What are your three favorite Taylor models? Why those?

[Doranged]

562ce beautiful sound comfortable
854 ce coco. Balanced and clean
K66 my dream guitar sweet sound and a real beauty

[donlyn]

My three favorite Taylors are:

Taylor 818e sitka/rosewood Grand Orchestra
Taylor 412e-R SE sitka/rosewood Grand Concert
Taylor 458e-R sitka/rosewood 12 string Grand Orchestra

The whys are simply that I like the sound of sitka tops over rosewood back and sides.

Both six strings are strung with Elixir PB HD Lights, and the 12 string is strung with Elixir PB Light gauge 12 string. The 818e came with mediums, but the light gauge HD bass strings give me more than enough bass with this guitar.

I fingerpick all my instruments, using my nails as picks. I really like the sounds these guitars make. The 818e I bought new and the others were used. The 818e is my 'desert island guitar' (you can have only one). It also produces a lot of overtones and sustains, and sounds just delicious. The 412e-R is a short scale in a smaller body and has it's own charm. And the 12 string is a wall of sound at my fingertips.

Don
.

[RussL30]

I posted in this thread a couple of years ago, but my little XXX KE, I recently acquired has worked its way on the list. It’s an amazing guitar that I’m still learning the different sounds it has to offer. I really underestimated what the little GC bodies could do.

[der Geist]

Originally Posted by FOG01

2. Re-voiced 714ce. I briefly owned an 816ce and loved the sound but the fit wasn't right for me. The 714ce I now have has a beautiful rosewood sound (lots of bass), is great to look at, is very responsive, soft or strong and the GA body fits me better. I'm curious what others have to say about lutz spruce and if it is simply hype to say it mimicks old adirondack.

I can’t vouch for the comparison to old adirondack but my 714ce has that same beautiful rosewood sound and lots of bass. It beat out the 814ce i was considering. It does have the Lutz spruce top.

I also have a T5. Only electric that I play.

No 3rd.

[mawmow]

I still own four Taylors...

The 412ce (2007) is now my preferred one because of the cutaway : I am improving my fingerstyle up the neck.

The 322 bought last year is a different sounding jewell...

My older 510 (2006) was my first solid wood bought on my 50th birthday... but I would probably prefer my GS-5 Cedar/Mahogany. ;-)

[Rudy4]

My 322 14 fret is staying in my stable for a LONG time!

Small GC format, mahogany, all solid wood, full 1-3/4" nut, and comfortable 24-3/4" scale length. It almost plays itself and checks all the boxes for sound.

[foxo]

I can’t comment on any of the more prestigious models through lack of experience but I just bought a preowned 114 today for a steal and it is such a truly cracking guitar I can’t get away with how much I like it. I’m a singer-songwriter, I don’t normally play instrumental at all, but I have spent about four hours tonight playing it in DADGAD and open D and haven’t had the urge to sing once. It’s got a deep, resonant, boomy tone unlike anything I have heard in a budget guitar. I think it’s fair to say I’m now a Taylor fan.

Also love the frets, big thick solid things without the merest hint of fret wear despite the guitar being from 2012. Really good for sliding notes, pull-offs and hammer ons.

[mischultz]

So, any 410 or 412 from 95/96, which I think was a sort of apex period. More likely to find with those that happy marriage of woody and airy that gives a guitar character.

I’ve also played 514s and 516s from 2014/15 that were pretty exceptional. I think mahogany probably favors that iteration of their design more so than any other tone wood.

And the T5.

That seems about right. I’m very much in the willing to pay for value camp. Don’t really find it up the food chain, but strip away the stuff and there are moments as above where the concept really shines.

[sstaylor58]

I’ve owned over 10 Taylor’s over the years. Only have one left, my 314ce. Wonderful guitar. If I had to pick two others I would say the 2006 512ce FLTD all hog I owned, and the 2013 516e FLTD I also owned. Honorable mention: GS mini mahogany (look for the darker ones).

[Cool555]

Old is good....

K24CE Builder’s Edition
K24CE
K22 Limited Edition

Because I just love Koa. Both its tone and its look!

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Having just started similar threads on Martin and Gibson acoustic guitars, I thought I'd ask the same question about Taylor guitars: what are your three favorite models, and why do you like them? Any insights you can offer will be valuable for other people reading this thread.

Unlike Martin and Gibson, I don't have much personal experience with Taylor guitars. I briefly owned a cedar-topped 714, which I liked a lot (but not enough to keep me from selling it to buy a Martin.) I've also liked their Leo Kottke 12 string model and their 8 string baritone model, but haven't owned either.

So it's up to you true Taylor guitar fans to explain which ones you like the most. Any observations about them that you can share will make this thread that much more valuable to folks who don't have your experiences.

Thanks,


Wade Hampton Miller

All of them Grand Auditorium:

1. 414ce. I love the Rosewood version, but the Ovangkol makes it a Swiis Army Knife of acoustics
2. 324e. lovely warm tones from it.
3. K24e. I just love koa

[s2y]

Walnut/Sitka 12 fret that I own.

810e DLX and 618e. Too bad these aren't being made at the moment.

[ChrisE]

I still have my 314ce; it’s a workhorse. Nothing really magical about it; but I’m glad I have it.

Out of others I’ve played, the 510 I played at Gruhn’s a few years ago was great. It sounded like a D-18 to me.

I also played a 714ce (not V braced) at a local store and it was great.

Besides those two, Ive always liked the mahogany-topped 300 models. They just came out with a 327, which is the GP shape with mahogany top and it’s very interesting.

[Arthur Slowhand]

1. Elizabeth Taylor.
2. Taylor Swift.
3. Taylor Hill.

Do I need to add why those?

[sstaylor58]

Originally Posted by Arthur Slowhand

1. Elizabeth Taylor.
2. Taylor Swift.
3. Taylor Hill.

Do I need to add why those?

That’s the Winner!