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
Poll