Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

[NegativeEase]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Great Choice. congrats.

Additional bonus -the CE body Style's more even sound is more naturally adept for recording sounds than a typical Dreadnaught -which is designed more for volume and lows.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Congrats on the new guitar!

As for strings, try whatever Taylor recommends. I love the tone of phosphor bronze over 80/20, and the larger gauge should get the top moving with a bit more bass.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/strings/best-strings-for-your-taylor-guitar

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

GuitarStv -Elixirs are standard on Taylors

but I'd try the D'adarrio EXP Phosphor Bronze

They don't last as long as Elixirs but I think the sound better.


-also, I think ErnieBall Earthwoods are trash personally

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Good choice Steve. May she give you a lifetime of music.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

GuitarStv -Elixirs are standard on Taylors

but I'd try the D'adarrio EXP Phosphor Bronze

They don't last as long as Elixirs but I think the sound better.


-also, I think ErnieBall Earthwoods are trash personally

Unfortunately Dean Markley has discontinued their Alchemy strings . . . which were long lasting, and sounded amazing. I had a stockpile of about 20 packs from when I heard they were discontinuing that are now, sadly, all gone.

I've tried EXPs and didn't like them, but think that was the 80/20, not their phosphor bronze. Elixir nanowebs are my go to for electric. I was thinking of giving Martin's lifespan strings a try this time.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Also, you think it's worth getting a humidifier for the guitar? I tend to leave my acoustic out of it's case all year long so it's always at hand to pick up. In the winter we use a whole house humidifier, and in the summer we'll run the A/C when it gets too damp to knock the moisture out of the air. Didn't seem to cause any major problems with my old guitar.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

If it feels good, and sounds good, it is good!

LMAO at your reviews. I was just about to say "D28 Herring Bone"...but yeah $$$$

 

[AniML]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

GuitarStv -Elixirs are standard on Taylors

but I'd try the D'adarrio EXP Phosphor Bronze

They don't last as long as Elixirs but I think the sound better.


-also, I think ErnieBall Earthwoods are trash personally

You bought the Taylor, congrats. Split the difference on strings and put on a set of Martin Lifespan 2.0

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

You bought the Taylor, congrats. Split the difference on strings and put on a set of Martin Lifespan 2.0

I just ordered a three pack, and will give 'em a shot.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Also, you think it's worth getting a humidifier for the guitar? I tend to leave my acoustic out of it's case all year long so it's always at hand to pick up. In the winter we use a whole house humidifier, and in the summer we'll run the A/C when it gets too damp to knock the moisture out of the air. Didn't seem to cause any major problems with my old guitar.

High humidity will never be your problem. What does your whole house humidifier keep the house at in the winter? 45% - 55% is the target, and it looks like Taylor says down to 40% is ok. The laminate back and sides will withstand the low humidity much better than a solid back and sides guitar, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to have some additional humidification in the depths of the Jan/Feb winters.

My favorite acoustic strings for tone are the plain D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings. The longest lasting are Elixir (but they have a weird zing I don’t care for), I use Martin Lifespan Phosphor Bronze for the best compromise.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

There are a few products on the market that will control the humidity. I like and use this one for my Taylor. It has the ability to add or remove humidity.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/DAddar...Planet-Waves-Two-Way-Humidification-System.gc

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

High humidity will never be your problem. What does your whole house humidifier keep the house at in the winter? 45% - 55% is the target, and it looks like Taylor says down to 40% is ok. The laminate back and sides will withstand the low humidity much better than a solid back and sides guitar, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to have some additional humidification in the depths of the Jan/Feb winters.

My favorite acoustic strings for tone are the plain D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings. The longest lasting are Elixir (but they have a weird zing I don’t care for), I use Martin Lifespan Phosphor Bronze for the best compromise.

I usually set the house humidifier to kick on in the winter when it dips below 30%. (We keep the temperature at 17 (62 F) in the day and 15 (59) at night so higher humidity means that the windows all start to drip water and grow mold.) Before we were running the humidifier, in the winter humidity would get very low. Like I would get regular nosebleeds because the air was so dry levels of low . . . probably in the low single digits.

 

[64 Tele]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

I've only had 2 acoustics in nearly 50 years of playing guitar. The first was a used American made
Guild D125 (?) that I bought to have something to play around the house. Kept it a couple years,
then sold to a band mate.
I went looking for another acoustic/electric to have for home recording. I looked hard at Taylor with
the intention of buying a 316CE. I ended up playing a 314CE in a shop and went home with that.
There was a minimal difference in the width of the lower half of the body width.
I have a friend that has a $4000 Gibson J200 that prefers the recorded sound my Taylor has. Another
friend with a Martin (not sure what model) dreadnought that loves my Taylor. I agree that it records
very well, I'm just not what you'd call an acoustic player. But, it's a beautiful guitar and a keeper.

 

[PAPADON]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

Hate to be a party pooper but I've owned and sold both a high end Martin and a High end Taylor and though they were great guitars much like Gibson they're greatness still didn't justify they're over the top prices. In my 50 plus years of playing I never thought I'd say this but I've become convinced that the off shore solid wood offerings from companies like Guild, Blueridge and Eastman to name a few have truly come of age. The specs are there, the quality is there and the tone is there at a fraction of the price. Why would I pay more for the sake of a name on the head stock?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Buying a nice acoustic - Taylor vs. Martin

FWIW, after spending a couple days trying out an awful lot of acoustic guitars, the ones that I personally liked the sound of best and found most comfortable to play were with the Martins and Taylors. I really liked a few of the Larivee gutars too, but they certainly weren't much cheaper. The Epiphone stuff that I tried tended to sound and play better than the Gibson stuff (WTF Gibson?). Some of the Fender acoustics were decent, the Yamaha guitars looked nice but didn't sound as good as they looked. Some of the Takamine guitars were pretty nice as well. Wanted to like Ovations, but they just don't quite sound right acoustically.


All that said, I suspect I'll never own a high end Martin (ridiculous money) or Taylor (ridiculous money and a stupid 1 and 3/4 nut width that I don't get along with). After owning an older guitar that was getting towards needing a neck reset, I really appreciate that Taylor acoustics are built to be very easy to perform a neck reset on.