Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Welcome to the Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum! => Welcome to the UTGF! Please introduce Yourself! => Topic started by: Richard. on December 13, 2012, 02:33:26 PM
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Hi,
I've owned Taylor's for a while but have just found this forum, while researching for a possible acquisition.
Would anyone care to advise me of the relative merits of a PS16CE versus a PS16CE LTD? What impact do the different woods have on the tone and the volume?
Richard
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Hi Richard! It's great that you found us! Please make yourself at home! ;D
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Hi Richard, welcome to the group. I'm new here my self. I won't be able help with your question but somebody will.
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Hi,
I've owned Taylor's for a while but have just found this forum, while researching for a possible acquisition.
Would anyone care to advise me of the relative merits of a PS16CE versus a PS16CE LTD? What impact do the different woods have on the tone and the volume?
Richard
By PS16CE LTD, I assume you actually mean the PS16CE-FLTD, which is the current fall limited offering.
The PS16CE will be Cocobolo back and sides and Sitka Spruce top. Cocobolo will be a bold sounding wood with a lot of crisp brightness and strong low/low mid. It will have a very good dynamic range and lend itself to all styles of play. Sitka Spruce is THE top wood for 90% of Taylor production guitars. It projects well, with clear articulation and has great dynamic range. The wood combination should make for a guitar that projects very well, think high volume. A nice all around guitar, a bit on the bright side but not without depth. Additionally, Cocobolo is visually stunning and can be very figured and beautiful.
The PS16CE-FLTD will be Macassar Ebony back and sides with Sinker Redwood top. This is the same wood combo I recently chose for my BTO (Build To Order) guitar. Macassar is a dense hardwood with a big bold voice, which can take extra time to open up. Expect crisp highs and strong lows with adequate mids. Macassar likes to be played hard and loud, and responds well to it. Sinker Redwood is known as "Cedar on steroids" at the Taylor factory. This is referring to the bold response and high volume ceiling while still projecting crisp clear highs and impressive lows and low mids. These woods together should create an instrument that projects well in any range and responds to hard strumming better than most. Visually, both woods can be breath taking with wild striping and coloration.
So, I suppose it depends on what you prefer. Both will be beautiful with Abalone EVERYWHERE and highly figured back and sides, although the Sinker Redwood top will be more visually striking than the Sitka Spruce. Both guitars will have great volume, and the Macassar might end up being slightly darker sounding than the Cocobolo.
The other thing to keep in mind is that all guitars are different. These descriptions are based on what I've read and experienced myself (my buddy has a PS16ce, and I played a Macassar/Sinker BTO at guitar center), but your experience might be different if you were to pick one or both of these up and play.
Hope that helps.
Oh, one last note. Good luck finding a PS16ce-FLTD...they only made like 80 of them (hence, the "LIMITED" title) and nearly every place you look they're sold out. I was dead set on one, but then decided to go the BTO route. I'm sure they are out there, but you'll have to search and be ready to pay full asking price ($6,300 approx).
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Thank you very much briguysm. That's very useful.
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Also, here's a chart another member posted that might be helpful.
This is a subjective guide, but some guitars open up more in different areas than other guitars...so this is probably more the average response of the given woods. There are definitely exceptions.
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Thank you very much. I've been looking for that chart! Not looking so good for the Ltd.
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Hi Richard and welcome to the UTGF! :)
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Thank you very much. I've been looking for that chart! Not looking so good for the Ltd.
Do you mean because you won't be able to find one, or because you don't want the tone it offers?
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Thank you very much. I've been looking for that chart! Not looking so good for the Ltd.
Do you mean because you won't be able to find one, or because you don't want the tone it offers?
Because, if I'm understanding the chart correctly, the tonal range of the macassar doesn't compare well with some others.
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Hi Richard. Welcome to the UTGF. Have fun doing your research. You've found the right site. Enjoy. :)
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Thank you very much. I've been looking for that chart! Not looking so good for the Ltd.
Do you mean because you won't be able to find one, or because you don't want the tone it offers?
Because, if I'm understanding the chart correctly, the tonal range of the macassar doesn't compare well with some others.
That is how the chart reads, but in truth, that's not been my experience. The Macassar can have different characteristics depending on how you play it. Some people draw out a much darker sound, while others have found it to be brighter. The one I played left absolutely nothing to be desired, low or high. Another forum member played a macassar/sinker BTO and said it sounded better than a $15k McPhearson...so, again, that chart isn't to live or die by.
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Thank you very much. I've been looking for that chart! Not looking so good for the Ltd.
Do you mean because you won't be able to find one, or because you don't want the tone it offers?
Because, if I'm understanding the chart correctly, the tonal range of the macassar doesn't compare well with some others.
That is how the chart reads, but in truth, that's not been my experience. The Macassar can have different characteristics depending on how you play it. Some people draw out a much darker sound, while others have found it to be brighter. The one I played left absolutely nothing to be desired, low or high. Another forum member played a macassar/sinker BTO and said it sounded better than a $15k McPhearson...so, again, that chart isn't to live or die by.
I think you are right. I need to try them both. The problem is that I can't get them side by side and the FLTD is about four hours drive away. I could just bite the bullet and buy it over the phone but that seems a bit reckless. It would mostly take the place of my 814BCE which is an awesome guitar but which I find a bit too quiet unplugged and frankly not good enough plugged in (it has the Fischman system). I would be gutted to spend nearly £5,000 on a new guitar just to find that it doesn't improve on what I've got.
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Well, I can't tell you anything about how it will compare to an 814BCE, since I have never played or heard one. I had a regular 814c and I thought it projected very well until I played the macassar/sinker combo.
Also, the electronics in either of the aforementioned guitars will sound better than that of your 814BCE.
Most places will let you return it if it's within a reasonable amount of time, and I really doubt you'd want to return it anyway....You never know, maybe somebody on here would buy it from you if you didn't like it, lol.
I'm taking a gamble on my BTO, shelling out THOUSANDS of dollars on a guitar I've never seen, heard, or played. Honestly though, having researched the woods like I have, I don't feel like I'm rolling the dice too much.
Best of luck, and whatever you do....PICTURES ARE A MUST. I'll be posting pics and sound clips of mine when I get it (hopefully next week).
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Well, I bit the bullet and went with the Cocobolo/Sitka option. I think that this will suit me well, supports the local dealer, and in the end was a fair bit cheaper than the FLTD would have been. It should drive on Tuesday.
Thanks for all the advice.
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Hi and welcome to the forum. The tonal chart you speak of is a guide. I feel everybody hears a guitar differently. Somebody with a dreadnought may thinks their guitar sounds great others hear a overpowering boom, or some may hear excellent, clear highs while other hear it as a brittle sound. The best thing is to try them if you can. I have never heard anybody not like the PS models. I would love to have one. ;)