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Old 05-27-2012, 04:17 PM
Jason Paul Jason Paul is offline
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Default New here - tried several, thoughts, and bought...

Hi All,

I'll apologize up front for the long post - it's my first one here. I'm sure some of you guys just love this stuff anyway so...

Quick background; I started playing guitar when I was in high school and ended up selling it when I got married (18 years ago). It just wasn't practical (Telecaster, fairly large amp, several effects pedals). I was fine for quite a while. Then about four years ago I started playing ukulele, and still like it. But, I've been thinking about getting another guitar for the last 6-8 months. So, I'd say I'm a rusty, somewhat intermediate player.

I didn't really want another electric and all its accoutrements. Besides, my tastes changed a bit anyway, and I'm not as interested in being the next Stevie Ray Vaughan anymore.

So last week I went to a few local music shops. I played a few Taylors and Martins, and a few others I don't remember. I liked the Taylor 214ce, and it was about the top end of what I wanted to spend. But, I didn't get it because hey, it's a thousand bucks.

So yesterday I went again, a little more seriously. Here's what I played and thought...

Yamaha AC3R & AC3M
These are all solid, and are supposed to have a pretty impressive pickup system, though I didn't plug them in. I watched some videos demonstrating the pickup, and it does some cool stuff. But, it's got like, 10 little buttons and knobs on it.

I liked the tone pretty well. However, I think there was a bit of a gloss on the neck, which gave them that slightly sticky feel. Also, I believe they're dreadnought bodies, which I'm not crazy about. In short, nice, but not quite what I wanted.

Larivee
I don't know which model, I think they only had one and I think it was $899. It was OK, but the tone seemed a little muted. Playability was OK, but it didn't grab me.

Guild
Again, I don't know what model, but I think it was around $700-800. Honestly I didn't like it at all, and it didn't take me long to come to that conclusion.

Martin - a couple of different models in the $800-1500 range.
I just don't think Martin is my taste. They are what they are, but there's just something about them that is a bit hard for me to play. I think it's mainly the neck/action and I'm not in love with the tone - especially for fingerstyle playing (which is what I think I'd like to work on). Clearly great for solid strumming though. In general, I have a pretty light touch, so the Martins didn't seem to agree with me. Some were nice and playable, but none grabbed me.

Eastman
I don't know what model I played, but the store's price on it was $1025 and he said he'd let me have it for $899. I must say I was pretty impressed with this guitar, and it's made in China. I actually picked one up in a store last weekend, saw it was made in China and just gave it a few courtesy strums and put it back. However I paid attention yesterday, and it was really nice.

It's all solid with an Adirondack Spruce (I think) top, and Rosewood back & sides. It had great projection, and a nice full tone. However, it had a pretty heavy gloss neck, which made it sticky and a bit hard to play, it didn't have a pickup, and it was a full dreadnought. These things made me not want it, but someone is going to love that guitar.

Today I was in that first store where I originally saw the Eastmans (where I courtesy strummed it). I picked up another one, which had a satin neck. It was much easier to play, sounded great, and was only about $400. Eastmans seem to be a great value.

Taylor 114ce and 214ce
I really liked both of these. Honestly, they sounded almost the same to me. There was a slight tonal difference (the 114ce seemed brighter), and the 214ce seemed a little easier to play. But, I think it might be just these specific guitars and not really a difference between the two models. They just seemed very similar other than aesthetics.

I also picked around on a 314ce, but figured it was out of my price range, so I put it back (see below...). I actually saw a used one on Craigslist earlier for $950. So, I called the guy yesterday, but he had already sold it. His listing was from a week or so ago, so I wasn't surprised.

By the way, I had the store clerk play the Eastman, the 114ce and the 214ce back-to-back so I could hear them head-on. The Eastman actually sounded best of the three, but again, it still wasn't quite what I wanted.

Seagull S6 Original and Slim
I actually left the first store yesterday, and went to another just because I knew they carried Seagull. Neither of these two sounded very good to me. They were the least expensive of all I tried yesterday, but still - they just seemed harder to play, and I didn't care for the tone much. This is weird because I remember playing around on a Seagull in a store 10-12 years ago and thinking I liked it.

Taylor 314ce
So after trying the Seagulls, I went back to the first store. I was pretty sure I might be leaving with a 214ce, because I liked it best overall of what I'd played. But just for grins I picked up the 314ce again and actually gave it some attention. I played it myself for a few minutes, then had the store clerk play it for me for a few minutes. He played the 214ce and the 314ce back-to-back.

I must say there was a VERY noticeable difference between the 214ce and the 314ce. When compared, the 214ce seemed very thin and hollow in tone. It sounds great on its own, but when played back-to-back against the 314ce, it's noticeably thinner. The 314ce has a much fuller, rich tone, and may have even been a little easier to play (the 214ce is already easy to play though). It could be the slightly wider nut.

As you guys probably already know, the 314ce also has a better pickup system, is solid wood, comes with a hard case, and has a lifetime warranty. All of this for about $600 more than the 214ce. The $1000 for the 214ce was already a stretch for me, but I figured I'd be better off spending the extra and getting something that could really be my guitar for life. I'm not worried about outgrowing it for quite a while, if ever. So, I bought the 314ce.

Funny thing though, about an hour after I got home with it we had to get ready and leave for a party, got home late, and have been to church, lunch, and to that other music store today, so I haven't even had a chance to play it yet. I hope it sounds as good at home as it did in the sound room at the store.

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me through this long post. I did do some research over the past week on this forum, checking out information on these Taylors, as well as a couple of the others I played. It was very helpful, and I read several posts by people saying to try to get the 314ce over the 214ce if possible, and I can see why.

Thanks,
Jason

Last edited by Jason Paul; 05-28-2012 at 12:48 AM. Reason: Corrected spelling on SRV's name.
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  #2  
Old 05-27-2012, 04:25 PM
HHP HHP is offline
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Just as a counterpoint, you may be overthinking this a bit. You are just getting back into guitar so you may consider that whatever you choose at this point may not match your needs for long anyway.

Go with whatever had a combination of sound,playability and budget you liked and rest assured you can always change later as you see where it goes.
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Old 05-27-2012, 04:26 PM
CSLO CSLO is offline
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Congrats on the new git. I think you made a wise decision and you truly do have a guitar for life. It will last longer than you if you take care of it.
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Old 05-27-2012, 05:55 PM
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Congrats on the 314ce. It's a great guitar.
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Old 05-27-2012, 07:42 PM
Pycroft Pycroft is offline
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Default ...

Congrats and good story. Thanks for the write-ups of the guitars you tried - I'm in the same boat. I've been looking mostly used due to money. Any word if the lifetime warranty applies if you purchase it used from original owner?

Enjoy the guitar!
James
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Old 05-27-2012, 07:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pycroft View Post
Congrats and good story. Thanks for the write-ups of the guitars you tried - I'm in the same boat. I've been looking mostly used due to money. Any word if the lifetime warranty applies if you purchase it used from original owner?

Enjoy the guitar!
James
The warranties are normally only good for the original purchaser and are not transferable.
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Old 05-27-2012, 07:52 PM
bluesbassdad bluesbassdad is offline
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It sounds as though you followed your usual approach to comparison shopping, and then arrived at a well-thought-out choice that is consistent with first-hand experience.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Congratulations.
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Old 05-27-2012, 09:03 PM
lone eskimo lone eskimo is offline
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Congratulations and welcome to the AGF! This is definitely a great place to hang and learn a lot about acoustic guitars. I have a decent size herd of guitars (about 11 acoustics...) and mostly gig with my Taylor 314ce and my Martin DC-16RGTE. I have a Martin D-28 which I semi-retired after 35 years of service- but to be honest- I'm extremely happy with my DC-16. My Taylor is a 2002 and has the older Fishman Pre-Fix Pro system which I like a lot too. The Martin is a bit warmer and great for strumming (pretty great all-arounder) but the Taylor has the edge for finger style playing.. I also have a very nice Larrivee 0M-03. Don't write off Larrivee's too quick based on 1 try. These can be very nice guitars-especially for the price.

I also have 2 older Guilds (70's Westerley Factory-which you'll hear often mentioned..) Again- don't write off Guilds based on 1 entry level model. Some Guilds are fantastic guitars! I still gig with my D-40C.

Enjoy your Taylor!

Mike
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Martin D28
Martin DC-16RGTE Aura
Guild F-30rce (New Hartford)
Guild D-40c
Guild D-35s (both Guild Dreads are late 70's Westerley models)
Larrivee 0M-03
Taylor 314ce (Mahogany top)
Frog Level FL-18 (Custom-Martin D-18 style)
Tacoma Chief C1C (sunburst)
Fender F95 (mid 70's beauty-really!)
Sigma GC1 (Martin 00-18 style)
Takamine EG128sc (nylon)
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Old 05-27-2012, 09:27 PM
RonH1031 RonH1031 is offline
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Congrats on the new guitar! I couldn't be happier with mine...

Ron
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Old 05-27-2012, 10:30 PM
marcusbites marcusbites is offline
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grats on the 314 mate!
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Old 05-27-2012, 10:46 PM
Brant0086 Brant0086 is offline
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Congrats on the new guitar. Sounds like you thought it out well.


Bryant
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Old 05-27-2012, 11:06 PM
Jason Paul Jason Paul is offline
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Thanks all.

I didn't necessarily mean to write off the Larivee and the Guild - just that I didn't connect with the ones that were available in that particular store. I know I saw Larivee recommended here several times when I was researching.

I usually do tend to do a lot of research before buying something - especially something that's kind of a major purchase. This was actually pretty quick though - I'll often shop around and research for months. That's part of the fun for me.

I played for a while this evening. I've got a ways to go before I'm comfortable with it, and will have to build some strength and callouses. It was interesting how a few bits and pieces were still in my muscle memory though.

Although playing it does feel somewhat familiar, I feel like I'm starting from scratch. I don't necessarily want to play the same stuff I played back then, so I feel like I don't really have a style to pursue.

Thanks again,
Jason
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Old 05-27-2012, 11:42 PM
Paul Ng Paul Ng is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesbassdad View Post
It sounds as though you followed your usual approach to comparison shopping, and then arrived at a well-thought-out choice that is consistent with first-hand experience.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Congratulations.
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Welcome and congrats to your new guitar.
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Old 05-28-2012, 12:14 AM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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Good choice. If its one guitar, that will do ya. Grats!
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Old 05-28-2012, 03:08 AM
Ridings Ridings is offline
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Congratulations on your new guitar! The 314ce is fantastic and I really love mine. I mainly fingerpick but it does sound great when I strum as well, and I'm sure it works well for flatpicking as well. I think you got yourself a really good, versatile guitar that you'll be keeping for a long time. Remember to keep humidity in check, and it should last you forever. At least I hope mine will.
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