Rave of 310 and 300 Series ^_^

[TheTaylor310]

Howdy y'all~

I bought a used 310 last July (99 year issue with NT neck and everything) and until i played it, i never gave the sapele/mahogany woods a fair view. People have always raved about maples, rosewood, koa and the like, but sapele/mahogany is usually understated. I mean, if i got my guitar with the other woods, i'd pretty much say the same thing.

I reckon that the 300 Series is passed by, as it is a "no-frills" series, but to me, PURE 100% Taylor. I rather prefer all the 300 Series because just as Taylor Guitars says, the sapele wood is very bright and i could pick out the individual notes very well. Even as mine is a Dreadnought body, it maintains a bright tone, sustained with the usual Dread thump.

If i were to EVER get a new Taylor (other ones just don't do!), it would reside either on a 314c, a 510 or a 514c (no electronics on any). I tried 500 Series guitars and it is remarkably the same as my 310.

Since my 310, i continually play with high-end Taylors (i regularly play with a 614c or 814c at church), and occasionally with other models, and sufficed to say, my 310 beats 'em all! I'd never trade my 310 for any high-end Taylor... i'll keep mine

If you own other wood Taylors, that's cool... ANY Taylor is purely the song of an angel (hehe), but to me, you can't convince me otherwise about my sapele 310.

Thanks for hearing my ramblings... hope some of you that never picked up at 3/500 Series guitar go and try one out!

Blessings,
nick

[J.R. Rogers]

Hey, Nick! Welcome to the forum. It's good to have you here. Your assessment of the 300 series is very valid. I don't think Taylor makes a "low-end" guitar. Truly, all of their instruments, the 300-series and up, are professional instruments, all built to the same tolerances by the same people. Bob Taylor doesn't put his name on "crap". A 300 series guitar is an exceptional instrument in all respects.

Again, welcome, and we hope to see you around often.

Regards,
J.R. Rogers
Administrator

[RL]

Hello Nick,

I would second JR's comment about the 300 series being an excellent guitar. Like I've said before, I haven't found a Taylor I didn't like.

I first started playing Taylor's about a year ago. I'm from S.Dak. so I have to travel(or used to travel, our small music store is getting Taylors would you believe?)
to play Taylors, which I do every chance I get.

My son from the Twin Cities also plays acoustic and we go to different music stores to play Taylors when I'm in the Cities.

When we would go this past year, he would play a Taylor and I would listen and then I would play the same Taylor and he would listen.

We must have done this with 50 Taylors of different breeds, at different stores, over the year before I bought my first Taylor.

When I decided to buy a Taylor, I played the 300, 400 and 500 series pretty regularly when I could get to a store that had Taylors. I needed at least one guitar with onboard electronics.

I A/B compared similar models of the 300 and 500 series at different stores. I was very impressed with the sound of the 300's but there was something about the 514CE that kept me coming back time after time.

Also, I played 410CE's where ever I went. I finally purchased the 410CE in August of this year, thinking it was more in my price range at the time.

I love the 410, but I couldn't get the 514CE out of my head. I'm old enough to know that I should buy what I want right away, saves money in the long run, but there's $$$ to consider.

Last month, our local music store got it's first shipment of Taylors. I was hoping there wouldn't be a 514CE in that shipment.....there was. I played it, fell in love again and the guitar went out the store with me.

Have fun playing your 310 it's an excellent guitar and it will last a lifetime.

Take care

[TheTaylor310]

Howdy RL~

Great to see that your search for that perfect geetar has landed on my 310's more expensive "distant" cousin——the 514ce! I tried the 514ce at my local Guitar Centre here in CA and i fell in love with that guitar as well. It's beautiful in all aspects and the sound can't be beat!

Although i mainly use the guitar for strumming (heavy or otherwise), i can still fingerpick on my 310, and still be satisfied with the overall tone. I know that if i were to buy a 314c or 514c, the mediocre fingerpicking i do would sound EVEN better.

Like others have said before me, playing with a Taylor makes you SOUND better! Truly, that's an understatement hehe

Well, hope you cherish your 514ce just as my 310 has brought me such joy for the past four months now!

Blessings,
nick

[RL]

Hello Nick,

One of the first Taylors I ever played was a 310. That guitar was in amongst some other higher end guitfiddles at a music store.

The 310 outshone every other non-Taylor I played. I almost bought the 310 right there on the spot but then started playing other Taylors.

The 310 is an outstanding guitar. Have a good time with it.

Take care

RL

[franchelB]

What I want to know is why oh why did they changed my 410 to "310" and make the 410 with Ovangkol?

[RL]

Originally posted by franchelB:
What I want to know is why oh why did they changed my 410 to "310" and make the 410 with Ovangkol?

I'm no expert on this but I think that Ovankgol has characteristics of rosewood but at a much lower cost to produce than rosewood.

Others in this forum may know more on this..??



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RL

Ovankol is a completely different wood than rosewood, but tonally and visually speaking, it is rosewood-ish. Sapele is a completely different wood than mahogany but tonally and visually speaking it is mahogany-ish.

I don't know why Taylor insists on confusing people by calling it "sapele mahogany" in their literature. It makes no sense at all. That's just like calling cedar "cedar spruce" or calling
maple "maple birch." Sapele is a very nice tone wood and they should not only be more honest, but be proud that they use it. If there is a problem with lack of name recognition among the general public, then they need to do a better job marketing sapele by educating people, not confusing them, or just switch to mahogany.

[TheTaylor310]

Howdy

I agree that Taylor Guitars should begin to separate Sapele from Mahogany. However, we should remember that the Mahogany species used on the former 400 Series (and on the 500) has the same scientific designation as Sapele. That name is called Entandrophragma cylindricum. Oh well... to me, i am not that bothered by it. I love this Sapele-wood Taylor 310 hehe

Blessings,
nick

[J.R. Rogers]

I could be wrong, but weren't the original 400-series African Mahogany? That's what I was told.

J.R.

Confusion over common names of woods, especially lesser known tropical species, are the reason why it is important to look also at the botanical names to see exactly what the wood is.

African Mahogany is an imprecise generic name used to market a number of different woods including sapele and khaya. Asian mahogany is another imprecise generic marketing term used to sell other woods such as lauan and meranti.

As Nick mentioned the botanical name for the sapele used by Taylor is Entandrophragma cylindricum. The first name being the genus and the second is the species within that genus. What most people think of as true mahogany are the trees in the genus Swietenia which only grows in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The species in this genus most commonly used in guitars, such as the 5XXs is Swietenia macrophylla.

All of these tree species are distantly related, in that the genera (genuses) to which they belong are all in the family Meliaceae, but to me, calling them all mahogany is a bit of a stretch.

I feel that Taylor should be more accurate about the species they use in the 3XXs, and to include sapele in the list of woods used in Taylors in the catalog and on the official website as a separate wood, and not just as a confusing note at the bottom of the mahogany description.

[RL]

Hello,

I for one find the discussion of 'tonewoods' somewhat confusing.

When I bought my 410CE this year, I was told that the back and sides were made of Ovangkol, by the salesman. Also, he commented that it was similar to rosewood although he didn't call it that but had characteristics similar to rosewood.

I had never owned a Taylor before, so I played and compared the 310,514CE,810,710CE and 410CE. I found the most similarity in sound between the 410CE and the 810.

The 410 seemed brighter than the 810 but not as bright as say the 514CE. The salesman then told me that the 514CE and 310 were again made of woods with similar characteristics but yet not the same woods.

The more I listen to guitars made of different 'tonewoods' the more I hear variations in sound in those that I listen to. And some of those 'tonewoods' are somewhat exotic, I'm told.

And I'm also finding that this 'tonewood' business doesn't appear to be an exact science...so to speak.

For example, not every guitar produced with Indian Rosewood and Sitka spruce is going to sound alike to me. And so on with other combinations of tonewoods.

What it seems to boil down to me is that there are certain 'standard' combinations of woods i.e. rosewood and sitka spruce for a sound. But maybe it's not just the sound that someone is looking for but also the asthetics of the look...??

Like I said at the start of this somewhat windy post, that I find this business of 'tonewoods' confusing,whether it be a Taylor or some other guitar.

One final note:

Look at all the hoopla written about Brazilian rosewood. Some say it is the best tonewood available. Others say it is not necessarily better sounding than rosewood, just more collectable.

And on and on it goes.






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RL

[Dennis]

RL --

You have a 514ce, huh? Aren't they just great? The first Taylor I bought was (is) a custom W65 (walnut 12string, jumbo). When I went to pick it up at the store, the owner said "hey,just for fun, check out this 514..(it is the 514ceab 25th anniv model)." I played it. Oh man... couldn't get it out of my head... 3 days later I bought it. And for the longest time, it's been my favorite acoustic. I love all my Taylors, but I still really enjoy playing that 514. I just love the sound of mahogony. Btw, I also own a Martin J40, which I thought was the best thing I'd ever played... right up until I played a Taylor. NO comparison. Anyway, keep shopping, keep enjoying, and share more stories. I don't know how Taylor does it, but they keep outdoing themselves.

dc

[franchelB]

...all I know is there's a little bit of confusion about my 410E that I bought in 1996. Yes, it is made of Sapelle; but Taylor had to Recategorize it to the 300 series. People think I have Ovangkol because I tell'em I have a 410
I guess it shouldn't be a big deal...I know what 'I' have anyways

[TheTaylor310]

Howdy franchelB

You must have the 410 with the pinless bridge, huh? Well, the two ways that i discern whether a 400 Series guitar is Mahogany or Ovangkol are the fact that ones before 1998 had pinless bridges and just by looking at the serial number. Of course, some people aren't so astute of doing such checks, but oh well... gotta be precise!

At my church, the two 400 Series guitars we have are both in that criteria: pinless bridge, and made in the year 1997.

Enjoy your pinless 410! There are a lot of Taylor owners and watchers who'd rather have that pinless~ hehehehehehehe

Blessings,
nick