Members 1001gear Posted July 31, 2018 Members Share Posted July 31, 2018 Thanks to Freeman's link in the bracing thread, I have been introduced to Taylor's Holy Grail. The demos sound extraordinarily sweet and leveled. Taylor claims this is due to the bracing and not any special compensatory intonation. What's the consensus on these guitars? How do they sound plugged in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 31, 2018 Members Share Posted July 31, 2018 It is so new and at present only used on Taylors limited edition and other high end guitars so the chance to actually play one hasn't presented itself. The release articles in Wood and Steel (Taylors quarterly magazine) were pretty woo woo new age - all this happy horse poop about how Andy was inspired by breaking waves when he was out surfing so he went home and made a guitar that has perfect intonation because the notes don't fight each other..... Reviews say they sound like a Taylor - thats a good thing if you want a guitar that sounds like a Taylor. I think that anyone with the 4 or 5K to buy one will be very happy with it. Me? I'll play one when it comes to a store near me but I'm not rushing out looking for one. Your milage will vary, as it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted July 31, 2018 Members Share Posted July 31, 2018 Taylor makes a nice guitar with it own thump print. They sound like Taylors, not Gibsons and Martins, or something else. I'm looking at a few vids now, but I have on a cheaper pair of Sony Headphone. and don' t notice any real difference. Maybe I would if I was right there. It does sound different not better or worse. Might cut down manufacturing time. I did notice a little more upper end crispness. [video=youtube;jS0ZPNb2_NE] I'll watch this one later one [video=youtube;_Hy6dy82l1M] They have been building violins pretty much the same way for 400 years. It's something different, not necessarily better. Wait till they recall the first 100 of them and go from there. If it's good to go in 5 years, I'd look at one. I don't know when they started tone Chamber Les Pauls, but the old one are damn good. On that note my next acoustic will be a 70 plus year old design . ( 000-28) I may head to the Martin factory this fall to pick mine out. No cutaway either. I never made a dime past the 12th fret. More like the 7th fret for me. I'm not even sure I want a pick up in it. I have 2 GS minis and they have no back bracing. I think the folks at Taylor learned something in Mexico. Like time is money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted July 31, 2018 Members Share Posted July 31, 2018 To be honest, the superior intonation part sounds like snake oil. I'd expect a certain amount of intermodulation artifacts but whether they affect intonation is debatable. I'm reminded of something I read years ago when I was into audio gear. A brochure from British amp and speaker manufacturer Mission said a poorly designed amp could affect the perceived tempo of music, making it sound too fast or slow. There was an explanation involving transient response but it sounded like Grade A B.S. It is so new and at present only used on Taylors limited edition and other high end guitars so the chance to actually play one hasn't presented itself. The release articles in Wood and Steel (Taylors quarterly magazine) were pretty woo woo new age - all this happy horse poop about how Andy was inspired by breaking waves when he was out surfing so he went home and made a guitar that has perfect intonation because the notes don't fight each other..... Reviews say they sound like a Taylor - thats a good thing if you want a guitar that sounds like a Taylor. I think that anyone with the 4 or 5K to buy one will be very happy with it. Me? I'll play one when it comes to a store near me but I'm not rushing out looking for one. Your milage will vary, as it should. According to Taylor's web site, there are several models currently available with the new "V Class" bracing, starting with the 314ce, which runs around $2K. No need to part with $4 or 5K. Misha's new 324ce supposedly has it but given the guitar's mahogany/blackwood construction the bracing is undoubtedly only partially responsible for its sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted July 31, 2018 Members Share Posted July 31, 2018 All I've heard from the Taylor fan club is negativity about the change in sound. It seems the collective ear in their midst prefers the Pre-Vee Taylor sound. I see it as yet another Taylor responsible guitar making move. Over umpty-lots of guitars, how much savings will be enjoyed by the company by reducing the material cost of goods sold? Let's just say a lot. Next up? An Ovation-esque cost savings change that moves the sound hole further reducing the need for structural components? Move to sustainable materials? Blow-molded bodies? Robert probably has a few other tricks to share with his fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 [video=youtube;jS0ZPNb2_NE] I definitely preferred the sound of the 2018 model over the 2017 model, at least based on that video. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 1, 2018 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2018 Fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 1, 2018 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2018 The difference is akin to "this year's new generation, improved stage electric piano" compared of course to the last generation ...and as such was readily apparent. Sweet intonation and registration both correlate to this guitar design and I'm guessing, contribute to the plug and playability of this design. Those ultimate stage pianae can also become caricatures of themselves and start to feel lifeless as instruments. Made me wonder if this wasn't a double edged attribute for the Taylor. Even though it is a real and very fine guitar, straying too far from "real" might lose the players. (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 1, 2018 Members Share Posted August 1, 2018 I think there's also a certain amount of "but we've always done it this way" involved. Companies that depart from the tried and true, like Taylor, Breedlove, or Rainsong, face skepticism for their "new fangled" ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted August 4, 2018 Members Share Posted August 4, 2018 The difference is akin to "this year's new generation' date=' improved stage electric piano" compared of course to the last generation ...and as such was readily apparent. Sweet intonation and registration both correlate to this guitar design and I'm guessing, contribute to the plug and playability of this design. Those ultimate stage pianae can also become caricatures of themselves and start to feel lifeless as instruments. Made me wonder if this wasn't a double edged attribute for the Taylor. Even though it is a real and very fine guitar, straying too far from "real" might lose the players. (?) [/quote'] I have owned a few Taylors, nothing super expensive. They are nice. The Rainsongs I have played were meh, but when the world runs out of wood, Rainsong and a few others will be ahead of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I have owned a few Taylors, nothing super expensive. They are nice. The Rainsongs I have played were meh, but when the world runs out of wood, Rainsong and a few others will be ahead of the game. Alternative, eco-friendly materials are definitely going to become more popular in the future IMO, but they still have a ways to go in terms of the way that guitars made from synthetic materials sound - IMHO of course. And don't forget that other woods are still widely available - there's other trees besides mahogany and rosewood that could be used for guitar building... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted August 7, 2018 Members Share Posted August 7, 2018 Alternative, eco-friendly materials are definitely going to become more popular in the future IMO, but they still have a ways to go in terms of the way that guitars made from synthetic materials sound - IMHO of course. And don't forget that other woods are still widely available - there's other trees besides mahogany and rosewood that could be used for guitar building... My step son works for Kaman in VT. Although he is composite manufacturing, he spend much of his time with Chevy and Rolls Royce. I think the hood of the vette are Carbon fiber. It's eco no so friendly for products that have a short life span. Carbon Fiber at this point in time can not be recycled like plastic. They are working on. There a huge musical instrument distribution company. However I don't even think they distribute Ovation guitars any more. They did when the he started. Smart kid, hard work, but he didn't want to finish up his degree when I told him you need to finish up you BS. He does know Carbon Fiber. I thought at one time they did RainSong or CP carbon fiber guitars. They used to manufacture Ovation stuff in Hartford CT. When I was young I tried many, but they tended to roll my belly. There's an old retired gentleman that shows up at the open mics south of here. He had a bunch of carbon fiber guitars. He let me try a few. Well actually he insisted I try a few. I like them, however this old man will stick with my Gibson and Martin stuff. Looks like Richlite is out now. I have no issues with the ES 275 having a Richlite fretboard. So far no issue, it feel like ebony to me. Plus I got the Flame Montreux Burst which is also out of the line up. If I very have and issue with the Richlite, there's a local luthier in town that can do a new ebony fretboard for me. I might play the thing tonight. Nice review on the Warm Audio WA-47 Multipattern Tube Condenser Microphone last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Looks like Richlite is out now. I have no issues with the ES 275 having a Richlite fretboard. So far no issue, it feel like ebony to me. Plus I got the Flame Montreux Burst which is also out of the line up. If I very have and issue with the Richlite, there's a local luthier in town that can do a new ebony fretboard for me. I am kind of embarrassed that I didn't notice right away that it wasn't ebony on the ES-275, but I'm convinced - I would have zero problem owning a guitar with a Richlite fretboard. It looks a lot like ebony, and I can't feel or hear any difference. Nice review on the Warm Audio WA-47 Multipattern Tube Condenser Microphone last month. Thanks - and thanks for checking it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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