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Taylor 618e opinions
There is a Taylor 618e (2015 model with the brown sugar finish) in my price range. This is a guitar I have always been very curious about, feeling it would suit my style.
Does anyone have any experience with this model? Would love to hear some feedback about owning and living with it. Thanks |
#2
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Taylor 618e opinions
Don't have a 618e, but I do have an 818e spruce/rosewood model and I love it. I string it with Elixir PB HD Light gauge strings. {.013, .017, .025, .032, .042, .053}. And I fingerpick all my guitars using my nails as picks. Be well and play well, Don .
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*The Heard: 85 Gibson J-200 sitka/rosewood Jumbo 99 Taylor 355 sitka/sapele 12 string Jmbo 06 Alvarez AJ60S englmn/mpl lam med Jmbo 14 Taylor 818e sitka/rosewood Grand Orchestra 05 Taylor 512ce L10 all mahogany Grand Concert 09 Taylor all walnut Jmbo 16 Taylor 412e-R sitka/rw GC 16 Taylor 458e-R s/rw 12 string GO 21 Epiphone IBG J-200 sitka/maple Jmbo 22 Guild F-1512 s/rw 12 string Jmbo |
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It’s BIG
If you can get along with the sheer size of a Grand Orchestra/18 I expect you will dig the tone and the VOLUME!!!!
Almost as big as a Gibby J200, and deeper with wider hips, so even more box ! As the car guys point out, “no substitute for cubic inches” Cheers Paul
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3 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/Cedar Dread Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More |
#5
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Taylor 618e opinions
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Thing is, it will transfer as little or as much energy as I put into it. The 'xy8' Taylors are a replacement for their discontinued Jumbo 'xy5' series. And are better guitars. That string gauge I favor is essentially Medium gauge in the treble half and Light gauge in the bass half. I like balanced guitars and Jumboes have that naturally. So the big bodies don't need heavy strings. Especially the rosewood body on mine. The light bass strings keep the sound balanced; the sheer size of the body will provide plenty of bass with the lighter strings and not overwhelm the sound. While not exact, the 818 sounds very similar to my rosewood Gibson J-200. And I mean that in a very good way. And the 12 string rosewood Taylor 458e-R sounds incredibly smooth with its {.010 - .047} strings. While I won't attempt to compete with bluegrass pickers in volume, my nails do provide a good tone and volume for me. Be well and play well, Don .
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*The Heard: 85 Gibson J-200 sitka/rosewood Jumbo 99 Taylor 355 sitka/sapele 12 string Jmbo 06 Alvarez AJ60S englmn/mpl lam med Jmbo 14 Taylor 818e sitka/rosewood Grand Orchestra 05 Taylor 512ce L10 all mahogany Grand Concert 09 Taylor all walnut Jmbo 16 Taylor 412e-R sitka/rw GC 16 Taylor 458e-R s/rw 12 string GO 21 Epiphone IBG J-200 sitka/maple Jmbo 22 Guild F-1512 s/rw 12 string Jmbo Last edited by donlyn; 08-11-2023 at 09:51 AM. Reason: proof-reading |
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The 618 from that time period were excellent. They had more of a rosewood tone than Maple. Big sound.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
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Big, yeah, that it is!
I had tried all of the GOs side by side long ago. As said, if you're ok with the size, then they are great guits that have a big voice that is still clear and articulate. But of the GO line that I had tried (mahog, rw, maple), I thought the maple was the best for my taste: best string and tonal balance, and the most articulate of the three. Edward |
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I love mine -- easy to play, sweet sound, incredible sustain, and well built. I have a light touch, and this guitar really projects with little effort. I almost never strum it. I use it for finger picking only.
And (shock), I use extra light strings.
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Martin 000-28EC Taylor 618e Larrivee LV10 Benito Huipe Classical (Paracho, Mx) Yamaha NTX1 |
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I liked the one I played. Should have bought one. Haven't tried the V braced variant yet.
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 08-13-2023 at 03:01 PM. |
#11
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Taylor 618e opinions
I was playing mine this morning and reminded of what an incredible guitar this is. I was lucky enough to get one of the first editions models, number 54 of 100. I have a few guitars and this one being so big, it does spend quite a bit of time in it's case. I restrung with 11 - 52 to reduce the tension while in storage but it still sounds massive and didn't need to change anything about the setup. I've never touched the guitar in terms of setup, it plays beautifully. If you want a big guitar, this is one you must try.
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2012 - Guild AD-3 2013 - Taylor 618E 1st edition (54-100) 2013 - Lowden S32 2012 - Gibson Les Paul studio |
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I found the same experience... I was pleasantly surprised at lovely this model sounded, quite enjoyable to play and listen to. The brown sugar finish is very beautiful imo.
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NOLE TUNES & Coastal Acoustic Music one love jam! Martin D18 & 3 lil' birdz; Takamine KC70, P3NC x 2 |
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I had a 614 of the same vintage, and it was a wonderful guitar. While many folks extol the virtues of the 1990s Taylors, I truly believe that they produced their best after Andy Powers came on the scene and prior to the advent of V-bracing...
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Fender Robert Cray Stratocaster Martin D18 Ambertone Martin 000-15sm |
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As a frequenter of guitar stores and having played around 3 or 4 618s from that era, as well as the same number of 614s, the 614s were superior in my opinion. Somehow the 614s sounded like they had more bass. The 618s had a nasally bright midrange that did not have as much of a scooped tone as the 614s.
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I absolutely love mine. Its base strings are incredible, its treble strings so sweet and clear. Wonderful sustain. Easy to play.
My favorite guitar is my Martin 000-28, but my 618e is the only guitar that I own that occasionally takes my breath away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRKYIjtjCQ
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Martin 000-28EC Taylor 618e Larrivee LV10 Benito Huipe Classical (Paracho, Mx) Yamaha NTX1 |