Members undergrad Posted January 29, 2006 Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 So I saw that the Takamine AN10 was on sale for $500 and picked one up. All solid wood guitar made in Japan. A deal, I thought... This guitar has no bass! Very nice mid-high range though. I wonder if this is a characteristic of cedar topped guitars or the D'addario EXP strings. Or if I still need to break this guitar in more or I just got a bad one. I confirmed my suspician when I took it to a Guitar Center. The tone was comparable to just about the $500 guitars. Although, they did had a Taylor 110 for $450 there, which sounding better IMHO. What do you guys think? Give it some time and hope the sound opens up or return it promptly because I got a bad one? I don't have any experience with Cedar guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cldplytkmn Posted January 29, 2006 Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 i've got one... like mine... good bass response for me with Martin SPs... use medium strings, by the way. the cedar will open up and improve quicker than spruce... i'd say mess with the strings and just keep playing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pipedwho Posted January 29, 2006 Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 I was playing a Tak AN10 the other day and the one thing that I noted was that it had excellent bass. I was seriously considering a TAN15C (cedar top, rosewood b/s). So I hunted around for a music store with one. I found an AEN15C (close enough), but when I played it - lifeless, dead, in fact I think it was sucking energy out of the air into some kind of one way vortex. As you could imagine I was not impressed. I went to another shop and found the above AN10 and was surprised at it's clarity and bass. Since that experience I've learned that a guitar must be played before purchasing. This applies to ALL brands (incl. Martin, Taylor, Collings, etc). BTW, the above AEN15C did sound good for fingerpicking, it just wasn't as good for strumming as that particular AN10. Maybe it needed time to 'open up'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted January 29, 2006 Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 It sounds like you should take the guitar in for a setup and try medium strings. I don't know how consistent Taks are but I've also played a cedar top EAN-15C that had a pretty sweet voice, though it certainly didn't have the bass of a Martin. It certainly beat the low end of a Taylor 214 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members undergrad Posted January 29, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 What would contribute to the lack of bass in my guitar? Too heavy binding from the factory? I must say, it's built really well. No glue to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pipedwho Posted January 29, 2006 Members Share Posted January 29, 2006 Originally posted by undergrad What would contribute to the lack of bass in my guitar? Too heavy binding from the factory? I must say, it's built really well. No glue to be seen. It could be the room that you're playing it in. My guitars sound more full when played in a more reverberant small room. Try playing in a different environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cldplytkmn Posted January 30, 2006 Members Share Posted January 30, 2006 Originally posted by undergrad What would contribute to the lack of bass in my guitar? Too heavy binding from the factory? I must say, it's built really well. No glue to be seen. thin strings, thin picks, yes, an overbuilt guitar as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldblueguitar Posted January 20, 2021 Members Share Posted January 20, 2021 Old post....old comment. Bought an AN10 in 2002 paid £600. Over the next few years nearly sold it several times..it just didn't quite cut it. But since 2015 or so it has sounded amazing, better than my Breedlove J20 or Matin D-28. It has aged perfectly and is my main go to acoustic. Patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted January 23, 2021 Members Share Posted January 23, 2021 I'm sure it either opened up or was sold LONG ago. This thread is 15 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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