Taylor Koa Guitar Options - Well the Decision arrived today!

[jjrpilot-admin]

I'm not a big fan of fancy inlays, but I think Andy Powers did a really nice job with the new appointments on the koa series. I like that all the inlays and rosette are wood, and that they tie into the guitar both conceptually and functionally.

+1000     He rocked the new inlays on the new koa series!

[michaelw]

hi Glen.
good to see you here
WELCOME !i'm glad that you're in a position to be able to  choose between 2 really nice guitars -
i would definitely recommend that any suggestions or input received be taken 'with a grain of salt',
as you are the one making the investment &, ultimately, will be the owner & player of the guitar

i agree with the suggestions that give consideration the guitar that feels most comfortable to you -
i've seen times where one is trying to find a guitar a new home because as good as the guitar sounds, there was
a concern with playing comfort & it was only feasible to play for short periods of time & then having to stop

the overall body taper, the contour of the waist & lower bout & the medium strings that the GS comes set up with
can be enough to where i've seen 'die-hard' GA fans give it that 'old college try' for a good period of time (2 + years),
only to return to the GA & alhough there may have been a slight difference in tone, the GA felt like 'an old pair of jeans'

i also agree with the suggestions that give consideration the guitar that sounds better -
if the GS sounds better to you & it is comfortable to play (not just the action & 'set-up'),
then the LTD sounds like a 'no-brainer', imho - AA koa, Gotohs, bone nut & saddle

imho, the price should not be significantly higher than the 2012 k24ce, but my guess is
that it is due to 'adjusted market value', as the LTDs have been out for a few months now

for me, koa is one of those woods to where it can be mesmerizingly beautiful -
here's a link to pics of a 2004 k14ce L7, which aesthetically was the 'pinnacle'
of the all of the Koa LTD models to me, but i'm partial to ab edging/MOP inlays
http://www.tfoa.eu/the_store/index.php?target=products&product_id=34165

koa can  also be 'hit-or-miss' in terms of tone, with no direct correlation to its appearance -
i have owned several GS models in the past, along with several koa GAs, which i enjoyed
very much, but for me it was a question of finances that forced me to choose which ones went -
the one that stayed was a 97 414K & in terms of its tone & playability, i have yet to find one that
'speaks' to me as much, read grabs me by the ear & yells 'open the car door, i'm going home with you'


if the GS model has the tone that you prefer & you're comfortable the GS body, great
if the GA model 'feels like home' & the tone makes you want to pick it up & play it, teriffic

this will likely not be of any additional help, but nevertheless
i was just wondering if you had happened to see this one
http://www.leitzmusic.com/servlet/the-1223/Taylor-Custom-Shop-Grand/Detail

good luck & i'm looking forward to see which guitar 'chooses you'

[Glen]

hi Glen.
good to see you here
WELCOME !i'm glad that you're in a position to be able to  choose between 2 really nice guitars -
i would definitely recommend that any suggestions or input received be taken 'with a grain of salt',
as you are the one making the investment &, ultimately, will be the owner & player of the guitar

i agree with the suggestions that give consideration the guitar that feels most comfortable to you -
i've seen times where one is trying to find a guitar a new home because as good as the guitar sounds, there was
a concern with playing comfort & it was only feasible to play for short periods of time & then having to stop

the overall body taper, the contour of the waist & lower bout & the medium strings that the GS comes set up with
can be enough to where i've seen 'die-hard' GA fans give it that 'old college try' for a good period of time (2 + years),
only to return to the GA & alhough there may have been a slight difference in tone, the GA felt like 'an old pair of jeans'

i also agree with the suggestions that give consideration the guitar that sounds better -
if the GS sounds better to you & it is comfortable to play (not just the action & 'set-up'),
then the LTD sounds like a 'no-brainer', imho - AA koa, Gotohs, bone nut & saddle

imho, the price should not be significantly higher than the 2012 k24ce, but my guess is
that it is due to 'adjusted market value', as the LTDs have been out for a few months now

for me, koa is one of those woods to where it can be mesmerizingly beautiful -
here's a link to pics of a 2004 k14ce L7, which aesthetically was the 'pinnacle'
of the all of the Koa LTD models to me, but i'm partial to ab edging/MOP inlays
http://www.tfoa.eu/the_store/index.php?target=products&product_id=34165

koa can  also be 'hit-or-miss' in terms of tone, with no direct correlation to its appearance -
i have owned several GS models in the past, along with several koa GAs, which i enjoyed
very much, but for me it was a question of finances that forced me to choose which ones went -
the one that stayed was a 97 414K & in terms of its tone & playability, i have yet to find one that
'speaks' to me as much, read grabs me by the ear & yells 'open the car door, i'm going home with you'


if the GS model has the tone that you prefer & you're comfortable the GS body, great
if the GA model 'feels like home' & the tone makes you want to pick it up & play it, teriffic

this will likely not be of any additional help, but nevertheless
i was just wondering if you had happened to see this one
http://www.leitzmusic.com/servlet/the-1223/Taylor-Custom-Shop-Grand/Detail

good luck & i'm looking forward to see which guitar 'chooses you'

There are some really insightful comments in this thread and this post is no exception. Thanks. I have owned a few GS and I always never get quite comfortable. Sonically I think the GS is a cut above on most series. I like the flexibility of Med and Light string options, but in the end I like GA's. Funny, I don't mind the size of a Martin Dreadnaught. Maybe it's because to get that classic Martin tone, the Dread body goes hand and hand and you just accept it.  The Taylor Koa Fall 2011's seem to be the hottest Ltd by Taylor in a long time.  I considered a BTO built like the Fall LTD GA and List Price was over $9,000 with AA Koa, Edgeburst, Vine Inlay, ect, ect.. Anyway thank you for your input...Hope to have photo's on Wed or Thur this week.

[markallen]

Hi Glen,

I have both the GA Fall limited and a GS6. Tone qualities aside (since it's not a fair comparison as the woods/size are different) after playing both body shapes I personally like the GA size the best. I'm a big guy to begin with at 6'2" 240# and find the GS just a bit too big to comfortable play for any extended period of time. I'm sure if it were all I had I would become accustomed to it, but given the choice, I reach for the GA size.

Cheers,
Mark

[Glen]

Bump with new photo's! Thanks to all.

[Steve]

Bump with new photo's! Thanks to all.

That guitar is stunning.

Enjoy it, and congrats...

[Strumming Fool]

Bump with new photo's! Thanks to all.

Good for you Glen! You were able to get a beautiful Fall Limited and in a GA body - I'm envious! Enjoy your new baby and congrats!

[Glen]

Thanks SF.... I have bought many new guitars...This is the first one I sent out baby pictures of.

[michaelw]

so ...
the answer was part of one & part of the other
'none-of-the-above' & sort of 'both'

congrats Glen
i'm glad that guitar was able to find you

thanks for sharing the pics 
just beautiful

play on

[jjrpilot-admin]

so ...
the answer was part of one & part of the other
'none-of-the-above' & sort of 'both'

congrats Glen
i'm glad that guitar was able to find you

thanks for sharing the pics 
just beautiful

play on

Haha I was thinking the same thing.  Glen you got the best of both worlds with that new Taylor!  She's beauuuutiful!  I'd love to hear sound clips....................?   

[Glen]

so ...
the answer was part of one & part of the other
'none-of-the-above' & sort of 'both'

congrats Glen
i'm glad that guitar was able to find you

thanks for sharing the pics 
just beautiful

play on

Haha I was thinking the same thing.  Glen you got the best of both worlds with that new Taylor!  She's beauuuutiful!  I'd love to hear sound clips....................?   

Yeah, every squirrel finds a nut! LOL   Last minute I found one of the last GA's at a dealer and he was great to deal with. Deal was done in about an hour and guitar was on it's way.  On a side note, I am shocked at the tone of this guitar (in a good way) as it is nothing like what I read about Koa.  It is actually warm and has more mid range and some nice bassy overtones. Oddly enough, I think my 814CE was a little brighter. Not as loud as a 814/714. To all of you who have not seen one in person, they are much nicer looking than the pics.



edited to reposition Glen's post

[seahitch]

The GA is a delight to play.  I've had mine since the end of December and have found the guitar is hard to put down.  It did take a little getting used to, as I thought perhaps that I had a little buzz on the first and second strings.   Turns out it was just the regular vibrancy of how I was playing these strings.  I go from  my Martin DCPA1 to the Fall Limited  GA KOA and thoroughly enjoy the difference between the two.  Playing the same song on each requires some thought as to the chords and tuning to be used.  I want to get used to the TAylor and how I prefer playing it before I plug it in a lot, and that will be interesting over the next few months.  Obviously I think you made an excellent choice.

[ggj]

OMG!  That is a stunner!

[Cindy]

Beautiful guitar!!! And I guess you saved yourself a little bit of money, too! Congratulations Glen.

[michaelw]

The GA is a delight to play.  I've had mine since the end of December and have found the guitar is hard to put down.  It did take a little getting used to, as I thought perhaps that I had a little buzz on the first and second strings.   Turns out it was just the regular vibrancy of how I was playing these strings.  I go from  my Martin DCPA1 to the Fall Limited  GA KOA and thoroughly enjoy the difference between the two.  Playing the same song on each requires some thought as to the chords and tuning to be used.  I want to get used to the TAylor and how I prefer playing it before I plug it in a lot, and that will be interesting over the next few months.  Obviously I think you made an excellent choice.

hi seahitch,
good to see you here
WELCOME !congrats on the GA Koa LTD as well & it sounds like
it will be quite complementary to your martin DCPA1 ... very nice

looking forward to hearing more from you -
enjoy the place & please make yourself comfortable