Taylor T5 acoustic sound help!

[jseth]

Originally Posted by dustybottoms

I ended up buying the LR Baggs Anthem SL today. I'm going to do a second hole near the current jack. I'm not a fan of the extra strap button jack. I figure if I ever want to use both jacks at once, its going to look strange having 2 cables coming out that are 6 inches a part. Not a huge deal, but if you have to drill out the strap button hole anyway, why not just leave it and do another hole by the original jack? I've already bought the chrome plate for $10. I'm pretty excited to get this done. It can only add more flexibility to the guitar without compromising the original system. I'll post pics and stuff as I work on it!

I didn't tell you about this initially, because it sounded as though you wanted to work with just what the T5 offers in the stock iteration...

A friend of mine had a Fishman Matrix UST installed in his T5 to great effect for the acoustic sound... Gryphon Strings (Palo Alto, CA.) did the work for him. They used the lower of the two strap buttons for the input and affixed the volume/tone wheels just inside the lower F hole so that they are not visible, but easily reachable.

He routes both signals simultaneously; the UST through a Bose Compact and the normal T5 signal through a pedal board into an AER Compact... VERY flexible, more acoustic tones available, very sanitary install.

The additional pickup, along with some heavier gauge strings (the T5 is shipped with 11's and an unwound 3rd string) works very well for him.

Hope your selection gives you what you want!

[leew3]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

It will work well. For me, it was easier to use an amp emulator (Zoom MS50G) straight to the mixer or acoustic amp. I sold my T5z after replacing the switch twice and the preamp board once. The older cast Megaswitch, since redesigned by Schaller, has a screw that comes loose and the switch becomes intermittent. The tiny Alpha 9mm POTs on the preamp board wear out at the detent and also become intermittent. Only a problem if you are using it as an electric changing PUs and adjusting distortion with the volume control.

My biggest gripe with the now gone T5z was the combination of an electric fingerboard radius with acoustic string spacing at the bridge. If you stretch the high-e above the 12th fret a whole step it frets out without unreasonably high action. I became an expert at making tilted shims to raise that side of the saddle. Also, the adjustment range on the bridge PU is limited.

Thanks for the info, I hadn't considered an emulator. Surely sounds more practical than toting two amps!

[John O]

Hi all--I created an account here specifically to post my experience, as I was searching out the same question three months ago. I picked up a first generation T5 (the one with two lipstick humbuckers installed in the body), with the same hopes many have expressed of having an effective "hybrid" guitar that would sound good amplified as an acoustic or an electric.

Because I hadn't found anything conclusive specific to the K&K and the T5 (although positive reviews about the K&K on its own abound), it felt like a little bit of a risk, but I went ahead and purchased a K&K Pure Mini and had it installed with its own jack. I've since played the guitar several times at church through the in-house PA system (straight in) and have been told that the acoustic tone is very good.

Since then, I picked up a Zoom GNX3 effects unit (which I'm aware reveals my amateur status to the professional musicians out there), and created a patch with a touch of EQ, a touch of chorus, and a tiny bit of plate reverb, and ran the T5/K&K through that. I again was told the guitar sounds great as an acoustic. I also tried a couple electric guitar patches I created (both clean and slightly driven tones) through the humbuckers to good review from my musician friends that were there to hear it.

So...I've seen other approaches to adding a UST (or other) acoustic pickup to the T5, here's one guy who gives a strong thumbs up to the K&K Pure Mini as an effective way to get good acoustic tone out of a T5.

And I agree with other T5 fans out there--I love the look and feel of the guitar, it has the neck and fretboard you'd expect from a Taylor. And now with my current set-up, the sound (for my purposes at least) is great, too.

[moosedog]

I’ve had the standard T5 with spruce top and a T5X with Ovangul top that had a very good acoustic tone. I did not need it for electric guitar sounds so I strung them with acoustic strings. Elixir lights are my preferred strings. I used the first position on the 5 way switch and boosted the bass and cut the highs at the guitar - very important. I plugged straight into a mixer and use QSC powered speakers. Sadly I traded away my last T5 a year ago and still miss it. I play solo as well as in a duo and full band. When used correctly the T5 will blow away any other hybrid guitar. Comparing to a Godin is just laughable. Good luck with yours.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by moosedog

I’ve had the standard T5 with spruce top and a T5X with Ovangul top that had a very good acoustic tone. I did not need it for electric guitar sounds so I strung them with acoustic strings. Elixir lights are my preferred strings. I used the first position on the 5 way switch and boosted the bass and cut the highs at the guitar - very important. I plugged straight into a mixer and use QSC powered speakers. Sadly I traded away my last T5 a year ago and still miss it. I play solo as well as in a duo and full band. When used correctly the T5 will blow away any other hybrid guitar. Comparing to a Godin is just laughable. Good luck with yours.

I've owned both the T5z and A6 Ultra. The Taylor is a clear winner for build quality, but with your eyes closed that advantage is lost. Blending the A6 UST and a little neck electric PUP gives a clear winner for acoustic tone. For pickup switching and a bridge electric PUP, the T5 wins as a more versatile electric.

An electric guitar with one of these intrigues me as a better alternative if a real electric is important to your gig:

http://www.sim-one.it/

[Lojo16]

Originally Posted by moosedog

I’ve had the standard T5 with spruce top and a T5X with Ovangul top that had a very good acoustic tone. I did not need it for electric guitar sounds so I strung them with acoustic strings. Elixir lights are my preferred strings. I used the first position on the 5 way switch and boosted the bass and cut the highs at the guitar - very important. I plugged straight into a mixer and use QSC powered speakers. Sadly I traded away my last T5 a year ago and still miss it. I play solo as well as in a duo and full band. When used correctly the T5 will blow away any other hybrid guitar. Comparing to a Godin is just laughable. Good luck with yours.

So glad to see this opinion ! I'm strongly considering purchasing a 2013 T5 Standard, spruce top, Tobacco Burst that is absolutely MINT for $1,200.

Because of all the videos I've watched, I truly believed it could be a great sounding amplified acoustic, hooking up with the right amp of course.

But, I have to say, reading this thread bummed me out pretty good. I do believe the price is fantastic, including hard shell case. ( Not Alligator though )

I have to pull the trigger or walk away within the next couple of days. This thread makes me feel like I will be wishing I pulled the trigger on myself if I buy it.

At the crossroads.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Lojo16

So glad to see this opinion ! I'm strongly considering purchasing a 2013 T5 Standard, spruce top, Tobacco Burst that is absolutely MINT for $1,200.

Because of all the videos I've watched, I truly believed it could be a great sounding amplified acoustic, hooking up with the right amp of course.

But, I have to say, reading this thread bummed me out pretty good. I do believe the price is fantastic, including hard shell case. ( Not Alligator though )

I have to pull the trigger or walk away within the next couple of days. This thread makes me feel like I will be wishing I pulled the trigger on myself if I buy it.

At the crossroads.

Welcome to the forum. This thread is three years old but the same holds for the most part. My very first entry into the 'acoustic' market was a gorgeous limited edition T5 that I bought new. I was completely blown away by the demo videos where they got really good acoustic tone out of the T5.

Unfortunately, I was unable to reproduce this tone at all. I struggled for months with amps and pedals, dual amp setups, you name it. I got tones that were just okay at best. Finally I borrowed a friends Martin 000-28EC acoustic and it was a revelation. Finally, I could hear the acoustic tone I'd been looking for.

Hybrid guitars can serve a purpose, especially for live gigging where pure acoustic tone is not as big a deal. But unless you really know what you're doing and have a lot of experience, you will be hard pressed to get an authentic acoustic tone out of a T5. At least, I never could.

But you could always give it a try and if it doesn't work out for you then just trade it off for a decent acoustic.

[Lojo16]

Methos 1979,

Thank you for the quick response. Unfortunately, I believe you. I wanted this guitar actually for its 2nd position sound, (also the acoustic, who am I kidding ?) the jazz sound. But I'm believing now that was probably a doctored sound too.

[Captain Jim]

I responded to this thread almost 4 years ago. Since that time, I still have (and play) the T5, but I have also added an Emerald X10 with level 2 pickups (6 individual piezos and a Krivo humbucking pickup). I have other acoustics and electric guitars, but the X10 gives me better acoustic tones than the T5, because... it is an acoustic guitar.

If I choose to use a TSR cable, I can run the Krivo to an electric amp and the piezos to an acoustic amp. I generally don't split those out, but run it through a TCH Play Acoustic to use their BodyRez and then direct to a PA (Bose L1c and/or Bose S1 Pro).

For full disclosure, I haven't been one to chase the "ideal" acoustic tone... there are a lot of guitars and a lot of players out there, so I've never been locked in to any one sound. All that said, I pick a guitar based on what I feel like playing at the time. The T5 is still in the mix for me. It doesn't sound exactly like a dreadnought acoustic, but I have never had anyone point that out to me.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by bobwl

Honestly I had one and finally sold it because I always felt like the acoustic sound wasn't quite there and the electric sound wasn't quite there. Personally found the times where I needed to do both without wanting to switch guitars to be very few. That being said, I've seen videos and demos where people seem to get good sounds out of it but for some reason I never was able to.

I've owned three of these. A 12-string, a T5 and a T5Z.

I kept coming back to them because it seems like such a fantastic idea and its a beautiful guitar that plays so nicely. But every single time I had the same experience as you.

[jwellsy]

Another option is an acoustic with a humbucker.
https://www.facebook.com/EmeraldGuit...28839244039061

[guitararmy]

I have kept my T5 because I find it more comfortable to play standing than a full depth acoustic guitar.

I have been using a TRS cord that has an XLR at the other end, into a first generation Fishman Aura pedal using one of the magnetic pickup images.
It probably approximates what you get with a Fender Acoustisonic.