Taylor Grand Auditorium and Martin Grand Performance

[Wayne27]

Do Taylor Grand Auditorium guitars sound similar to Martin’s Grand Performance guitars since they have similar body shape? Also which one is worth getting?

[ArtieToo]

For what it's worth, my Luthier friend does the warranty and setup work for our local Taylor/Martin dealer. He always says he wished Taylor's had Martin's sound, and that Martin's had Taylor's setup.

[Lewguitar]

Either way, you should try before you buy. The sound of acoustic guitars of the same model vary tremendously. Much more so, IMO, than electric guitars of the same model.

Neither the Martin or the Taylor is necessarily better than the other.

It depends on the individual guitar.

I played a Taylor 814C for many years as my #1 acoustic. I used it with a Sunrise soundhole pickup.

Mine was a great guitar but I've played other 814C's that weren't so great.

Same with Martin.

[dzdandcunfsd]

Either way, you should try before you buy. The sound of acoustic guitars of the same model vary tremendously. Much more so, IMO, than electric guitars of the same model.

Neither the Martin or the Taylor is necessarily better than the other.

It depends on the individual guitar.

I played a Taylor 814C for many years as my #1 acoustic. I used it with a Sunrise soundhole pickup.

Mine was a great guitar but I've played other 814C's that weren't so great.

Same with Martin.

Yeah at that price point always try before you buy, and don't look at that name on the headstock..........I've also played some really nice Takamine guitars that I would of rather had over any Taylor or Martin..........but then same model/year/everything try another and it's basically just a too expensive pile of rubbish to burn.

[jeremy]

i have an older taylor 814ce that plays wonderfully and sounds damn good, i have a martin d28 that sounds wonderful and plays pretty good. they sound quite different but are both great guitars. as with most things, go put your hands on em and see what suits your style best.

[PFDarkside]

Just to reiterate, you’ve got to play for yourself. Even if that’s a more “modern” Martin, they’re still built differently than Taylors so they sound and play differently as well.

[Mincer]

On most acoustic guitar forums, there are threads hundreds of pages long on this topic. Two very different guitars, and the companys' philosophies are opposite. Everyone would benefit from 2 hours in a good acoustic guitar shop.