Price watch (69)

There are currently three Ibanez TOD10N in the after-market which are priced above the retail listing ($999). No doubt, the TOD10 is a popular, fast-selling model but stock will be replenished time & again. It's worth waiting, yes?

Recently, we've seen a Mexican Fender crossing the $2K mark, this Vintera Jaguar comes close - $1,999. In the after-market, it's listed for $1.5K as seen above - would you fork our that much money for a used Mexican Fender? I have nothing against Mexican Fenders, majority of them are well made but price means everything.

I reserve no apologies in saying this is trash. A dilapidated bag with missing handles... just because it bears the Taylor name, it somehow replicates the relic philosophy of Fender & Gibson?

Taylor - XS

With immediate effect, all American Taylor guitars will be equipped with D'Addario's XS coated Phospor Bronxe strings. Not a coated strings fan but in this domain, I prefer D'Addario to Elixir. Mexican models will get the XS come Summer.

Pic: Taylor

Price watch (38)

A couple of good acoustic stuff seen in the after-market. This Sigma is the OMM-ST. If you are familiar with the brand, then you're aware of its Martin association once upon a time. The OMM-ST is one I'd recommend if you wish for a good guitar, no frills & a wonderful tone (it's a solid top, this one). Used, I'd always urge friends to look out for a sub-$200 deal & this looks like a good deal. Recommended.

I'm a fan of Taylor's Academy Series - good stuff for a reasonable asking price. This 10E is nearly $300 off its listed price & it's worth looking into. Taylor has this neck carve that you'd appreciate if you are constantly handling the electric instead of acoustic. On that note, it's very beginner-friendly & has one of the most pleasant tones this side of the Taylor offerings.

Baby boom

 

I wasn't aware there's a mahogany top version of the Baby Taylor. I'm pretty much done with travel-sized acoustics as these sound boxy especially after trying the Martin LX1s. I'm definitely a fan of the playability but the tone could be more appealing. Even the Ed Sheeren version of the LX is wrong when it comes to the price-to-performance consideration. 

And then this BT2 came in for a re-string. The owner bought this guitar during the lockdown period, thinking she could pick up some playing skills but the interest died along the way. The guitar was left unplayed for more than a year. She wanted to put this up for sale & I thought I could give it some TLC before it finds a new owner. The tone from this one is just impressive. Yes, it still sounds a little wanting but more defined & organic than the LX1 I tried. The other more notable difference - volume. This is another non-braced back Taylor model that sounds huge & impressive in this aspect. The clarity that goes with it is definitely a plus. 

Bleak

Spent some time with the acoustic last night & this morning. I think I pretty much know where I stand when it comes to acoustics - pathetic. I can't transfer my electric approach to the acoustic because there's no overdrive / high gain to address my light picking & legato techniques. I don't do chords much so the acoustic does not excite me much. 

In any case, the Taylor Academy Series are some of the best tone-wise, the Academy 12 you see above has my kind of tone, almost facilitating itself to good solos due to its bright nature. I used to dismiss the non-brace back of the Academy Series construction but I have a feeling this contributes to the all round clarity. 

Review quickie: Taylor Academy 12

I seldom appraise acoustic stuff. It's namely because of my love / hate relationship with them. Being a small-framed person, the standard-sized acoustics are a put off for me, regardless of the boutique & revered tone fanfare; they are a struggle to handle. The Academy 12 (made in Mexico) on scrutiny here is one of the Academy stalwarts which are, according to Taylor, accessible price-wise, highly playable with tone to die for. Before my take on this supposedly inspirational instrument, these are the essential details you should know:

• Solid spruce top + layered back & sides
• 24.87" scale length
• Ebony fretboard
• Scaled down grand concert body outline
• Braceless back design

Likes

• Tone
• Overall construction
• Volume projection
• Neck profile
• Elbow relief / rest
• Comfort fit

Dislike

• Generic tuners
• Bright sounding

My take on this instrument

I seldom hold acoustic guitars in high regard because I'm biased towards the solid body electric due to my small frame; the instrument is a struggle to handle, they are equipped with thick, difficult to play string gauge & majority of them came with an awful action. The Academy Series is Taylor's take on the standard-sized guitars on a budget. This Academy 12 isn't exactly 'standard' in size as it is scaled down width-wise but not a 3/4 version either. After a thorough inspection, Taylor is perhaps the only manufacturer to be meticulous with QC on a budget guitar as they are on their higher end instruments. This is the consistency that I discovered. The tone here is wonderful, both single notes & chords sound rich, it's literally hearing the wood quality singing to you with utmost impression. On that note (no pun intended), the volume projection here is one of the best I've come across - loud & proud!

To me, the most outstanding aspect of the Academy 12 has to be its playability. Being someone who is always dismissive of acoustic playability, the Academy 12 impressed with its neck profile. It feels like handling an electric guitar to begin with only to realize it's an acoustic after hearing the strummed notes. The scaled down body size plus that elbow rest, added much joy to playing. More importantly, this guitar did not come with a rubbish action, it's not low-profile like an electric solid body but very playable, something that won't kill the newbie enthusiasm. The Academy 12 is a little bright sounding, if you wish for a deeper voicing, do consider the Academy 10 instead.

Last but not least, the price of the Academy 12 (and all other Academy instruments for that matter) is not a dream appeal for the beginner. It's nearly $850 brand new, edging itself into mid-price territory more than being a proper entry-level price tag. In the $500-ish range, one could get impressive stuff from Takamine, Yamaha & Ibanez, among others, if one is just starting out & reluctant to spend too much on a guitar. Obviously, the 'Taylor' name is the reason it is priced as such. All in all, price annoyance aside, the Academy 12 is highly recommended for its indisputable value for money.

Rating: 90%

Taylor Academy 12

• $849 (bag included)
• Available @ Swee Lee

Dream GT

Folks, if you are waiting for the Taylor American Dream to be here then be informed that the plug-in version is now available at Swee Lee ($2,449). The American Dream was first mentioned here: CLICK

Also available but already out of stock is the GT model ($2,299). The GT was first mentioned here: CLICK

Just to recall what's the big deal with these two; the American Dream is touted to be the most sensible (price-wise) when it comes to an American Taylor guitar while the GT is the bigger brother (slightly only, still not a full-sized instrument) of the GS Mini featuring an all solid construction. 

My concern with the American Dream was its price. Now that we have full knowledge of its listing, this guitar is facing stiff competition against Gibson's G-45 Standard which features an all solid body construction as well but for about $700 less. The GT - well, is way beyond the GS Mini price tag by more than $1K. Yes, the GT is a different kind of beast, it's slightly bigger & that all solid body enticement contribute to costs. Based on this factor alone, there won't be a massive switch between the GSM & GT campers. Then again, this comparison is not quite objective considering they are different guitars that dangerously tread on being similar upon some considerations. 

Pics: Music Radar

GT

 

This was released rather recently, I've meant to mention it here but got distracted; as usual. This is the new GT series by Taylor. The manufacturer says it sits between a grand concert & a GS mini with a full solid body construction (spruce top + back / ash sides). The scale length is also an in-betweener; 24.3" +/- the fretboard is eucalyptus. If this is meant to entice the GS Mini fans to cross over to the GT camp then it's a risky call price-wise (USD1,399 without electronics). There are very few GS Mini fans who are truly displeased with the instrument in the mean time; the playing comfort & tone are simply done right. The financial profile of the current GS Mini owners are also not ready to own the GT. Also, Taylor is  competing against itself because for USD1,399 the American Dream model would be easy enticement for players who want to move into a bigger sounding acoustic domain, which is a natural thing to do if one is to move away from a smaller, compact-sized instrument. 

PIC: Musicradar

Sweet dreams

In the mean time, Taylor has released the American Dream acoustic. These are full solid body instruments at affordable price tags. By affordable here, it means that when they touch our shores, expect a sub-$2K price tag. Remember, these are full solid makes, not merely a solid top. I'm just grateful that the big names in acoustic-dom are slowly, but surely, offering quality at reasonable asking prices. This isn't the first for Taylor, the Academy series are, in my opinion, serious value for money. Wish the American Dream had the elbow relief design incorporated like the Academy models but these are good stuff per se. 

Price case

Let's take a look at this.

And then, this.

The bag costs more than the hard case. OK, maybe the Taylor name there is a legit reason for the bag to be listed that much. The hard case is an SKB offering & does not bear the Taylor name. But what does the international market say?

USA

• Taylor bag: 100
• SKB Hard case: 137

CANADA

• Taylor bag: 139
• SKB hard case: 144

Regardless of the prices, the bag still costs less than the hard case. Anyway, who are we to say that Item A should cost less than Item B, yes? We don't own a store, we don't ship in container loads of stuff - what the heck do we really know. Hmm...

GS mini, low end

An interesting & valiant manifestation by Taylor; the GS mini now has a bass incarnation. Solid (spruce) top, on board pre-amp, ebony fretboard... what the GS Mini sports, the bass replicates. That goes for the scale length as well, they are both 23.5" 

The good- if you are accustomed to the guitar, the bass version isn't a struggle as both feature the same scale length. This also means, the guitar bag will fit the bass. How's that for economy?

The not so good- if it's a bass & it sports that scale length, it would mean that a special set of strings need to be there, not the standard ones, even the ones meant for shorter scaled basses. True enough, the default D'Addario ones were made specially for this bass. It is unclear at this time whether D'Addario or Taylor would offer these strings off the shelf for subsequent replacements. 

Whatever the case, this GS Mini bass is worth considering. Yes, even if you play guitar.

Breaking

A friend of mine, Marcus, is flying off with his guitar on tow. He wished to know what airlines are like these days pertaining to instrument handling; do they allow a carry-on or observe a strict check-in affair. Two days later, I came across this book (was on sale) which documented Dave Carroll's plight with a very uncaring United Airlines who broke his Taylor guitar & showed crass treatment pursuant to his appeals. Dave, being a musician, took matters to another plane (forgive the pun) & retaliated through his music. He did a music video highlighting his plight with the intention to create awareness which was the underlying concern throughout the encounter (hey, airlines give a rat's ass about your fragile property, they are just not interested). 

The video, as depicted above, was a tongue-in-check approach in dealing with the matter but at more than 10mil views, it managed to hurt UA in the most unexpected (& downright deserving) manner; it brought share prices down by 10% which translated to be a whopping $180mil in value- take that!

The flip side of this very costly affair is that UA made amends, they are still using the video for corporate training (customer service related, of course), Dave got the break (no pun intended here, for sure) he wanted for his music & Taylor guitars were more than happy to be part of the reconciliation process. Take aways from it all: 1) Don't mess with angry musicians whose gear you maltreated- they are more than capable in bringing you down. 2) Address the situation- if you see matters off without addressing the real issue in hand, it's gonna be costlier than you think 3) The human element always wins it- in case you missed it, things ended on good terms because people chose to let the human element take over. The damage had been done, moving on with positivity and the over-arching need for improvements & precautions are signs of human considerations- plenty of humans involved in this case, yes?

Price check

Dear buyers, do check prices before parting with precious cash...

Taylor: GS Mini

Today was a good day because I managed to squeeze in a little time in the evening to try Taylor's GS Mini seen here. It's a scaled-down version of Taylor's Grand Symphony model, hence the 'Mini' inclusion. To start things off, let's be clear that the GS mini is by no means a mini guitar. The real minis are Taylor's Baby models which are even more reduced in dimensions. The GSM represents Taylor's take on a parlour model albeit sporting a GS outline which defies the parlour definition by virtue of body width.

In the acoustic realm, Taylor's construction, fit & finish are the very definition of the brand's philosophy. The GSM, upon handling, is of immaculate construction despite being a Mexican. There is no faulting the fit & finish either; it's like anomalies & the Taylor name were never meant to be paired (ever). What seemed to be plain features in this guitar became glorified specs upon handling. We've come across too many acoustics featuring solid spruce tops & an ebony fretboard before but this one screams Taylor in terms of feel. A little more on the mahogany neck- it sports a subtle V profile at the nut area before rounding off towards the 14th fret. The shred dweebs would love this guitar because it feels more electric than acoustic. Instead of anticipating lethargy during play, one would feel more at home with such an accommodating neck profile, it just begs to be played. 

Tone wise, do not expect an auditorium type, bass-rich tone because it's not one to begin with. However, due to that body width, there is a healthy balance of the lower & mid frequencies despite manifesting that spruce brightness especially from the unwound strings. This guitar has lots of song writing potential on board due to its rich chord manifestations. 

All in all, the GS Mini is a winner in terms of the Taylor expectations. Some of us would question the body outline as it breeds a little discomfort for a guitar of this nature. Since it's not manifesting an auditorium type tone, why employ the design in the first place? The solid body players would be at home with this guitar because the neck is incredibly playable.  

Rating: 85%

Taylor: GS Mini

Price: $799

Availability: Swee Lee Co.

Tayloring Swee Lee

I was at Swee Lee recently & the store was getting ready for a life with Taylors. Taylor guitars, that it. So you have been told.

The koa camp

Just heard that the Ibanez AVNK14LTD koa model is now available at Swee Lee. I should be checking this out since the AVN standard model is a spruce top take.

Over at the Taylor camp, the GS Mini-E is currently being offered in koa as well (albeit a limited edition offering). 

Martin has its own LXK2 koa baby as well, featuring its own HPL technology.

8 acoustic

When everyone else is busy with solid-body electrics, Taylor decides to join the 8-string camp but keeping it acoustic instead. Not a standard scale length tohugh, it's a baritone offering.