Heads up Taylor NS Lovers !
 

I know there are quite a few fans of the Taylor NS Series here. There is a beautiful custom Madigasscar rosewood/sitka spruce NS with abalone inlays at Dream Guitars. Don't miss the video & sound clip. No affiliation. Just wanted you all to know in case you were interested. http://www.dreamguitars.com/preowned...0090330703.php

Well... I am anformer (almost) NS lover. I mean, I had a nice Taylor NS 34 CE that served me well for three years. I had to save some money to buy it ($xxxx) but I did not regret it. Then, one month ago, I stopped by a local guitar shop and played a new crossover model from Cordoba, the GK (Gipsy King) Studio.
Spruce top, laminated cypress body. I was really amazed by the guitar and by its sound. The price was (and is) less than half than a Taylor 34 NS. So I bought it and decided to bring it home, and compare it to my Taylor. The idea was that, in case I didn't like the comparison, I would have returned it the day after.
I spent two hours comparing the two guitars and, in all honesty and in my personal opinion, there was nothing that the Cordoba couldn't do as well or better than the Taylor. More clear in tone, way more loud, as playable as the Taylor, with a pre-amp as good as the Taylor, and....more compact and pleasant to hold. End story: I sold the Taylor...

Madagascar Rosewood, interesting, i dont think ive ever played anything with madagascar rosewood before, im curious now...its a shame the NS's aren't as popular/available around where i am.

For that money, I could get a custom built guitar made, no way could I justify that. Nice took look at and I'm sure a joy to play but not for me.

Wouldn't you have to play it before you would know whether it is justifiable? As there is the possibility that a custom built guitar might sound better, there is also the very real possibility that it may not sound as good.

Herb...I'll respectfully say once again....Taylor does a lot of things very well, but their nylon string guitar line isn't one of them. My own personal opinion of course.

Fred

I really have to agree. I do like Taylor guitars for finger picking and light strumming, but I found their NS series very thin sounding both unplugged and plugged in. I'm sure in time they will crack the proverbial nut, but if I do look to upgrade my NTX700 I will either go for the NTX1200R or I will get a custom Flyde, who offer almost any form of personalisation on a crossover I want.

I will share a contrary opinion.

I have never liked the sound of Taylor steel string acoustic guitars. I do think the electric nylon guitars, the NS instruments, sound good and play well. I will go as far as to say that, IMO, they offer the best ergonomics for the player of any crossover guitar I have played. The key to their value is recognizing that these guitars work best amplified and, to that end, the least expensive American made NS32 and NS34 represent the most value.

A previous poster compared the NS to the Cordoba GK. Well, yeah, from a price point it's tough for a US company working within the constraints of US policies to compete with a company producing products in China.

Well said Frosty and I agree which is why I ended up with an NS52ce. The playablility of this guitar is unreal.