I just purchased a used 2014 Taylor T5z Standard Sunburst. After living with it for a few days, I have some observations.
1. It is the first guitar I have ever purchased without playing it, and it is the first guitar I have purchased over the internet. Needless to say, I was more than little concerned about how this whole thing was going to turn out. I purchased it off of 'Reverb' and when it arrived it was in better condition than the seller's description had suggested. I was very happy.
2. I recently began to study classical guitar to improve my technical skills. I fingerpick exclusively. I tried a variety of classical guitars and hybrids, including the Taylor nylon and decided that I hated the neck on the traditional classic guitar, and I could not afford a Taylor that could only be played as a nylon string guitar. I completely gave up on a new instrument and continued to play classical music on my Les Paul - not the best choice. I stumbled on the T5z on YouTube, not realizing that Taylor made an electric hybrid. The demos on YouTube looked great. It seemed like it was exactly what I wanted. So . . . I found a used T5z Standard on 'Reverb' and ordered it.
3. I was a difficult relationship at the start. If you are thinking of purchasing a T5z and have not lived with one before, read this section. The T5z is a touchy, sensitive guitar.
When I got it, I could not wait to play it. I sat down, plugged it in, set it to the first setting (acoustic) and began to play. It sounded HORRIBLE. It was making awful noises. I tried everything but between each finger strike, there were these hideous, high pitched wolf-tones. The instrument was useless. Interestingly, when I went to the 3rd setting, the bridge pickup, the problem disappeared. Unfortunately, the two settings I bought the guitar for were the acoustic and fretboard humbucker (I play mostly jazz and blues).
Eventually, I figured out that, because I have long fingernails for playing classical, as I struck the string (which was still vibrating) the guitar was picking up the buzz from my fingernail approaching the vibrating string. Once I realized what the source of the problem was, I filed my nails so that the flesh of my finger momentarily contacted the string just before the fingernail strike. That alleviated the problem, but it did not solve it. I remembered that some commenters in the Taylor forum had suggested that even the 11s were too light and you should go to heavier strings, and for sure, to get a set with a wound third. I put 3 sets of heavier gauge strings on (even a set of Martin bronze). Nothing helped. I loved the voice of the guitar, but it was unusable with it picking up the finger noise (something I had never experience before in years of playing). Eventually, I decided to send the guitar back and get a refund. Since I was not going to keep it, and I don't play with heavy strings, I strung it up with a set of Curt Mangan 10 - 46, pure nickle strings which are the strings I use on all my electrics. At least, i felt, it would be playable until I shipped it off. Once it was strung up, I plugged it in and, to my surprise, it played perfectly.
Take with a 'grain of salt' anything anyone says about how to set one of these guitars up. Your playing style, flat pick, fingers, stiff, or thin pick, fingers with a thumb pick, fingers with long finger nails, short finger nails, etc. will all influence the way the guitar plays. There is certainly good advice on the forum, but you may find that the genre of music you play, the attack you use when you play, the playing style you use, will all have a 'dramatic' effect on the way the T5z responds to you. What I have learned is that this is the most wonderful guitar I have ever owned, but I had to sit and talk with it. I had to reach a mutual understanding with it about how the guitar and I were going to make music together. Once we understood 'each other' everything was fine.
Here is a quick video of my new Taylor. This is a completely raw sound. I have not made any adjustments to the sound at all - no eq, no reverb, no nothing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVremQKOsV4&feature=youtu.beFinally, as has been said elsewhere. This is not a Les Paul; it is not a Telecaster; it is not a Martin Dreadnought. It is a Taylor T5z and it has its own voice(s) - which by the way are beautiful. Accept it for what it is. It offers a unique and wonderful array of sounds - all of them T5z sounds. It is a temperamental beast, but well worth getting to know.
Hope this helps someone avoid the pain I went through.
Bill
