My name is Michael Allen. I just bought a 2016 Taylor 324ce. I tried around 30 guitars in my local
www.theupperbout.com. the owner, Ricky Bright, was very patient with me over the month or more that I kept trying guitars and brining in my Tacoma dreadnought to compare. During that process I tried everything I could to tweak the Tacoma to sound like what I heard in Ricky's shop.
Including Gibsons, Martins, and the Koa $5k+ guitars, the 324ce stood out to me due to the low resonance on every note. I attribute that to the Tasmanian Blackwood back and sides. That was the only variable that none of the other guitars had. The warmth and compression of the mahogany was also very appealing to me.
I settled on the grand auditorium over the grand symphony because the ga had a more even response from low to high, loud to soft, and single string to full chords.
Here's the really exciting part: since I took this guitar home, I've played it roughly 3 to 4 hours a day and even set a fish pump on the strings by the bridge overnights to help it open up. This guitar has significantly openned up.
The big bass resonance that I loved turned into a bigger, louder tone overall.
I changed out the HD light strings to mediums and that amplified the depth even more. I put a Taylor bone saddle in and replaced the stock pins with colosi bridge pins. The Bone bridge made it louder and the pins made it sweeter. I did each step about a week or more apart. Also, the finish was way too beautiful to cover with that black pickguard. I took it off and ordered a clear replacement.
I see now why people get excited about Taylor's. When I walked into Ricky's store, I just asked him if he had a cutaway for around 600. Over the next 6 weeks, I learned why people pay more.
Couldn't be happier.
Mike
