I played a Taylor GT....umm - Page 2

boneuphtoner · #16 04-12-2021, 07:53 AM

I've said it previously, but I think it is worth repeating again - I think Taylor's biggest miss in introducing this new body size is to roll out the most premium trim lines for a spruce/rosewood option and a hardwood top option - they didn't HAVE to do that - they could have made a 411 GT with spruce rosewood and a 321 GT to give you a hardwood top option - that would result in savings of close to $1000 and $2000 respectively.

I thought the urban ash GT sounded like a more refined GS mini. To my ear, the 811 GT sounded in the ball park of an 812 Grand Concert. Haven't played the Koa version yet.

rmp · #17 04-12-2021, 08:19 AM

it is a fair point that while Andy Powers seems to be trying to innovate just about all he can touch, companies like Martin and Gibson are doing what they've been doing for generations.

I'm all for advancing the craft, and I really do love my 2020 V Class 814 CE Deluxe, but by and large, it does comes back to if it aint broke, don't fix it

RalphH · #18 04-12-2021, 09:58 AM

Or they've tried lots of weird innovation, been bitten by the market, and gone back to what aint broke.

Guitarplayer_PR · #19 04-12-2021, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RalphH

I agree - you innovate, make something new, then you sell it until people stop buying it. You don't just reinvent the wheel every 10 years for the sake of it.

Why is Martin still selling D-18's and Gibson still selling J-45s? Not because they couldn't find a single person with an imagination in the last 60 years, but because they're great guitars and they don't need to be changed.

Well, I expected it to sound like a full-sized guitar because thats what Taylor claimed. An OM maybe? I like Taylor as a brand so I took a leap of faith based on what they are saying. I guess I've learned my lesson; integrity is no longer a thing at Taylor, at least in the marketing department. "...with the rich voice of a full-size, all-solid-wood guitar." my backside. "...with the boxy voice of a $300 Chinese laminate B&S guitar" would be closer, but I suppose then they'd sell less of them.

What exactly is a "full-sized guitar sound?"

Guitarplayer_PR · #20 04-12-2021, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozarkpicker

That's a pretty antagonistic question. I don't think the OP expected anything like that...but I do think he was put off by a $1300 (Urban Ash) guitar that was twice the price of a corresponding GS-Mini not sounding twice as good, or being twice the guitar. I think the majority of those here who have played the GT's in earlier threads feel the same.

I've played the Urban Ash GT, and was not impressed by the tone at all...at least for the price point vs. its little "brother". I also played the GT811e...and was really smitten by its "jewel-like" beauty and craftsmanship...but IMO, it's much less of a guitar than I would expect for right under the $3000 mark.

I think Taylor is shooting in the dark with these models. I certainly don't think they're flying off the shelves like the GS Mini's did...and continue to do. They are the ultimate niche guitar, as far as I can tell.

It's not antagonistic; it's trying to not expect anything more than we should.

martingitdave · #21 04-12-2021, 10:13 AM

I went guitar shopping after receiving my vaccine and wanted to replace the guitars I'd sold due to covid finances. You may know I was a huge fan of the 2014 Andy Powers models and think they played and sounded great. I've owned about 10 Taylor's over the years.

I played all the new models they had in stock. Honestly, they sounded like junk. Really. I have no idea what they are doing now with all these new models including the GT. It's crazy when the best of the bunch was a 200 series guitar with x bracing.

RalphH · #22 04-12-2021, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

What exactly is a "full-sized guitar sound?"

Full, rich, and resonant, if it's a good one, rather than flat and boxy.

I know what you're trying to say - there is no specific 'full-sized sound', but there is a general difference between big and small guitars, and GT sounds like very much a small guitar. I'm guessing it is 99.9% driven by the inescapable physics of the guitar's volume (capacity, not loudness), and no amount of clever bracing is going to change that, just like the speaker in your iPhone is never going to sound like a 12" speaker, regardless of how much innovation goes into it, or how many people ask you "what exactly is a 'big speaker sound'?".

Or like a set of 13 gauge strings will generally sound fuller than a set of 9's, even though there's no specific "13's" sound.

Kinda Old · #23 04-12-2021, 01:33 PM

As far as the 8-11 goes, If I'm spending $3000 I want a hard case, and also it looks like the fret ends are exposed.

The Urben Ash: For $1400 I still want a hard case and back and sides that could not have been made from a tree in my backyard (kinda kidding)

I have a 00-28 that sounds like heaven. It's small and perfect. New I paid $2400 That's the direction I'd go for a "couch guitar"

dnf777 · #24 04-12-2021, 01:35 PM

After having my GT urban ash for several months now, I have to agree with the OP’s comment. When I travel or just want a small guitar for couch playing, I get out my Dred jr 10-to-1 over the GT. And it costs 1/3 as much. The GT is a nice guitar, but not worth $1500

Br1ck · #25 04-12-2021, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmp

it is a fair point that while Andy Powers seems to be trying to innovate just about all he can touch, companies like Martin and Gibson are doing what they've been doing for generations.

I'm all for advancing the craft, and I really do love my 2020 V Class 814 CE Deluxe, but by and large, it does comes back to if it aint broke, don't fix it

Look, they all are just trying to sell guitars in a mature market, that is to folks who have three or four already. Martin is building the modern deluxe, trying to poach the Collings market. Gibson deciding maybe branding Epiphone as the import acoustic was a waste of a good marketing brand, hence the new US Texan, differing greatly from the old Texan. Now Martin is trying to plug the gap between the reimagined and the Authentic with a new custom like using the much admired Authentic bracing. Think about the close to perfect blackface Fenders. How did they evolve to the ultralinear Twin with the pull out volume for crunch? Gotta churn out new product.

RalphH · #26 04-12-2021, 03:37 PM

I wonder what the general feedback to Taylor has been.

Certainly on here, the GT has taken quite a bashing, but it's reviewed well online, and Taylor have lined up plenty of musicians I've never heard of to sit with it and say how good it is. Maybe we're just a bunch of grumpy old men with our 60+ year old dreadnought/OM designs who don't like any of this new-fangled anything... "anything younger than me is wrong" and "well of course it sounds all the same on your overly compressed digital, streamed into your crappy earbuds music"

Rev Roy · #27 04-12-2021, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RalphH

Maybe we're just a bunch of grumpy old men with our 60+ year old dreadnought/OM designs who don't like any of this new-fangled anything...

Then why did so many of us love Andy’s first remake - the Advanced Performance X bracing? And the Grand Pacifics get a lot of respect around here. My guess is that mostly we are a discriminating bunch who judge new (and old) stuff by it’s merits...

RalphH · #28 04-12-2021, 03:54 PM

Note I said "we" not "you", I was just playing; I know what I can hear, and I don't believe we're wrong.

But I would be curious to know what the wider customer/community feedback had been on recent taylors. I guess I'm hoping Taylor has got the message and Bob will rein Andy in a bit. While I have no plans to acquire any more Taylors, they are a brand I like and I'd like to see them do well and continue to innovate in a way that really adds to the guitar industry

Jeremy · #29 04-12-2021, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RalphH

I wonder what the general feedback to Taylor has been.

Certainly on here, the GT has taken quite a bashing, but it's reviewed well online, and Taylor have lined up plenty of musicians I've never heard of to sit with it and say how good it is. Maybe we're just a bunch of grumpy old men with our 60+ year old dreadnought/OM designs who don't like any of this new-fangled anything... "anything younger than me is wrong" and "well of course it sounds all the same on your overly compressed digital, streamed into your crappy earbuds music"

I can't recall ever reading a negative review from the mainstream guitar press or major dealers. I imagine they probably wouldn't get future review units or early access if they did. Same with the musicians Taylor trots out to promote a major new release. Frankly I think it's more PR than anything else.

I'm in my 40s and owned a GT. I've got no skin in the game other than what's in my wallet, and for the money I thought it was a lackluster guitar.

Similar to what Rev Roy said, the AP braced Taylors were among my favorite guitars. It isn't so much about change I conjecture, as it is about a perceived bad change.

RalphH · #30 04-12-2021, 04:12 PM

I don't really have any skin in the game either -- I don't know why I feel quite so annoyed about the GT. I guess I just read too much of the PR and really wanted it to be true, then got a rude awakening when I bought one. Maybe I'm just annoyed with myself for getting sucked in - it doesn't happen often to me - I'm generally pretty skeptical.