HOLY SMOKES! THIS THING IS AWESOME!
Okay...so you can tell I'm a tad excited about this guitar....yes I am!
First off, I gotta hand it to the folks at Sweetwater. First class all the way with a tootsie roll to boot!
Cigarfan...you are exactly right. This may be the best 12 fret Taylor has come up with yet!
This is a first edition #14 of 50. Build date 1/14/14.
All the NGD details aside, here are my impressions:
The "smokey ebony" fingerboard is unreal. Just beautiful!
The new inlays in the neck are very classy...very classy.
The entire guitar wreaks of Taylor quality.
The ebony around the rosette is a very cool touch.
The combination of the new bracing and the thinner finish really makes this thing "lively" to say the least.
If you even look at it, it responds!
The piece of rosewood on the back and sides is spectacular!
The top has super tight grain and looks great.
The ES2 sounds awesome...a lot hotter signal than the previous system. Very natural sounding.
There were only 3 things that are not really complaints, just things I noticed.
1 - The rosewood pickguard, while it looks really cool, it feels different...the jury is still out on this.
It may be that it just will take some getting used to. OR...I might have to remove it!
2 - While I was playing and reached up into the cut away for a chord, the strap stopped my hand.
This may be typical on all Taylor 12 frets? I worked around it and it's no deal breaker, just something I noticed.
3 - The piece of mahogany they used for the neck was not as nice as the other Taylors I have, but I'm being VERY picky on this point.
Ironically, my copy of Wood & Steel arrived today too! I am super blessed today!
I recorded 2 pieces for you guys so you can hear what it sounds like.
The first piece is a finger style arrangement of My Favorite Things.
The second piece is my attempt at Tommy E's version of Classical Gas played with a pick.
Here are the links, and a few pics!
https://soundcloud.com/northland-jammer/my-favorite-thingshttps://soundcloud.com/northland-jammer/classical-gas-mstr