# Taylor guitar playability?



## TaylorGA8

Hey guys,

I wanted to ask your opinions on Taylor guitars playability. I know that the sound quality of guitars can change with the higher quality of woods, but does the playability of the guitar change.

For example, does a Taylor 914ce have the same feel and playability as a big baby or 110?

Thanks


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## guitaristgibson

Almost every guitar has a diffrent playability, rest assured if you buy a guitar play it first. Playability can change due to the humidity and temperature, for example if a guitar is kept in a very low % humidity environment, it will have a very low action but will also buzz and have dead notes, and if kept in a very high % humidity environment it will have a very high action. You also have to look at things such as what wood the fingerboard is made of, but as you said the body wood will mostly affect sound. Other things you will have to look at concerning playability is the thickness and size of the neck and what string guage you use. hope this response helped.

nick


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## Savage

My boss has a lefty Taylor 12-string and loves it ... he is a low-action kinda guy ("just" above fret buzz!! LOL!!) and a recent neck set by local guitar shop put him off his beloved Taylor ... so, getting pissed off, he decided to have a go at the truss rod himself and now he sez the Taylor is set back to the way he bought it in the 1st place ... happy guitar player!

I had a Vantage electro/acoustic that I grew to HATE ... baseball bat strung with barbed wire ... dead weight, dead tone ... yuck!!
Now have a nice Tanglewood TW45 ... light weight, great tone, a delight to play!


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## Starbuck

Well I think by playability you mean the Taylor reknown for ease of use so to speak. They are well known to be easy on the hands. I have two a Big B and a GS, both are wonderful (although very different sounds for obvious reasons) but what initially drew me to purchase the Big as a starter guitar was the lovely action..


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## simescan

I test drove a couple of Taylors the other day, and they had me drooling...
Unfortunately, they're a little above my price range. (still looking for a used one)


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## tomyam

Taylors are usually an easy playing guitar.
I have 412CE. It's great fingerpicking guitar.
You shoud alo consider the scales.
Taylor GC series or X12s have shorter scale (24.7) which gives you more flexibilty on strings than standard 25.5
I have my 412 dropped to DGCFAD and capo on 2fret. It plays just like my electric and sounds fantastic.


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## Mike MacLeod

My experience is that any half decent guitar over $500-$600 can be made to play as well as any $10K guitar. A decent guitar in the hands of a great tech can be made to play as smooth as necessary. Neck profiles are another matter. Some folks are very neck sensitive. I'm not one of them, but I have friends who are. 

I would never make a buying decision based on the "action" of a guitar knowing that the set-up is unlikely to suite me anyway. It really is about the sound of the guitar. 

Buy the best sounding guitar you can afford. (or even that you can't afford!!) 
. Then budget up to $100 for a really really good set-up. It will require some minor attention periodically as humidities change during the seasons. One thing. Try to confirm that there is enough movement in the truss rod to allow for more or less relief in the neck. I once had a guitar delivered that played nicely, but there was no more room in the Truss rod. I returned it.


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## tayloralf

i have owned (and sold) 5 taylors over the years from the 200-series to the 800-series to the T5 and the one consistent thing about them is the incredible playability. True, any guitar can be set up to play well, but build quality is a huge part of the equation: how straight the neck is, does it stay in tune up and down the neck, etc. My experience is that when it comes to build, finish, consistency, Taylors are absolutely top-notch.


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## fretter

own a Taylor ga7 it plays great have tried most Taylors and they all seem to play well ,i really liked the gc7 shorter scale, it was amazing ,the 900 series guitars sound great ,the babies sound ok,all taylors are easy to set up it seems ,all play quite nice.if you like Taylors it seems you can get a good sound in most of their line ,lots of mids and highs if you like that.the higher end ones have a bit more bottom.


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## kazzelectro

You can set up any guitar to play great..but when you talk about quality I disagree that Taylors are quality guitars. How can a 3 piece neck, a bolt-on neck, and a poly plastic finish be consider as quality build on an acoustic guitar. It's basically the same ingredients that you find in inexpensive asian guitars.


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## zeebee

kazzelectro said:


> You can set up any guitar to play great..but when you talk about quality I disagree that Taylors are quality guitars. How can a 3 piece neck, a bolt-on neck, and a poly plastic finish be consider as quality build on an acoustic guitar. It's basically the same ingredients that you find in inexpensive asian guitars.


I agree with you. I can understand why some guitars, particularly small/mid size builder customs, cost what they do. Dovetail joints, individually tuned tops and braces, nitro finishes etc., can involve long hours of true expertise and craftsmanship. Then theres Taylor and the like where the whole guitar build is based on mass production priorities, thats is...get it outta the factory as fast as possible using the most cost/time efficient techniques. The extra profit margin they generate from the streamlined production techniques goes into marketing and flashy brochures. Can't argue with their marketing success but I'll pass on them thanks. Much better sound/quality out there for about the same price.


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## Mike MacLeod

Bob Taylor has gone on record as saying that he does not want a luthier in his operation. He believes that he can build a good guitar using computers and machines and "labour". And, to his credit, he does build a good guitar. I have never played a bad Taylor guitar. 

However, I have never played a great one either. It takes a human being trained for many years using the finest materials to make the great ones. This is something that Bob's system will never produce.

Once you play the Manzers, Laskins, Threets, Thompsons, Beneteaus, Heidens, etc etc etc - (Gee! We're lucky in Canada) you will never go back to factory guitars. Yeah, I know they are expensive. But you only have to have one great guitar. In this country it is not that hard to make a few sacrifices such as food or shelter (especially when the economy recovers) to buy a great guitar.


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## Guest

If a Taylor is not that good, then neither are Martins or Larivees for that matter.
I'll be darned if I ever spend more than $4000 on a piece of wood to play with my no talent hands. That kind of money is already obscene, luthier or not. I've played crappy acoustics. My Taylor is my Cadillac and sounds as good as any acoustic I'll ever need. You can put one of those $40,000 creations in my hands and guess what, same sound, same playing, same hands. I think these things are more like status symbols, Harley Davidsons so to speak.


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## Mike MacLeod

I respectfully disagree. I would point out that any factory made guitar is not going to be as good or as consistent as a bench-made instrument. Let's face it, none of us on this website are going to play as well as a Martin Simpson or Brian Sutton. But that does not mean we can't or shouldn't appreciate a fine instrument. It's about passion. It certainly isn't about rational behaviour. 

A master luthier will not allow anything but his best work out the door. They are intolerant of "tolerances". 

If you want to use a motorcycle analogy, you would be better using something a little less "agricultural than a Harley". Perhaps a Ducati or a BMW might be more appropriate. I don't mean to dump on Harley (I own one) but I also ride a BMW and appreciate each for their respective characters.

Bench made guitars can be had for similar prices to Factory guitars if you look. A new maker, just on his way up, must price his guitars to reflect his status. Finding a new maker just about to "break into" the upper reaches is pretty cool.


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## Oakvillain

Played a Taylor 110 today at GC in Phoenix in a very high humidity room. More humid than normal. Action was OK but I only played the first 9 frets as it was not a cutaway. Regardless, I loved the tone and the feel. I think it's a mahogany guitar isn't it? Played very nice and I think I like them more than Martin now. Hmmm...


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## ronmac

Mike MacLeod said:


> I respectfully disagree. I would point out that any factory made guitar is not going to be as good or as consistent as a bench-made instrument. Let's face it, none of us on this website are going to play as well as a Martin Simpson or Brian Sutton. But that does not mean we can't or shouldn't appreciate a fine instrument. It's about passion. It certainly isn't about rational behaviour.
> 
> A master luthier will not allow anything but his best work out the door. They are intolerant of "tolerances".
> 
> If you want to use a motorcycle analogy, you would be better using something a little less "agricultural than a Harley". Perhaps a Ducati or a BMW might be more appropriate. I don't mean to dump on Harley (I own one) but I also ride a BMW and appreciate each for their respective characters.
> 
> Bench made guitars can be had for similar prices to Factory guitars if you look. A new maker, just on his way up, must price his guitars to reflect his status. Finding a new maker just about to "break into" the upper reaches is pretty cool.


+1

I have been fortunate to pick up some very well built and great sounding guitars from up and coming builders. Each one was cheaper and a much better instrument than they were building for their previous "factory" employers. 

We have so many choices now, at all price points, and there is no reason for anyone to play a crappy guitar.


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## fretter

reakvillian played a martin d-15 ,it has a great mahogany sound ,as its all mahogany lol great bang for the buck too.you should track one down, check it out.


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## fretter

to answer the original questions lol ,the two guitars ,the high taylor and low end taylors played nice ,the sound of the 900 series is a heck of a lot better.the singer jewel plays a 900 series taylor guitar on a bunch of her songs


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## Firestrung

I've gotta say that one of the best things about Taylors is their consistancy from guitar to guitar. They do play very easily to most people, but definitly try a couple to see if they suit your tastes.

I wouldn't be too scared to order one off the net or anything. Other manufacturers might vary a bit more on neck sizes and tone, but I think that Taylors are more consistantly made, due to their use of high-tech machinary and computers.

Good luck!

Ryan


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## kazzelectro

*Consistency*

These there isn't a manufacturer out there that has consistency problems these days. I am constantly on the hunt for guitars and I do the guitar circuit regularly and have found Martin, Gibson, Larrivee..and yes Taylor to be very well made and finished. They all employ similar technique using high tech machinery of one sort or another to ensure near perfection. Consistency is the one area that Taylor fans are quick to brag about...but not much else imo except for a lot of bling bling and a hefty price tag.


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## Wood

I've owned a few Taylors and currently have a 510ce-L9. It's a 2004 limited edition that features a short scale neck. The short scale is incredible for playability. Short scale necks can be ordered for any of their guitars and do come standard on the GC series (with the slot style peghead). They made 4 flavours of the 2004 L9. The 510 and 510ce (cutaway) and the 710 and 710ce (again with cutaway). 5 series denotes mahogany back and sides and rosewood accompanies the 7 series. I personally prefer the mahogany as the notes are more "balanced and precise" without the overtones associated with rosewood. Again IMO


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## libtech

My Taylor that I picked up plays great, even though its only a dn3.


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## libtech

I really like my taylor, I found it wasn't muddy like the larivees that I tried, it has a smooth top great middle and good lows


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