Members gtrwiz Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 I know that there's already a thread for this, but that seems to be based on a biginners needs. I already have a full size acoustic, and I'm looking for something different. It's main use will primarily recording, doubling type stuff. Possibly with high strung tuning. Just looking for ya'lls thoughts on theses two gtrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kkyle Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Played'em side by side. The Martin sounded better to me. Both played suprisingly well. The Martin's gig bag is pretty good, didn't see what the Taylor came in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theflyingeyebal Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Isn't the Taylor a bolt on neck? That doesnt sound appealing at all. Larrivee makes a parlour guitar that is pretty nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtrwiz Posted September 6, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Originally posted by theflyingeyebal Isn't the Taylor a bolt on neck? That doesnt sound appealing at all. Larrivee makes a parlour guitar that is pretty nice too. what's the model called? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 There have been 2 generations of Larriv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members piez Posted September 6, 2005 Members Share Posted September 6, 2005 Before buying you should also consider an Alvarez MSD1 (all Solid)or a Breedlove Passport Atlas. Both are wonderful instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theflyingeyebal Posted September 8, 2005 Members Share Posted September 8, 2005 Originally posted by gtrwiz what's the model called? It might actually just be called Larrivee parlour. Not totally sure. Go to their website. Much better guitar than the Baby Taylor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members woodenwoody Posted September 9, 2005 Members Share Posted September 9, 2005 I personally liked the Baby Taylor (spruce top) better than the Martin. The high frequencies are definitely accentuated (lots of zing) and can cut through the mix. (I would imagine that it would be nice for adding color to a rhythm track). Additionally, I was impressed by the incredible amount of volume produced by this timber tiny tim. However, there's absolutely no low end produced by this guitar and the sound is somewhat 2D. With that said, I like a guitar that has more percussive attributes... something that's great for strumming... something that has nice rhythmic qualities when the strings are raked. Thus, I tend to side with a guitar that is bright and able to cut through the mix than a guitar with a complex sound. My $.02... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UGB Posted September 10, 2005 Members Share Posted September 10, 2005 Side by side I preferred the Taylor and that's what I got. I never see electric players complaining about bolt on necks and they've been using them for over 5 decades. The Martin is all laminate, including the neck, which makes it very neck heavy. The Martin is louder than the Taylor but the Taylor has a more sophisticated tone. However, you're thinking about changing strings gauges so that really throws anyone's review out the window unless they've used that gauge too, and in my experience, I can make the cheapest guitars sound pretty good recording them. I've discovered that within a foot or so and with the tonal range of the mic/s, a laminate guitar can sound quite good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theflyingeyebal Posted September 11, 2005 Members Share Posted September 11, 2005 Originally posted by UGB Side by side I preferred the Taylor and that's what I got. I never see electric players complaining about bolt on necks and they've been using them for over 5 decades. The Martin is all laminate, including the neck, which makes it very neck heavy. The Martin is louder than the Taylor but the Taylor has a more sophisticated tone.However, you're thinking about changing strings gauges so that really throws anyone's review out the window unless they've used that gauge too, and in my experience, I can make the cheapest guitars sound pretty good recording them. I've discovered that within a foot or so and with the tonal range of the mic/s, a laminate guitar can sound quite good. Something about a bolt on acoustic is just wrong. I haven't played the Martin, but I have played the Taylor, the Larrivee, and a Simon and Patrick (which I own). The Taylor seemed very thin, trebley, and toy like. The other two were great sounding guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stophe88 Posted September 11, 2005 Members Share Posted September 11, 2005 i'd take a taylor over a martin any day... but i've never played either of those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UGB Posted September 11, 2005 Members Share Posted September 11, 2005 Originally posted by theflyingeyebal Something about a bolt on acoustic is just wrong. Art & Lutherie use a bolt on neck. Tacoma uses a bolt on neck. The very top of the line Waldens and Washburn NV series use a bolt on neck. It's a perfectly legit method of guitar construction. I would think a laminate neck, like the Martin 'Stratabond' neck, would be much harder for a traditional acoustic enthusiast to swallow. I guess makers are pushing the envelope far beyond what Ovation introduced in the early 70's w/a fiberglass, bowl shaped body. Martins' HPL is, from what I can tell, Formica, like the countertop material. One wouldn't expect too much tonal and harmonic properties in laminate countertops but gosh darn it if Martin didn't find it. Martin is cutting edge in a lot of ways; they make an aluminum dreadnoght too. Of course Rainsong has it's all polycarbonite guitars. The Larrivee Parlor has a much better bass response due to its larger body and it's an all solid wood instrument w/a price tag at 3 times the cost of the Baby Taylor or Little Martin to reflect that. It's also, easily, 3 times the instrument as either the Baby Taylor or Little Martin if not more. Less expensive than the Baby Taylor or the Little Martin is the Art & Lutherie Ami which is a parlor sized guitar with a wild cherry laminate body, maple neck, and is available in either a laminate cherry, solid cedar, or solid spruce top. I'd pick that over either the Baby Taylor or the Little Martin but I didn't get a chance to play one until after I bought my Baby Taylor. I had to sell the Baby Taylor and when I get a guitar again to replace it, it'll be an Art & Lutherie Ami. Hey, another thing to consider is that several guys say the Big Baby Taylor is a very hit or miss guitar; it's either awesome or very uninspiring and suggest a 'play it before you buy it' approach on that model. Maybe the Baby Taylor falls into the same group? I don't know. I've played 2 Baby Taylors, 3 Little Martins, and one of the Alvarezs' mentioned above. Even though the Alvarez was all solid wood, I preferred the Martins and Taylors over it. But, I've only played that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35fingerpicker Posted September 11, 2005 Members Share Posted September 11, 2005 "...i'd take a taylor over a martin any day... but i've never played either of those..." No doubt you prefer Taylors for their strong bass and long history of fine guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinGoodall Posted September 12, 2005 Members Share Posted September 12, 2005 "You can't be serious"...both are terrible guitars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jyd59 Posted September 12, 2005 Members Share Posted September 12, 2005 I bought a Martin LXM recently for my 7 yr old son, after sitting down in Guitar Center for over an hour A/B'ing it vs. a baby Taylor. The Martin LXM is superior to the baby Taylor in every respect: sound, construction, action, even cosmetics. I can't believe how such a warm sound can come from such a small guitar...and the neck is just great, it's so well machined. The baby Taylor sounded like a toy compared to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtrwiz Posted September 12, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 12, 2005 Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll be going shopping today, and I'll keep it all in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.