What model(s) are you playing & what do you enjoy most about it (them) ?

[michaelw]

just wondering what y'all are playing & what you like most about what you're playing

multiple votes are enabled, but i am unsure how to enable multiple votes per category -
please note 'more than one' in a post when voting, if there are more than one in a category

feel free to talk amongst yourselves

tonewood & electronics polls coming soon ...

have fun & please stay tuned

[michaelw]

5 - DN (1-12 String), 2 - GC, 5 - GA, 3 - Baby

for me, it's the ...
tone, playability, feel, aesthetics, build quality/process, the company that makes them &
their customer service & last, but not least, the fact that everyone that shares a common
interest in these instruments has a place to share where they can be enjoyed & discussed ...

thanks again, Josh

[Steely Glen]

Loving my GS (816ce) for strumming, flatpicking, and some fingerpicking.  It's got plenty of power and sustain.  The cedar-topped GA (714ce) is amazing for fingerstyle stuff and even strumming.  I love the warmth, especially in contrast to the 816ce.  Then there's the GS Mini for noodling on the couch and Christmas caroling around the neighborhood with church friends. 

I am beginning to think a GC (perhaps a 612) will be my next purchase to really round out the bunch.   

[barefooter]

I see I got the first vote on the T5, so I will speak of it first...  Mine is a 2005 T5 C2 Koa.  The playability of this instrument is second to none as far as I am concerned.  The top is nice to look at as well, but I'll be honest and say I have seen other Koa T5 models that would knock the socks off of mine.  Still, it is a looker    I have played it through my PA and an electric amp individually, or at the same time with an ABY box.  Initially upon receiving this "gift" from my family, I was a little disappointed in the sound through the electic amp, but after experimenting with the EQ and selector switch, I am at ease in playing this fine instrument anywhere.  I love the variation of tones one can get from these guitars.

I received my 814ce Tobacco Burst last year (a 2010 model) and all I can say is; Wow   The 814 does not play as easily as the T5, but they are different.  Still though, it is one of the easiest playing acoustics I've ever had my hands on.  The looks of the Burst top is a beauty to see in person.   Now, the tone is lovely... I've played along with some gutarist I've known for a long while and they all have been impressed with the way she sounds.  I've played along side Martins, Collings, and other brands and the 814 holds her own.  She does not have the rumble of the Collings, but they are constructed differently and the blend of all the tones of the instruments make for a beautiful match.

For both of my Taylors, the quality of the build is top notch.  Everything fits like it is suppose to and they both perform flawlessly.

[bo1142]

I enjoy every guitar I have.  I do admit that I haven't played the strat or the bass in quite some time, but I really enjoy them when I do.  My go to as of late is my GSmini, but that has taken a backseat to the mandolin I just bought.  I need to hit the lottery so that I'll have more time to play my guitars

[Iplay2]

What a fun thread.

I mainly play my 710 and my 614ce, which have pretty much nothing in common other than the name on the headstock.

I love everything about my 710.  It is cedar over RW, so it is warm, full, rich, and has overtones that ring for days.  There is very little separation between notes as it is a big ball of dark sound that all washes around together.  Strumming it reminds me of playing a chord on a piano, when all the notes become one sound.  It excels as a solo instrument, though not at her best in a full band setting.

My 614ce, which is Engelmann over Maple, is the exact opposite.  The woods and the GA body make a tight crisp tone that is full of energy and bite.  It is a bit warmer than standard 614’s with Sitka, yet it still stands out beautifully in a full band setting.    When you strum a chord, each individual note jumps out at you. 

[Scriptor]

As Taylor's go, 3 x14/GA's -- my 814ce is the workhorse which does everything; enjoy the depth and sustain of the EIR ... my 414ce Ltd with Sitka/Walnut has a unique, more woody voice and a little more snap ... depending on my mood or the piece I'm playing, it gets the call ... my 114ce usually gets the alt tunings, campfire and other "dangerous" assignments ... my BBT has all but been adopted by my 11 year old son ...

I'd still like to one day (re)acquire a GC sized Taylor and might consider a GS with short scale ... I've sort of got Cocobolo on the brain lately ... and I wish someone would give me one of those beautiful blue Maple's I saw around here ...

[AlexRkstr]

W16ce - I love the balance and clarity of walnut. Perfect bottom end due to the GS size too.

[not darth]

I had a GC for about a week, but it just lacked the bottom end I was looking for at the time.  An excellent guitar, don't get me wrong, but I have been used to the dreadnought size and the GC was vastly different. 

So, it went back and a dreadnought came home.  I love the (insert cliche adjective here-->) 'piano like bass' and the volume.  I'm definitely glad I bought this guitar and it's a keeper.

But, I really did like the cedar and mahogany of the GC5, and it really was a fingerstylist's dream as far as playability, so, I do miss it a bit.
That's why I think that the next guitar may be a GA model, kind of a compromise between the GC and the greater volume/bass of the dread.  Someday I will have another cedar-top with light strings, you can bet on it!

-K

[DMBfan41]

My workhorse '04 414 CE L7 (sitka/rosewood).  I cannot begin to express just how much alive this things sounds since I first got her.  The top as aged beautifully to a golden hue.  The bass response has grown exponentially.  The mids are more prevalent.  The highs sparkle without the tinny sound.

Bob Taylor wrote an article in the last W & S about seeing the enumerable amount of forum members that buy a new Taylor only to turn around and sell it shortly thereafter because the sound wasn't what they expected.  His advice was to give it chance and let it age.  This could not be more true.

I recently played my rig side-by-side against an '07 814CE.  The 814 owner was confused and couldn't grasp just how my "sub-par" 414 model could be so much more in sound comparison than his.  I was and still am a very proud 414 RW father.  I may purchase more guitars in the future but will never part with this one.  'Til death do us part.

[dkoloff]

My favorite Taylor is my 2007 424ce sl.....and the prettiest i have had. I think it gets better sounding every day it gets older versus my playing getting better. I have a beautiful custom GA (basically a 714ce) but with a Baggs pickup instead of the ES. It is a short scale with the low profile neck which i am switching back to a standard profile when I get around to ordering.

[outsidenote]

I have two grand concerts, a GC4 and a K22.  They are very different from each other.  The GC4 is louder and very versatile.  It is quite brash in comparison to the K22 which is great for fingerstyle jazz.  The K22 is really one of the best guitars I have played and really suits my style of playing.  Both are very comfortable and have very easy actions.

[michaelw]

great responses, descriptions & insights - thank you so much for sharing

i probably should have found out a way to separate the body sizes from the
series, 12 string & acoustic/electric, as with one guitar it would be possible
to check as many as 6 boxes & unfotunately no multiples of one ... ah, well

hopefully there will be others that find there way in here -
i know of two, for certain, that haven't stopped by yet

[sthompson]

I have to say that more and more, due to older shoulders and hands, my tastes
gravitate toward the OM/GC/Style 2 for both the size and scale length.  The clarity
and purity of tone that is expressed with different wood combinations seems to
express itself more easily in that body design.  Tim Luranc, with R.Taylor, once told
me that in some woods, the Style 2 could produce a volume almost equal to the
larger bodies, and he's right. 

So, in a nutshell, while I have the GA/GS and Style 1 guitars, my heart is with the
little guys.  In that size I love my Coco/Redwood, Koa/Cedar, Brazilian/Adirondack(2),
Walnut/Sitka and Mahogany/Sitka.  I fingerstyle mostly, or try to, and these suit me
well.

Curiously, I have yet to warm up to the 12 Fret.  I've tried to fall in love but it hasn't
happened yet.  I still feel a bit cramped, call it spatially constipated, even though I
rarely, if ever, have the need to get above the 12th.  Still working with those little
beauties.
st

[michaelw]

hi st,

i was curious to see what wood combinations, if any, Tim recommended &
if the choices were based on their responsiveness with the Style 2 body or
if they were selected to have the 'headroom' to reach higher volume levels

ah, 12 fret steel string ...
i knew i missed at least one category (good catch)

nice variety of GC/Style 2s, btw