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Hi everyone!

I know most of you prefer steel strings through and through; but I was wondering whether any of you have tried the new range of nylon guitars that Taylor is producing. I haven't seen them here in Syndey yet, but I thought those of you in the US at least might have seen them and given them a work out. I presume they are available now of course.

I understand they have changed the bracing and made the sound board a little thinner to give them more projection and resonance. I presume their 14-fret to the body design is still a factor in them being quieter than traditional classical guitars. But I'm interested to know whether you can tell the difference between the new and old models.

Has anyone played them? How do they compare to the previous models? How do they compare to a standard classical?

Thanks.

Shel

Hi Michele,

Interesting that you ask for that as I just tried one today. I am in Paris France and did not have anything to do ( keep in mind that I have been here more than 20 times, so I have seen most of what is to be seen) so I was looking for a guitar store. I found one in Domon. about 20 miles north of where I am. I am looking for a new guitar as I am starting to find my yamaha ap900 to be a little thin compare to what I hear on the site and on youtube.

Anyway the sales guy to whom I said what I was willing to pay, point me to the Taylor 214 (steel strings) He was saying that they were redesigned and that the back side was curved which allow them to remove the bottom braces increasing the volume for a thinner guitar: very nice sound. So I tell him that i migth be looking alternatilvely for a nylon string guitar because I would like to explore bossa nova. So he says that Taylor has a very similar model made for nylon string. It is like the twin of the 214. They both have a cutaway. The feeling was great, the neck is only slightly wider than a steel string guitar. I would say that, without playing both classical and this model to compare on the spot, the volume is definitely lower than a classical guitar which is normally thicker body and no cutaway. I did really enjoy the sound the bass notes.

I am not a guitar tech so I do not ask for the important questions so I do not have any other details than I liked it.

Are you considering adding another model to your collection?

Marc

Hi Marc,

That's a nice coincidence indeed. if in Paris with time to burn what else WOULD you do beside go to a music store. It's only logical. I've only been twice and then only for a couple of days each time. ... I didn't really play guitar at those times.

I've been wanting to add a nylon hybrid to my collection for a loooooong time. I'm sure lots of you are sick of hearing about my GAS/hybrid-lust. Originally it was Jason Mraz that gave me a yearning to own a Taylor nylon, now of course it's Ness flaunting it in front of me with many of her weekly lessons. She makes it sound SO good.

I've been looking for a hybrid because I'd like a cutaway and the 14-frets to the body arrangement. I often have to capo up songs I want to play to suit my voice. On my classical is can mean that I'm trying to play on the body itself. I guess I should just persist and learn the proper technique, but.... Well I haven't. I'd like a slightly thinner neck too to make it easier when I want to do the thumb wrap and make some stretches a little easier too.

I'm also after a pick up so I can record directly into computer, rather than having to fuss about getting the mic in the right position. The mic'd sound is never as good as it should be. I guess I should learn how to mic better at some stage.

Of course, I have all of those features in my steel-string Larrivee. But, I really prefer playing the nylon strings, for many songs. I really love the sound and the playing feel.

I've played the Taylor 214, 312 and 314 in the nylon range (the range before the latest redesign). I really like the feel. The neck is comfortable and not too narrow; the cutaway makes it SO much nicer to reach the higher frets. The size feels nice in both models. I've been having trouble comparing the sound. Each time I've picked them up (often at lunch time during my working week), the store has been full and noisy and it's been really hard to hear the guitar very well.

I've been trying to score a good and cheap second hand one on EBay. I've seen a couple of 214CE-Ns and one 314CE-N, but they've all been too far away from me to play them. The cheapest I've seen is still waaaaaaaay too expensive for me to take the gamble that it might be in poor condition (a twisted neck or worse). I still live in hope that a good one will come up close to me at a good price.

With the end of financial year coming up, I expect my local store may drop the price of the ones I've been playing. I imagine they may drop the price when the new models come in too. So I'm sort of hoping that the new models DON'T blow me away too much compared to the old ones.

I've tried other hybrids. I haven't fallen in love yet, which is probably a good thing for my limited budget. in truth I couldn't afford the ones that might have been fantastic.
I've checked out Doug's hybrid reviews which were interesting.

Marc, Thanks for sharing your experience with me. It's great to get your feedback. I'm really looking forward to test-driving one of the new Taylor nylon models. If you check out more nylons, I'd love to hear what you think and what you end up getting.

Shel

You might want to look at the new Cordoba guitars, they have incredible hybrids ( nylon strings ). I got a cordoba C12 which i absolutely fell in love with ( that's a classical guitar though), but i had the chance to test other models in Guitar Salon in L.A. And they are AMAZING guitars for the price. Definitely worth trying them !

Thanks very much for the suggestion Patrice. I appreciate it.