Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: basalt beach on April 03, 2012, 10:10:47 PM
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Today, I ordered a new guitar but how I got to the order point and why I ordered what I ended up ordering is not what I expected. My situation, is I have to work in two different places each month, our family situation dictates I am 1300 miles from one house to another (we both have jobs 1300 miles apart and we are in year 4).
That said, I wanted a smaller size guitar for the other house (and I recently got the okay to buy another guitar, from you know who). Presently, I have a Taylor 810 & GC 8 which I love and a Collings C-10 in Florida, so after getting the "okay" I started looking for guitar for the other house which would favor more fingerstyle playing but still handle the occasional strum and be comfortable to play on the couch. I finally narrowed the choices to a GC 7, in a local shop, a Northwood 000V RW/Cedar (online) and recently to a posting here for a 12 fret 814.
The GC 7 was easy to test drive and it sounded and handled as I expected. The other two guitars posted a challenge, in that I could not play either one, the 12 Fret 814, was also a GA size body, slightly larger than I was shopping for but I had some idea of the sound it would produce from playing other 814's and had the expectation the 12 Fret would be even better. (key words are "some idea"). The Northwood had no sound clip so I found YouTube videos of a gentleman named Carlos in California playing Northwoods. I also found soundclips at a dealer online.
Either Taylor would have exceeded my expectations and I would have enjoyed owning and playing both. The Northwood was an unknown but I read some good reviews and comments regarding the builder John McQuarrie. In an effort to learn more, I ended up speaking to John who happened to be out of his shop and I reached him on his cell phone. He was extremely friendly and helpful. He asked questions, learned my music tastes, guitar experiences and provided a detailed description of what I could expect from the Northwood under consideration. Based on the discussion with John, and along the tone and sustain of other Northwoods which I was able to hear and understand from the online clips, I finally became comfortable that the Northwood 000V RW/Cedar was the one. So, now I await UPS and my NGD which will be Monday or Tuesday next week. In a way, I feel I stepped outside "my comfort zone" by purchasing a guitar without hearing or playing it, which is why it is an unexpected decision...(that was also the observation of person who gave me the okay too! :) )
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Congrats on the new guitar, hope you have many years of enjoyment with it. I would like to see some pics!!
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Glad you were able to decide and certainly hope the Northwood exceeds your expectations. Keep us posted on your impressions.