I thought the 800 series was my favorite.....
Jun 14, 2016 16:39:11 GMT -5
CTGull, ancient1, and 1 more like this
Post by RockyMtnGull on Jun 14, 2016 16:39:11 GMT -5
I had a less than positive and productive morning at work so I decided to head to my local shop for some lunch time guitar therapy to soothe my psyche plus I needed to get a couple of .009 G octave strings for my 12 string.
I wandered the acoustic room a bit, noticed they had moved a bunch around since my last visit; it looked like they were preparing for a Martin promotion as it was front and center and the Taylors they usually had in that position were moved off to a side. I was just looking at the guitars, nothing really grabbing my attention. I was looking for a Seagull Maritime SWS MJ (in regards to the AGC thread about the deal from GC and MF and the discontinuation of that particular model) but they didn't have one. There was a Concert Hall S6 in burnt umber so I gave it a try. It did nothing for me, sounding pretty thin to my ears. I put it back and took down a Maritime folk. I'm not folk size fan for my particular needs but this little guitar knocked the sound socks off of the S6 Concert Hall I had just tried, confirming my previous experiences with the concert hall shape/size. But I digress as this is the Taylor sub board.
I walked over to look at the Taylors and there were some 100 series and 200 series but the nut width on those is not to my liking. They had some new 300 series edge burst finish and mahogany models and a couple of 400's but I wasn't feeling like playing anything. I turned to leave when out of the corner of my eye I see a fairly large size Taylor tucked up in the corner. I could tell by the appointments that it was an 800 series and it's one of the new 818e grand orchestra size guitars. Well this I have to try! (Full disclosure....I have longed for/lusted for/coveted a rosewood guitar since I tried a 2013 456ce-FLTD guitar and when I finally had the money to buy it, it was no longer available and it still haunts me to this day.) I strummed a few chords and a smile came across my face as the bass resonated against my chest and the rest of tonal spectrum was clear as a bell from my playing position. Just wow. I put it back and took down the 816ce that was in front of it. Again a smile came to my face as I strummed some chords, not as bassy as the 818 but a more refined bass with a nice scoop through middle and just the right amount treble. The longing/lusting/coveting was coming on strong now. I put that one back and took down an 810 dreadnought and strummed again, and again the smile came to my face due to the rosewood tone. I put that one back and to keep my longing/lusting/coveting in check I looked at the price tags of each. Yeah, that'll bring you back to reality in a hurry, especially in Canada where due to the exchange rate the purchase price is probably going to be close to Taylor's MSRP on their website, so unless I win a lottery an 800 is not in my future.
So with my therapy session coming to a close I turned to leave but as I did another guitar caught my eye. I looked at the tag and it was a 526ce, all mahogany grand symphony. It looked gorgeous and I had to give it a try. Admittedly I'm not a fan of all mahogany guitars, or at least the ones I have tried (Seagull and Martin and dreadnought) so I wasn't expecting much. I started strumming the same songs I tried on the 800's I had tried and I couldn't believe my ears! This guitar sounded fantastic, fairly close to the 816 I tried but the midrange wasn't as scooped and the tonal spectrum evened out somewhat but was still quite clear. It was definitely an ear-opening experience and the longing/lusting/coveting was starting up again, but it was once again quickly subdued due to the price.
I know Taylor has been re-voicing their guitars and the 800's are fantastic, the 600's in maple are really good too, but this particular 526 was incredible to my ears. This guitar may be the new haunting of my guitar dreams.
I left the store with my psyche soothed, a couple of .009 strings that set me back about $2.50 and a new guitar to long for/lust for/covet.
And I guess you can tell by the length of this post I didn't have a very productive afternoon either, but that's what tomorrow is for.......
I wandered the acoustic room a bit, noticed they had moved a bunch around since my last visit; it looked like they were preparing for a Martin promotion as it was front and center and the Taylors they usually had in that position were moved off to a side. I was just looking at the guitars, nothing really grabbing my attention. I was looking for a Seagull Maritime SWS MJ (in regards to the AGC thread about the deal from GC and MF and the discontinuation of that particular model) but they didn't have one. There was a Concert Hall S6 in burnt umber so I gave it a try. It did nothing for me, sounding pretty thin to my ears. I put it back and took down a Maritime folk. I'm not folk size fan for my particular needs but this little guitar knocked the sound socks off of the S6 Concert Hall I had just tried, confirming my previous experiences with the concert hall shape/size. But I digress as this is the Taylor sub board.
I walked over to look at the Taylors and there were some 100 series and 200 series but the nut width on those is not to my liking. They had some new 300 series edge burst finish and mahogany models and a couple of 400's but I wasn't feeling like playing anything. I turned to leave when out of the corner of my eye I see a fairly large size Taylor tucked up in the corner. I could tell by the appointments that it was an 800 series and it's one of the new 818e grand orchestra size guitars. Well this I have to try! (Full disclosure....I have longed for/lusted for/coveted a rosewood guitar since I tried a 2013 456ce-FLTD guitar and when I finally had the money to buy it, it was no longer available and it still haunts me to this day.) I strummed a few chords and a smile came across my face as the bass resonated against my chest and the rest of tonal spectrum was clear as a bell from my playing position. Just wow. I put it back and took down the 816ce that was in front of it. Again a smile came to my face as I strummed some chords, not as bassy as the 818 but a more refined bass with a nice scoop through middle and just the right amount treble. The longing/lusting/coveting was coming on strong now. I put that one back and took down an 810 dreadnought and strummed again, and again the smile came to my face due to the rosewood tone. I put that one back and to keep my longing/lusting/coveting in check I looked at the price tags of each. Yeah, that'll bring you back to reality in a hurry, especially in Canada where due to the exchange rate the purchase price is probably going to be close to Taylor's MSRP on their website, so unless I win a lottery an 800 is not in my future.
So with my therapy session coming to a close I turned to leave but as I did another guitar caught my eye. I looked at the tag and it was a 526ce, all mahogany grand symphony. It looked gorgeous and I had to give it a try. Admittedly I'm not a fan of all mahogany guitars, or at least the ones I have tried (Seagull and Martin and dreadnought) so I wasn't expecting much. I started strumming the same songs I tried on the 800's I had tried and I couldn't believe my ears! This guitar sounded fantastic, fairly close to the 816 I tried but the midrange wasn't as scooped and the tonal spectrum evened out somewhat but was still quite clear. It was definitely an ear-opening experience and the longing/lusting/coveting was starting up again, but it was once again quickly subdued due to the price.
I know Taylor has been re-voicing their guitars and the 800's are fantastic, the 600's in maple are really good too, but this particular 526 was incredible to my ears. This guitar may be the new haunting of my guitar dreams. I left the store with my psyche soothed, a couple of .009 strings that set me back about $2.50 and a new guitar to long for/lust for/covet.
And I guess you can tell by the length of this post I didn't have a very productive afternoon either, but that's what tomorrow is for.......
