talyor question

[Vere]

this is in no way meant to offend taylor owners, but i had a question: are taylor necks....different?

 

i was at GC a few weeks ago and played several martins, taylors, i think a tacoma and a used larivee. had fun, but i just couldn't play the taylor. i actually picked it up and tried to play and struggled to fret properly. is this odd? i played the other guitars in a way that felt normal to me. i did like the sound of the chords after i set them up, but it took some getting used to.

[ddlingling]

what do you mean different?

 

taylor guitars are known for their slim necks and easy playability.

 

perhaps it was just that guitar, maybe it had really high factory-set action or something. just needs a good setup by a luthier to be playable.

[Freeman Keller]

Taylor necks are 1-3/4 at the nut, most (but not all) others are 1-11/16. Doesn't seem like much, but many people can feel the difference. Most Taylors come from the factory with a pretty low action (and Elixer strings) while many others (like Martin) have a higher action and non-coated strings. Of course all of this can be "fixed" to the player's liking during a good setup (and should be if you buy it), but it can make A/B'ing guitars difficult. Taylors also have one neck profile acrioss the whole line which feels more rounded to me than my Martin. Martin has several different neck profiles and many guitar manufactures copy the Martin "standards" (ie most dreads are based on a D-18/28, most OM's are based on a OM-28).

 

I often feel that Martins and some others in a store have dead strings and if I have any interest in the guitar I ask for it to be restrung.

[ajames]

maybe it was just that particular Taylor, because i usually find that Taylors play much easier and faster than other guitars in try in shops.

 

The way their set up from the factory with the elixirs make them the most comfortable guitars to pick up and play for me. Though, i do find that going from a lower model Martin, to a nicer taylor, my fingers can tend to get ahead of me because the neck can be quite fast.

 

I also find that lots of taylors open up the more you play them. they grow on me the more i sit there stumming away.

[Cldplytkmn]

my old guitar instructor (www.vincelewis.com) disliked taylors because he said they had a flatter fretboard radius than most other guitars, and he said while this made it easier for most people to play general chords, it made jazz chords and melodies more difficult. I have no hard fact on this, but its what he said and i haven't ever had a reason not to believe him, as i too find them uncomfortable.

[marekk]

 

Originally posted by Freeman Keller Taylor necks are 1-3/4 at the nut, most (but not all) others are 1-11/16. Doesn't seem like much, but many people can feel the difference. Most Taylors come from the factory with a pretty low action (and Elixer strings) while many others (like Martin) have a higher action and non-coated strings. Of course all of this can be "fixed" to the player's liking during a good setup (and should be if you buy it), but it can make A/B'ing guitars difficult. Taylors also have one neck profile acrioss the whole line which feels more rounded to me than my Martin. Martin has several different neck profiles and many guitar manufactures copy the Martin "standards" (ie most dreads are based on a D-18/28, most OM's are based on a OM-28). I often feel that Martins and some others in a store have dead strings and if I have any interest in the guitar I ask for it to be restrung.

 

 

check Taylor's specs but I am pretty sure 100-200 series are

1- 11/16 at the nut & series 300 and up are all 1 3/4 at the nut.

 

to me a person's fingers and hand tell them if a neck works or not for them. i bar chord better if the neck has a flatter radius like the Taylors. I think you hand will tell you what works so you have to test out. however it also needs to have a decent setup to begin with.

 

imho

mark

[USian Pie]

Older Taylor necks were slimmer top-to-back than the new ones. The neck on my '97 414CE feels like something off an Ibanez electric. The new ones are more reasonable.

 

As far as fingerboard flatness, my understanding was that Taylor uses a 15" fingerboard radius. This is a little on the flat side but by no means extraordinary.

 

Some of the lower-cost Taylor models do use a 1 11/16" nut width. Honestly, I wish I could replicate the soft-V, 1 11/16" shape of my Big Baby neck on an electric neck -- it would be perfect. Most of the 6-string Taylor models seem to be 1 3/4" nuts, though.

 

But, having said all that, neck shape preference is personal. I actually play more cleanly and accurately on my Seagull S6 than on my 414. I love the 414's sound and playability but there are a couple of riffs I definitely execute better on the 'gull. Go figure.

[Etienne Rambert]

Freeman Keller: "I often feel that Martins and some others in a store have dead strings and if I have any interest in the guitar I ask for it to be restrung."

----

 

I'm just the opposite. I'd rather test a guitar with old strings. I won't go into a GC and ask someone to put dead strings on a guitar that has fresh strings on. But I want to hear how the guitar sounds. Dead strings are a good test of that. They let you hear the natural tone of the wood.

[A320guy]

Speaking of an old Taylor "opened up" after years of the soundboard resonating-I took a huge gamble on a 1987 Taylor 610 maple back/sides,spruce top on Scam-bay.There was some minor internal repairs form a gash in the side,but with a fresh set of Martin Studio PB 13-52's it generated an incredible tone! It was the aged top-no doubt.I will NEVER part with it! AND speaking of strings-don't stop with just your old "favorite brand " that sounded great on your last acoustic.Case in point-I tried D'addarrio studio PB strings on that same Taylor 610.It sounded like I was strumming a $100 peice of {censored}! I immediatly replaced them with the Martin Studio strings again and there it was-that sweet/clear tone on every string.Make SURE when you A/B any strings that you do it on freshly rested ears-NEVER FATIQUED at the end of the day! This means immediately changing two or three sets of NEW strings in one sitting but it is the only way to determine which will sound the best-then stay with your favorites ...

[knockwood]

The Baby, 110 & 210 are made -w- 11/16" nut widths; all other standard Taylor models are 1-3/4". Comfort is all in the individual's hands. Every time I pick up my 310, I am amazed all over again by how incredibly comfortable it is... Larrivee necks, by contrast, although I think they are fantastic guitars, feel like the business end of a baseball bat. To me. Cool article in AG two or three months ago - round table discussion between several makers including Bob Taylor, Robert Godin, Matthew Larrivee, CF Martin, others. Short segment in there about nut widths. Interesting difference in perspectives. Taylor was trying to establish itself during a time when the acoustic industry was taking a major ass-kicking from electric sales. The slim profile is partly the result of an attempt to make Taylor appealing to would-be electric converts looking for something familiar in feel...

 

Play what feels and sounds good to you.