Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Group87 on June 25, 2021, 06:29:35 PM
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Well I have on order a second guitar to have as a back up. My reasoning is if my 912c has to go in for repair. I need a back up guitar. So I have a 812c BTO being built. Now here's my throw out there question. When a person has a second guitar. Should it be the same model or similar. Or a different model al together. Does a person who has a 912c have a 612c for a back up. They are two different guitars. Different tones.....so you have two guitars for different purposes. I asked a Taylor rep about the differences between 900s, 800, and 700s. Outside of appearances they have the same wood. Spruce and rosewood. My guitar has a cedar as top. So I have them making me another one. What do you think. Same or different. For me ......same....Jumping between two different guitars is good for someone who is doing different songs that need a different tone/sound. Neal Young comes on the stage with seven guitars. I guess I'm a little practical and like consistency.
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I really like grand auditoriums so I have six of them, each in a different "flavor" (see signature below). I like the familiar feel of the GA but also enjoy the "newness" when I switch from one GA to the next. That works for me. Your mileage may vary....
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Group87,
I basically agree with Strummin' Fool about the different flavors. While I kind of favor spruce over rosewood, I also try to have different models in that flavor, and also different woods on duplicate models. And while he favors GAs, I like big body guitars like Jumboes and Grand Orchestras. I also fingerpick everything with my nails, and I find that the jumbo and related shapes provide a well-balanced guitar sound. And this also allows me to keep a 6 string and a 12 string in DADGAD tuning.
And I like 12 string instruments too. Heck, I even have a 5 string Ukulele with an octave course of gG to lead with a re-entrant sound. And it has a wonderful cedar top, which I would like to duplicate with a cedar topped guitar, but I haven't played one I like enough to get yet.
So yes, by all means you should have at least one back-up guitar. I even keep a couple of laminate bodied guitars to play on some of those very humid days we experience up here on the NE N.E. coast. Speaking of which, another humid stretch is on the way. I think my Epi EJ-200 is goin' to get a lot of playtime in the near future.
Be well,
Don
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When I was gigging regularly, I made sure I had backups nearby for both my stage guitars- a 12str and a 6. However, I also seemed to have a pretty decent run of good luck and almost never needed the backups, only pulling them out once every few months to "give them some air", as it were. In fact, my luck was that I only broke one string on the 12 in performance in over a decade, so I consider that as doin' pretty good.
But that also meant the duplicates (and they were- as close as possible to the #1's, and thus set me back a decent chunk of income) quickly became essentially case queens, mostly ignored, seldom used, although I did try and change the strings etc somewhat regularly. When I stopped the constant gigging, they went into the closet and stayed there for a couple of years until I finally sold them off- simply didn't need them any more.
Backups are good, but after my experience, I don't think I would spend that much on a couple of potential closet keepers again. Basic, simple and to the point would've been less expensive.
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Oh yeah I get the idea of having a bunch. Just to change it up..it's about variety.........But we all know.... The more guitars you have the bigger the decision of what to play today.....and where are you going to put them. A friend of mine has about 20. they're all in cases in a room. A couple are in the living room. Plus you have to maintain them.........ugh I'm good with my 912c and soon to have 812c with cedar and one '59 Les Paul electric. I could never be a collector...........
Dennis Smith
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Oh yeah I get the idea of having a bunch. Just to change it up..it's about variety.........But we all know.... The more guitars you have the bigger the decision of what to play today.....and where are you going to put them. A friend of mine has about 20. they're all in cases in a room. A couple are in the living room. Plus you have to maintain them.........ugh I'm good with my 912c and soon to have 812c with cedar and one '59 Les Paul electric. I could never be a collector...........
Dennis Smith
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I don't consider myself a collector with my six GAs. I've never owned more than ten guitars at one time, and I have begun a slow downsizing process since retirement. As for which one to play, I simply rotate all six - one per day - pretty easy. Care and maintenance is just a routine like anything else. You'll find your own "right" number....
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Different flavors for the sake of differences makes little sense to me. One better like each different flavor, or what is the point of having each flavor beyond saying you have it? What if folks prefer multiple nuances of chocolate? I don't find this boring or predictable but, instead, more discerning. Just sayin :D
Edward
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I like the idea of different, but still fundamentally similar. Some of your pieces may sound better on a maple body than the rosewood (and vice versa) but you can play anything on any guitar. A 612 seems like a good companion for a 912, IMO. It will be tonally different, but still very nice in its own way.
Most of mine were GA's in different woods, LTD's, etc. I liked having the tonal variety but the consistency of body size and scale length was nice too - no adjustment period when switching. My guitars were all bought originally to get something - tone wood, body size, slot head, twelve-fret, scale length, etc. But the ones that stuck around were full-scale length GA's. These days I am much more into shorter scale guitars as my hands age. The day is coming when only cowboy chords will be doable on 25.5" scale lengths, and sub-25" is definitely more comfortable now. I would make sure the new 612 was 24-7/8" scale length to match the 912. (Stock models come with that shorter scale anyway). YMMV but you did ask....
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As all have stated, subtle tonal differences. I have the guitars I have now, each lends itself to what I play on it. 214 rings for days, 224 has a very distinct low end. The Washburn, well she lends herself to a lot of 70’s, singer songwriter stuff. I really did not know a guitar was not just a guitar, each with its own personality. Played 3 224 Koa’s, almost gave up, 3rd was the charm. All are in the GA size family, so from a size standpoint almost the same...
M
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I prefer guitars that sound different.
I love my 614 to death. But I feel like I must also have a good Dred in the mix.
Dred's have their own classic sound that is appropriate for some music.
The GA's balanced volume is appropriate for others.
Either can be pushed into playing anything, but it's the pallet of the ear that needs reminded of different voicings.
If you listen to the same thing all the time, you get complacent to it.
Mix it up and you start to hear why folks choose one guitar over another.
I rotate them and let them steer my music that I practice that day. Ohh that song sounds great on my Dred....
I even pull out my old $200 guitars once in a while just to remind myself of where I came from.