Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

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Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Greg H. » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:34 am

I was surfing the web and I found a thread on a different forum that was discussing preferences between Martins and Taylor guitars, so I decided to bring it here.
Personally I haven't had much experience with either, I know someone with a Martin and I love playing it when I have the chance, and I've played Taylor guitars a little bit more but not by much. Both had a great sound to them. Any thoughts?
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby clinton » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:47 am

Ever acoustic guitar is unique in a sense and sometimes you can find a gem in a name brand you wouldn't expect to find quality in (I have a Fender that just sings). With that said, I find Taylors to be quite bland. They always sound great and look good too, but I don't find them inspiring at all.

Side note: watch out for those Expression Systems in Taylors, they're famous for just going to shit at the most inconvenient times.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby dylanger » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:42 pm

I have a Martin and I'm liking it more and more each day. Its hard to compare sometimes. I find Taylors are very consistent with each model, the difference between two 314ce isn't very much, I've played several D28's before and they have similarities but each have a lot of individual character. I also find that Taylors sound very good right from the factory and with age get a bit better but not like a Martin or Gibson.

I'm not huge on the Expression system from Taylor, it's acceptable but not amazing. A brand that a lot of people over look because they make ATV's and Boat Motors is Yamaha, I received a Yamaha LLX16BS a couple weeks ago and I couldn't believe how nice the guitar was, especially the electronics, I plugged into a Fishman Loud Box Mini and my initial thoughts were where is the condenser Mic. The LL series is the hand made yamaha guitars and I sold that guitar within 3 days so I got the Boss to order a couple more :) Even there beginner guitars are great, There around the 150 mark and have lifetime warrantee and they sound great.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Alain Benoit » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:52 pm

Yamaha as a brand is never to be discounted in my opinion, they have in the past and will continue to make some great gear.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Malcolm Boyce » Fri Jun 03, 2011 12:19 am

Alain Benoit wrote:Yamaha as a brand is never to be discounted in my opinion, they have in the past and will continue to make some great gear.
Love the sound of many Yamaha acoustics over the years. They are overlooked in many circles.

From a sound perspective, I love the Expression System. A lot of folks don't get into them because they expect what a "pickup" should sound like, and to me the Taylors are a totally different beast. The most wonderfully present low end, while being stable at high monitoring volume. I just recently discovered that many great direct acoustic sounds for me have been Expression Taylors, and I made the connection that was what I was liking.

Most of the more complicated electronics setups that I've heard with "pickup" and condenser mic combinations and a balance of some sort have usually left me wondering why. I usually suggest going with just one and making it work, often just the "pickup".

As I've said before, for something that should be easy by now, there are so many terrible acoustic electronics out there.

Clinton, what specifically have you seen go wrong with the Taylor electronics? Just curious because I'm seeing a lot of them these days.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Alain Benoit » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:37 am

Malcolm Boyce wrote:
Alain Benoit wrote:Yamaha as a brand is never to be discounted in my opinion, they have in the past and will continue to make some great gear.
Love the sound of many Yamaha acoustics over the years. They are overlooked in many circles.



I of course wasn't just speaking of acoustics but anything bearing the tri-fork logo.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Alain Benoit » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:39 am

Malcolm Boyce wrote:As I've said before, for something that should be easy by now, there are so many terrible acoustic electronics out there.



Most of them, and I've seen a couple, are a massed produced third party supplied after-thought to a massed produced value guitar.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Mathieu Benoit » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:45 am

Malcolm Boyce wrote:
Alain Benoit wrote:From a sound perspective, I love the Expression System. A lot of folks don't get into them because they expect what a "pickup" should sound like, and to me the Taylors are a totally different beast. The most wonderfully present low end, while being stable at high monitoring volume. I just recently discovered that many great direct acoustic sounds for me have been Expression Taylors, and I made the connection that was what I was liking.

I've seen a lot of them be extrememely noisy... To the point where I wouldn't even use it for scratch tracks. When they work, they are great.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby clinton » Fri Jun 03, 2011 11:01 am

They're famous for just plum dying in the middle of a gig. They're also noted for inconsistency like Matt was saying. I don't have any hands on experience with them because I had said in my earlier post, I don't really find Taylors to be very inspiring and consequently, don't have one.

Nothing against them, I think they're great guitars, I just prefer some more personality in my instruments.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Mathieu Benoit » Fri Jun 03, 2011 11:35 am

I have to agree with Clinton. I normally don't like most Taylors except for the GS-8 I saw at Morris Music. That is a sweet guitar.

It's all contextual though. It's like saying that I like Yamaha drums better than Pearl or Sonor. They all make great drums, good drums, okay drums and crappy drums. It depends on your budget. Saying that a particluar brand is better than another only applies when one brand specifically makes budget minded stuff only. Like in drums, I can say that I'll take a Pearl kit over a Westbury kit. However if we were talking about a Pearl Forum series then the differences are more subtle.

my $0.02
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby macrae11 » Fri Jun 03, 2011 4:52 pm

I don't have much more to say than what's already been said, but I'll chime in with a few things.

For Taylors, I have to agree with Clinton, and seemingly the general consensus that Taylors are a bit bland particularly the dreadnoughts. But therefore also very safe, and will work in just about any situation. They're also extremely consistent, due to some of their patented construction techniques, and are the only acoustic guitar that I would ever order online, without playing it. Their smaller body models I find much more interesting (although I usually prefer smaller body guitars anyways). The -12 and -14 body size guitars can really sing with some of my favorites being the 514, and the 612, and the GS series. Those models seem to have a little something special about them. I'm like Malcolm, I really enjoy the sound of the ES, much more than just about any other pick ups I've ever heard. It's the only studio acoustic that I've ever plugged in that actually got used in the final mix. I've never had any reliability issues with them, but have certainly heard the horror stories from a few players. Another thing that may cause issue is that the ES system is balanced and virtually all guitar gear is unbalanced, which throws a wrench in things that is often overlooked.

For Martins, there are a few that I have loved, and a number that I haven't been so crazy about. One big issue that I have with Martins is their consistency is just about at the other end of the spectrum from Taylors. Can't confirm if it's true or not, or if the situation has improved in recent years, but here's an explanation I got from a Martin rep several years ago. Basically when the big acoustic guitar boom of the 90's happened, Martin didn't have enough wood keep up with demand and had to start using younger wood, which was not as dry. I forget what the drying times were, but I believe it went from somewhere around 10 years, to 3 years. So the higher moisture content wood with increased production led to less stability and therefore poorer consistency. Again can't say this is the gospel truth, just what I was told, but it does mirror my experience. Also with Martins, there are some large differences in models that seem like they should be very similar. For example a (middle of the road) HD28 will sound quite different than a (middle of the road) HD-28V. Personally some of my favorite Martins are the D-18, OM-28, and 000-18.

Both company's also make very nice budget guitars as well, that are made in other plants, but have some of the best value in their price range.

Personally if I had to pick one of the two.... I would probably buy a LariveƩ.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby Alain Benoit » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:19 pm

Thanks Andrew, I actually took the time to read all that and found it informative.
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Re: Taylor vs. Martin vs. ?

Postby macrae11 » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:33 pm

Anytime.
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