New Taylor 717 Day....Part Two

[bluetweed]

I really wish you the best but it sounds like all your new guitar day posts. I learned a long time ago the best sounding guitar is the one you stay with and get to know inside and out by forgetting about equipment and just remember about the music and playing. I have heard guys who make lesser instruments sound like the best. I have been guilty about gas as well and once I learned to go back to my roots and remember its about playing, my guitars sounded better because I sounded better.
One time a heard a guy playing in the park who sounded just amazing with tone and skills that matched. When the band was done I went up to talk to him and he was playing a cheap beat up Strat with high action and rusty strings thru a solid state Crate amp with 2 8" speakers which only one worked. It was quite a lesson for me that day as I really learned what made good tone.
Good luck and health again with your new 717 and give it the attention it deserves!

btw I have played 2 517's and one 717 and they are the only Taylors I have liked with just a awesome neck profile. From playing them they offer a really unique musical tone that deserves the attention a Tele would. If you play it well and it will reward better than most and play badly it will show it just as much.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by bluetweed

I really wish you the best but it sounds like all your new guitar day posts. I learned a long time ago the best sounding guitar is the one you stay with and get to know inside and out by forgetting about equipment and just remember about the music and playing. I have heard guys who make lesser instruments sound like the best. I have been guilty about gas as well and once I learned to go back to my roots and remember its about playing, my guitars sounded better because I sounded better.
One time a heard a guy playing in the park who sounded just amazing with tone and skills that matched. When the band was done I went up to talk to him and he was playing a cheap beat up Strat with high action and rusty strings thru a solid state Crate amp with 2 8" speakers which only one worked. It was quite a lesson for me that day as I really learned what made good tone.
Good luck and health again with your new 717 and give it the attention it deserves!

btw I have played 2 517's and one 717 and they are the only Taylors I have liked with just a awesome neck profile. From playing them they offer a really unique musical tone that deserves the attention a Tele would. If you play it well and it will reward better than most and play badly it will show it just as much.

Thanks. I actually realize how much I am gushing about the 717, and it really isn't an exaggeration. While I enjoy every NGD, there is still usually something about every guitar that I don't like. This guitar is different in that I haven't found anything about it that I don't like yet.

I'm going to play this guitar over the summer and see how I feel this fall. I can't imagine being any less in love with it though. Typically, my honeymoon phase with a guitar can last as little as a week. I don't get to try out a lot of guitars before I buy, but I had the opportunity to try some 517s and 717s before I purchased.

I can usually tell if I'm going to bond with something within the first hour of unboxing. If I had some better shops around here, sure, I'd play first.

[Shades of Blue]

Ignore the sloppy playing, but I made a comparison between the 717 and D-18 with an “attempt” at a blugrassy vibe.

Thoughts? I think it’s apparent that the Martin sounds like a Martin, but to me there is a maturity to the sound of the 717 that grabs me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hce4qa5d0p...20717.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlfpdouinq...0D-18.m4a?dl=0

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

Ignore the sloppy playing, but I made a comparison between the 717 and D-18 with an “attempt” at a blugrassy vibe.

Thoughts? I think it’s apparent that the Martin sounds like a Martin, but to me there is a maturity to the sound of the 717 that grabs me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hce4qa5d0p...20717.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlfpdouinq...0D-18.m4a?dl=0

First, your playing sounds great!
Second, I absolutely hear why you love the 717. It sounds great. I don’t think I would have guessed it was a Taylor had I not known.
Third, the D-18 sounds great!! I prefer it because the lows and low midrange frequencies are deeper, richer and bolder sounding to me. But that is pure “preference!”

All that said, the Taylor 717 stands up nicely to the D-18 and sounds great. There is more upper midrange detail and your playing style works great on both guitars but maybe more revealing of nuances on the 717. ??

[Brucebubs]

Have to agree with the comments above - nicely played.
I thought the D-18 sounded fine but I can see why you've been raving about the new 717, very impressive.
I really liked it.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

Ignore the sloppy playing, but I made a comparison between the 717 and D-18 with an “attempt” at a blugrassy vibe.

Thoughts? I think it’s apparent that the Martin sounds like a Martin, but to me there is a maturity to the sound of the 717 that grabs me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hce4qa5d0p...20717.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlfpdouinq...0D-18.m4a?dl=0

Sounds good but it will get a lot fuller sounding every day if it is like mine. Sounds brand new......The D18 doesn’t sound that old either - what year is that?
Perhaps starting playing right up the neck, it really is sensational but needs the top to be vibrated with lots of notes to help open it. I dragged out my fingerpicks and belted into it a number of times sort of banjoish picking. Then I played lead guitar style with single notes and then lots of double stops and finally simple chord inversions all over the place. Worked like you would not believe - the notes just fall out thick and strong now.....still sounds new though, so more to come!I love the torrefied top.

BluesKing777.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

Sounds good but it will get a lot fuller sounding every day if it is like mine. Sounds brand new......The D18 doesn’t sound that old either - what year is that?

Perhaps starting playing right up the neck, it really is sensational but needs the top to be vibrated with lots of notes to help open it. I dragged out my fingerpicks and belted into it a number of times sort of banjoish picking. Then I played lead guitar style with single notes and then lots of double stops and finally simple chord inversions all over the place. Worked like you would not believe - the notes just fall out thick and strong now.....still sounds new though, so more to come!I love the torrefied top.



BluesKing777.

Thanks!

The D-18 is a 2018. I wonder if some of the newness you hear is the crappy iPhone mic? Lol I’m not much of a recording engineer! What makes it sound new though? I can tell that the 717 is gaining low end almost daily, but I don’t know what to look for in something sounding new.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Groberts

First, your playing sounds great!

Second, I absolutely hear why you love the 717. It sounds great. I don’t think I would have guessed it was a Taylor had I not known.

Third, the D-18 sounds great!! I prefer it because the lows and low midrange frequencies are deeper, richer and bolder sounding to me. But that is pure “preference!”



All that said, the Taylor 717 stands we all dnd sounds great. There is more upper midrange detail and your playing style works great on both guitars but maybe more revealing of nuances on the 717. ??

Thanks Gary! Much appreciated.

You are right about the D-18. It is deeper, but would you believe the 717 is a lot louder and more responsive? I’ve never owed a guitar that is louder than a Mart Dread!

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

Ignore the sloppy playing, but I made a comparison between the 717 and D-18 with an “attempt” at a blugrassy vibe.

Thoughts? I think it’s apparent that the Martin sounds like a Martin, but to me there is a maturity to the sound of the 717 that grabs me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hce4qa5d0p...20717.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlfpdouinq...0D-18.m4a?dl=0

Wonderful playing as usual, my friend! I loved the sound of both guitars. Can’t really say I had a favorite. The main differences I heard was what I’d expect to hear between hog and rosewood - the D-18 warmer and more fundamental, the 717 more lush with overtones. Also, your love for the Taylor came thru in your playing...as it should.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Wonderful playing as usual, my friend! I loved the sound of both guitars. Can’t really say I had a favorite. The main differences I heard was what I’d expect to hear between hog and rosewood - the D-18 warmer and more fundamental, the 717 more lush with overtones. Also, your love for the Taylor came thru in your playing...as it should.

It’s funny how that works. I can also tell that I was getting along with the Taylor better that day.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by Groberts

I don’t think I would have guessed it was a Taylor had I not known.

Couldn’t agree more, Gary. I mentioned in in my NGD thread that once I replaced the Elixirs with SC Mids I had to keep checking the headstock to be sure I was playing a Taylor. To my ears with the Elixirs the new warmth and roundness the GP brings to the Taylor tone is less evident. Before I swapped strings I seriously considered sending my 317 back. Glad I didn’t.

[llew]

Hey guys...can you tell me the "street price" of the 517 and 717? many thanks!

[archerscreek]

I'm amending the previous comment quoted below. After listening to the recordings with my phone turned up, the GP does sound nice and full and dare I say better than the D-18.

"I'll be the contrarian. Haha. The Taylor sounded nice on lead lines but still had the Taylor jangle when strummed. The sound obviously works for the brand and a lot of people like it. Nothing wrong with that."

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

I'll be the contrarian. Haha. The Taylor sounded nice on lead lines but still had the Taylor jangle when strummed. The sound obviously works for the brand and a lot of people like it. Nothing wrong with that.

Didn't sound typically Taylor to me...though it did have the typical rosewood overtones. Always interesting how our ears can hear so differently...

[bluetweed]

You play well and have lots of talent, you can take this further by woodsheding instead of buying for awhile / the 717 suites you well, funny it sounds more mahogany than rosewood.
If you could stick with this guitar for awhile you would get to know each other well and really good things could happen
Thanks for the audio!