I played a Taylor GT....umm

[jazzguy]

So I ventured out to Guitar Center - a large one with open doors, space etc. Found the acoustic room which was fortunately empty. I got to spend about 20 min by myself. They had a GT with the Rosewood and one with Urban Ash. I selected the Urban Ash. In short - I was not impressed...at all. I like Taylor guitars...I like all kinds of acoustics. But this really was like a bigger GS Mini to my ears. Take the GS Mini sound and just make it a bit bigger. I’ve owned a GS Mini, it is a decent travel guitar and I gave it to my adult daughter. But to Andy Powers point in building the GT, the GS Mini is only going to take you so far. I agree...but I do not think Taylor hit the mark with the GT. Still sounds like a “bigger travel guitar” to me. Especially for the price! What?! Yes it is an all solid guitar, but the point of that is to have better sound. I will say that the general playability was fine and I was not affected by the slightly smaller nut width between 1 11/16 and 1 3/4. It was fine. The build quality was essentially just like a GS Mini - just bigger. For $1399 I definitely DO NOT think the value was there. I would buy an Eastman or Alvarez, etc any day, all day. I also played the Taylor Academy. To me it had a better sound than the GT and was perhaps even more comfortable with the arm bevel - for a lot less! A real head scratcher. Sorry - don’t take this as Taylor bashing, I really am a fan, but not this particular guitar.

I also picked up a $550 Alvarez (?) that was much better sounding than the GT and I’m quite sure was likely not all solid, but perhaps solid top.

I realize it is a subjective view, but go play it for yourself. YMMV.

[RalphH]

I bought the Urban Ash online and strongly disliked it. It went back. Last week bought the £4300 koa version online... which I'm sending back tomorrow. It was a lot better, but I was thinking of replacing my hummingbird with something smaller and more comfortable to play if it was a close call on tone, what with all Taylors "the tone of a full-sized, all solid wood guitar". Just not happening, sorry.

My wife ended up saying I could keep both it and the hummingbird, but it's STILL going back - I know I'll just never play it. Initially, I thought it sounded pretty good, but the more I played with it - and sang, and had my wife sing over it, the more I found it wanting, and as the sparkle went off the new strings I'd put on it (like a couple of days worth of playing) it started sounding quite dull. I think I actually prefer my GS mini (which admittedly has had 5 years of break-in and open-up).

It's very hard to recommend the GTs. To my ears they sound sooo similar to the GS mini, but at 3x the price for sitka, and 5x the price for Koa. You can just get so much more guitar for your money. I understand why they are the price they are; they're not really any cheaper to make than their full-sized USA-made guitars... but that doesn't make them worth buying IMO.

Andy Powers said he came up with the amazing new scale length by down tuning a 25.5 to Eb and then capoing at the first fret.

My advice -- just buy a 25.5 and capo it at the first fret if you want the playability; then you can also take the capo off when you want to play at Eb, and have a proper-sized guitar.

Especially for the Koa ones, you can get some truly world-class guitars in at that price point; it cost more than my custom-shop hummingbird. It's the same as a D-28. You could get a D-18 and a 00-16 for about that price. Or a full-sized Koa Taylor.

As for the Urban ash one -- if you want a taylor at that price point go buy one of the AD series. You'll get way more bang for your buck.

It's not that they're bad guitars - they're very comfortable to play and sound pretty decent for a small guitar. But they still sound like a small guitar. And I wouldn't take a £4300 guitar with wood binding to a gig or camping like I could with my GS mini.

It's just hard to see what niche it fills. Perhaps as a pretty little guitar for people that think the GS mini is too cheap? That probably is a legitimate segment, but if that's who it's for, Taylor needs to adjust their marketing to that and stop claiming it sounds like a full-sized guitar because they're just going to have a string of disappointed people returning guitars to shops.

I really wanted to like the GT - enough to buy two of them - but in the end, I just couldn't.

[rmp]

I like the Taylors 3 I have, and I am quite happy with them

However, as I follow the latest news on what Powers is doing, I find that I am not all interested in this latest "push" they're off on at the moment.

I hadn't heard about this..

Andy Powers said he came up with the amazing new scale length by down tuning a 25.5 to Eb and then capoing at the first fret.

if this is for real, and not sarcasm,,, (sorry I missed that if it was) call me a luddite, but for me, that is about as appealing as a tofu hotdog.

[RalphH]

It's true, not sarcasm. I watched an interview where he said it. I might have shortened it. I think he said something more like "some people play a 25.5" scale downtuned and like the slinky feel of the strings and that got me thinking and I put a capo on it and .....[blah blah blah] so the GT, at 24.25 scale is exactly the same scale length (and tension) as a 25.5" with a capo at the first fret"

15:15 in this hour-long ramble about the GT

[fazool]

I love Taylor guitars. I own four of them. I own eight Taylor Guitars shirts. I'm an unabashed fan and my criticisms aren't "bashing."

I find myself scratching my head a lot lately.......

They just released a GP shape, now the GT shape. Not to mention the controversial bracing change.

Taylor's DNA was all about innovation - Bob's NT neck invention, their manufacturing automation methods, their signature GA shape.

I think this flurry of new stuff looks like a desperate attempt to still appear as an innovative company.

I think it is mis-guided.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by fazool

I love Taylor guitars. I own four of them. I own eight Taylor Guitars shirts. I'm an unabashed fan and my criticisms aren't "bashing."

I find myself scratching my head a lot lately.......

They just released a GP shape, now the GT shape. Not to mention the controversial bracing change.

Taylor's DNA was all about innovation - Bob's NT neck invention, their manufacturing automation methods, their signature GA shape.

I think this flurry of new stuff looks like a desperate attempt to still appear as an innovative company.

I think it is mis-guided.

yea,

Gotta wonder with all of this, how much is just change for the sake of change?

The one thing that seems to be emerging more as a default than an option is the satin finishes, I can't get down with those, not at all.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Seriously, did you really expect a guitar like a GT sound like a dreadnought or something?

[RalphH]

Originally Posted by fazool

I love Taylor guitars. I own four of them. I own eight Taylor Guitars shirts. I'm an unabashed fan and my criticisms aren't "bashing."

I find myself scratching my head a lot lately.......

They just released a GP shape, now the GT shape. Not to mention the controversial bracing change.

Taylor's DNA was all about innovation - Bob's NT neck invention, their manufacturing automation methods, their signature GA shape.

I think this flurry of new stuff looks like a desperate attempt to still appear as an innovative company.

I think it is mis-guided.

I agree - you innovate, make something new, then you sell it until people stop buying it. You don't just reinvent the wheel every 10 years for the sake of it.

Why is Martin still selling D-18's and Gibson still selling J-45s? Not because they couldn't find a single person with an imagination in the last 60 years, but because they're great guitars and they don't need to be changed.

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Seriously, did you really expect a guitar like a GT sound like a dreadnought or something?

Well, I expected it to sound like a full-sized guitar because thats what Taylor claimed. An OM maybe? I like Taylor as a brand so I took a leap of faith based on what they are saying. I guess I've learned my lesson; integrity is no longer a thing at Taylor, at least in the marketing department. "...with the rich voice of a full-size, all-solid-wood guitar." my backside. "...with the boxy voice of a $300 Chinese laminate B&S guitar" would be closer, but I suppose then they'd sell less of them.

[Dwight]

Every possible objection to a Taylor purchase is met with a new guitar model or feature. It's a good way to sustain the company and keep their employees working, even though none these innovations are going to produce a guitar that sounds or plays better than my 914ce from 2010.

[RalphH]

The trouble is that once the market realizes that the emperor has no clothes, it damages trust in the fundamentals.

I really like what Taylor innovated while Bob was doing it. I wish my hummingbird had an NT neck so I don't have to face the prospect of having a neck reset on a guitar that is lacquered over the glued-in neck joint after it's assembled [eek]. Maybe it'll never need one (fingers crossed).

I think part of what makes a great long-lasting brand is to know when to stop fiddling with things. After 90 years there apparently still aren't enough D-18's in the world and Martin keeps having to make more. I bet if Taylor still had their 2010 lineup right now they'd still be selling them. Maybe they'll do a Gibson/Martin and launch a 'historic' lineup. Be interesting to see if people flocked to buy reissues of pre-Andy Taylors.

[TDavis]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Seriously, did you really expect a guitar like a GT sound like a dreadnought or something?

That's a pretty antagonistic question. I don't think the OP expected anything like that...but I do think he was put off by a $1300 (Urban Ash) guitar that was twice the price of a corresponding GS-Mini not sounding twice as good, or being twice the guitar. I think the majority of those here who have played the GT's in earlier threads feel the same.

I've played the Urban Ash GT, and was not impressed by the tone at all...at least for the price point vs. its little "brother". I also played the GT811e...and was really smitten by its "jewel-like" beauty and craftsmanship...but IMO, it's much less of a guitar than I would expect for right under the $3000 mark.

I think Taylor is shooting in the dark with these models. I certainly don't think they're flying off the shelves like the GS Mini's did...and continue to do. They are the ultimate niche guitar, as far as I can tell.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by RalphH

...
I really like what Taylor innovated while Bob was doing it....I bet if Taylor still had their 2010 lineup right now they'd still be selling them.....

I agree 100%. All four of my current Taylors are from that era.

I hate to say this but I think their best years are behind them.

[RalphH]

Originally Posted by fazool

I agree 100%.

All four of my current Taylors are from that era.

I hate to say this about my favorite brand but I think their best period is past.

They may come back. Gibson certainly has, thank god.

Originally Posted by Ozarkpicker

I've played the Urban Ash GT, and was not impressed by the tone at all...at least for the price point vs. its little "brother". I also played the GT811e...and was really smitten by its "jewel-like" beauty and craftsmanship...but IMO, it's much less of a guitar than I would expect for right under the $3000 mark.

I think Taylor is shooting in the dark with these models. I certainly don't think they're flying off the shelves like the GS Mini's did...and continue to do. They are the ultimate niche guitar, as far as I can tell.

100% agree. You know what they should have done? They should have made these things in Mexico. If the GT was 50% more expensive than a GS mini I would have kept it and sold the GS mini. That's their true value as a guitar to my mind; GS mini + 50%.

[Mr. Paul]

I was not aware of the GT until yesterday when I listened to Fretboard Journal's interview with Andy Powers. He certainly made the concept behind the guitar sound interesting. He said he started working on it in 2013 and wasn't happy with the result until coming up with the new "C class" bracing that accentuates the low end that tends to be choked by smaller bodied guitars. He certainly talks a good game.

[jklotz]

After 3 failed attempts at a V braced guitars, 2 bought and returned, the last will probably be sold shortly, and my experience with the AD12e, I think I'm pretty much done with Taylor as they stand now. If I want one, it'll have to be a used x braced guitar.

I'm not surprised at the OP's experience with the GT's. That's pretty much been my experience with all of the V braced guitars - they sound smaller than they are and boxy, all midrange without much bass or sparkle.

Time will tell, but I've said it before - they made a big mistake betting the entire farm on this bracing system.