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  #31  
Old 01-19-2014, 02:04 PM
Sword Bringer Sword Bringer is offline
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Default Clydeslide

I think you hit the nail on the head. I think I read in Wood and Steel that Jim Messina was playing a solid body. Steve Stills or Neil Young would have been better. They should have outfitted some gun slingers to the Max! That may have gained some attention from the buying public. Another tactical error was to include those mini-buckers as stock. They should have gone with the HG Humbuckers. I was going to change my mini's since they just didn't cut through the mix. Looking at my current opportunity, I hope to hear from members about what they successfully do with their solid bodies from here on out. I need new pots, so I'm open to suggestions as to which pots and other hardware would improve this already very nice instrument. Also, has anyone heard what putting foreign objects in this Taylor product will do to the Warranty?
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  #32  
Old 01-19-2014, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Ruppster View Post
Strats and Teles have a pretty unique signature sound. David Gilmour's Strat solos with Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler's Strat work with Dire Straights, Steve Howe's Gibson 175 with YES. Granted, it's the pickup and not the wood but still...to suggest that you can't tell what type of guitar is being played by listening to a recording is a bit of a stretch. IMO.
Ya, I was really on commenting on the woods. I can often hear the difference between guitars with different pickups for sure. A single coil tele bridge pickup would be pretty easy to pick out vs. a les paul bridge pickup.

I did hear that jimmy page claims to have played a lot of old led zeppelin on a tele IIRC. Sounds like a humbucker to me!
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  #33  
Old 01-19-2014, 04:13 PM
Clydeslide Clydeslide is offline
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Ya, I was really on commenting on the woods. I can often hear the difference between guitars with different pickups for sure. A single coil tele bridge pickup would be pretty easy to pick out vs. a les paul bridge pickup.

I did hear that jimmy page claims to have played a lot of old led zeppelin on a tele IIRC. Sounds like a humbucker to me!
The whole of Led Zeppelin 1 and the solo to Stairway was recorded on a telecaster, probably a lot of other things too. Honestly, there's no way I would have been able to pick that out on Good Times, Bad Times, Dazed and Confused or Communication Breakdown. Seems obvious now I know but that's purely an example of bias.
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  #34  
Old 01-19-2014, 05:04 PM
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Default Zep and Tele

Yes, I too was astonished many years ago to hear Page played a Tele on Led Zeplin 1. Jeff Beck also played a Tele on Beck-Ola, IMHO the best album he ever made. the synchopation between Jeff's riffing and Tony Newman's snare is mind boggling. I'm not a Rod Stuart fan, but he was perfect on that album.
This is especially amazing on "Plynth- Water Down the Drain."

Both Zeplin and Beck are excellent examples of how guitars can fool you into thinking they are completely different animals. But, then again, look who was playing them!
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  #35  
Old 01-20-2014, 06:39 AM
franchelB franchelB is offline
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I'm not surprised. I love Taylor guitars. If I didn't have my handful of electric guitars already, I'd saved up enough money to buy a Taylor electric. But I believe that you can't "out-Fender"/"out-Gibson" Fender or Gibson, when it comes to electric guitars. And yes, that includes PRS...and I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing PRS in any way either.
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  #36  
Old 01-20-2014, 08:29 AM
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I'm not surprised. I love Taylor guitars. If I didn't have my handful of electric guitars already, I'd saved up enough money to buy a Taylor electric. But I believe that you can't "out-Fender"/"out-Gibson" Fender or Gibson, when it comes to electric guitars. And yes, that includes PRS...and I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing PRS in any way either.
I'll make a polite disagreement on out-Gibson and suggest trying some of the Collings models.

A once coworker owns a used and vintage shop so that knowing each other got me the luxury to try some of his 1940s - 60s guitars against newer versions of same or similar he had. In terms of tone I thought the Lollar Imperial pickups were more like the old Gibsons where they had a bit less output or spank the amp nature.

Then the Collings out-Gibson the Gibsons with price in some cases, and because they have finish quality done at the highest level. Even a place like Dave's that has 100ish LPs, 20-30 ES models you see file marks, gaps on frets, orange peel, edges bleed or run that do not exist with a Collings. The CS Gibsons and Collings are close in price. Some LC Collings are less than some CS Gibson of same type build.

It can't be easy for the builders, but wow it sure is wonderful for the buyer to have so many great choices! Of course that might be why we no longer have this series of Taylor.
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  #37  
Old 01-20-2014, 08:35 AM
Clydeslide Clydeslide is offline
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I'll make a polite disagreement on out-Gibson and suggest trying some of the Collings models.

A once coworker owns a used and vintage shop so that knowing each other got me the luxury to try some of his 1940s - 60s guitars against newer versions of same or similar he had. In terms of tone I thought the Lollar Imperial pickups were more like the old Gibsons where they had a bit less output or spank the amp nature.

Then the Collings out-Gibson the Gibsons with price in some cases, and because they have finish quality done at the highest level. Even a place like Dave's that has 100ish LPs, 20-30 ES models you see file marks, gaps on frets, orange peel, edges bleed or run that do not exist with a Collings. The CS Gibsons and Collings are close in price. Some LC Collings are less than some CS Gibson of same type build.

It can't be easy for the builders, but wow it sure is wonderful for the buyer to have so many great choices! Of course that might be why we no longer have this series of Taylor.
I don't think that's what was meant. I think the point was that if someone wants a Les Paul then at least 80% of the time that's what they are going to buy and 50% of the time for a twin humbucker guitar they'll buy a Les Paul.

Most people who play are not gear-nuts, most have probably never heard of Collings, especially for electric guitars.

That's why you can't "out Gibson" Gibson, their market reach is just too great.

I personally think Gordon Smith guitars beat Gibson, Fender and PRS on similar models hands down, but most here will never have heard of them.
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  #38  
Old 01-20-2014, 10:17 AM
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Default Gibson/Fender/PRS

Some really good points being made here. I think the Fender/Tele design is so classic that they will never really be improved upon. Gibsons, on the other hand have a range of quality and sound based upon model. I think the Les Paul, that is a real Les Paul standard or Custom is in a league of its own. I have a vintage SG but man I'd still love a '59 Les Paul! The SG swings but it isn't a Les Paul by a few Galaxies. Fender's are so good now that the Mexican Made Strats can stand up to the American Standards. Here's where I differ, PRS has essentially beaten Gibson at their own game. Before I bought my new custom 24, I bought a Les Paul Standard. I brought it back and got the PRS. I think PRS has just about every Gibson nuance covered in one way or another. I think, although it's not well known. They have aced the Strats too. they are making single coil, maple fret board guitars that floor me! I have a CE-22 Alder. It's an '08 so its the last Alder they made. Even though it has Dragon ll humbucking pickups, it still can sound very strat like. I always say that it's a true cross between a Les Paul and a Strat. The five way rotary switch, which I thought I would hate, is part of that magic. So imagine if Paul goes directly after the Strat market, which he has in a very low key manner. I know, they are too expensive! But I can tell you that except for the Les Paul Standard, PRS has surpassed its competitors. My Ce-22 Alder is the best built guitar I've ever held. This thing is a tank. Not to say it heavy or hard to play. It will last forever. I guess that's why they cost so much. So Gibson (Les Paul), Fender and PRS seem to be the most viable choices to me. I don't really like Ricks. they certainly are too expensive. Unfortunately, the only new design I though would be a standout was the Taylor SB line. It looked, played and sounded distinctive. Not a shredder's guitar, but a classic solid body in every sense of the word. There's that whole world of Mosrites, Dan Armstongs, Airplanes or ports, with lipstick pickups that appeal to the punk rockers and they have their niche. But they will never be classic. Then there are the Europeans like Hagstromm who have been making a good American style knock off for years. Nice guitars, but not original. All the Japanese, Korean and Chinese guitars, though vastly improved in quality all go back to the original american designs. There's so many brands out there I'm sure there's great guitars I haven't even heard of which would contradict what I'm saying. But right now, it appears to me we have Fender, Gibson and PRS. I think PRS is coming on fast along the inside rail. Taylor could have been right along side of them if they tweaked their strategy.
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  #39  
Old 01-20-2014, 11:22 AM
imwjl imwjl is offline
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Originally Posted by Sword Bringer View Post
Some really good points being made here. I think the Fender/Tele design is so classic that they will never really be improved upon. Gibsons, on the other hand have a range of quality and sound based upon model. I think the Les Paul, that is a real Les Paul standard or Custom is in a league of its own. I have a vintage SG but man I'd still love a '59 Les Paul! The SG swings but it isn't a Les Paul by a few Galaxies. Fender's are so good now that the Mexican Made Strats can stand up to the American Standards. Here's where I differ, PRS has essentially beaten Gibson at their own game. Before I bought my new custom 24, I bought a Les Paul Standard. I brought it back and got the PRS. I think PRS has just about every Gibson nuance covered in one way or another. I think, although it's not well known. They have aced the Strats too. they are making single coil, maple fret board guitars that floor me! I have a CE-22 Alder. It's an '08 so its the last Alder they made. Even though it has Dragon ll humbucking pickups, it still can sound very strat like. I always say that it's a true cross between a Les Paul and a Strat. The five way rotary switch, which I thought I would hate, is part of that magic. So imagine if Paul goes directly after the Strat market, which he has in a very low key manner. I know, they are too expensive! But I can tell you that except for the Les Paul Standard, PRS has surpassed its competitors. My Ce-22 Alder is the best built guitar I've ever held. This thing is a tank. Not to say it heavy or hard to play. It will last forever. I guess that's why they cost so much. So Gibson (Les Paul), Fender and PRS seem to be the most viable choices to me. I don't really like Ricks. they certainly are too expensive. Unfortunately, the only new design I though would be a standout was the Taylor SB line. It looked, played and sounded distinctive. Not a shredder's guitar, but a classic solid body in every sense of the word. There's that whole world of Mosrites, Dan Armstongs, Airplanes or ports, with lipstick pickups that appeal to the punk rockers and they have their niche. But they will never be classic. Then there are the Europeans like Hagstromm who have been making a good American style knock off for years. Nice guitars, but not original. All the Japanese, Korean and Chinese guitars, though vastly improved in quality all go back to the original american designs. There's so many brands out there I'm sure there's great guitars I haven't even heard of which would contradict what I'm saying. But right now, it appears to me we have Fender, Gibson and PRS. I think PRS is coming on fast along the inside rail. Taylor could have been right along side of them if they tweaked their strategy.
Or Taylor is as I've always perceived them - good at business and manufacturing as as well as the branding. With all that competition you mention and all Taylor has invested elsewhere they may be picking fights they know they can win or that best fit their philosophy. A successful business doesn't always have to and should not always do everything or diversify.

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  #40  
Old 01-21-2014, 09:41 AM
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I agree that Taylor or any company shouldn't diversify for the sake of diversification. Certainly, they need to do sound marketing research. I'm sure a company like Taylor did that before launching the solid body product line. Here's a new twist. I called Taylor once more to ask if they had any loaded pick-gaurds. They said absolutely not. I asked why they weren't supporting current SB owners. He said they were. Essentially he said that my guitar came with pickups so they weren't obligated to provide different ones. Here's the good part. He said this was only a temporary situation since they were revising the solid body line. This is new to me. All of this points to poor PR. Saying they were revising the line only exacerbates the situation. I did say that they should have provided more notice so those of us with these guitars could have bought what we needed . He didn't disagree. I know they won't have anymore loaded pick-gaurds and I seriously doubt they will venture back into Solid body electric guitar territory. I really can't see why they would throw good money after bad, since this version of the Solid body seemed to have just about everything going for it. It's hard to imagine what they would do differently. I guess they'll probably stick to the T3/T5 sort of electric guitar. They're nice, but not my cup of tea. I still think this whole situation was poorly executed and left or will leave the organization with a black eye. I think if those of us who are dissatisfied by having the rug pulled out from under us let the Taylor folks know, something might happen to help out the situation. May be they could do a limited run on the pickgards. That would make everyone happy. I will be amazed if they come out with another solid body line of guitars. They did a fine job the first time around with the exception of not notifying current owners what was about to occur. I called at least five large national Taylor distributers.
They all said they never thought to stock the pickgaurds since the believed Taylor would do an excellent job of supplying them. I know some of you think i'm too upset over a small issue. I guess I wouldn't be, if I didn't love my Taylor Solid body classic so darn much!
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  #41  
Old 01-21-2014, 11:53 AM
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Off-topic, but since it was stated, I agree with the PRS assessment. I bought a beautiful spalted maple SE 245 (it was a limited edition of 25, but relatively inexpensive). It sounded pretty good on its own. The SE 245 is really worth checking out. I modded mine quite a bit, but even so, it is a good single-cut alternative that is very comfortable to play.
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  #42  
Old 01-22-2014, 07:54 AM
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PRS has made some great strides towards affordability. They make a decent Korean version with the SE line. i hear the american made S line is even nicer and at a reasonable price. I haven't played any of those yet. The thing that really confuses me is the rotary five vs, flat five switching. Oy!
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  #43  
Old 01-22-2014, 08:04 AM
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I guess too many people just couldn't grasp the concept of a solid body Taylor electric guitar.
Oh, I don't think that's it.
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  #44  
Old 01-22-2014, 08:27 AM
Clydeslide Clydeslide is offline
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Sword Bringer, I'm enjoying your posts and discussion here but please use more paragraphs, the blocks of text are difficult to read and are giving me a headache

With regard to pickups, what is the problem with the current ones? And what do you want to change?

I'm afraid I don't know how the interchangeable pickguards work but could you not make your own or get a guitar tech to do it with your choice of any pickups you wanted?

I know that's not the point, Taylor should support their products and this is a little surprising but it would at least get round the problem and give you a much wider choice of pickups.
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Old 01-22-2014, 09:29 AM
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I wish the solid-body guitars have the neck they are now putting on the TZ5.
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