Taylor bracing as compared to Martin bracing. Please help.

[DaveJTR]

Hey y’all,

I’m a Martin guy l, so I’m familiar with the bracings those folks offer (standard/rear/forward… scalloped/straight… etcetera).

So my question is this. What is a Taylor 810 braced liked? I’m familiar with the Re-imagined Series. Would a 2023 Taylor 810 be braced like a 2023 Martin (H)D-28 Reimagined?

I think Taylor tweaked their bracing too. So what would a 2000 Taylor 810 be braced like?

Thanks y’all.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Taylor switched the whole line around 2018 or so to V braces.
Guitars predating that will likely be X braced, but the only Martin Taylor guitars will ever come close to I think is the SC13.
An 810 regardless of bracing will not sound like a D28.

[IndyHD28]

I’m a Martin guy too. But I’m a sucker for wild grain and fell in love with the idea of the K24ce. Demo’d one in a store and thought it sounded fine. So, I mail ordered one. Paid around $4k (this was a couple years ago). It was the first V-Class model IIRC. It was gorgeous. The fit and finish were as good as anything I’d ever seen. But…..

When played next to my Martins—custom shop Adi topped, GE scalloped HD28 and D18–the Taylor simply couldn’t compete. I know it’s apples and oranges. I know their Koas supposedly need months (years?) to open up. I don’t blame Taylor one bit. I don’t think poorly of V bracing. It was MY fault for letting aesthetics overrule tone. So, it had to go.

Moral of the story….if you’re in love with Martin tone, as I am and I suspect you are, be certain to play the Taylor you’re interested in at the same time as your favorite Martin. They are fundamentally different. If you like and want more Martin tone, get a Martin. Try a Modern Deluxe if you want something slightly different but still ‘in the family’. Or be prepared to make an expensive mistake.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by DaveJTR

Hey y’all,

I’m a Martin guy l, so I’m familiar with the bracings those folks offer (standard/rear/forward… scalloped/straight… etcetera).

So my question is this. What is a Taylor 810 braced liked? I’m familiar with the Re-imagined Series. Would a 2023 Taylor 810 be braced like a 2023 Martin (H)D-28 Reimagined?

I think Taylor tweaked their bracing too. So what would a 2000 Taylor 810 be braced like?

Thanks y’all.

Well...

Taylor...as already mentioned...went to their V Class bracing system on almost their whole line back in 2018. The V Class Bracing...IMO...give the Taylors that have it a much more fundamental tone...more Martin D-28/HD-28 like...than their tone ever had been in all the years...BUT...it is still NOT the Martin tone. It is somewhat similar to the Martin D-28 tone, and especially in their new Grand Pacific slope shoulder model dreads...which I think are quite terrific...but it is, again, NOT a dead copy of the Martin tone...but it is quite good in it's own right...and again...I think IMO that the V Class bracing system works best in their new Grand Pacific models. I am much less impressed with it in the older models like the 810/814 and such.

You can look up Taylors V Class bracing system on Taylors website or on Youtube and see what it is...but it is actually very very similar in bracing style look to what a lot of acoustic Arch Top guitars have used down through the years...and Andy Powers...before he came to Taylor...was a noted and very well thought of acoustic Arch Top luthier according to some of my friends in the luthier world.

Now a year 2000 Taylor 810 will have scalloped X bracing similar to Martin, but the tone is fairly different...very good...very Taylor...but different from Martin. The guitar that Taylor made, that got the most close to Martin tone was the Dan Crary Signature Model they made back in the late 80's/early 90's. A fabulous guitar for Bluegrass flatpicking and also for rhythm and lead work...really fine guitars. Again, not quite Martin tone, but great for Bluegrass/County and lead work on just about any style.

However...if you want Martin tone, stick to Martin.

So...just for kicks...what type of tone ARE you looking for? Whatcha wanna do wit it?


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[marciero]

Originally Posted by DaveJTR

I think Taylor tweaked their bracing too. So what would a 2000 Taylor 810 be braced like?

Thanks y’all.

I have a 2004 910 that is advanced scalloped X. Not sure if all the dreads of that era were braced like that.
I searched on this a while back but could not find much about anything other than the recent V class.
I think scalloped braces have always a Taylor thing as they were maybe the first production guitars of the modern era to offer that. My guess is all the the dreads, at least, would have had that.

[Bob Womack]

I have a 2004 Engelmann/rosewood Taylor 710ce and a 2022 Martin HD-28. Both have scalloped, forward shifted bracing. There is a caveat: the Taylor is strung with lights and the Martin with mediums, so a comparison isn't exact. Nevertheless, there are differences in both sound and feel between the two. The Taylor has a more refined sound, with less bass and a more refined, brighter high end. It is also more responsive to a gentle touch than the Martin. The Martin has more boom and a bolder treble. It is bold, bold, bold. It is also more... wild sounding, if you will. It requires more right-hand energy to get the top going. The middle carve on the Taylor is deeper than that of the Martin and though the treble on the Martin is less pronounced, it seems to go up higher.

It is a funny conundrum: the Martin has less treble overall but more twinkle in the upper end. I can imagine I'll be using it more for straight strumming and flatpicking and the Taylor more for fingerstyle (like Ed Gerhard) and more sophisticated strumming that need more bass than a smaller guitar can offer.

I hope this helps a bit.

Bob

[marciero]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I have a 2004 Engelmann/rosewood Taylor 710ce and a 2022 Martin HD-28. Both have scalloped, forward shifted bracing. There is a caveat: the Taylor is strung with lights and the Martin with mediums, so a comparison isn't exact. Nevertheless, there are differences in both sound and feel between the two. The Taylor has a more refined sound, with less bass and a more refined, brighter high end. It is also more responsive to a gentle touch than the Martin. The Martin has more boom and a bolder treble. It is bold, bold, bold. It is also more... wild sounding, if you will. It requires more right-hand energy to get the top going. The middle carve on the Taylor is deeper than that of the Martin and though the treble on the Martin is less pronounced, it seems to go up higher.

Bob

Interesting but a lot of what you describe is precisely the difference between lights vs medium strings-esp on a dread designed for mediums.

[Athens]

I guess my question would be, why worry about bracing, which guitar’s voice do you like better?