Choice between a K26ce, 526ce First Edition and 2013 616ce LTD

[milo_otis]

Just remember that as the koa opens up over time it will develop more low end.

I'm sure that I'll enjoy the process of it if/when it happens. As much as it opens up, the spongy bass (even if it expands), highs and articulation should pretty much still be there when it happens. At least I'd think so.

My 514ce was supposed to open up, but it just never has warmed up and therefore I have not warmed up to it over the past 9 years. Every time that I play and compare that specific K26ce it just makes it sound that much better to me than all the rest.

[milo_otis]

Just remember that as the koa opens up over time it will develop more low end.

it may, but i'd put my $ on the odds that tasmanian blackwood may sound "better" right out-of-the-box -
if satin back & sides are not a "deal-breaker", i'd try to look for one of these, NOS
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/426CELTD.htm

The satin finish isn't a problem at all, but I haven't been able to spot any....

[milo_otis]

Not sure whether this will help you or muddy the waters further...

Been home in Pittsburgh for the past week, and my brother 'dragged' me over to Empire Music this afternoon to pick up a guitar that he had on lay-away.  Joe was out running errands, so my brother and I had some time to browse Empire's back room.  After giving a particularly striking Ebony 614ce-LTD a ride, I took the opportunity to re-visit some Cocobolo-backed guitars (a PS10ce, a PS14ce, and a Custom GS 'Sinker'/Cocobolo).  Then I noticed that Joe had a 524ce FE in stock.  So I took it for a spin, and my impression (comparing -- from memory -- it to my K24ce) probably shouldn't be too surprising:  the all-Mahogany guitar seemed 'warmer' (perhaps one could even say more 'mellow') than the all-Koa -- but not really 'bigger-sounding' or 'more bassy' by comparison.  At least that's my take.  Unfortunately, Joe didn't seem to have a 526ce FE so I could make a direct comparison to the K26ce that he does have, but I didn't have a chance to really look that extensively through the entire Taylor inventory he's got.  I'll try to check again tomorrow; my brother has his weekly lesson then, and I usually go up there with him just to hang out.

But, extrapolating today's impressions to your 526ce FE/K26ce dilemma, I think the 'bigger' sound that you're liking about the K26ce may mainly be due to the GS guitar body.  In other words, you might like the 526ce just as much as the K26ce, if you were to order one.

Ultimately, it seems that you'll have to either make a leap of faith that the 526ce will be what you want in order to save the money; or go with the more expensive K26ce that you seem to already know will fill the niche you're trying to fill.  My ears tell me that either wood (Mahogany or Koa) will give you the sound you're seeking in the GS body; and I personally like the look of Koa better.  But your ears (and wallet) might have a strong preference for one over the other...

In the past week, I was able to try out a 524ce and a K24ce side by side, record them, and have someone else play them for me to listen to. Granted, it wasn't a 524ce FE, but it gave me a feel for what the differences may be. I definitely agree that the 524ce sounded warmer. It had a firmer bass, more low mids with slightly less high mids and highs, but sounded a bit too warm. Now if I step that up a size with CV bracing, I can imagine a richer sound, with a slightly expanded solid bass that would be even more present and highs that would be even warmer. I'm thinking that would be too much for me. The K24ce sounded more balanced and though it had significantly more highs (which really surprised me), they sounded warmer. The K26 sounded like it had even more of those good qualities. I know that my wife preferred the K26ce in recordings as well. After I showed her a picture, she wants me to add it to my family.

Cool!  Well, it sounds like you're zeroing in on the right one for you.  Today, I went back up to Empire, and looked more closely at their in-store inventory; I was able to find a K24ce, a K26ce, and a 524ce FE, but no 526ce FE.  But having three of the four guitars in question, I figured I could extrapolate the approximate sound of the missing one.  And we seem to be concluding the same things...

K24ce vs. 524ce FE:  I concur with you -- the basic difference here is that the all-Koa guitar is 'brighter,' and the all-Mahogany guitar is 'warmer' (or 'darker,' if you prefer).  This difference seemed most evident (to me) on an E-chord.  To me, the all-Koa guitar has a cleaner, more balanced sound.

K24ce vs. K26ce:  This comparison just illustrates the difference between the body shapes (GA vs. GS).  To my ears, the K24ce is the right balance; the K26ce has more projection, and 'widens' the sound -- including the bass -- to the point where it starts to sound 'boomy' to me.  But that extra bass definitely makes the K26ce 'bigger-sounding,' which seems to be what you want.

So, my expectation would be that the 526ce FE would give you the bigger sound that you're seeking, but be 'darker' and perhaps less balanced (favoring the mids and lows) than the K26ce.

I know....I know... but I went back and played the 524 vs. the K24 and I had the store clerk play back to back, strumming, fingerstyle and picked lines and it hit me......I love Taylor's koa guitars. The difference that I heard was the koa had this smooth, articulate and balanced tone all within the guitar. It was rich in the mids, but not muddy or dark. It was bright like maple but not brittle and the bass was present, but not over powering. The 524 had good treble response, more than enough bass response and heaping mids that were very dominant. The thing that was missing was that smooth overall balance in itself as a guitar with those warm but articulate highs and balanced mids. So....I've found my guitar, the K26.

[timfitz63]

Not sure whether this will help you or muddy the waters further...

Been home in Pittsburgh for the past week, and my brother 'dragged' me over to Empire Music this afternoon to pick up a guitar that he had on lay-away.  Joe was out running errands, so my brother and I had some time to browse Empire's back room.  After giving a particularly striking Ebony 614ce-LTD a ride, I took the opportunity to re-visit some Cocobolo-backed guitars (a PS10ce, a PS14ce, and a Custom GS 'Sinker'/Cocobolo).  Then I noticed that Joe had a 524ce FE in stock.  So I took it for a spin, and my impression (comparing -- from memory -- it to my K24ce) probably shouldn't be too surprising:  the all-Mahogany guitar seemed 'warmer' (perhaps one could even say more 'mellow') than the all-Koa -- but not really 'bigger-sounding' or 'more bassy' by comparison.  At least that's my take.  Unfortunately, Joe didn't seem to have a 526ce FE so I could make a direct comparison to the K26ce that he does have, but I didn't have a chance to really look that extensively through the entire Taylor inventory he's got.  I'll try to check again tomorrow; my brother has his weekly lesson then, and I usually go up there with him just to hang out.

But, extrapolating today's impressions to your 526ce FE/K26ce dilemma, I think the 'bigger' sound that you're liking about the K26ce may mainly be due to the GS guitar body.  In other words, you might like the 526ce just as much as the K26ce, if you were to order one.

Ultimately, it seems that you'll have to either make a leap of faith that the 526ce will be what you want in order to save the money; or go with the more expensive K26ce that you seem to already know will fill the niche you're trying to fill.  My ears tell me that either wood (Mahogany or Koa) will give you the sound you're seeking in the GS body; and I personally like the look of Koa better.  But your ears (and wallet) might have a strong preference for one over the other...

In the past week, I was able to try out a 524ce and a K24ce side by side, record them, and have someone else play them for me to listen to. Granted, it wasn't a 524ce FE, but it gave me a feel for what the differences may be. I definitely agree that the 524ce sounded warmer. It had a firmer bass, more low mids with slightly less high mids and highs, but sounded a bit too warm. Now if I step that up a size with CV bracing, I can imagine a richer sound, with a slightly expanded solid bass that would be even more present and highs that would be even warmer. I'm thinking that would be too much for me. The K24ce sounded more balanced and though it had significantly more highs (which really surprised me), they sounded warmer. The K26 sounded like it had even more of those good qualities. I know that my wife preferred the K26ce in recordings as well. After I showed her a picture, she wants me to add it to my family.

Cool!  Well, it sounds like you're zeroing in on the right one for you.  Today, I went back up to Empire, and looked more closely at their in-store inventory; I was able to find a K24ce, a K26ce, and a 524ce FE, but no 526ce FE.  But having three of the four guitars in question, I figured I could extrapolate the approximate sound of the missing one.  And we seem to be concluding the same things...

K24ce vs. 524ce FE:  I concur with you -- the basic difference here is that the all-Koa guitar is 'brighter,' and the all-Mahogany guitar is 'warmer' (or 'darker,' if you prefer).  This difference seemed most evident (to me) on an E-chord.  To me, the all-Koa guitar has a cleaner, more balanced sound.

K24ce vs. K26ce:  This comparison just illustrates the difference between the body shapes (GA vs. GS).  To my ears, the K24ce is the right balance; the K26ce has more projection, and 'widens' the sound -- including the bass -- to the point where it starts to sound 'boomy' to me.  But that extra bass definitely makes the K26ce 'bigger-sounding,' which seems to be what you want.

So, my expectation would be that the 526ce FE would give you the bigger sound that you're seeking, but be 'darker' and perhaps less balanced (favoring the mids and lows) than the K26ce.

I know....I know... but I went back and played the 524 vs. the K24 and I had the store clerk play back to back, strumming, fingerstyle and picked lines and it hit me......I love Taylor's koa guitars. The difference that I heard was the koa had this smooth, articulate and balanced tone all within the guitar. It was rich in the mids, but not muddy or dark. It was bright like maple but not brittle and the bass was present, but not over powering. The 524 had good treble response, more than enough bass response and heaping mids that were very dominant. The thing that was missing was that smooth overall balance in itself as a guitar with those warm but articulate highs and balanced mids. So....I've found my guitar, the K26.

Congratulations!  I think you'll be happy with the K26ce; it does seem to provide the sound that you were wanting to get out of your next guitar.  And I think the all-Koa guitars are more visually striking than the all-Mahogany ones, so a win-win there!

[milo_otis]

Thank you to everyone for their helpful suggestions (esp. Tim for his research at Empire Music)! Early last week a close friend of mine who loved the sound of my 514ce bought it from me, allowing me to finally pick up the K26ce on Friday. You know when a guitar sounds great in the store and then let's you down at home? There was absolutely none of that here. The guitar is powerful, balanced, rich, bright and warm with just enough overtones and plenty of bass. Though there are prettier K26ces out there, this is a great sounding one!

[timfitz63]

Thank you to everyone for their helpful suggestions (esp. Tim for his research at Empire Music)! Early last week a close friend of mine who loved the sound of my 514ce bought it from me, allowing me to finally pick up the K26ce on Friday. You know when a guitar sounds great in the store and then let's you down at home? There was absolutely none of that here. The guitar is powerful, balanced, rich, bright and warm with just enough overtones and plenty of bass. Though there are prettier K26ces out there, this is a great sounding one!

Congratulations!  And it was my pleasure doing the research!

The guitar looks good to me!  That's one of the nice things about Koa guitars:  each one turns out to be unique-looking because the wood seems to vary from cut to cut, but they all have those interesting grain patterns that Koa naturally produces.  Koa guitars are like snowflakes --  each one is visually different and compelling unto itself.