[AcousticSmash]

Well I found a nice little acoustic instrument shop here in town that sells Martin's and Taylors at reasonable prices. So I figured come the end of July, I will make a decision as to which one I want because I am doing a few gigs over the summer which will rake in a good 250 bucks plus I am working full time makint 450 bucks a week, so I will be getting something decent. Anyway I was looking at the Martin DX-18 which was only 600 bucks, or the Taylor 314-ce which costs a little more but is very nice. I am still kind of undecided though on the guitar situation, the Taylors have a really nice sound but the Martin plays a little nicer, the neck is a little thinner, although that is kind of a problem as I need a fatter neck to play on.

[adds]

Looking at new instruments i tend to favor Taylor over Martin even with the piece of s*it bolt on necks they use. I think Martins been rideing on the name for all to long now. They aint the comapny they once were. If we was talking vintage id be favoring Martin though. But personly i wouldnt bother buying in that price range. If it was me id sooner save that just bit more and get something a bit nicer even if it meant going second hand which isnt a bad thing provideing its had a good owner.

[ninjato]

Looking at new instruments i tend to favor Taylor over Martin even with the piece of s*it bolt on necks they use. I think Martins been rideing on the name for all to long now. They aint the comapny they once were. If we was talking vintage id be favoring Martin though. But personly i wouldnt bother buying in that price range. If it was me id sooner save that just bit more and get something a bit nicer even if it meant going second hand which isnt a bad thing provideing its had a good owner.

I agree. Martins were the holy grail for a while but then they tried to capture the "cheaper" market and many of their "lower" end models Suck compared to a 400 series Taylor.

Larivee's are great guitars for a little bit less than a Taylor. Breedlove is another great solid all wood acoustic.

I'm heavily biased w/ Taylors though so take what I say w/ a grain of salt.

Keep in mind, all wood/solid wood guitars are priced way higher than a veneered acoustic. When you read the specs, if it doesn't say SOLID before it, it is veneered. Takamine does this a lot. It'll say something like this:

Solid Spruce top
Mahogany back and sides
Solid rosewood fretboard........

Note the [mahogany back and sides] it doesn't say SOLID which means it is veneered although the top is solid wood.

the Taylors have a really nice sound but the Martin plays a little nicer, the neck is a little thinner, although that is kind of a problem as I need a fatter neck to play on.

Fatter or wider neck. Wider is top to bottom and thicker is back to front.

This post has been edited by ninjato: 13 May 2006 - 03:17 PM

[adds]

Martin have never been the holy grail to me dispite what most people say when it comes to vintage instruments id take gibson anyday. For what i like they was always the better guitar. Martin went down hill in my books the minute they stopped scalloping the braces. That said gibson did have there rough years to but at least they are back on track now. Though truth be known both aint as good as they once were. For me now i just wouldnt bother with any of them be it Gibson, Taylor, Martin or otherwise. They could be knocking out guitars so much better than they are. They just dont do things proper. Put your hand inside them and they are rough as f*ck. They only sand the inside to about 120 its discracefull. They just think f*ck it its inside no one sees in there as long as it looks good out side and sells. But it does matter and company with reputation that are at the forefront of the business should know better. Ive played guitars by them and just though god that sounds weak. Then asked how much did you pay for it mate only to hear somthing like 3 grand and i just cant belive it. Im just so glad i know what i know now and dont have to settle for that. If i see a guitar i like and see pertential in it ill steal the design and build it proper.

[AcousticSmash]

Looking at new instruments i tend to favor Taylor over Martin even with the piece of s*it bolt on necks they use. I think Martins been rideing on the name for all to long now. They aint the comapny they once were. If we was talking vintage id be favoring Martin though. But personly i wouldnt bother buying in that price range. If it was me id sooner save that just bit more and get something a bit nicer even if it meant going second hand which isnt a bad thing provideing its had a good owner.

Martin should have stuck with importing their Sigma line of acoustics, as thats what I play now (belongs to my father actually) and it is a great instrument in terms of feel and sound but it needs new frets in places and a new set of tuners, and there is no point in doing all that work when I can buy a low end Taylor cut away or high end Takamine for about 700 dollars here. I am still undecided though as I love the Taylor's but their guitars are rather pricey. Besides its not like I am ever going back to electric any time soon so I might as well get a relatively good acoustic which will last me for quite a while.

[Stratatat]

If you can get a Taylor 314ce for a little bit more than a 600.00 Martin I would hop all over that. Are you sure the Taylor is a ce with a pickup in it? Probably a Fishman pu and not the expression system but still a very good buy. I paid 800.00 for a 314 with no pickup at all in it.

[AcousticSmash]

If you can get a Taylor 314ce for a little bit more than a 600.00 Martin I would hop all over that. Are you sure the Taylor is a ce with a pickup in it? Probably a Fishman pu and not the expression system but still a very good buy. I paid 800.00 for a 314 with no pickup at all in it.

No there is not a pickup in it. However I dont really need one anyway at the moment. Besides its not like I want to spend a boat load on a guitar though cause I am limited as to how much I can spend. I know I want a Taylor cutaway model, and the ones I have played are all around 700 dollars or so before taxes, however I wont be buying one for a few months since I have to wait until I have finished playing all the gigs and saved up a bundle of money for school.

[Stratatat]

I did just find a ce on ebay for about the price you were talking about. http://search.ebay.c...le=taylor+314ce It still has 2 days in the auction though and no doubt will go higher. I still say get the Taylor even though it has no pickup and the price is right.

[ninjato]

I did just find a ce on ebay for about the price you were talking about. http://search.ebay.c...le=taylor+314ce It still has 2 days in the auction though and no doubt will go higher. I still say get the Taylor even though it has no pickup and the price is right.

Price point is irrelevant at this point really. There are tons of manufacturers out there building good guitars. Some are well known brands and some obscure. I have seen and played real nice $5000+ acoustic guitars at a shop here in Philly that no Taylor could even hold a candle to, but alas, I settled on Taylors as my choice for acoustics like I settled on Gibsons for my electrics. It's a personal preference thing. I try other guitars but my ears and hands take me back to Taylors and Gibsons.

I believe since 2003, Taylor started putting their ES system on everything as opposed to the Fishman preamps. My only Taylor w/ the Fishman preamp is my 2001 710CE. Fishman's are nice, but I like the newer ES.

Taylors are consistent. You know what you are getting and it's gonna sound good. If you can, go with a Taylor.

[AcousticSmash]

Looking at new instruments i tend to favor Taylor over Martin even with the piece of s*it bolt on necks they use. I think Martins been rideing on the name for all to long now. They aint the comapny they once were. If we was talking vintage id be favoring Martin though. But personly i wouldnt bother buying in that price range. If it was me id sooner save that just bit more and get something a bit nicer even if it meant going second hand which isnt a bad thing provideing its had a good owner.

I agree. Martins were the holy grail for a while but then they tried to capture the "cheaper" market and many of their "lower" end models Suck compared to a 400 series Taylor.

Larivee's are great guitars for a little bit less than a Taylor. Breedlove is another great solid all wood acoustic.

I'm heavily biased w/ Taylors though so take what I say w/ a grain of salt.

Keep in mind, all wood/solid wood guitars are priced way higher than a veneered acoustic. When you read the specs, if it doesn't say SOLID before it, it is veneered. Takamine does this a lot. It'll say something like this:

Solid Spruce top
Mahogany back and sides
Solid rosewood fretboard........

Note the [mahogany back and sides] it doesn't say SOLID which means it is veneered although the top is solid wood.

the Taylors have a really nice sound but the Martin plays a little nicer, the neck is a little thinner, although that is kind of a problem as I need a fatter neck to play on.

Fatter or wider neck. Wider is top to bottom and thicker is back to front.

Well I have problems with having a vulcan death grip on my acoustic necks because of one, the wood is solid mohogany and still as a rail not to mention its not thick enough for me to be able to fret comfortably without having to apply a lot of pressure with my thumb, having a neck that is thicker up and down as opposed to width would make playing a fair bit easier, as the neck is not very wide at all either. The 314ce that I was looking at, or something else in that range that is cut away style from Taylor has the kind of neck that I want.

[adds]

Just to futher my point ive just set up a Taylor 955 that was bought to me today. Ive no idea what these retail at but id say its quite a good one as its all solid rosewood. The bloke must have parted with a few quid. It looks very nice with all the inlay ect but they havent given it the same attention inside. Its rough as a badgers arse. Quite discracefull really. The woods are also too thick and its sound is nothing to write home about. Its good for an off the rack guitar sure but it still sounds weak in my opinion. A few little changes and it could be twice the guitar it is.

[AcousticSmash]

Just to futher my point ive just set up a Taylor 955 that was bought to me today. Ive no idea what these retail at but id say its quite a good one as its all solid rosewood. The bloke must have parted with a few quid. It looks very nice with all the inlay ect but they havent given it the same attention inside. Its rough as a badgers arse. Quite discracefull really. The woods are also too thick and its sound is nothing to write home about. Its good for an off the rack guitar sure but it still sounds weak in my opinion. A few little changes and it could be twice the guitar it is.

That guitar would probably go for a MSRP of about 4000 USD or so.