Takamine closeout

[Kevman50]

Looking into a Takamine eg536shb, a close-out model. Actually
last year it was listed as " a new classic is born", so it did not
last long. MSRP is $999, but as low $275 on net. I'm new to
acoustics, so any experience with this model or Taks in general?
Thanks.

[roylor4]

Takamine makes nice, quality built guitars. Overbuilt in my opinion. That said, this model is Solid Top with laminated sides and back and is nothing special. Not a bad guitar for the money though.

[Kevman50]

Just wondering what you mean by overbuilt? Thanks for replying.

[roylor4]

Takamines are built tough and roadworthy - the kind of axe a touring musician might use. They are heavy and built to last. Thick finish, stout bracing, gloss necks - all add to longevity but diminish sustain and tone. I am not a fan of gloss guitars in general.

Lighter built guitars sound better (punchier with a more 3 dimensional tone) and are more responsive to playing dynamics. They are also more prone to damage from mishandling and temperature extremes.

This guitar would be an excellent first guitar or for gigging.

[Kevman50]

Thanks, appreciate your replies.

[Kevman50]

By the way, what brands would you suggest that would be lighter, punchier?
Might as well use your expertise, right? Thanks.

[PorkPieGuy]

I have a Japanese-made Takamine EF-series guitar that I love. It has a laminte B/S with a cedar top. It sounds AMAZING plugged in, and it actually sounds pretty good unplugged.

With that said, I've never played an Korean-made G-series guitar that I liked. While they were very nice to look at, they sounded rather thin plugged in and sounded worse unplugged.

I'm just one man with one opinion. YMMV.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Kevman50

By the way, what brands would you suggest that would be lighter, punchier?
Might as well use your expertise, right? Thanks.

I'm no expert - only been playing a few years. There are guys that have been playing 40-50 years on this forum and would smoke me skill-wise. That said, i do know a little bit about acoustic guitars.

What's your budget?
What size guitar fits you most comfortably?
Do you have a preference on nut width?
What kind of music and style will you play?
Are electronics necessary?
Do you have a tone preference towards bright (more treble & mid-range) or more bass heavy?
Do you live in US? (has a lot to do with brand availability).

If you can answer these I may be able to give you a place to start anyways. Roy

[Kevman50]

Since you mentioned how solid and heavy Taks were, I thought maybe some
brands may be lighter perhaps. Live in US, rock music mostly and an acoustic
electric I guess. Thanks.

[roylor4]

Not all Taks are heavy, but the gloss stuff feels really heavy to me.

Like I said depends on budget and other variable.

With the limited info given I would look at Yamaha FSX700SC if you prefer a smaller body and the Epiphone AJ-220SCE or the Yamaha FGX700SC in a larger bodied guitar.

At the $300 price point these 3 guitars are hard to beat.

[noledog]

I have a Japanese made Tak OM KC70 I bought as a replacement gigger for my semi-retired '98 Lowden road warrior. Due to playing outside and in a tropical environment here on the First Coast, I needed a rugged guitar with a satin finish that sounded great plugged in and decent unplugged. This guitar exceeded all my expectations in all those areas. It's really the only Tak I've had experience with and hit it off well cuz it plays and sound sweet and is built very solid. Is it as resonant as my Lowden or Goodall? No, but it has enough sustain, tone and balance to satisfy. Solid Sapele back, solid cedar top, lam hog sides and a motif full of mojo to fit my lifestyle! Staying in tune is a biggie for me in this environment and I never found a guitar that could match the stability of my Lowden's 5-piece neck, it stays in tune!...however, this Tak comes close so far. (I've only had it a few months; time and performance will tell.) The Tak electronics are excellent too. Just a tad over $1,400 with a great hardshell case and free overnite shipping from AMS in NJ...they did me good and the guitar was in perfect tune when I first opened 'er up. Flawless workmanship inside and out after my careful inspection. It played great out of the box even tho I do my own setups, this one was sweet & easy, just did not care for the EXP strings so I replaced them with JP 600L's.
So I'd say pretty good bang for the $$$.

As this is my only experience with Tak I am not qualified to make a generalized statement regarding all points mentioned for Takamine guitars, however, I'm impressed so far with the "whole lotta love" this silky OM is delivering.

btw...I am a KC fan, but it's the specs, not the signature, that sold me on this lil' island friend of mine.

[roylor4]

Noledog - Thats a nice axe, but a long ways off from a $275 starter guitar!!

[noledog]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Noledog - Thats a nice axe, but a long ways off from a $275 starter guitar!!

Ooops! Sorry, I got caught up in the: "rugged built, tone, satin finish"; points of the thread and forgot the price point! But thanks for the props on the git and best wishes!

[Kevman50]

Thanks again for the replies. I guess for the novice (me), the Tak I'm
interested in is "worth" MSRP wise twice as much as the three $300
guitars mentioned. If I can get the Tak at under $300, seems like a
great deal. There are so many guitars out there, and opinions also,
that unless we are talking about $2,000 guitars, everyone wont agree.
I do appreciate your knowledge though, and any further comments. Thanks.

[krisls]

Hi Kev
For what it's worth my stage guitar is a Tak eg460sc and I am very happy with it. I can't agree with the Taks are overbuilt idea but they are generally pretty tough, road worthy. For the money you can't go far wrong I think.

Possible problems :: the Tuners are not top quality but decent, chances are you will have no dramas. Easy replace if needs be. Gotohs in my case.

The other occasional problem is action/neck alignment. Shims under the saddle mostly for action, if more needed it gets trickier. The neck is good but the bridge is sometimes a little high. Both these issues are unlikely but need to be looked for, if they need work a good tech/luthier is needed to shave the 'TOP' of the saddle or the bridge itself. Not major or expensive work but care needed.

Odds are you will have no troubles at all and have a pretty darn good guitar for the money.

Kris