taylor Guitars Suck” to “This Taylor Does Not Suck”. No seriously, if I was in the market for a dreadnaught guitar this Taylor 710-L9 would be high on my list of candidates. The biggest downside is that it says Taylor on the headstock, but other than that I could seriously be in love with this instrument – forever. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Dave - I wish I had your "palate" and attention to detail when talking about guitars. I pick one up that I like and it's "mmm... good."
So are you going to keep it? |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | The Apocolypse shouldn't be long now...
(Dave, Esteban's on Line 2) |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | paging gulfcoast, paging gulfcoast...
time to shat! |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | And where's the link to the AllTaylorsDon'tReallySuckThatBad Gallery? |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I own and have lauded the sound of my Taylor DDSM (Doyle Dykes Signature Model) for years. It is also the ONLY Taylor I have ever played that I thought was worth a shit.
Just goes to show if we look hard enough there is always a diamond somewhere in the rough. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by CrimsonLake:
So are you going to keep it? No. It belongs to someone else. It was in clandestine transit from one ofc member to another and it took a temporary detour to my house.
Dave |
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Joined:
June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | I should have known that something happened to Dave because he is speaking of himself in the third person. There are a few people in the hospital that I work in that do the same thing but they are usually heavily medicated. |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by Tupperware:
It was in clandestine transit from one ofc member to another...
definition of clandestine: Kept or done in secret, often in order to conceal an illicit or improper purpose. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | This is turning into quite the conspiracy. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | "I’m looking hard for a reason not to like this guitar and I can’t find one."
"Well, it’s a fucking Taylor so there’s reason enough for me."
That's Good Enough For Me, too!
And for me, it's alot easier to hate a guitar that I could never afford to own! :p |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | ... I'm laughing so hard, I have to change my drawers.
oh, and thanks for keeping my name out of all this. |
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Joined:
July 2007
Posts: 423
Location: UK | Jeff , i really really really hate Lowdens , dont whatever you do send me one to try |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Dave really knows his guitars, and I respect his opinion. He led me to the Martin CEO, and it's a VERY nice sounding guitar. I would only play Ovations for some time, and I still think my FD custom is one of the best sounding guitars I've played, but my Martin is just as good in another way. Just as good but different. Same with my Larrivee. I have not played a Taylor that I thought was worth another look, but I'm sure there are some out there. As many Taylor fans out there, there must be something to it. Guitars are like strings. Every one has a favorite. I like them all. Can't we all just get along? :D |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132
Location: Parrish, FL | Andrea,
Just so you know, I hate Lowdens more than anyone, especially those O25's. So get in line!
And Jeff, there is NO WAY you could change my mind, nope, never, ain't happenin'!!!
You just try it buddy.
(Please) |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Taylor, or more accurately, the company to whom they sell a license, makes a really pretty neon sign. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Probably Fender... |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | I've played a lot of Taylors that I've like. Just never played one that I thought was worth the asking price to own.
Jeff, I've never liked red custom built Adamii, with mid depth bowls and wide necks. But maybe if I had one to play for a while........ |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Man, I'd better get in line here...Jeff, I hate everything. Guitars (the more expensive, the more I hate 'em), women (do me a favor and let me know in advance if you're mailing one up, k?) and booze too. And it goes without saying cash is the worst of all. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah, blah,. . . . . . |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | There's one person who really deserves the press here...
I'll give you a hint... he shat himself and lives along the Gulf Coast... |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Are you kidding me?!?
Bush is responsible for this too?!? WT... |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 5563
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Dave,
I think you will find that by in large, on the upper end of the spectrum, Taylor's upper lines - 700 thru Presentation, are very good high quality instruments: I can certainly attest to that...And I am sure that there are exceptions...
I played my 810 2006 Fall Limited Madagascar Rosewood Taylor today at both Church Worship services: I am so impressed how that guitar has opened up as all good wood guitars will with constant play. Besides from being a beautiful instrument (I also love the curly maple binding) it truly plays like a dream and sounds so good run thru the sound system (ESS System w/onboard Neve preamp).
Every guitar has its own voice and to arbitrarily bash one brand w/o giving it a fair shake seems unfair...glad you have had time to give it a whirl and hope you have the opportunity to experience others in the line...sure, some guitars suck: the newer D-1228 for example that I previously owned, but there are some good ones...Thanks Dave for a great review and for being fair! (I agree about the pickguards...a simple beveling step would add a lot).
And I did keep your confidence!
;) |
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September 2004
Posts: 1180
Location: Vermont USA | Dave how are your arm pits?
Pauly |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Anybody else here see the ultimate irony going on? I mean, beyond that Dave now likes a Taylor guitar.
All his life, Dave was a slave to Ovations. It was all he bought, all he played. Then, over 5 years ago, he joined the OFC... an early member as well. And it was thru the OFC that he started getting exposed to other guitars, beyond Ovations. First, it was Adamii, but that was ok because it stil had a round back. But then he went towards Martins, then Collings, now Taylors.
And all because he joined the OFC.
Hey Dave, how many of the Ovations that you owned when you joined the OFC do you still own? How many have been sold?
Now, I'm just teasing Dave because I know that he still owns a ton of O's and A's that he'll never sell. He's just expanded his guitar appreciation. And it took the OFC to do that.
Think that's ever been done on a Martin, Gibson, Taylor or whatever else, board? Probably not.... |
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Dave Fell In Love With A Taylor Guitar
