feedback...?

kalinka · #1 08-23-2002, 04:27 PM

Greetings all... I am in the process of transition.. the big leap from Martin to Taylor. I have been a Martin person for 15 years and just blew the neck on my little 000, I have a big D35 that I never got a long with (its a true man's guitar) Yesterday I played a little Taylor 512ce.. perfect size. Did not get a chance to plug it in but the neck was pretty fast. I am a strummer and blues player not a finger style person. Only issue was that it had a set of old lite guage strings on it. I am used to that nice bottom end that I get from Martin's. Not so sure what this nice little guitar will give me with the right strings. I told them to restring it for me and I will come back and give it a try.
This seems to be a good forum to ask for some feedback on this model.. I have small hands so I need a nice neck which this seems to have. So .. any feed back??
Many Thanks,
Kalinka

semolinapilcher · #2 08-23-2002, 04:47 PM

All the Taylors will have that nice neck, and the amazing thing is that it's actually WIDER than the Martins you're used to!

As to the 512, it's going to sound great, but it may behoove you to play other X12's as well, even if you end up coming back to this one. The Taylor 5's are mahogany like the Martin 18's, and since you've had a D-35 you may want to try a 712 or 812 for the rosewood, which should (theoretically) throw off the best bass.

The darkhorse candidate is the 412, though others would disagree with me. If you can find a really sweet piece of ovangkol you won't be sorry...

buddiesorg · #3 08-23-2002, 06:26 PM

As much as I love Taylors ... you're probably not going to get that bottom end you like on the Martin, no matter what strings you use. I just got the most incredible 000-ECB and it has a bottom end you wouldn't believe. You might also want to try a Collings OM if you want to keep that bottom end.

Now, I love Taylor x12 for fingerstyle (they're heaven for fingerstyle) ... but I don't see it as a strummer ... well, it likes light strumming, but you can't really dig into it ... and when you do, it almost sounds forced.

Jim Tozier · #4 08-23-2002, 06:37 PM

I have to agree with Buddiesorg here . . . the x12's are not intended for strumming, and if you really want that "Martin" bottom end on a smaller guitar, I'd look at the OM models by Collings, Santa Cruz, or Martin. You may also want to try the x14's Taylor makes, which should still be more comfortable for you than a dreadnought, and will handle strumming better than the x12's.

stratokatsu · #5 08-26-2002, 10:20 PM

I have a 314 and strum it regularly with good results. I can't rip into it like a higher action dreadnaught, but strumming lightly or with my fingers is fine. I'm kind of curious where you folks draw the line at whether it's effective for strumming. Is there something I'm missing?

wjpjr · #6 08-27-2002, 01:12 AM

there gonna restring it a someone else is gonna find it before you get back there

buddiesorg · #7 08-27-2002, 07:46 AM

Well, I can't speak for everyone else, but when I talk about strumming, I'm talking about playing the guitar hard. Now, I don't know where I've gotten this reputation about being a dainty player with several people at TaylorStock commenting they were surprised at how hard I'll play, but if I really get into a song and the sound starts losing integrity, I say it's not good for strumming. Now, that doesn't mean I won't do a light, medium, or some modified strum on the guitar, but if I were to describe the guitar to someone else, I wouldn't say that it's good for strumming without adding some explanation.

jamesh · #8 08-27-2002, 12:04 PM

My 612 sounds great plugged in or not. When plugged into my Fender SFX keyboard amp, I find it easy to get too much bass. I don't know what the amp would do with heavy bass guitar such as a Martin. Guess it depends on the sound you want and the type of music that you play. I tend to light strum and mostly play a hybrid style of picking when assisting with leading singing. At home I tend to (try) to fingerpick.

If you are just using the bass strings for bass runs, and that is your goal, the lack of bass might bother you (unless you are plugged in, then you will get plenty). But if you want your bass string to have the same clarity as the rest of your guitar, the x12 is great. I can run a melody from top to bottom, and each note is clear and concise and consistent. A guitar with heavy bass does not have this consistency, but I like the sound of them also and hope to someday own a x10 also.