Taylor vs Martin vs Breedlove

[quackystrat]

 

I really want to get a higher end acoustic, maybe a middle class acoustic. As of right now i have 2 low ends, one Takamine, and one Washburn

 

the Taylor im looking at is a 214CE come with a gig bag, but i always liked the sound and feel of Taylors

 

Martin im looking at a gpcpa4, comes with a case, solid back and sides looks nice, but im not so sure about Martins. never really felt one i cared for as much.

 

and next its the Breedlove, there are 2 im looking into, both nearly the same but woods are different, the C350/CME which is Solid Ceder top and Mahogany back and sides. has a player sound hole on the side, and comes with a hard case.

 

Breedlove #2 is the C350/CRe which is solid ceder top and Rosewood back and sides, same everything else as the other Breedlove, these also have a tuner on the electronics. also i love the feel of Breedloves and they usually sound great.

 

with the payment plans these mostly are around $100, the taylor would be the cheapest at $84 while the Martin is the most at $116

 

[Opa John]

You realize, of course, that any suggestions you'd get here would merely be what WE would like; not necessaritly something that would work for you. That's something you have to decide for yourself.

You've already said you've never picked up a Martin that you care for. Well.....that's fine, but Martin makes some of the best guitars I've ever played.

On the other hand, I don't care for the Taylor sound. Great guitars, but they just don't do anything for me.

The two Breedloves you mentioned both have cedar tops. If you play with picks, a cedar top is going to show a lot of pick marks and wear in a short period of time.

I think you'd get some better advice if you told us what type of music you intend to play on this new acoustic you want to get and a little information about your style of playing......finger style, bare finger strumming, flat picking, etc.?

At the price point you're talking about, there's a whole bunch of guitar brands to choose from. I'd spend some time in a guitar store that carries a lot of different brands. You may find something else that's not even on your current list of candidates.

Take your time......get the one that really speaks to you.

[quackystrat]

 

ok well, I play blues and classic rock, and play at my church.

 

i am trying to work on fingerpicking but most of the time i use a pick, the same as my electrics (jazz III)

 

I do realize that im asking for your opinion, but im doing this because i dont have the ability to go to a guitar store and play one, im in the military and stationed in germany. not many guitar stored around here.

 

my understanding was that this series from Martin was made to directly compete with Taylor in the sound. its was more the sound of Martins that i didnt care for, however it might have been the ones i picked up, as after listening to samples of this model on youtube, i think it sounds very good.

[FretFiend.]

You asked for opinions. That's license to give you opinions.

A cedar topped guitar is not a great guitar for flatpicking. The top overloads easily when played hard, and the sound turns to mush. Not so good for blues or classic rock. And I'm not a big fan of Breedloves anyway.

The standard Martins are among the finest sounding production acoustic guitars in the world. Note I said the standard Martins. Nothing else from Nazereth really measures up to the offerings from several other makers.

Taylors are not really my cup of tea. I just don't like the way they sound, but then, I don't play blues or classic rock. That said, they are arguably the most well designed and well built guitars out there, and they have a formidably loyal following among those who play blues and classic rock.

You do the math.

[Tony Burns]

 

IMO ( in my opnion ) the Taylor is low end and you mentioned you want something thats higher end -

and your not crazy about some Martins . OK

your in europe , and your looking for a great guitar thats affordable -im not a Taylor person , but their a great guitar for the right person .

 

 i would skip over the 100 and 200 series Taylors -basically their starter to intermediate grade .

and skip a few steps on the ladder -maybe a 500 series used . Breedloves have never made my clock tick -Thou they are respected on this forum .

their a horse of a different color -thou they may be the sound thats right for you .

My best advice is not to buy a guitar you cannot get your hands on -ordering any guitar sign unseen can easily lead to disapointment . The fun is in the searching -

 

[kwakatak]

+1 to what Tony said. I'm not up on Breedloves lately but back when I tried the lower end ones out they were of part-laminate construction and had that internal JLD truss that really affected the weight and tone of the guitar. Lighter is better.

Also, that Taylor model is also a laminate and a bit on the heavy side. I'd at least audition a 314.

No comment on that model Martin. I'm not a fan of the Taylor copycat thing they're doing with that model. If you want a Martin, you buy it for tone first and comfort second. If you can handle a dread without shoulder stiffness look at the MMV model from Guitar Center/Musician's Friend. If you gravitate toward smaller guitars, the MMV also comes in a 000 body size, which is slightly smaller than an auditorium size.

Somebody also mentioned Larrivee. I've also had one (a rosewood/sitka all-solid OM-03R) and it cured my GAS for Taylors, of which the 414CE had me GASsing mightily. If you can, seek them out and try the L in any tonewood combination. They are very versatile and dependable, high quality guitars.

[DeepEnd]

 

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FretFiend. wrote:

 

 

. . . A cedar topped guitar is not a great guitar for flatpicking. The top overloads easily when played hard, and the sound turns to mush. Not so good for blues or classic rock. And I'm not a big fan of Breedloves anyway. . . .

 

I'm a fan of Breedloves but I have to agree with FretFiend on this one. Breedloves tend to compress when played hard anyway due to the JLD bracing system. Adding a cedar top will only compound the issue. Eastman is considered a decent bang for the buck guitar. You'll definitely get more for a given price than with a US made guitar.

[liko]

Above $1k, you'll find a lot of very well-made guitars, each with subtly different designs, bracing and wood choice. Each individual guitar will have subtle tone differences due to the characteristics of the specific slices of wood used to make it.

It will come down, as always, to the guitar that looks, feels and sounds best to you. You may take down a $2k Martin D-28 and think it sounds like it's stuffed full of socks, then try a $1300 Taylor 310 and be in heaven. Or conversely you may think the Taylor sounds like a banjo and the Martin's the perfect guitar.

If you have your eye on a 214, I won't try to dissuade you; the guys in Tecate definitely know how to build a guitar, as evidenced by my own 114 which you probably couldn't get me to sell for double the purchase price. The 2-series does have laminate back and sides, but a solid Spruce top, and the ES-T system on the 214ce is the best-sounding piezo I know of.

The GPCPA4 is a good guitar, comparable in many ways to the Taylor 314 which on paper is a step up from the Tecate Taylors. Martin ripped off the "Grand Performer" body shape from Taylor's GA style (a little bigger and deeper than a 000/GC), same basic woods (spruce/sapele, all-solid), but they used a phenolic material instead of real ebony for the fretboard (Taylor still uses ebony for all its fretboards, though at this pricepoint you won't get A-grade solid black ebony). I think they skimped on the electronics; the Fishman F1 is nothing to write home about, even with the built-in tuner. I prefer the MIM Taylors' ES-T piezo system.

Whatever you get, also invest in a hardshell case. This is not only to protect your investment from physical damage, but also to maintain proper humidity. Solid-top guitars typically need to be kept at between 40-50% relative humidity, otherwise the top will swell or shrink, affecting playability, tone and in extreme cases the top can crack. A hygrometer and a soundhole humidifer will be money well spent along these lines as well.