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Imagine that, a new guitar thread where I not only actually have the guitar in my possession, but that is written after I've had to spend some time with the guitar and gather some thoughts. And here you'd thought they'd gone by the way of the dodo.
The guitar is a Taylor GC7. It's got Taylor's small grand concert sized body and a 24.75" scale neck. The neck is mahogany, the back and sides are rosewood, and the top is western red cedar.
Aesthetically, I'm a big fan of the subdued look of this guitar. I also think the slotted peghead looks rad. It's pretty basic, but I think that adds to its attractiveness. I'm not a huge fan of lots of inlays or crazy flamed wood. It does a good job of looking utilitarian, yet still beautiful. I was a little surprised at how light the top is, however. I almost thought they mistakenly put a piece of spruce on it, but the grain looks like cedar. My GS8's spruce top is actually a bit darker than this one, though it is older and the finish has yellowed a bit.
As for playability, it was a bit weird initially to play an acoustic with a shorter scale neck, but I've grown to love it. Finger picking is a breeze on this thing. The smaller body also makes it much more comfortable to play while lounging on the couch. And as per usual, Taylor's satin finish necks feel fantastic. But playability is nothing if it doesn't sound good, right?
Taylor states that their small-body GC sized guitars have a "volume that belies their size." I'm not sure I would quite go that far. While I don't find the guitar to be lacking in volume, it is noticeably quieter than my GS8. Admittedly, I haven't played a ton of small-bodied acoustics and this one might be considerably louder than most.
If this guitar is any indication of how rosewood/cedar guitars sound, consider me a fan. It is very warm and its tonal spectrum pretty full. I've played other small-bodied guitars that have sounded boxy and flat, but this thing just sounds very full, though this is not to be confused with sounding big or loud.
The guitar really sings when finger picked or strummed with one's fingers. You definitely can strum it with a pick, and it does sound good, but that's best left to bigger bodied guitars, if you ask me. This guitar becomes overwhelmed when strummed hard; it's just not what it is designed to do. But use this thing as intended? Hot damn. It just sounds like an awesome, old, broken-in guitar. I really love my GS8, but if I had to choose one, it'd be the GC.
Full disclosure, I've always been a big Taylor fan, but recently I've become a big fan of their "Acoustic __ (insert number)" series of guitars. I think they are great players/lookers, and you get rid of a lot of the fluff that does nothing for playability or sound. I think they are a great value comparatively. They're not the normal Taylor you think of, but they are total sleepers.
And just because I think the back on this guitar looks great, here's one more shot:
The guitar is a Taylor GC7. It's got Taylor's small grand concert sized body and a 24.75" scale neck. The neck is mahogany, the back and sides are rosewood, and the top is western red cedar.
Aesthetically, I'm a big fan of the subdued look of this guitar. I also think the slotted peghead looks rad. It's pretty basic, but I think that adds to its attractiveness. I'm not a huge fan of lots of inlays or crazy flamed wood. It does a good job of looking utilitarian, yet still beautiful. I was a little surprised at how light the top is, however. I almost thought they mistakenly put a piece of spruce on it, but the grain looks like cedar. My GS8's spruce top is actually a bit darker than this one, though it is older and the finish has yellowed a bit.
As for playability, it was a bit weird initially to play an acoustic with a shorter scale neck, but I've grown to love it. Finger picking is a breeze on this thing. The smaller body also makes it much more comfortable to play while lounging on the couch. And as per usual, Taylor's satin finish necks feel fantastic. But playability is nothing if it doesn't sound good, right?
Taylor states that their small-body GC sized guitars have a "volume that belies their size." I'm not sure I would quite go that far. While I don't find the guitar to be lacking in volume, it is noticeably quieter than my GS8. Admittedly, I haven't played a ton of small-bodied acoustics and this one might be considerably louder than most.
If this guitar is any indication of how rosewood/cedar guitars sound, consider me a fan. It is very warm and its tonal spectrum pretty full. I've played other small-bodied guitars that have sounded boxy and flat, but this thing just sounds very full, though this is not to be confused with sounding big or loud.
The guitar really sings when finger picked or strummed with one's fingers. You definitely can strum it with a pick, and it does sound good, but that's best left to bigger bodied guitars, if you ask me. This guitar becomes overwhelmed when strummed hard; it's just not what it is designed to do. But use this thing as intended? Hot damn. It just sounds like an awesome, old, broken-in guitar. I really love my GS8, but if I had to choose one, it'd be the GC.
Full disclosure, I've always been a big Taylor fan, but recently I've become a big fan of their "Acoustic __ (insert number)" series of guitars. I think they are great players/lookers, and you get rid of a lot of the fluff that does nothing for playability or sound. I think they are a great value comparatively. They're not the normal Taylor you think of, but they are total sleepers.
And just because I think the back on this guitar looks great, here's one more shot:
(modern metalcore)
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