Taylor Guitars

Started by Darrell111, August 18, 2006, 03:57:48 PM

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curiosity is maiming me (not killing me).
why did you take you new Larrivee into Guitar Center?

Quote from: flaggerphil on August 31, 2006, 03:35:38 AM
Why do so many people think Taylors are over priced? 
a side-by-side, feature-for-feature comparison will show you. example: put a new D03 up against a new 310. pretty much the same features, except one attempts to glamorize mahogany by calling it sapele. last time i checked there was about a $400 difference in price. that is a good reason why ppl think they are overpriced. that is just one example.

Quote from: Calvin on August 31, 2006, 12:26:25 PM
I dont think they are overprice per se.  But I do know that for 2500-3000, I'll go buy a less adorned Bourgeois or Collings.  Which I will go out on a limb to say, are BETTER GUITARS, with HIGHER RESALE VALUE, and with MORE COLLECTABILITY.  Finally you just feel better, because eventhough it hardly matters, the thought of master luthiers actually working on your guitars using SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, makes me feel like I am getting a deal!!!  And psychology is important.

Are Taylors overpriced? that's for the market to decide.  Frankly, I couldn't careless, because at their prices I wouldn't buy one (at least new, although I would like a used 512c at some point).  Not because I couldn't afford one, but because the alternatives are so much better, as long as you are actually aware of what's available in the market.

In your opinion, you mean.
Phil

"History is something that never happened, written by someone who wasn't there."

R. Taylor Style 1 WR
Taylor T5-C Cocobolo
Taylor GS Custom
Taylor PG-LTD
Taylor 600-SPEC
Taylor 510-LTD
Taylor 510 Cocobolo
Taylor 412-M

Quote from: Darrell111 on August 31, 2006, 05:22:17 PM
Ha no sir not buyers remorse at all :D

I am VERY happy with my Larry. 

Let me give you an example of what im talking about.  Taylor having the name that they do are able to sell their 110 for around 600 bucks.  Good sir, have you seen one up close?  Have you seen the build quality and the cost saving techniques they put into that thing?  NO back bracing, just a molded back to name one thing.  Im sorry to say but ill be you the cost to manufacture that guitar is much much much MUCH less then what the sell it for. 

I'm very happy with my two, also.  I also own a 110.  If you're paying that price you've posted for a 110, you're not doing a very good job of shopping around.  Mine (which is a newer one) cost me much, much less...in a mom and pop store.  Build quality if just fine.  The back is the way it is because it's a laminate guitar.  A great starter Taylor...IF YOU LIKE TAYLORS.  I don't think Larrivee makes a comparable guitar, does it?  If you DON'T like Taylors, then you buy something else.  Which is why there are so many different guitar manufactures.

BTW, Matthew Larrivee said he's really kind of tired of people who say this guitar is BETTER because of the way it's built, or this guitar is JUNK because of the way the neck is attached, etc.  He says they're all good in their own way, they're all built the way they are because that's how you get your signature sound, each is different from the other, and they're that way because certain people want certain things.  That's why they do things the "Larrivee way", and Taylor does things the "Taylor way", and Martin does things the "Martin way"...etc, etc, etc.
Phil

"History is something that never happened, written by someone who wasn't there."

R. Taylor Style 1 WR
Taylor T5-C Cocobolo
Taylor GS Custom
Taylor PG-LTD
Taylor 600-SPEC
Taylor 510-LTD
Taylor 510 Cocobolo
Taylor 412-M

Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2006, 07:35:51 PM
curiosity is maiming me (not killing me).
why did you take you new Larrivee into Guitar Center?

A tech i know does contract work for guitar center.  He had me meet him at one in Dallas so i could hand over my guitar to him for him to set it up.  He does not have a shop.  I was walking around outside with it waiting on him because i didnt think they would want me in the store with it.  So he gets there ask me to bring it in and he knew most the guitar guys there so we took it in the acoustic room and went to work :)

Quote from: flaggerphil on August 31, 2006, 10:06:40 PM
I'm very happy with my two, also.  I also own a 110.  If you're paying that price you've posted for a 110, you're not doing a very good job of shopping around.  Mine (which is a newer one) cost me much, much less...in a mom and pop store.  Build quality if just fine.  The back is the way it is because it's a laminate guitar.  A great starter Taylor...IF YOU LIKE TAYLORS.  I don't think Larrivee makes a comparable guitar, does it?  If you DON'T like Taylors, then you buy something else.  Which is why there are so many different guitar manufactures.

I just pulled that price off a couple websites..  I do like Taylor btw and just to make another point.. Taylor is great at marketing. They have name recognition and people obviously buy them in great quantity. :)  Im really not trying to hate on Taylor though it does sound that way  :nanadance

Quote
BTW, Matthew Larrivee said he's really kind of tired of people who say this guitar is BETTER because of the way it's built, or this guitar is JUNK because of the way the neck is attached, etc.  He says they're all good in their own way, they're all built the way they are because that's how you get your signature sound, each is different from the other, and they're that way because certain people want certain things.  That's why they do things the "Larrivee way", and Taylor does things the "Taylor way", and Martin does things the "Martin way"...etc, etc, etc.

Agreed,  TO ea his/her own and thats what its really all about right :)

Quote from: the_sound_of_acoustic_soul on August 31, 2006, 08:25:03 PM
a side-by-side, feature-for-feature comparison will show you. example: put a new D03 up against a new 310. pretty much the same features, except one attempts to glamorize mahogany by calling it sapele. last time i checked there was about a $400 difference in price. that is a good reason why ppl think they are overpriced. that is just one example.

Ok...a D-03 compares to a 210, NOT a 310.  A D-03 is all satin, made of spruce and mahogany.  A 210 is all satin, made of spruce and sapele (which is the correct name), which sounds much like mahogany and is much more plentiful.  The prices are similar.  A 310 has a gloss spruce top, satin back and sides and, these days, is made of African mahogany (don't know it's scientific name...it's a different wood than American mahogany and sapele), sounds like mahogany (a tad brighter, perhaps) and is more plentiful than American mahogany.  It has more features than a D-03 and costs about $200 more in almost any store I've seen.  That's $200 more than the best internet price I've ever seen for a D-03, btw.

I've owned a 310, a D-03 and my son owns a 210, just so you know where I'm coming from.

All are good guitars.  The 310/210 and D-03 have totally different sounds, due to body shape and the way they're braced.  But you have to compare the D-03 with a 210, not a 310.

Next example?
Phil

"History is something that never happened, written by someone who wasn't there."

R. Taylor Style 1 WR
Taylor T5-C Cocobolo
Taylor GS Custom
Taylor PG-LTD
Taylor 600-SPEC
Taylor 510-LTD
Taylor 510 Cocobolo
Taylor 412-M

Quote from: Darrell111 on August 31, 2006, 10:14:57 PM


Agreed,  TO ea his/her own and thats what its really all about right :)

Yup!   :thumb
Phil

"History is something that never happened, written by someone who wasn't there."

R. Taylor Style 1 WR
Taylor T5-C Cocobolo
Taylor GS Custom
Taylor PG-LTD
Taylor 600-SPEC
Taylor 510-LTD
Taylor 510 Cocobolo
Taylor 412-M

Not sure why you'd compare an 03 to a 210. In some ways it's better than the 310 (wood binding, "real" mahogany). The only thing I could think of where you could consider the 310 nicer is the gloss top, if you like that sort of thing. Personally I like my guitars to be all one way or the other.

A 714 is $700 list more than an L-09 that is roughly equivalent. But you can get the 714 in spruce or cedar. Try that with a Larrivee. :D

But you're absolutely right that they don't sound the same, and that's what one should really be buying for, right? After all, I want a mahogany Collings OM. Its price compared to an OM-05 makes it a total rip-off, right??  :wub:


for years the 310 was the standard, starting model from taylor, making it comparible to the D03 from larrivee, its standard, starting model. the only feature that taylor has that larrivee does not is the shiny top (forgot that).  point being, that taylors 310 is basically larrivees D03. the D03 kills the 310 in price.

really, who cares anyway?

at the end of the day, it all comes down to what guitar you like. if youre cool paying more for the same feature.....because thats what you like.....then go for it. if value is something important to you.....then choose on that basis....and enjoy your guitar.

Yes, to each his or her own...

I used to own a Taylor;-)
#113
2004 Larrivee Parlor BW
2003 Larrivee L-03 BW
2002 Larrivee D-03 BW x 2

What it comes down to is that Taylors and Larrivees are different, and people buy them because they have what they want.  Some, like myself, buy both.  People can say that Taylors are over priced if they want...but I haven't found that to be the case for the most part.  It depends on the model and what you want on it...and what you're looking for in a guitar.  That's why I have both.  That's why I'd pay a premium price for an R. Taylor (which I'm looking at very closely), or a Webber, which I own, but I wouldn't for a Collings or a Huss & Dalton.  I would not pay a premium price for a Taylor PS model.  Nor would I pay a premium for a Larrivee vine model.

But one is not better than the other...they are different and that's as it should be.  Otherwise we'd all have the same guitar.
Phil

"History is something that never happened, written by someone who wasn't there."

R. Taylor Style 1 WR
Taylor T5-C Cocobolo
Taylor GS Custom
Taylor PG-LTD
Taylor 600-SPEC
Taylor 510-LTD
Taylor 510 Cocobolo
Taylor 412-M

Quote from: the_sound_of_acoustic_soul on August 31, 2006, 08:25:03 PM
a side-by-side, feature-for-feature comparison will show you. example: put a new D03 up against a new 310. pretty much the same features, except one attempts to glamorize mahogany by calling it sapele. last time i checked there was about a $400 difference in price. that is a good reason why ppl think they are overpriced. that is just one example.
I don't think anyone is attempting to glamorize mahogany by calling it sapele. They are actually unique species, with different specific gravities originating on different continents. Mahogany comes from Honduras and surrounding area of Central and South America.
Sapele (sometimes referred to as "African Mahogany") comes from the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. As Mahogany becomes increasingly scarce, luthiers are substituting sapele because of its similar appearance and properties.

I certainly do not wish to offend anyone with this post but this is my opinion. I have played countless taylors from the baby up to the 914 presentantion. I think that they play great and sound nice. They are extremely thin and lightly braced and that scares me. I also could never pay more than 500 dollars for a guitar that has a separate piece of wood as the headstock. My Larrivee o-01 mh cost me $250.00 back in 2001 and it has a one piece neck. a 914 better have one if i am going to pay over 3k for it (my opinion). heck, even my strat and my backpacker have one piece necks. It just seems to me like putting a vega motor in a jaguar. tacky and cheap. again, just my opinion.
Larrivee O-01MH 2000
Larrivee P-09 EIR 2006
Larrivee P-09 BZ 2006
Martin Backpacker 2003

i see your point on the two pc neck/headstock thing. fwiw, taylor did put out a pretty nice video showing the strength of the fingerjoint. it was actually pretty cool and very interesting. taylor makes a pretty convincing case that its jointed wood is actually stronger than solid. i think the jury is still out, but it was/is a very cool....and bold....concept.

ive also heard that argument about taylors being thin. ive never measured their woods compared to other brands, but i cant imagine a taylor NOT holding up for a lifetime. well, maybe not their new firewood series guitars (100 and 200), but the other ones do seem pretty solid.....at least to me. i still theyre overpriced though.

Quote from: the_sound_of_acoustic_soul on September 01, 2006, 11:15:21 PM
i see your point on the two pc neck/headstock thing. fwiw, taylor did put out a pretty nice video showing the strength of the fingerjoint. it was actually pretty cool and very interesting. taylor makes a pretty convincing case that its jointed wood is actually stronger than solid. i think the jury is still out, but it was/is a very cool....and bold....concept.

+1 on the 2-piece neck/head joint. I have a 1999 812ce which is one piece, but I have become a believer in the 2-piece, and I played a 514ce this week and we could barely find the finger joint in this neck, it was so well done. every decade or so major changes come through and we always have the Luddites who want 'em the old way. All the new ideas are not good ones just as all the old traditional concepts are not above reproach. I would like to think I will embrace the ones that make sense. (and hey; I'm an old guy.)

Quote from: the_sound_of_acoustic_soul on September 01, 2006, 11:15:21 PM
i see your point on the two pc neck/headstock thing. fwiw, taylor did put out a pretty nice video showing the strength of the fingerjoint. it was actually pretty cool and very interesting. taylor makes a pretty convincing case that its jointed wood is actually stronger than solid. i think the jury is still out, but it was/is a very cool....and bold....concept.

Taylor has a great marketing machine :rolleyes:, I have that video, not impressed.

I was not impressed when they pulled their support of the old Taylor forum because people on the forum started complaining about their highly touted ES pick-up system. Instead of addressing the problems of ES they disallowed the use of their name on the forum... :<>

JMO based on my observations.
#113
2004 Larrivee Parlor BW
2003 Larrivee L-03 BW
2002 Larrivee D-03 BW x 2

Quote from: flaggerphil on August 31, 2006, 10:16:53 PM
Ok...a D-03 compares to a 210, NOT a 310.  A D-03 is all satin, made of spruce and mahogany.  A 210 is all satin, made of spruce and sapele (which is the correct name), which sounds much like mahogany and is much more plentiful.  The prices are similar.  A 310 has a gloss spruce top, satin back and sides and, these days, is made of African mahogany (don't know it's scientific name...it's a different wood than American mahogany and sapele), sounds like mahogany (a tad brighter, perhaps) and is more plentiful than American mahogany.  It has more features than a D-03 and costs about $200 more in almost any store I've seen.  That's $200 more than the best internet price I've ever seen for a D-03, btw.

I've owned a 310, a D-03 and my son owns a 210, just so you know where I'm coming from.

All are good guitars.  The 310/210 and D-03 have totally different sounds, due to body shape and the way they're braced.  But you have to compare the D-03 with a 210, not a 310.

Next example?

African Mahoagany and sapele are the same wood.  Not sure what you're talking about.

Breedlove SD-25 Custom
1973  Martin Sigma DM-5

Quote from: roknroll on September 02, 2006, 11:53:38 AM
African Mahoagany and sapele are the same wood.  Not sure what you're talking about.
that is correct, sir.

(not to be confused with "mahogany")


Sapele - Botanical Name: Entandrophragma Cylindricum
Sapele or otherwise known as African Mahogany is a reddish-brown wood that in many ways is very similar to Mahogany.

Mahogany- Botanical Name: Swietenia Macrophylla

Sapele is an african mahogany, but african mahogany is not necessarily sapele. The african mahogany mentioned is probably khaya.

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