just picked up a 1995-excited!

[PTC Bernie]

Actually, what I like about the early Taylor's is that the treble, more specifically the harmonics or overtones, don't overpower the fundamentals.  They have a fuller sound, IMHO.

Schweeet! Nice find. Glad to hear you are liking it. I've never experienced an early Taylor. Still got the ringing trebles?

Look forward to your pics.

[michaelw]

the body shapes, bracing patterns &, in some cases, body depth & scale length are different from
a nearly 20 year old guitar to a current model, or one made in that past 8 years in the X12s case -
the pre-00 X12 models, save for the 91 412 & 92 812 deep, had a body depth of 4 1/8", rather than
4 3/8" & the body contours more closely resembled an OM shape, rather than scaled down X14

a current model is unlikely to have tone that's directly comparable to one that's 20 years old,
whether or not the older one has a lot of playing time on it, provided it's been looked after -
there are other builders that try to recapture the tone of guitars made around 80 years ago &
even if the wood sets used were from the same era, it's not going to have "it" right out-of-the-box
but depending on how many or few, changes were made to that model of guitar, there may be less
of a perceivable difference than one that last year's model or perhaps even a few years old ... or not

[Cindy]

So how is this guitar working out for you? Actually I'm sure you are loving it!

[darylcrisp]

Hi folks

waiting on Gotoh 301 tuners for a "drop in fit" from Josh at Japarts.  Once arrived, i will replace and do a good review of the refurbed 412. The OEM Grovers are working smooth, but they have slack/slop at the tip of the tuning. I don't like that so Gotoh 301's are in the mail. I've never used the 301 but have been told they should have the exact footprint of the Grovers. Screw placement is correct-just a tad larger in diameter with the Gotoh.

The guitar is actually a lot nicer than i imagined it would be. I've owned 4 later model(post 2006) GC's in differing wood combo's. Liked them all. What i've found with a smaller body instrument is that i prefer a standard scale length-it just works out for me. This 412 is in dandy condition. The neck set is spot on. The neck and action is very nice. Its very "taylor familiar to my hands", but there is some sort of difference in the neck(that is a good thing-not bad). I don't have a later model Taylor around to compare, that would be interesting as i have a profile gauge and would use that on both.

I changed the saddle out. The one it arrived with was a compensated bone that had a radius that dropped the high e side too much for my taste. I prefer a more straight across radius.  Had an extra Taylor tusq stock saddle,I removed some bottom material(this is not the quick change shim NT style neck) and have the action at the 12th around 2.5/32 for the low E and 2/32 for the high e.  Relief currently is .004". I know it can be dropped to .003" when i take care of the 2nd fret, but it plays fine as is and i may keep it there.

The tone is mature, louder than i expected, very balanced, not boxy at all.  Pretty sure its had a refret and they did a good job. There are a few frets i want to clean up-two ends are a tad outboard but well curved and smooth, and the second fret needs a little seat work. In time i will simply replace the second fret, but what i'm doing is the least i need to do to get it in perfect playing condition for my taste-I am demanding with set ups, and the little jobs i've mentioned are not absolutely necessary-it arrived in fine playable condition for most people.

It has a light airy feel. Just under 4lbs per digital scale. The quality of build is very Taylor and solid. It sounds very nice in DADGAD and dropped C. I don't think i've had it in standard tuning yet-i rarely use that.

The case exterior has some use signs, actually we will call them mojo. The interior is spotless and looks very nice.

All in all this has been probably one of the best purchases i've made.

more later when i get all the little things done.
d