Taylor NS24e or an other model for my for classic guitar ?

[Artmusic]

Hello everyone,

I posted my question in an old topic but didn't have any answer.
That's why I am creating a new thread and I hope it's ok.

I started playing guitar 6 month ago on a Taylor gs mini e.
I play other instruments and love classical music.

I would like to buy a classic guitar to play :
- Classical music
- French variety : Gainsbourg, Brassens, etc
- A bit of bossa

I am used to thin neck and parlor size guitar and I am trying to find the perfect fit with my future classic guitar.

Tomorrow I will be able to try these 2 second hand guitars :
- Taylor NS24e
- Castellucia Crossover 14 ( with cutaway)

I also like the Cordoba crossover and parlor c9 but can't find a place to try them for the moment.

Would the Taylor or castellucia be a good choice of guitar for what I want to play?
I need a good acoustic sound, electronics is not my priority. A cutaway version is nice. A smaller size (gs mini = perfect size) and a comfortable neck are very important to me.

There are also the new Taylor r academy with Nylon strings and Taylor 114 N but I never tried them.

Thank you in advance for your help 😊

[sirwhale]

Do you live in Europe? Thomann give you a 30day return period. That way, if you can't find the guitar you want locally, you can it with them and if it really doesn't suit you, send it back.

If you can try guitars locally, I would go out and try some full classical or flamenco guitars, to see if the neck really is an issue for you. I thought it was going to be for me, but in the end I love the flat fretboard and string spacing.

[Artmusic]

Thank you sirwhale for your reply.
Yes I live in Europe.
The only problem with Thomann is that it's very long to get your money back after you send the instrument back ) it was the case for me, the process was very long). I

I have never tried a classic guitar before so, as you say, I may find it more comfortable that I think !

[dosland]

I'm not familiar with Castellucia, but if you need good acoustic sound and are not especially concerned about electronics, in my view the Taylor is not rely a great option. It will be a joy to play, and when plugged in the sound will be quite good, but they're not really designed to produce a great acoustic sound - maybe because they're really targeting the gigging jazz crows or something (so maybe better for the Bossa than the Classical stuff you play). I'd recommend trying some traditional classicals as well, so you get a good sense of the sound and feel of those as compared with the crossovers. It is difficult not being able to play a range of instruments, and as an investment a Taylor can be a decent choice, as they hold their value pretty well.

[Swamp Yankee]

check out the Cordoba line if they're available in your area. with only 6 months of playing, you have plenty of time to develop new preferences.

[Artmusic]

Thanks for your replies !

I contacted a music shop a bit far from my area but with some Cordoba, Alhambra and Paco Castillo models.
I am going to try to go try them next week and compare them to the Taylor and Castellucia.

I will tell you which guitars suits me best 😊

[Timothy Lawler]

Playing the guitar is such a personal thing... as are our instruments. I think one can never go wrong with the idea common in recording tech, "If it sounds good it IS good".

[dkstott]

Just a thought, I thought I wanted a crossover Cordoba (C10) too, but came to dislike the 1 7/8" width necks. No matter what strings I tried on it my left hand felt cramped while playing...

Originally Posted by Artmusic

Thanks for your replies !

I contacted a music shop a bit far from my area but with some Cordoba, Alhambra and Paco Castillo models.
I am going to try to go try them next week and compare them to the Taylor and Castellucia.

I will tell you which guitars suits me best ��

[Dave T]

Originally Posted by Artmusic

I am used to thin neck and parlor size guitar and I am trying to find the perfect fit with my future classic guitar.

Then you don't want a classical guitar. What you want is a nylon stringed guitar. Nothing wrong with that but with the features you are asking for it will not be "classical" guitar.

Also, as someone who owned two Taylors, a 514 CE-N and a 512 CE-N, I recommend you don't get one since you say electronics are not your priority. Both of the Taylors I owned sounded OK plugged in but un-plugged they were weak sounding with no projection. I'm told they build their nylon string models essentially they sam way they build their steel string models. It doesn't work unless you plug them in.

YMMV,
Dave

[Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by Dave T

I'm told they build their nylon string models essentially they sam way they build their steel string models. It doesn't work unless you plug them in.

YMMV,
Dave

That was my impression of the Taylor 214 nylon that I owned. I thought of at first as a reassuringly well-built guitar, but came to think it was overbuilt. Maybe part of this was because it had laminated back and sides.

[Artmusic]

M'y appointment to try the Taylor Nylon this morning has been cancelled...
Well, it is maybe a good thing because the more I think about it, the more I think a classical guitar is what I need.
I am looking for a guitar that would be different from my folk to play a different kind of music.
I also would prefer all solid wood.

[dkstott]

I agree with people's impressions of the Taylor's. Nice guitars plugged in, but seriously lacking acoustically. It's almost like they took their standard guitars and swapped out the bridge and installed nylon strings.

My experience with the Yamaha crossover guitars is similar. Great looks & sound when plugged in, but sounds like someone stuffed a few socks in them when played acoustically.

The Cordoba guitars shine acoustically.

[CCFingerstyle]

Not all Taylors are equal. I agree with many of the comments on the Taylors lack of performance unplugged (especially the newer series models), but I think the older NS72ce and NS52ce models are exceptions (the NS74ce and NS54CE are also nice, but you mentioned your preference for parlor size guitars). They sound pretty good unplugged to me.

According to FedEx, I've got one of the new Academy series nylons coming in today (12e-N), so I will have some thoughts on that one soon.

[Artmusic]

Originally Posted by CCFingerstyle

Not all Taylors are equal. I agree with many of the comments on the Taylors lack of performance unplugged (especially the newer series models), but I think the older NS72ce and NS52ce models are exceptions (the NS74ce and NS54CE are also nice, but you mentioned your preference for parlor size guitars). They sound pretty good unplugged to me.

According to FedEx, I've got one of the new Academy series nylons coming in today (12e-N), so I will have some thoughts on that one soon.

Oh great, I was wondering about the academy series. Can't wait to have your feedback !

[CCFingerstyle]

The Taylor Academy Series 12e-N arrived today and I have spent some time with it this afternoon. I think it's going to be a winner and I definitely recommend it to beginners. Throughout my comments, remember that this is a guitar with a $699 street price (with electronics and a nice gig bag). It will not feel and perform as well as some of the high quality/much more expensive models. It does, however, hold its own against many more expensive models.

I was wondering if it would sound and feel more like the old NS nylons (NS52ce, NS72ce) series built in the 2002 to 2005 era that I like, or the newer 214ce-N, 314ce-N, and so forth and so on that I personally do not like as much. It seems more like the older NS series to me. That is, a good thing.

This is a lot of guitar for the price point. Feels good (I might take the action down just a tad, maybe 1/64th or so, and experiment with other strings...update, I made a slight adjustment to the factory setting with the truss rod and the action feels even better to me. In my case, I slightly tightened the truss rod), sounds good both plugged and unplugged. Good projection unplugged, deep bass...especially for a crossover, I was pleasantly surprised that I can get some of my favored "heavy mellow" tones out of it plugged in (to my Fender Acoustic SFX). I find a lot of the crossovers to be a bit treble-ly, if that is a word. Build quality is excellent, on board tuner which should be great for beginners, nice typical Taylor high quality gig bag. Ebony fingerboard feels very nice, frets are nice, I found no sloppiness in the build...everything looks well put together. Out of the box, it seems like a winner. I should note that it feels a bit stiff, as you should expect. Even my Kirk Sand guitars do not start feeling "unstiff' for about a year after they are built. It will be interesting to see how it changes as the wood seasons and the instrument ages. I suspect it will get even better.

I could live with this as my main guitar if I had to do so (but I don't, so I won't). All in all, it is a satisfying experience to play it. I can't say that about all Taylor nylons, so the fact that this one is very nice for the under $700 price tag makes it pretty good bang-for-the-buck in my opinion.

This is, of course, not comparable to the Martin nylons that I often post about...it's a crossover (longer scale, 1-7/8" nut, probably a slight radius on the fingerboard). It is a different experience, but would be near the top of the list of the many nylon hybrids/crossovers I have tried...above many much higher priced guitars. It is so close to my NS52ce, that I will probably leave it in my catch and release program for now, but it has a chance to become a keeper just because I have so little invested for the quality it represents. It will make an excellent backup for my NS52ce if I decide I want one. Thanks to the folks at Sweetwater (Mike and Aaron and their support team) for getting one in my hands so early in the release period.

I do not really want to oversell this, so I'll just tell you it is a great instrument for beginners (this one will not hold anyone back - like my first finger-shredding Silverstone) and will probably satisfy most seasoned players who dabble in crossovers. I think it represents good value for the $699 price. I might do a video later, but it will sound much like the NS72ce and NS52ce videos already out on my channel...Chris