Taylor Nylon owners..happy with your guitar? And why?

[1after909]

I've played a few of the Taylor nylons but curious if you have one..If you have stayed happy with it...especially if you just play it acoustically..Would appreciate your thoughts..and what model you have..Thanks!!

[jmiked]

I have an NS32 that I bought in 2003. I wasn't all that impressed by the acoustic sound, but it played easily and nicely, and that was important for my arthritic fingers.

One thing I've been about surprised about is that the sound seems to have improved significantly over the time I've been playing it as it aged and got broken in. It’s my "go-to" guitar and sits on a stand beside my easy chair, so gets played a lot.

I recently got the bug to get a "better" sounding nylon stringer, so I went out and played some (including some recommended here). I ended up staying with the Taylor, much to my surprise.

So, yeah, I'm happy with it. It's still not very loud, though.

Mike

[guitpl4evr]

I have an NS34-CE, which is loud enough for me, and very comfortable to play, but I could not get used to the bigger body size yet, but sound is very clear and sweet. Nice guitar to write songs with or play pop/fingerstyle tunes.

[open-road-matt]

I'm very new to the world of nylon so you'll have to consider that when reading this post.

After switching back and forth all summer between a steel string dread and my concert ukulele, I thought a nylon would be a better fit with my uke. I tried a couple and settled on a Yamaha NTX700 at the end of August. It sounded very nice plugged in at lower volumes but got lost a bit when I needed to be loud (the Yamaha uses 2 sound board transducers.)

I had wanted a Taylor from the beginning and a month later I finally found a NS24ce and traded the Yamaha for the Taylor. I really liked the Taylor. It played great and plugged in, with the under saddle transducer, gave me the punchiness that was missing from the Yamaha. My only complaint about the NS24ce was that the tone was a bit stiff and brittle.

Last week I got to try a NS74ce and the shop (Madison Music) is always nice enough to let me set up my sound system to try out guitars. We spent quite a while going back and forth between the NS24ce and the NS74ce. It isn't really a fair comparison and the NS74ce is, to my ear, is worlds better than the 24. (should be for the price difference) The 74 has a depth and complexity to the tone that simply isn't there with the 24. The brittleness I was hearing with the 24 is gone with the 74 and the sound of the 74 is smooth and pleasing to me in every way. And even with the smooth, pleasing sound, I can dig in when I want to and get great separation between the notes.

Needless to say I left them with the 24 and took the 74 with me and while I've only had it a week and only played 2 shows with it, I am absolutely in love with this guitar! I am going to do some recording with it over the next couple of months and I can't wait to hear how it sounds recorded.

I learned to play guitar 26 years ago on an old nylon string that I found in my grandma's attic but I have been a steel string player ever since. This Taylor nylon feels just great in my hands and it feels so natural to go back to nylon strings after all these years.

Hope that helps a bit,
Matt

[Play2PraiseHim]

I used to own a NS64ce. Wonderful guitar. Just a tad to quiet and a lacking in tonal complexity for my taste. IMO the discontinued NS5 NS6 & NS7 are the only Taylor NS that sound good unplugged. I do feel that unless you get a great price used or new old stock, you can get alot more tonal colors, clarity,& projection elsewhere. I think the NS series sounds best with cedar or englemann spruce tops. The way they are braced does most seem to respond well with a sitka spruce top. Those models sound too plinky to my ears.

[ewalling]

I couldn't. After Christmas I bought an NS72 that was so underwhelming acoustically I just had to sell it. For me, it's not enough that an acoustic guitar is only impressive plugged in because most of the time I like to have a guitar by my desk and it's important for me to have something that sounds nice.

I've owned 3 Taylor NSes - a 44, a 42, and then the 72 - so you can't accuse me of not trying. But I will never own another.

[Herb Hunter]

I received my first classical guitar when I was 10 years old so when I first tried a Taylor nylon-string guitar and was expecting a tone similar to the generic classical one, I was disappointed. However, the more I played my NS72ce-LTD (cedar/Brazilian) the more I began to appreciate it not as a substitute for a classical guitar but as one with a new, interesting tone that complements the classical tone. For example, I came to prefer the sound of single note leads on the NS72ce-LTD. I also found myself playing the nylon-string Taylor more than my other guitars because of its neck and superior intonation.

[Foss38]

Originally Posted by open-road-matt

I'm very new to the world of nylon so you'll have to consider that when reading this post.

After switching back and forth all summer between a steel string dread and my concert ukulele, I thought a nylon would be a better fit with my uke. I tried a couple and settled on a Yamaha NTX700 at the end of August. It sounded very nice plugged in at lower volumes but got lost a bit when I needed to be loud (the Yamaha uses 2 sound board transducers.)

I had wanted a Taylor from the beginning and a month later I finally found a NS24ce and traded the Yamaha for the Taylor. I really liked the Taylor. It played great and plugged in, with the under saddle transducer, gave me the punchiness that was missing from the Yamaha. My only complaint about the NS24ce was that the tone was a bit stiff and brittle.

Last week I got to try a NS74ce and the shop (Madison Music) is always nice enough to let me set up my sound system to try out guitars. We spent quite a while going back and forth between the NS24ce and the NS74ce. It isn't really a fair comparison and the NS74ce is, to my ear, is worlds better than the 24. (should be for the price difference) The 74 has a depth and complexity to the tone that simply isn't there with the 24. The brittleness I was hearing with the 24 is gone with the 74 and the sound of the 74 is smooth and pleasing to me in every way. And even with the smooth, pleasing sound, I can dig in when I want to and get great separation between the notes.

Needless to say I left them with the 24 and took the 74 with me and while I've only had it a week and only played 2 shows with it, I am absolutely in love with this guitar! I am going to do some recording with it over the next couple of months and I can't wait to hear how it sounds recorded.

I learned to play guitar 26 years ago on an old nylon string that I found in my grandma's attic but I have been a steel string player ever since. This Taylor nylon feels just great in my hands and it feels so natural to go back to nylon strings after all these years.

Hope that helps a bit,
Matt

Matt ~ WHen auditioning the NS74 did you have the opportunity to play some of the higher end Yamaha's (NTX 1200 perhaps). I am in the market also. There is a REALLY NICE Cervantes listed here BUT is "somewhat" out of my budget.

Thanks , Bob BTW still got the C.C. and lovin' it 8-)

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by Foss38

Matt ~ WHen auditioning the NS74 did you have the opportunity to play some of the higher end Yamaha's (NTX 1200 perhaps). I am in the market also. There is a REALLY NICE Cervantes listed here BUT is "somewhat" out of my budget.

I did not have a chance to play any other Yamahas but the NTX700.

It was a strange selection process. I have a very old Gibson nylon string guitar that is really beat up. I took that to a music store to see about replacing the tuning pegs and having a pickup installed to see if I'd like playing nylon live.

While at the music store I tried out a couple of nylon string guitars, a La Patrie and a Cordoba. Those were both OK and got me thinking I'd be better off not messing with the Gibson and getting something new.

I instantly thought of Taylor and decided that would be a great place to start but the price was too high for something I didn't know I'd use and I couldn't find any to play.

I ordered a Cordoba and thought it was nice acoustically but hated it plugged in so I returned that. I happened to swing by a Guitar Center that weekend on my way to a show and tried a couple more Cordobas and also the Yamaha NTX700. I loved the plugged in sound of the Yamaha at the music store so I bought it. Once I had the chance to try it live for a while I decided that, while extremely natural the two sound board transducers in the ART system didn't do quite what I wanted live.

That brought me back to considering a Taylor which lead to the purchase of the NS24ce which then lead to the NS74ce.

It was a round about, expensive way of getting there. I should have just jumped right into the NS74ce right away but then I wouldn't have learned what I did.

Matt

[mtown]

About 6 months ago when I was searching for an hybrid nylon string I briefly owned 2 Taylors. An NS34 and a NS32 I sent both of them back. The 34 had a Fishman transducer which sounded pretty good but unplugged the the guitar lacked acoustically. I had ordered the 34 thinking the larger body would project more acoustic volume but it was quite anemic and thin sounding. Since I liked the Fishman preamp in it I ordered the 32 thinking I could live with the acoustic sound with a smaller more comfortable body. To my surprise Taylor had switched to theit own preamp. Big mistake, their own preamp sounded weak, thin, and had a very low output. So I sent that back. In the end I bought a Yamaha NTX1200R and have been very pleased. All solid woods, more comfortable to play, and a more natural sounding preamp.

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by mtown

In the end I bought a Yamaha NTX1200R and have been very pleased. All solid woods, more comfortable to play, and a more natural sounding preamp.

The Taylor nylons and the Yamaha NTX series do use different preamps but the main difference between the two will be the pickups. It's the classic battle between under saddle transducers (UST) and sound board transducers (SBT) and while I'm new to the world of nylon this battle seems to be the same regardless of the type of strings on the guitar.

Taylor uses an under saddle transducer. Pros: feedback resistant, good string attack, cuts through a mix. Cons: piezo "quack," not as natural sounding.

The Yamaha NTX series uses 2 sound board transducers. Pros: more natural sounding. Cons: could be more prone to feedback, tend to get lost in a mix.

(those pros and cons are more the general pros and cons of UST vs. SBT)

Here is a web page describing the Yamaha ART system:

http://acousticguitars.yamaha-europe.com/art.php

So regardless of feel, playability, unplugged tone, etc. when it comes down to UST vs. SBT if you need one, chances are the other isn't going to get the job done.

Matt

[mtown]

I really had no problem with the Fishman UST. I thought it sounded very good. It was Taylors' own UST that I thought was lacking, no where near as good as the Fishman. It wasn't just the one I played either. I tried two other ones, beside the one I bought before sending it back, they all sounded very weak and thin with a very low output. Quite honestly I was disappointed that Taylor even put it in their nylon string guitars. I thought until they could have come up with something better they should have stuck with the Fishman.

[Turp]

I've had a NS42 since 2005 and really like it. I seem to go through frequent rotation back to it as I often play my GC8. I agree with the assessment on the NS72 depth in tone; very nice. My 42 has a tight defined Bass. I use hard tension strings which add a little more warmth to the tone as compared to Extra hard tension. I would only get rid of my 42 to get a 72 or comparably better hybrid.

I play mine unplugged mostly but plugged in the NS works very well and pretty easy to get a natural enough sound.

[Brent Hutto]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

For example, I came to prefer the sound of single note leads on the NS72ce-LTD.

With pick or fingers?

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto

With pick or fingers?

Fingers, mostly the flesh of my fingers. Whether playing an electric guitar, nylon-string or steel-string acoustic guitar, I never use picks.