Grand Auditorium Guitars

[SonOfMI]

Thank you for all the info and for the welcomes. I found a GC up in Gwinnett that has a 214 there along with similarly shaped Martin and Yamaha. I’ll go up there to check those out. It would be nice if that 214 up there sounds better to me. That 210 sounded great, but yeah, if my right arm can be a bit more comfy with a GA body style while still getting good tones that’s the ticket. Thanks again for the assists!

[oldwasichu]

Play a 416ce. It’ll tame that brightness. Though the lower bout is larger than a GA, it’s still more comfortable than a dread.

[SonOfMI]

The 214 at the other GC sounded a lot better to me. I had them put some uncoated strings on it and it was really good. The Yamaha and Martin there were ok, neither played as nicely as the Taylor though. I’d like to see if I can get more mids out of it, closer to the 210 sound I liked so much. I’m stopping at another store here that has an Eastman AC122 in stock to check out. And I think I’m going to order a Martin GPC11 to compare as well before I make a decision. I don’t want to go over a grand, so that might my limit.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

I picked up a 224 Koa recently that has a nice low end. I think the Koas are known for a bit more bass and less high end. Strings can make a big difference, especially if you go with something other than the Elixirs that Taylors come stock with.

See if you can find a used 224 and try a new set of strings (or a couple) - you might be surprised. With your budget at $900 you might need to stretch a bit.

Another thought is the OM shape in another brand - Eastman, Larrivee, Martin 15 series. Lots of choices out there at about $1k.

Good luck!

Koa is supposed to be bright, not bassy

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by SonOfMI

IÂ’ve been shopping for a new acoustic. I play mostly rock and electric primarily but once in awhile the mood strikes me to go unplugged. The criteria I want are good acoustic tone, good plugged in tone for an acoustic, cutaway for upper fret access, respond well to my playing techniques, decently comfortable to play and around the price of a Taylor 210ce, ~$900. I mention the 210ce as thatÂ’s what I found that ticked all the boxes.

The other guitar that stood out to me in that price range was the Taylor 214ce. The 210 is a dreadnought while the 214 is what they call a grand auditorium. You guys probably know this stuff inside and out. The 214 stood out to me for how comfortable the thing was to play. The 210 pushed my right arm out a bit further away from me. The 214 allowed my arm to be closer, more like an electric. I really liked the 210Â’s tone - after trying several other dreadnoughts there and at other stores - because of its tone. Sounds wonderful. I can dig in like I like to and it just gets louder and great sounding. The 214 is so freaking bright. I dig in and it got super bright, like unbearable to me. When I say dig in, I mean aggressive strumming. I googled before posting and didnÂ’t see my questions addressed.

I saw that a lot of people say TaylorÂ’s are bright. Which I can see on the 214. I didnÂ’t see that on the 210. I donÂ’t see different strings taming the brightness of the 214 enough to make it bearable for me. I wanted to like the 214 simply for how more comfy it was to play it. Great shape for me, but the tone was not good to me. Is this brightness - overly bright to me - something that the grand auditorium body shape has? Or is it unique to the Taylor 214? The store with the 214 didnÂ’t have any other grand auditoriums to compare. And if other grand auditoriums arenÂ’t as bright, what would you recommend I check out? I guess IÂ’m looking for a grand auditorium that sounds like a dreadnought or at least close to it. IÂ’d be happy with the 210ce, really pleased with it. If I hadnÂ’t tried the 214 IÂ’d probably have bought the 210. But if thereÂ’s something thatÂ’s a bit more comfy to play with the same tone, thatÂ’s even better. IÂ’m in the Atlanta area, so there are some great independent shops here.

Taylor is a "bright" guitar, compared to, say, Martin. To get a more "low end" guitar, look for a guitar with rosewood or ovangkol b&s or a complete hardwood guitar like a mahogany-topped guitar, especially if it's a 12-fret one.

[emtsteve]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Koa is supposed to be bright, not bassy

I've heard that too, but that's not the case with mine. See if you can find one to try.

[Shadowfox]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

I've heard that too, but that's not the case with mine. See if you can find one to try.

It's because of the Mahogany top, since it's a 2 in the second place of the Guitar.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

I've heard that too, but that's not the case with mine. See if you can find one to try.

I owned a GS Mini with Koa. If a guitar has a koa top, then it could sound less bright because koa is a hardwood; but as a B&S guitar, at first, it'll sound quite bright.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by SonOfMI

The 214 at the other GC sounded a lot better to me. I had them put some uncoated strings on it and it was really good. The Yamaha and Martin there were ok, neither played as nicely as the Taylor though. I’d like to see if I can get more mids out of it, closer to the 210 sound I liked so much. I’m stopping at another store here that has an Eastman AC122 in stock to check out. And I think I’m going to order a Martin GPC11 to compare as well before I make a decision. I don’t want to go over a grand, so that might my limit.

Good luck. I had an early AC122. Besides other problems, the one I had was very bright and sounded horrible to me. Got rid of it fast. Their all-solid offerings are a different story though. You may not have success in getting a GA to have the bass response of a Dread unless you go with a small builder and shell out $$$.

[lowrider]

''The Yamaha and Martin there were ok, neither played as nicely as the Taylor though.''

Taylors are famous for their playability. They come very well set up from the factory, but just about any guitar can be made to play that way with a proper set-up.

Buy the tone you like and then get it properly set up; win-win!

[emtsteve]

Originally Posted by Shadowfox

It's because of the Mahogany top, since it's a 2 in the second place of the Guitar.

Mine’s a 224ce DLX Koa, so solid Koa top and laminated Koa back and sides. Very un-Taylorlike tone. As in, full round bass and highs are nice but not shrill. Very balanced and nice sounding guitar with excellent playability. And I am not a Taylor guy normally.

[SonOfMI]

The Eastman AC122 sounded the best out of what I played today, but man that neck is a chunk. After years of playing EVH Wolfgangs I think that Eastman neck is too much of an adjustment to make. There were times I didn’t get my thumb wrapped around enough to mute the 5th string while playing an open D chord. I don’t want to buy it with the intention of making myself get used to it only to end up hating it in a few months. That said, I still preferred the tones from the Taylor 210 I played before. This Eastman was really close though. The guy at Maple Street pulled out some others while I was there, a Fender that sounded tinny, and an Alvarez AG75WCE that had a decent enough neck and sounded ok, but there was something funky about it. I’d get this odd high pitched ringing when I played the 2nd string on frets 1, 8, and 14. He pulled down a Martin SC13 for me to check out. It didn’t have the unplugged tones I’m looking for, but he wanted me to check the neck, which felt fine to me. Not big like the Eastman. There might be some others out there I haven’t played. But after hitting each GC and a few independent shops, I’m still leaning toward the Taylor 210. I am going to have GC order a Martin GPC11 and 13 as well as a PRS SE Angeles so I can compare them. I want to try the PRS as my cousin told me it’s similar to their electrics as far as build quality and playability. I’m not sure what to expect for tones out of it though as I’ve read PRS aimed to copy the Taylor 214. There isn’t much used around here and I want to avoid ordering used online just to try it then have to flip it if I don’t like it.

[dbvirago]

If the 210 wasn't comfortable, you probably won't like the Academy. I have an Academy 10 which I love, but my right arm has never been comfortable with it. Today, I spent an hour switching between an 814 and an 812.

The X12 is their Grand Concert and a little smaller. It felt really good and comfortable. Then I tried the 814 and the sound difference blew me away. In addition, it was still more comfortable than my dreadnought.

The waist was a bit smaller so it was easier to reach over the body. So, based on your OP, I would go with the 214. but like others have said, if you could swing at least a 300 series and get solid wood you might be happier.

[jp2558]

FYI, see the M-36 thread for a comparable body size. I bought a GPC-35E to compliment my M-36. Both are great guitars.

[Macpage]

Originally Posted by SonOfMI

The Eastman AC122 sounded the best out of what I played today, but man that neck is a chunk. After years of playing EVH Wolfgangs I think that Eastman neck is too much of an adjustment to make.

You are doing it right with all the auditions. I did the same for a couple of months before settling on a couple. I have always appreciated Eastman, but the neck is a no go for me as well. It sounds like you are preferring more medium thin necks like the Taylor. Breedloves have thinner necks if you get a chance to audition a Concert or larger Concerto, which is pretty comfortable for its size.

I don't know if you got to play an A series in the Yamaha since a lot of their models are scarce. I have the AC which is a deep body OM pretty close to GA but without the large lower bout. They also have a cut away dread in the series. I got a used spruce/rosewood made in Japan at pretty close to your budget from GC/Musicians Friend. The mahogany ones are a little less. These pop up occasionally, and you can use the 45 day return. The action on the one I have is 4.5/64" on low E with a glass smooth ebony fretboard. It gets pretty loud without fret buzz. This is the closest to playing an electric that I have found. I would bet the dread version offers even more.

Lots of great guitars. You'll find the one, and a Taylor 210 or 214 is always a classic choice.

Best,

Mac