Discounts off MAP

[docedkin]

My son is a developing lead player in a local cover band. He has an electric and wants to add a Tak EAN10C. . . for a Christmas present. The best internet sites list this model for $849 and that is also the price at the local GC. When I bought a Martin for myself, I discovered that many dealers will come off the MAP resulting in a final price around 40% off list. Is this true for models like the Tak EAN10C? If so, anyone have a good store to shop for a better price on that model? And. . .does anyone know this guitar? Is he making a good choice for this sort of guitar in this price range?

 

Wayne Edkin

Central, NY

[DonK]

The EAN 10C lists for $1,495, so at $895 you're paying just a hair under 60% of list.

 

So far as I know, Tak doesn't enforce MAP rules on its guitars, so the $895 you're seeing isn't a MAP.

 

I had a Takamine EAN 70C and thought it was a very good guitar, though ultimately not to my taste. One question I would ask is how your son settled on the EAN 10C. Did he play a friend's or something?

 

There are a couple of things about the EAN line that would make me question whether it's the ideal choice for a gigging guitarist:

 

- It's a dread, but it's got a cedar top. Cedar has a warmer sound than the spruce tops found on most dreadnoughts, and is more often used on smaller guitars designed for fingerstyle. That's not to say it's not suitable for a dread; just that it isn't associated with the sound most people look for in a dread.

 

- Cedar is a softer wood than spruce, and is apt to dent and ding more easily, a lot more easily (spruce is one of the strongest woods there is in strength to weight ratio).

 

- The tops on the EAN models are satin finished. A satin finish can tend to be noisy as you pick or strum and brush your hand or arm against it. This was a drawback for me. Depending on your son's picking/strumming style, it may or may not be an issue.

 

- The EAN doesn't come with a pickguard, which tends to exacerbate both the noise issue (from the satin finish) and the susceptibility to denting/dinging (even from picking). You can easily add one though, so it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

In short, the EAN 10C is a somewhat unconventional dread in a number of ways. If your son has played one and fallen in love with it, then by all means go with it. It's a well-made, good-sounding and playing guitar. If he's only seen it in a catalog or advertisement, he might want to consider some of the above factors to make sure it's what he really wants.

[totamus]

DOn pretty well summed it up. On pricing, I have found you can negotiate the price with pretty much any store, regardless of how much of a discount is already reflected in the price. A rule of thumb is to get at least 10% off. For the record, there are times when a dealer just wont budge.

 

I am also not a Tak fan and a cedar topped dreadnought would not be my first choice either. You would be surprised how much more durable a spruce top is. It is also much crisper/brighter in tone. Don says the Cedar is "warmer", I would say that it is "duller".

[kwakatak]

I've played a couple and liked them, but as the others have said they're "unconventional" and a bit pricey in comparison to some other similarly-appointed models from other makers.

 

If he wants a cedar top he could probably save you a lot of money and look at a Seagull S6:

http://www.seagullguitars.com/productoriginal.htm

 

IIRC Breedlove Atlas also makes a cedar-topped concert model:

http://www.breedloveguitars.com/instruments/guitars/atlas/ac250_cr/index.php

 

Takamine also makes a less-expensve cedar topped dread that comes sans electronics and cutaway:

http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=757&sid=524

[guitarist21]

Not long ago I was in the acoustic guitar market and I considered buying an EAN-series Takamine. I liked the guitar and thought it was well-made overall with a unique tone because of the larger size of the guitar paired with the cedar top. (A fairly unusual pairing, as others have said. Spruce is more common but not necessarily "better"- its personal preference.) I ended up going with an Epiphone Masterbilt, which in my opinion is cheaper but of equal or near-equal build quality.

 

 

If your son has played one and fallen in love with it, then by all means go with it.

 

 

I agree with what everyone has said but especially this little nugget. It sounds to me like your son has been playing guitar for a while and has probably developed some opinions of his own when it comes to guitars.

 

I started playing guitar very young. By the time I was 12 or so, I had formed opinions on what kind of guitar I liked and generally stopped asking for them for Christmas because I knew that if I picked out the guitar, it would have the features that I thought I needed. My parents recognized this and didn't surprise me with guitars. If they wanted to give me a big gift like that, they'd give me a gift certificate (which is how I ended up with my electric guitar amp).

 

For me personally, there are better choices out there for $850. However for your son there might not be. If you plan on spending the money, I would either get him the Tak or perhaps a gift certificate to your local guitar dealer.

 

Ellen

[DeepEnd]

+1 to what Guitarist21 said. I'd look at Epiphone Masterbilts, Guild GAD's, the Taylor 210, the Breedlove Atlas models and maybe the upper end of the Ibanez Artwood line. All nice guitars for $700-900 and all with spruce tops.