Takamine EG523SC

[caseykey118]

this thing looks BEAUTIFUL...... but has anyone ever played one?? if so how do they play and or sound?? they've had good reviews on musiciansfriend but so does everything it seems. Would it be a good recording guitar for strumming/fingerpicking john mayer type playing??

[Michael Martin]

My experience with G series Taks is that they are pretty decent sounding and well-made. But having bought a few acoustics, I say the absolute best thing to do is play before you decide.

[rockfan]

Takamines are great guitars.

As stated, play before you pay.

[guit30]

I have heard one, a guy at church plays a natural one, it sounds great

Jim

[carguy]

Never palyed the eg523sc, but I'd really like to have one. I think they are great looking guitars.

 

I have an eg530ssc, which is an E series dreadnaught with solid spruce top, sapele (mahogany) back and sides with electronics like the 523 Jumbo.

 

I really like mine. Has great tone, plugged or unplugged, easy to play, and looks great, just not quite as fancy as the jumbo.

[DonK]

One thing about Takamine, they really need to come up with a new description scheme for their guitars. I mean, EG523SC, EAN70CE...cripes, what does that tell you? They sound like vacuum tube numbers, as in, "I've got a Takamine 60W LightSabre amp. It's uses a pair of EG5223SC's in the pre-amp section and six EAN70CE's in the power amp." Sheesh.

[kwakatak]

Look at it this way, Martin can't sue Takamine for ripping off their model names, even if for a number of years they ripped off their designs.

 

There seems to be a little confusion about the structure of their nomenclature, so here's an example:

 

The EG523SC is an electric acoustic with a solid top and a cutaway:

"E" - is the electric option

"S" - denotes that the top is solid wood (and it's implied that therefore the back/sides are laminated)

"C" - means it has a cutaway.

 

The real problem with this nomenclature is that there is no distinction with regards to body type. All you really know is that it's a guitar from their "G" series, not that it's a jumbo with (laminated) flamed maple back/sides.

[DonK]

 

Originally posted by kwakatak Look at it this way, Martin can't sue Takamine for ripping off their model names, even if for a number of years they ripped off their designs. There seems to be a little confusion about the structure of their nomenclature, so here's an example: The EG523SC is an electric acoustic with a solid top and a cutaway: "E" - is the electric option "S" - denotes that the top is solid wood (and it's implied that therefore the back/sides are laminated) "C" - means it has a cutaway. The real problem with this nomenclature is that there is no distinction with regards to body type. All you really know is that it's a guitar from their "G" series, not that it's a jumbo with (laminated) flamed maple back/sides.

 

 

Neil, interesting and informative, but...serious question: how do they designate an all-solid wood guitar? I'm curious.

[kwakatak]

 

Originally posted by DonK Neil, interesting and informative, but...serious question: how do they designate an all-solid wood guitar? I'm curious.

 

 

Ya gotta read between the lines. If you see "solid spruce" for the top material but just plain old "flamed maple" for the back & sides then there's clearly a difference in makeup. I've come to realize with Takamine that if it doesn't say "solid wood" then it's a laminate.

 

http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=741&sid=69

 

Plus owning a Takamine and seeing it come apart gave me a better understanding of what the guitar is actually made of. For example, my Takamine is model F-360, but there's also a F-360S. The only difference is that the "S" has a solid top. I also know by looking at the rim of the soundhole that there is a clear demarkation between the laminated layers. When my guitar's neck joint began to fail it also came apart and exposed the cross-section of the back which clearly showed that the rosewood was just a thin veneer laminated to a light-colored central layer.

 

Price also plays a factor. Most of the G series guitars come in under $1000 US.

Takamine G Series description

 

At the same time there are the Natural (cedar/mahogany) and Supernatural (cedar/rosewood) series which are more expensive and if you look closely at the specs they have solid cedar tops and solid mahogany or rosewood backs. The sides don't mention anything about being solid wood so I can only assume that they're laminated too.

 

Takamine Natural series description Takamine Supernatural series description

 

The next step up are the Nashville series which claim to have selected tonewoods for the top/back/side and do use the word "solid" to describe the side materials.

Takamine Nashville series description

[dadgad7]

I'm very familiar with Tak's.

 

And 'Kwak' is spot on baby !!

 

He is correct in that I think Tak is just a tad misleading when it comes to designating solid or laminate .

 

Trust me, if it doesn't say 'solid-wood' in Tak description on their

website, then it is laminate !! no exceptions !!

 

all that being said, I'm not as against lam sides/back as i used to be, largely because of Takamine.

 

their guitars play as good as any out there. better than most,

they have great playable necks!

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by dadgad7 I'm very familiar with Tak's. And 'Kwak' is spot on baby !! He is correct in that I think Tak is just a tad misleading when it comes to designating solid or laminate . Trust me, if it doesn't say 'solid-wood' in Tak description on their website, then it is laminate !! no exceptions !! all that being said, I'm not as against lam sides/back as i used to be, largely because of Takamine. their guitars play as good as any out there. better than most, they have great playable necks!

 

You got it, man!

 

Despite a lifetime of hard knocks I'd still put the quality of my 30+ year-old Takamine against any of these newer "budget-minded" guitars ($500 or less price range).