Hi Gary, My name is Gary, Stratman3 for obivious reasons, I love my Strat, besides acoustic guitar, I love the blues.
DC-16RGTE....stands for: D-Dreadnought, C-Cutaway, 16-Martin 16 series guitar, R-Rosewood, GT-Gloss Top, E-Electronics. They now make the same guitar with Fishman "Aura" electronics, very cool, check it out.
Regarding Martin vs. Taylor, that's a tough one, that's like Ford vs. Chevy, or more like, Mercedes vs. BMW. Then again, more like there is a Fender camp and a Gibson camp.
When I was looking at purchasing my Martin about three or four years ago, I did compare Martins and Taylors. I thought there was NO comparison, Martin had the better sound. much more bottom, full and richer lower tone, I thought the Taylors did not compare, sounded tinny to my ear. Flash forward to about a month ago, I picked up a Taylor Grand Auditorium and I was blown away. What a great guitar. When you get into the $2k-3K range both brands sound excellent. Tough decision.
I did notice on this forum many people have Seagull guitars, thats also a really nice guitar and I believe for less dollars.
Anyway thats my thoughts on the subject. Gary
My Guitar
Hi all, I bought my first guitar in 1979, it's a Penco A12DLX which is a Martin D18 copy. Penco's were made in Japan at the Hoshino factory where Ibenz are made. They were distributed by the Philadelphia Music Co. out of Limerick PA. I wish I could say I had 30yrs of experience but it's back to basics for me...again. I'm hoping to stick with this time. I just bought an Epiphone FT-165 Bard 12 string, I'm guessing circa 1978+-. pictured as my avatar
Gary-Strat, I thought the 16 series was a smaller body size not the dred., I guess I only got part of the story. I have a cheap strat knockoff (Peavy), but it still kicks butt when you plug it in. I put a couple extra springs on the wammy bar to keep it level, I set the pick ups so it sounds pretty good. I would like to own a nice strat old style but when I plug in my electric and put it through a stomp box and turn on one of the wild sounds I turn into Jimi Hendrix w/o the skill, but it screams. Only when the wife is gone, way gone cause it's gonna get loud. So I practice my finger picking and try to get the best out of my all wood Guilds which I mostly play unpluged although they have some awesome electronics, especially my Willy Porter Signature Model. I also have a Tacoma acoustic/elec. w/ cutaway all wood, and a Blueridge Dread w/ cutaway, it really sounds nice but has HPL sides and back & spruce top. I forgot, I was in San Diego last month and went on the Taylor factory tour & played a couple of their display guitars in their soundproof room in the lobby. They were nice. Wish I could have a side by side with the Martin and Taylor. Gary
Strat, how do you compare the Martin VS Taylor for sound and neck and general playability. I've never really played a nice Martin Orchastrea size 000. Ya, I just learned about Willy Porter when I bought the Guild, Contemporary Series, Willy Porter Signature Model. Check out under "Groups" under TG Community, "Guild Contemporary Series" there is a video of Willy playing the Signature Guitar. Gary
Goldleaf,
I believe Martin and Taylor are very comparable, As In said I did not always think that way, but maybe may ear has changed or I just picked up the right Taylor. All Guitars no matter what, are not a like.
I love my Martin but I would strongly consider a Taylor someday, But there are some great guitars out there. Tacoma, Seagull, Blueridge, Breedlove.
As the story always go, you pay for what you get.
I believe Martin and Taylor are very comparable, As In said I did not always think that way, but maybe may ear has changed or I just picked up the right Taylor. All Guitars no matter what, are not a like.
I love my Martin but I would strongly consider a Taylor someday, But there are some great guitars out there. Tacoma, Seagull, Blueridge, Breedlove.
As the story always go, you pay for what you get.
Stratman, I know what you mean, I have a Blueridge BR60ce and it really sounds nice. It is has a little bigger body than my Guilds but I would recommend anyone looking for a nice guitar at a reasonable price check out Blueridge. I also have a Tacoma although I have only played it once before I took it and 2 other guitars into my Luthier to be setup & have the fretboard sealed & whatever else they needed to make them "sing". It was in perfect condition although it looked dried out, probably since it was made in 2005-06 and been setting in a warehouse since then. My luthier polished out a corner of it and said he would send me home with a bottle of oil to polish out the satin finish in 2" circles, or I could pay him 1 1/2 to 2 hours labor to do the same thing. I got the point. I was amazed at how light the guitar felt, It has the orchestra size body w/cutout and e4 electronics. It's been there 3 weeks now I'm kinda anxious to get it back all set up and play it, and polish it too eventually. It's got a brown leather case that looks really sweet. Gary
mickeynj wrote:
Mickey, are you playing your 12 string as your main guitar or your faux Martin?? I hope you stick with playing this time. I know a lot of us let our guitars set for decades, in many occasions, like mine. I was luck when I ran across TG and Neil, TG offers me a easy way to learn a lot of songs that I've always wanted to play. I can tune in anytime I want and Neil's methods make it reasonablly easy to learn songs, although some have some finger picking that is going to keep me busy for quite awhile. GaryHi all, I bought my first guitar in 1979, it's a Penco A12DLX which is a Martin D18 copy. Penco's were made in Japan at the Hoshino factory where Ibenz are made. They were distributed by the Philadelphia Music Co. out of Limerick PA. I wish I could say I had 30yrs of experience but it's back to basics for me...again. I'm hoping to stick with this time. I just bought an Epiphone FT-165 Bard 12 string, I'm guessing circa 1978+-. pictured as my avatar
Goldlief. Yes I have played a Breedove and they also make a nice guitar, I guess depending on the model and of course the price range. If I remember right, the one I played was about $800.00. I am really impressed with the Seagulls. Another guitar I forgot to mention is the Lariviee, Don't think I spelled that right.
I have a question for you, I want to get my Martin set up, but I am really, I mean really, hesitant to bring it to someone to check out. I never had it set up after I bought a few years ago. I know how they set up an electric, In fact, I did my Strat myself, but how and what do they do on an acoustic? I just think the action is a little high at the higher frets. This is a question I was going to put on the forum. Goldlief, or anybody out there?
I have a question for you, I want to get my Martin set up, but I am really, I mean really, hesitant to bring it to someone to check out. I never had it set up after I bought a few years ago. I know how they set up an electric, In fact, I did my Strat myself, but how and what do they do on an acoustic? I just think the action is a little high at the higher frets. This is a question I was going to put on the forum. Goldlief, or anybody out there?