Nashville Artists Try And Talk Me Out Of Taylor

[martingitdave]

ES2 sounds good like a K&K with a preamp, which is basically what it is. ES1 sounds like an electric guitar. If you love the Taylor sound, go try out a model with ES2 and judge for yourself. I personally like it. If you don't, order your Taylor without a pickup and install the Anthem or K&K yourself.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

I've heard Taks, Martins and others that sounded bad - mostly because either the player or the person running the PA didn't know how to adjust the sound - or they didn't care - or they couldn't tell the difference between good sound and not-so-good.
Other people are much more fussy with their sound - and 95% of non-guitar-playing listeners don't care.
Plug in, try out the guitar you are interested in, and judge for yourself.

This is a 2012 Taylor with ES1.3, though typical non-powered speakers on poles with a powered mixer: https://youtu.be/op4DILzp42Q

Sounds Good! The ES1.1 through ES1.3 can sound pretty good when played gently but as soon as a player gets aggressive with a flat pick, the B and high E strings make their presence felt with the typical electric guitar honk. That honk gets stronger as the player progresses up the fingerboard and the strings are pressed closer and closer to the magnetic fingerboard pickup. The strength of the ES1 systems is high gain before feedback.

[JWJ915]

Taylor guitars typically have a brighter, articulate, sometimes “tinny” sound. With that being said, I have a Taylor 210 DLX and to my ears, it’s one of the nicest sounding guitars I’ve ever played, and it doesn’t have the typical Taylor sound.

They really knocked it out of the park with the particular guitar. It sounds great unplugged, and it’s one of the easiest guitars I’ve ever mixed in a band setting; that’s where it really shines, IMO. First take a ton of EQ-ing to get it sounding good in the mix. The ES2 is very usable.

With that being said, I prefer Martin guitars, my favorite being the D-18 Reimagined model. It’s an amazing instrument. I will say that Taylor’s newer slope-shoulder Grand Pacific models are incredible guitars. If you could get your hands on one of those, I’d highly recommend them. Warm, balance, very vintage sounding to my ears.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

ES2 sounds good like a K&K with a preamp, which is basically what it is. ES1 sounds like an electric guitar. If you love the Taylor sound, go try out a model with ES2 and judge for yourself. I personally like it. If you don't, order your Taylor without a pickup and install the Anthem or K&K yourself.

I agree with all that. I just defended the ES2 on a different thread against some bad press, but it sounds like folks are separating the ES1 from ES2.

I find the OP’s experience peculiar, as you see so many Taylors in videos and performances in Nashville. Not sure I would draw conclusions from a survey of 3. Maybe they formed their opinions based on the ES1? Would be interested to know how many have adopted IR devices to enhance their plugged in sound, as a related question.