812ce 12-Fret First Edition - First Impressions

[Scriptor]

Picked it up on Friday ... due to a busy weekend with my Bluegrass band playing Dobro, I did not have much time for bonding ... however, here are my initial impressions:

- a simply beautiful guitar ... nice appointments ... the most unique thing about the appearance for this one is it has a light, creamy top; almost looks like Engelmann (beautiful piece of spruce with nice wood grain) ... pretty contrast to the rosewood pickguard

- plays like a dream ... the smaller body is so comfortable and intimate ... very responsive to a light touch

- I am so glad I got the cutaway ... I would be frustrated without it ... this allows me to get up the neck when needed for my original tunes and arrangements ... it is no issue with the cutaway but if it were not present, it would be very hard or impossilble to do some of my tunes

The jury is still out on a few things:

- the tone is definitely balanced and articulate but is not quite as warm or loud as I expected ... I am so used to my 814ce (which is a special one IMO), that my ears are comparing everything to the larger body that I am so accustomed to ... more playing required to acclimate to the new voice of this acoustic I suspect ...

- the string feel of the HD Lights is noticeably differerent ... taking some getting used to but I think that again it is a matter of time (although I am beginning to wonder if there would a significant sonic sacrifice to try the normal PB Lights)

- ES-2 ... I haven't had much time to play with the ES-2 system but right away I notice it is less noisey with more volume than the previous generation ... however, the ES on my 814ce really sounds great to my ears ... the ES-2 is a different animal and is going to require a much different approach to EQ to dial it in (I had to really back off the bass) ... it works only with unbalanced cables which is another significant difference ... I think once I get everything dialed in, it will be good but right now I am not ready to agree that it is a drastic improvement over the previous ES ...

More later including pics ...

[sojiro]

Congratulations on your new guitar, and thank you for sharing your first impressions. I notice there's a lot of interest these days in 12-fret GCs, and I count myself in that crowd.

I'd be interested in hearing how you think your 812 compares to the 712CE you said you played before ordering the 812. I played a 712 sunburst that sounded absolutely amazing to me, so I'm curious how the changes to the 812 all add up. I think there's a decent difference in price between the two models, so I'd probably opt for the 712 unless the 812 changes are earth shattering. (Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a 1st edition 812 to play.)

Cheers.

[Scriptor]

I'd be interested in hearing how you think your 812 compares to the 712CE you said you played before ordering the 812.

The edge goes to the First Edition ... but why not with the nice appointments and special bracing ... all the way around I am satisfied with my choice ...

However, I don't think you could go wrong with the 712ce 12-Fret ... I might have seriously considered it if it had the cutaway (it was a 712e) ... the 712 had a really nice tone and playability/feel wise it is identical to the First Edition ... truth is, the 712ce 12-Fret was what I had planned to order until the opportunity for the 812ce 12-Fret First Edition came about ... so I think the 712ce 12-Fret is an excellent choice ...

[MB]

Congrats on the new Taylor!

A few months ago I also ordered an 812ce 12 fret first edition. Unfortunately, it was a defective unit and I had to send it back. The frets were not level in several places on the fingerboard. My tech guy discovered the problem while trying to do a set up. That aside, I have to agree with you on the HD strings. My issue with them was not the tone, but the feel. They felt very stiff compared to lights, especially on the 1-2-3 strings. I did try a set of lights on it and they felt much better to me. It was hard to tell the lights from the HDs when it comes to tone. There were subtle differences in tone but very subtle to my ears. Several others on this site agreed.

I also thought it was rather quiet compared to my 814ce, which it should be. In my case it made me realize that the 12 fret small body isn't my cup of tea. Lesson learned! I'll be curious to see how it turns out for you. I hope for the best!

Regarding the ES2....My 814ce has the previous ES. I run it thru a Bose T1 mixer. The gain was typically set around 1 o'clock.
With the 812ce 12 fret w/ES2, all I had to do was dial the gain back to 9 o'clock and it worked out great. I didn't have to make any other adjustments. Same goes for my 514e FLTD. It has the ES2 and I just dial the gain back and go!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Jersey tuning]

Congrats on your new 12-fret.  Taylor rosewood bodied 12-fret GC's are beautiful instruments with tremendous sustain; they seem to best elicit a legato tone rather than individual note separation.  They're relatively quiet played acoustically,  but they sound fabulous plugged in.

[Scriptor]

I know it is still early in the get acquainted phase, but I am not sure I like these HD Lights ... I almost think it gives too much to the treble side of things ... the G string in particular seems more powerful in comparison to the others ... I am seriously thinking of going to the regular PB lights ... I know the new 800's are supposed to be voiced with the new HD Lights in mind but I am not yet convinced ... I am wondering if the 812ce 12-Fret might sound more to my liking and more balanced to my style of playing with regular PB Lights ...

[Veloz]

Nice to hear your impressions -- I've also been hankering for a 12 fret but haven't gotten my hands on one of the newer 812 12 fretters yet.

However, I did land an 812ce yesterday, which I am evaluating.

 Like you, I find it to be a beautiful instrument, very well made. Also like you, I think the tone is really nice - but doesn't quite have the "fullness" I was hoping for.   As I mentioned in another post, my GC8 from a couple years back has a noticeably richer/fuller tone, although some might argue it's not as articulate/clear as the new 812ce.

The Taylor Road show is coming to town here in a couple weeks, hopefully they will bring a 12 fretter and an 814ce so I can do a little comparing!  In the past, I always thought I'd get a "bigger sound" with the 814s but it never seemed to me like they sound the emitted equaled their body size. Maybe the new ones will be different.

Looking forward to hearing more reports of how you are adjusting.

[Scriptor]

Veloz, I'll tell you this, I do not plan to part with my 814ce ... it has the richness, volume and voice that is perfect for my style of playing, especially in live settings ... I really am enjoying the 812ce 12-Fret and it will also be one I play out with in certain situations, especially as I get accustomed to it and settle on my string choice ... but the 814ce is still my go-to acoustic for lots of applications ... I opted for the 814 this Sunday for a fingerstyle offertory ... I got a lot of comments on how nice the 814 sounded ... I'm sure the 812 would have sufficed but I really wanted to "feel" that fullness and depth that the 814 brings to the table for that tune ...

[Ahorsewithnoname]

I figured the 12 fret would give it the fullness the smaller body was missing. Hum....aren't 12 fretters supposed to sound fuller, deeper than the exact same body with a standard scale? Isn't that the point of the 12 fret?

[Veloz]

I figured the 12 fret would give it the fullness the smaller body was missing. Hum....aren't 12 fretters supposed to sound fuller, deeper than the exact same body with a standard scale? Isn't that the point of the 12 fret?

I think that's the general goal with the 12 fretters. I got to play another 12 fretter last year ..maybe a 512?...and it did have a richer, fuller tone. But as with everything, that's a generalization that's going to probably vary with each body style, etc.. Here's hoping they bring a 812ce 12 fretter to the roadshow