Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Toucan256 on June 14, 2023, 11:19:37 AM
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Now that the V Class bracing has been out for a while, and for those who have experienced both, which do you prefer and why?
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Since I have owned ten Taylor guitars with X bracing and none with V bracing, my choice is obvious. I am not against innovation per se, but the new bracing pattern does nothing for my ear or my playing style. The overblown hyperbole when it was introduced has turned me off permanently. My failing perhaps, but I just cannot get past it....
If V-bracing works for you, then wonderful. It simply does nothing for me, and is therefore a major impediment to buying anything new because it has universally infested the product line. V bracing seems to work nicely in the GP / x17 models that I have tried.
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I know there are folks in ardent support of both: some who feel like the V-class tipped them toward a guit the would never have considered, and others (seems like Taylor owners) who favor the original flavor. I have had my hands on a few of both --and once in Taylor's own showroom with a few side-by-side models-- and these years later I've come to the conclusion that it really does vary with each individual guitar.
Which may seem like a cop-out of an answer, I know. I recall when they first appeared I was unimpressed with the Vs. But now I wonder if that was more because Taylor touted it so highly --with grandiose market speak-- too highly, IMO, as Earl had mentioned. But now that I've played a few more over these many years (demo'd only, never owned one), I've come to like a few Vs I had come across, as well as left ambivalent. In other words, like any other Taylor, and like any other acoustic. All of which is my long way of saying bracing matters, but it ain't all that matters as it's but one ingredient in the entire tonal recipe. So while a family recipe does create a general voicing, it is still an individual's guitar voice that speaks more than bracing generalizations. In my two cents, anyway :)
Edward
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Standard bracing or V Class
What Edward said. It's all about the individual guitar and the person playing it.
I have not purchased any 'V' class instruments yet, and may never. Not calling 'V' class bad, but I haven't played one yet that would make me want to replace any 'X' braced Taylors I have right now.
And my spruce over rosewood Grand Concert 412e-R blows all the Grand Theatres I've played out of the water, and also has a Taylor 'standard' 1+3/4" width neck to boot.
Be well and play well,
Don
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And I don't do polls, mostly because they never offer any options that suit me.
Polls are good for one thing only, to provide yes/no or black/white answers to questions asked without offering comprehensive options from which to select.
The world is not black and white but mostly many shades of gray. And that does not even count any effects of chiaroscuro that may come into play.
Don
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My 2018 V braced 714 is probably my least played guitar. Not long after I bought it new, I noticed an odd harmonic on the B string. It was too easy to over drive that string into an annoying "ping." I actually sent it back to the factory for that, to no avail. Just in the last few months the ping has calmed down considerably (I'm afraid to change the strings now LOL). That guitar does have amazing sustain so there's that. I also noticed the bracing pattern telegraphs through the top and is noticeable down by the bridge. I was told this is normal. It looks odd.
Taylor's "V-Class" hyperbole has turned me off. Their departure from traditional bracing and doubling down on V-Class as the only way to build a guitar continues to turn me off. I have five other X braced Taylor guitars I like as much or more than my 714.
If you pick up a guitar and it speaks to you it doesn't matter what's under the hood, enjoy it. For me, V Class bracing has been kind of a blessing. It's opened my eyes to the used market where there's a ton of really nice instruments and you get more guitar for your dollar.
Scott
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...For me, V Class bracing has been kind of a blessing. It's opened my eyes to the used market where there's a ton of really nice instruments and you get more guitar for your dollar.
Yup. V class bracing has proven an effective antidote to GAS. I'm not even tempted to look at new guitars any longer. I was mostly settled on my final fleet anyway, but this puts the nail in that shopping coffin.
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I am fortunate to own a 2017 814ce purchased new about 6 months before V bracing came out. I since have purchased a used 2013 K66ce. Love them both. I have played quite a few V brace guitars and have enjoyed them all. Taylor’s marketing efforts do not bother me at all, they are in the business of making and selling guitars, businesses require promotions which results in interest and ultimately sales. I would love to have a stack of cash laying around for one of the 814 ce V class builders additions, checks all the boxes for me!!!
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I don't pay any attention to marketing, BS, or "bracing". I play a guitar and decide if I need to buy it. I played the original V-Class guitars at NAMM when they released in 2019 and was completely unimpressed. I've owned many models between the 912 to the 314 and in between. Most have gone by the way side but I was on the road in March playing in the SW and stopped in Phoenix finding myself needing an extra guitar. I went to GC to see what they had and came across a new 314CE V and I was more than impressed. I've owned several 314s and GA3s and this is, by far the best sounding Taylor I've owned. So, whether it's the V bracing or this particular guitar (and this brings me back to not paying attention to any hype) my policy of play before you pay stays intact. I would never have purchased this guitar unplayed, but I'm glad I did.
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For me the answer is both. I play my 322e v-class and love it, then I play my Coco GC and love it without v-class. Each guitar has its voice, and I enjoy both the pre and post V class guitars.