NGD (Used)- Taylor 450 12 string

[beachbum205]

Just bought a 96 Taylor 450 12 string from Forum Member Blueshwk- really like it a lot.  I have some shoulder trouble, so the bigger-bodied 12s don't work for me.  This is a dread, and it sounds and plays great!  I can't seem to put it down.

There is just something nice about a 12 string- at least to my ears- just a wall of sound.  Someone has called it the Grand Piano of guitars.  Plus it drowns out my singing, which is a good thing. 

Anyone else here like the Taylor 12s?  I have owned Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha, and Martin 12 strings, but to me, Taylor 12s are really the best.

PS Blueshwk was great to deal with!

[Blueshwk]

Congratualtions on the new to you 450!!

That particular 450 is a very nice twelve string indeed! I was amazed at how rich and full the voice is. Thank you so very much for the kind words and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

[ksquared]

Enjoy your 'new to you' 12 string.  :-)

[Jersey tuning]

Anyone else here like the Taylor 12s?  I have owned Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha, and Martin 12 strings, but to me, Taylor 12s are really the best.

I love Koa Taylor 12's, but haven't loved every 300 series Taylor I've run across. Haven't played any rosewood/ovangkol 12's......   Own a Breedlove 12, which sounds more in the Byrds world than Ledbelly's

[MexicoMike]

"Anyone else here like the Taylor 12s?  I have owned Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha, and Martin 12 strings,"

I have a GS5 12 string which I like pretty well.  Like you, I have owned  several 12s... from Guild, Ovation, Yamaha, and Seagull, trying to find one I REALLY think sounds good and I think this one does a pretty good job but I made the following changes:  I removed the octave e and a string - making the guitar a 10 string and changed the oem light gauge E and A to a heavy gauge E and A.  This increased the bass response and shifts the balance a bit to (IMO) a more pleasing range.  Guitar is tuned to standard E but adding the heavy gauge E and A does not increase the tension on the bridge compared to the oem set of lights since the e and a strings are removed.

Frankly, of the 12s I have owned, I thought the Seagull sounded the best overall balance-wise to my taste.  BUT it just didn't have any dynamics - it it seemed to have  two volume ranges…quiet and fairly quiet…no matter how hard I played. 

[TaylorGirl]

Congrats on your new 12 string. Blueshwk is a wonderful forum member here and I can only imagine the transaction was a good one. As for Taylor 12's, I had a 355 and loved it. I had a couple other 12 strings in the past (non-Taylor), but the Taylor 12 that I had had the best sound, intonation, feel and ease of play, by far. I sold it to fund my purchase of a new 512ce, because I'm a fingerstyle player and thought it would get far more use than the 12 string did, since I don't sing. You should really have fun with yours, based on your style of play. Enjoy it!

[timfitz63]

... There is just something nice about a 12 string- at least to my ears- just a wall of sound.  Someone has called it the Grand Piano of guitars.  Plus it drowns out my singing, which is a good thing. 

Anyone else here like the Taylor 12s?  I have owned Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha, and Martin 12 strings, but to me, Taylor 12s are really the best...

I have two:  a 656ce and a K66ce; both are great guitars.  They're the only 12-strings I've ever owned.  Like you, I'm drawn to the fullness of sound they offer.  One doesn't often think of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" as being a 'guitar song' -- but it sounds pretty good when strummed on a 12-string.

The 656ce is very bright and 'shimmery;' the K66ce still has that brightness that I prefer, but is a bit more mellow and 'warm.'  I'm seriously considering doing a custom 12-string dreadnought, since Taylor doesn't offer a 12-string dread in their current line-up.  I think maybe I'll post a separate thread about that; I could use some suggestions for the tonewood combination...

[Blueshwk]

[/quote]
 I'm seriously considering doing a custom 12-string dreadnought, since Taylor doesn't offer a 12-string dread in their current line-up. 
[/quote]


It absolutely miffs me as to why Taylor doesn't offer a dread twelve'r. In my opinion the 1996 450 nailed it. That guitar was Martin-esque in it's full bodied richness with gobs of low end and mid's with plenty of jingle to go with it.
It produced massive volume with minimal effort yet it was very controllable. Very reminiscent of good Martin twelve string and that may have been the reason it was killed. Maybe it was too Martin like.

Yet it also had something else that is difficult to describe. Had you heard, or even better still, had you played it, you would instantly know what I am talking about. I would assume that aspect of the 450 is the reason you don't see them for sale very often. The voice is well balanced and most importantly it was controllable.
 
I will go out on a limb and say that particular guitar comes as close to a 68 Martin Brazilian as any twelve'r I have played and had you guys heard them side by side I think you would agree.  Pretty amazing considering the 450 is a Mahogany / Sitka build.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 Congrats on your new 450 12-string.

[ctkarslake]

Yes!  I love my 12ers from Taylor.  Frankly, I've been more than impressed with the 450s sound compared to the 555 I got before the 450 came along.  The 555 seems to have more volume and is incredibly sensitive to the touch not to mention angelic in voice.  The only thing I don't care for is the jumbo body, which is why I went for the 450 when it came along.  I just don't seem to be able to part with the 555 (despite it's size) since it has so much going for it.  Wonderful guitars.  Sitka/mahogany, nice combo for a 12er!