Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: oatordeal on April 03, 2013, 12:38:40 AM
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Seeing taylor's options for a BTO, what's the loudest amongst them? what is the best b/s wood combo for it (and why)? I've only tried spruce (and mahogany) since variants of taylors are limited here where i live. i am curious about englemann and adirondack
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Sitka-Rosewood on a Lowden O!
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I can't imagine buying a guitar simply for how loud it is, without regard to the character of its tone. Also, a guitar which is very loud up close may not project as well as some other guitar that carries the sound farther back. For instance, large bodied Maple/Sitka (or Adirondack) guitars project really well and cut through the noise... but I don't like the bright tone and the strong fundamental sound with minimal overtones. But that is just me, my style, and my ears.
I think the first step in choosing your Taylor BTO is to chose a body shape. That will have the single biggest impact on the overall sound. A Grand Symphony (GS), Dreadnought (DN), or the new Grand Orchestra (GO) will be louder than a Grand Auditorium (GA) or Grand Concert (GC) because the larger guitars have more surface area to their tops and more space inside the body, so they can move more air when the strings vibrate. The various Taylor body styles all have different tone characters, as well, and will shape the overall sound of the guitar with whatever woods you choose.
Adirondack is generally considered to have the highest amount of maximum volume, but Sitka is close enough that the variance between pieces of wood can make up that difference sometimes. According to Bob Taylor it is more important to upgrade to Adirondack CV bracing, because of it's spring-like properties, than whether you choose Sitka or Adirondack for the top. I suppose Adi for the top and braces would be the ultimate in loudness for any given body style or back/sides wood choice. I wouldn't think of Englemann as the loudest spruce, but it is the one I prefer for the sweeter and warmer tone it gives. But then I don't play with a flat pick. I play fingerstyle and when I do strum, I use the back of my fingernails. Personally, I prefer Cedar tops in general for my technique. It does not have anywhere near the headroom of the woods you are considering, but it will respond the best and be the loudest with a soft touch than the woods in your poll. It will be the quietest in terms of maximum volume at its limit when played hard.
Certainly EIR back & sides would give you a classic tone that everyone is familiar with and emphasizes lows and highs while adding lots of overtones. Mahogany is a familiar sound too and will emphasize the mids with a drier and woodier tone. I described Maple with Spruce in the beginning of this post and that certainly rounds out the most common guitar woods for back/sides. I'll suggest Walnut (my personal favorite) to get the strong lows of EIR with fewer overtones, the present mids and woody tone of Mahogany, and some of the projection of Maple along with its bright zing in the trebles but with more overtones than Maple.
Ultimately you'll have to decide what your needs, priorities, and preferences are based on where and how you play and your own ears. There are few things more fun than designing your Taylor BTO! Good luck and keep us posted on your ultimate choices.
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Adirondack/Red Spruce will generally offer the most "Head Room" when you're strumming or picking hard. Many Blue-Grass players choose Red Spruce for their tops because its ability to project and cut through the mix of other instruments.
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It's been my experience that as a finger style player, Engelmann Spruce gives more volume for lower energy bare fingers and thumb pick picking while Adirondack (Red) attains impressive heights of volume when you're really wailing with a flat pick. I have a Venezuelan Cuatro built with a German Spruce top (I believe that may be the same species as Adirondack) which although smaller is louder - with nylon strings - than any guitar I own . . . if I really dig in.
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Mother Nature doesn't run a quality department making sure that each sample of whatever spruce species matches our preconceived notions about it. Even within the same tree the wood properties will vary widely. There's no guarantee that one species of spruce will always be louder than another. The only way to be sure is to play it and see for yourself. Too many other factors come into play (bracing, top thickness, top and bracing stiffness, body size and style, scale length, etc...).
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I can only say for the guitars I have but Red Spruce (Adi) on a dreadnaught shape is the loudest when I digging in. The Sitka (with Adi bracing) on the GO is the loudest with a softer fingerpicking attack.
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I think the bracing may make quite a bit of difference as well... I noticed Taylor is doing Sitka tops with adirondack bracing... Guild has done that as well. To me adirondack is hard to beat but takes a little longer to "break in" than Sitka... or maybe that's all in my head. I have an HD-28 with adirondack and I think it's the best sounding guitar I've ever heard. Loud and sweet, if that's possible.
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I think the bracing may make quite a bit of difference as well... I noticed Taylor is doing Sitka tops with adirondack bracing... Guild has done that as well. To me adirondack is hard to beat but takes a little longer to "break in" than Sitka... or maybe that's all in my head. I have an HD-28 with adirondack and I think it's the best sounding guitar I've ever heard. Loud and sweet, if that's possible.
I have a Gibson J-45TV with a red spruce top, mahogany b/s and that is exactly how I describe it ... loud and sweet! I think adirondack will beat any other spruce for "loud" on the same size guitar.