Yamaha ac3r or taylor 314ce?

[Sean65]

I spent the last few weeks running around trying guitars in this budget and they all have something I like but none were the complete package. I didn't get to find the Yamaha so I ordered online.

The AC3R which will arrive tomorrow. The good thing about online ordering is that I can sit at home relaxed and try the guitar for up to seven days and if I don't like it I can just return it.

What you might want to consider is that if you're recording or playing live then the Yamaha may be more interesting for you.

I'm quite sure that what the Yamaha can offer will far exceed what I can do with a guitar.

I'll post back tomorrow and let you know my initial thoughts.

[edman]

Buy the Taylor if you can afford it.

[tfs4473]

If it helps with your decision, I've just gone through two Yamaha A3Rs and wound up trading for a Takamine that was on sale (good deal on it). I very much liked the tone of the A3R, and the styling is very attractive. Electronics are excellent and offer a ton of versatility.

However...

The first one had a small cosmetic flaw in the finish and the back seam was not correct (really prounounced, rather than being smooth and almost undetectable). My dealer offered to swap, and after a ten week wait for a replacemnt the second A3R arrived and had a horrible neck. Heel and neck woods didn't come close to matching, finish on back of neck was very rough, and the frets had been cut short so that any vibrato caused the string to slide off.

So, as I said, I gave up and traded for a Takamine in the Naturals series.

I really liked the tone of the Yamaha, and if you can find one that doesn't have quality control issues for the money it's an excellent value. Just be sure to give it a very thorough going-over before buying.

[joshuaboodram1]

thanks alot everyone! you people are soo helpful! i'm gonna buy the ac3r cuz i talked to a couple ppl who owned the 314ce and they said its amazing but terrible when plugged in cuz it doesnt maintain its sound...they also had videos to prove it....on the other hand the yamaha sounds excellent plugged or not! so i'll go with thr yamaha cuz i'm tryin to stay away from having to mic my guitar everytime i perform..plus kraft music does a guitar inspection...

[steveyam]

Originally Posted by joshuaboodram1

thanks alot everyone! you people are soo helpful! i'm gonna buy the ac3r cuz i talked to a couple ppl who owned the 314ce and they said its amazing but terrible when plugged in cuz it doesnt maintain its sound...they also had videos to prove it....on the other hand the yamaha sounds excellent plugged or not! so i'll go with thr yamaha cuz i'm tryin to stay away from having to mic my guitar everytime i perform..plus kraft music does a guitar inspection...

Best of luck with whatever you get Josh. Come back to this thread and let us know how you get on.

[Blueser100]

Yes please do report back with assessments on the AC3R. As for the comment about the 314ce when plugged in, gee I didn't find that experience personally. With the ES system mine sounded fabulous. I was plugging directly into a Fender Acoustasonic amp (which Tarpman now owns .

[joshuaboodram1]

hey i've changed my mine!..every1 that i look up to has a taylor as their main guitar...there must be a reason! i think taylor is superior when it comes to my kinda music...boyce avenue,goo goo dolls, switchfoot plus every popular person on youtube uses one and according to what i hear the expression system isnt bad....sooo i'll save some more and buy the taylor 314ce..if i dont i will always wonder what it would be like to own a taylor

[Dominus]

Originally Posted by joshuaboodram1

hey i've changed my mine!..every1 that i look up to has a taylor as their main guitar...there must be a reason! i think taylor is superior when it comes to my kinda music...boyce avenue,goo goo dolls, switchfoot plus every popular person on youtube uses one and according to what i hear the expression system isnt bad....sooo i'll save some more and buy the taylor 314ce..if i dont i will always wonder what it would be like to own a taylor

You're doing the right thing. Try to insist on a 2012 model if possible, those coming off the line right now are superb. They must be into a particularly good quality batch of spruce and sapele over ther at Taylor right now.

[♏artin]

Originally Posted by Dominus

You're doing the right thing. Try to insist on a 2012 model if possible, those coming off the line right now are superb. They must be into a particularly good quality batch of spruce and sapele over ther at Taylor right now.

The new bracing patterns (not exclusive to this year) are also killer. I'm going to get another Taylor soon just because of it.

The Taylor is likely the better option, but easily the better option if you do decide to resell.

[Sean65]

Originally Posted by joshuaboodram1

hey i've changed my mine!..every1 that i look up to has a taylor as their main guitar...there must be a reason! i think taylor is superior when it comes to my kinda music...boyce avenue,goo goo dolls, switchfoot plus every popular person on youtube uses one and according to what i hear the expression system isnt bad....sooo i'll save some more and buy the taylor 314ce..if i dont i will always wonder what it would be like to own a taylor

The Taylor 314 should be better as it's nearly double the price of the Yamaha. Perhaps comparing the Taylor 114 or 214 to the Yamaha as they're in the same price range.

You'll love the neck on the Taylor and the sound should improve with age.

[steveyam]

Originally Posted by Sean65

The Taylor 314 should be better as it's nearly double the price of the Yamaha. Perhaps comparing the Taylor 114 or 214 to the Yamaha as they're in the same price range.

You'll love the neck on the Taylor and the sound should improve with age.

In terms of what you actually get for your money, you cannot compare similarly priced Yamahas and Taylors, it's unfair to the Taylor. These companies operate different manufacturing policies, pricing structures, are vastly different in size and R&D resources and so on. It's not a fair/straight comparison on price alone. The Yamaha's offshore manufacturing, pricing policy and large scale production facilities mean that they are able to offer a quality guitar that punches well above it's weight. A cheaper (1 or 2 series) Taylor will look like 'a cheap Taylor' - nothing wrong with that per se. A similarly priced Yamaha will have fittings and spec refinements etc that put it into a different 'physical' quality bracket ie price is the only thing that they share. Josh's comparison on the table right now; the all solid Yamaha AC3R with SRT, with the Taylor 312ce is a fair one I would say. Josh has decided on the Taylor (for today at least it seems!) and he will doubtless be very happy with what is a great guitar. A friend has one and I've worked on it and it's a lovely guitar, exhibiting classic Taylor sweet, choral mids and highs, albeit a tad bass light for me personally.

At the end of the day, I wish Josh had been in a position to audition both guitars side by side - that's the only way to choose accurately in reality. Failing that, he did the right thing in coming on here and getting the views of others, and that in turn has pointed him in the direction of further web material that he has digested, and finally (?!) made his decision. Let us know how you get on Josh, and best of luck!

[Billm2067]

Buy the Taylor. If the 314ce is stretching your budget....buy a 214ce....they are both fantastic guitars at the prices they sell for.

[steveyam]

Originally Posted by billm67

Buy the Taylor. If the 314ce is stretching your budget....buy a 214ce....they are both fantastic guitars at the prices they sell for.

You're talking value for money right? The Yamaha would win that one every time. No competition. Physical/sound comparison? that's a different issue and it's up to the individual - Josh in this instance - to decide which one he prefers. He hasn't compared them side by side, he's chosen on the basis that "everyone he looks up to has a Taylor as their main guitar". I prefer to play and hear a guitar personally, but apparently Josh's geographical location makes that very difficult he advises. As I said, best of luck, hope it works for him. The Taylor is a great choice of guitar.

[Sean65]

Originally Posted by steveyam

In terms of what you actually get for your money, you cannot compare similarly priced Yamahas and Taylors, it's unfair to the Taylor. These companies operate different manufacturing policies, pricing structures, are vastly different in size and R&D resources and so on. It's not a fair/straight comparison on price alone. The Yamaha's offshore manufacturing, pricing policy and large scale production facilities mean that they are able to offer a quality guitar that punches well above it's weight. A cheaper (1 or 2 series) Taylor will look like 'a cheap Taylor' - nothing wrong with that per se. A similarly priced Yamaha will have fittings and spec refinements etc that put it into a different 'physical' quality bracket ie price is the only thing that they share.

Hi Steve,

Yes, I'd agreed with the points you raised.

Anyway, I took delivery of the Yamaha AC3R about two hours ago and I'm really quite pleased. It's very comfortable to play. The neck is just right for me and the small but deep body sits really comfortably under my arm. It's smaller than my Taylor NS24 which I'm sure has the same size body as the 314.

The finger style acoustic tone is good and already starting to get better (either that or my ears are adjusting) either way it's a nicely put together, sweet sounding guitar.

Before ordering this guitar I spent a few days in town trying out various other guitar in this price range from Blueridge, Seagull, Recording King and Eastman. All had nice guitars in this price range but the AC3R just offers that bit more with the electrics and the comfort.

I'm pretty sure I'll be hanging on to this one. It's just a nice guitar for kicking about the house with and the fact that it's gig ready is just a bonus.

Hope your Taylor arrives soon Josh, I'm sure you'll be pleased.

[joshuaboodram1]

Originally Posted by steveyam

You're talking value for money right? The Yamaha would win that one every time. No competition. Physical/sound comparison? that's a different issue and it's up to the individual - Josh in this instance - to decide which one he prefers. He hasn't compared them side by side, he's chosen on the basis that "everyone he looks up to has a Taylor as their main guitar". I prefer to play and hear a guitar personally, but apparently Josh's geographical location makes that very difficult he advises. As I said, best of luck, hope it works for him. The Taylor is a great choice of guitar.

your a really intelligent person and yout right..i should get to try both the prob is all i can do where i live...is order it from an online u.s store and then do overseas shippin after same thing with my music...i write soo much original songs n put it on youtube aswell as covers but i never get the veiwership cuz i dont have the networking