any Takamine fans out there?

[Tmullen]

I had about $1200 to spend on a good acoustic/ electric, so I went to Ronnie's guitar shop in hot Springs AR(the guy has hundreds of guitars to choose from) I tried out several different guitars, including a few Taylors and a couple of Martins. I kept coming back to two guitars, both Takamine. The Steve Warner model, and the John Jorgerson model. I brought back the JJ model. The action was so low, it had a slight buzz to the strings. I kinda liked that. Ronnie said JJ ordered the guitar like that. anyway, the tone IMO, is as good or better than the Taylors and Martins I tried. anybody else own this model Takamine, or other models?

Tmullen

[Brennantele]

I have one. It's a little older than yours. Dated April 15, 1981. I also had a black a/e about 4 years ago that I sold. It was a nice guitar as well.

[blue metalflake]

Don't own one, but have played a few, and they impress. I reckon they're great value for money - not a patch on a good Martin though.

[chickenpicker]

I have a 1986 EF340 electro acoustic. It has a laminated top, and its sound is not a good as solid toppped guitars; but it's stable, unlike some solid topped guitars. I've used it for loads of gigs.

[Tmullen]

not a patch on a good Martin though.

Martin's are great guitars, but to my ears the full bodied Gibsons
can't be beat. I went to Guitar center about 4 years ago, went into the acoustic room and played most of the high-dollar Taylors, Martins, and
Gibsons, and there was one big bodied Gibson, can't remember the model, but it had
the best tone of all the ones I played. Man, sure wish I could have brought
that one home. A friend of mine has a older model Gibson J-45 , wow
what a tone! but in all honesty, I'm purty happy with my Takamine.

Here's a pic of my Takamine> thought I had all the smudges wiped off.
well didn't work



Tmullen

[Tmullen]

[J-Twang]

It's an EF108WR... best acoustic I have ever owned or played.

[Tmullen]

J Twang, nice lookin guitar. I reckon there's somethin about those Taks that appeal to us AR boys. I'f from EL Dorado way south of you.

Tmullen

[aznrambo481]

don't own one, but I've tried a couple and they're really good value. Considering one at the moment..

[Hideaway]

+1 on Tak. I love my Tak EAN10 acoustic/electric dreadnaught, great electronics, and sound good unplugged, too. Especially good for finger picking.

That being said, I like the headstock "Takamine" decal much better on the older ones like the the model that Brennantele has. My EAN 10C is a more recent vintage. Smaller, traditional lettering just looks better, methinks.

[aunchaki]

I love my all-mahogany Takamine 12-string. It's built like a tank. I got it used, don't know how old it is. It has the current-style headstock, not the Martin lawsuit headstock, which should give me a ballpark idea of its age.

I played a handful of other 12-strings when I got this one. Many were really "boomy" and loud. The Tak is not as loud, but all twelve strings sound great together. It's very lush, which is what a 12-string should be IMO.

[beachkos]

I have a factory left-handed '77 Tak F-360S, lawsuit model, which I purchased new in '77 - have had the Tak for almost 30 years and it's the sweetest sounding acoustic - it just improves with age and the sound is phenomenal - guess you could say I'm a big fan of Tak :)

[lexx9]

I have a 1993 Santa Fe SF-40 with a solid cedar top, mahogany back sides and neck with a rosewood fretboard and bridge. I bought it brand new and its an amazing guitar. Its the longest time I ever owned a guitar and its the only guitar that I bought new and kept. lexx9

[Tmullen]

Glad to see other Tak fans out there. Very purty guitar Beechkos, I can just see the tone that one has.
My JJ model has a solid spruce top, and your right, those guitars with the solid wood tops , the tone is supposed to get better with age. Just like an ole Gibson.
And I've heard a lot of bragging on the EAN and TAN 10Cs. Real nice guitars.

Tmullen

[w0odman]

Here is mine:




It's got a solid spruce top and flamed maple sides and back. The neck is also maple with a rosewood fretboard. I absolutely love it. The maple neck, back and sides really give it some snap/twang. Wonder why I like that?

I think I went through owning 3 or 4 different lower end guitars before I finally had enough and ended up picking this one up at guitar center. Go Takamine!

[Brennantele]

wOodman, that's a nice guitar buddy.

[w0odman]

Originally Posted by Brennantele

wOodman, that's a nice guitar buddy.

Thanks man. I feel good with the purchase. I always wanted an acoustic that I could keep for life and I think this is the one. Unless some act of god kills it

[Tmullen]

Woodman, those Jumbo cutaways are some of the purtiest guitars made. I had my eye on one before I decided to buy the JJ model. I was goin to get the blue one so it would match my blue steel guitar. But the natural
Is the purtiest of them all IMO. congrats on a great guitar.

Tmullen

[toadman]

here's my three mainstays: on the right is an old Takamine jumbo guild knockoff. i bought it for $150 back somedamnwhere's around '84 always LOVED this box great bottom end and beeuteeful abalone block inlays in the fretboard. rosewood back and sides. i think it was made in the early 70's.

about 5 years ago i got a nice bonus and blew it on the Gibson songbird in the middle. my first brandy new guitar ever! also the first time i ever spent more than $350 on a guitar.i wanted one that sounds like a the old Tak. i tried about two dozen guitars and this one sounded the best,played the best and my buddy at GC knocked a few bills off the tag. SOLD. it's been my workhorse ever since. it also has rosewood back and sides. i think i see a pattern developing!

the Ovation custom Legend i got from my dad who bought it from a suit at Kaman for $100. i guess the guy was an areospace guy who knew nothing about guitars(even the ones his own company makes!) anyhoo my dad gave it to me for my birthday about 8 years ago. it plays real nice and even sounds good when plugged in but i just cant get into the plastic round back and the plastic round tone! other than that it's a good beater and i take it camping when we play the weekend festivals.

but overall the Tak is my favoritest even after 20 years!

[TraditionalCountry]

1.What's the model number on that black one Toby Keith plays?

2.How do you pronounce it?Is it pronounced 'tack-uh-meany"or "tack-uh-mine"?

3.Does the tone get radically better as the street price on the various Tak models increases from about $500.00 to $1200.00?

Thanks,
Malcolm

[Tom A.]

This is a pic of my old Tak, it is a EF341C, it was really a good acoustic, but I like my Taylor best, but it cost about $1200 more. The Tak sound good and was built like a tank, good giging guitar. I sold it to my son-in-law so I can always get it back. I beleived it is pronounced "tock ah mean e".

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Tmullen

Martin's are great guitars, but to my ears the full bodied Gibsons can't be beat.

Amen brudder.

I was in the local music store when the Tak representative came in. I do not remember what model it was but he had a small body guitar with him that was just hitting the market and he let me give it a spin. One of the nicest sounding new acoustics I have heard in many moons.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by beachkos

I have a factory left-handed '77 Tak F-360S, lawsuit model, which I purchased new in '77

Hey Beach, how ya doin? - Question, The "lawsuit" reference was to the headstock and logo style?

[beachkos]

The Takamine lawsuit models refer to the models built in the mid and late 70's that were to be sold by Martin as their entry to mid level price range guitars. Martin had entered into an agreement with Takamine to produce lesser priced guitars for them for the US market. Martin in turn shared their plans and specs with Takamine, one of which was the D-28. The headstock and logo are of course "all-Martin" with the Tak name, but to Martin's surprise, the F-340S and 360S built during this period not only matched Martin's D-28 spec, but Takamine had in fact produced some instruments, at half the price, that were at least equal to, and/or superior to the D-28's that Martin was producing at that time.Martin acted as quickly as possible to kill the deal with Tak, which they did, and Tak still kept on producing these guitars based on the Martin plans and specs.The official line from the "suits' at Martin was that somehow Tak couldn't live up to the terms of the agreement, so Martin had to kill the deal. The reality was that Takamine had beaten Martin at their own game, and was producing a guitar equal in quality and workmanship to the Martin, but at half the price. Once the Martin deal was voided, Tak was picked up by Kamen Distributors in the US and became a music store mainstay during the mid 70's.Tak still maintained the "Martin headstock" and logo, until a federal court ruled in Martin's favor and Tak had to switch to their now signature head stock.During that period of the law suit, Martin allegedly dispatched their reps and employees to music stores to buy up as many F360S + F340S as possible to try get them off the shelves. Going back to that period of time in the 70's, Tak was still doing a majority of their assemblies and finishes by hand and the craftsmanship on those guitars is still evident today.
The advent of those Taks in the 70's really did nothing to diminish the stature of Martin during that time, except to open up everyones eyes that it was possible to produce Martin quality at half the price by having the work done over seas. I think the Tak episode helped to make Martin an even better company and served as real wake up call to all of the US manufacturers that the times were changing and business as usual was about to change.

[Mid Life Crisis]

I have the 12-string version of Woodman's Tak above.

Its a beautiful guitar, with bags of volume, tone and sustain. It can be hard work to play though, as the neck is quite wide, especially after playing a Tele! I had to do a fair amount of work to lower the action too when I got it. Its about to be gigged for the first time in a couple of weeks at a party, so I'm playing it a lot at the moment.

[Hideaway]

Thanks for that history lesson, Beachkos. I'd heard a little about the Martin lawsuit, but did not know the details until now. That explains why the Tak headstock logo looks the way it does on my EAN 10C.

[charlie cash]

To my taste, Takamines in general are thin and trebble-y. I'm sure there are some that sound fuller, but not in my experience. I think this makes them good for amplification because they are less prone to feedback and they are good as an acoustic to be played in a band with electrics because they cut through better.

[RichardWitt]

I've had this Santa Fe since new back in '98. It has served me well and as I don't see the likelyhood of butchering my '65 Gibson Hummingbird to install a pickup, this is my live acoustic. One of the best plugged in acoustics I have ever heard and I think that's saying something for a guitar almost 10 years old!



I have to admit that I bought it at first, purely on looks. I was drawn to it by the turquoise stone inlay in the fretboard and inlay around the sound hole. Abalone "Takamine" inlayed in the headstock. I had never seen anything like it back then? It was perty!



At the time I thought it sounded ok, until I started to play it against any other guitar that came near it, then I knew I had something special!



It has a very soft ceder top (if you'll notice all the dings!) which is hard not to mess up, but gives it a very sweet tone.

[morepower]

Glad to see this thread...I've been a big Takamine fan for several years now and currently own two...an EAN45C and a TF450SM (sunburst) model. Both are outstanding guitars in my opinion...and the cool tube preamps really are nice when playing out live. I have to admit, my Martin and Taylor don't get as much play as these two Taks...especially the 45C..it literally plays like a dream. It has turned into my go to guitar on a daily basis. I'm really interested in their new bluegrass models that they have brought out. The craftsmanship on these higher end Taks are really nice....I'm personally sold on them!

[rlarvin]

Originally Posted by Hideaway

+1 on Tak. I love my Tak EAN10 acoustic/electric dreadnaught, great electronics, and sound good unplugged, too. Especially good for finger picking.

That being said, I like the headstock "Takamine" decal much better on the older ones like the the model that Brennantele has. My EAN 10C is a more recent vintage. Smaller, traditional lettering just looks better, methinks.

I have recently purchased a Takamine EAN10C after a long search to upgrade from my Yamaha FG-160 that I've had for 33 years. I was actually in pursuit of a Tak EAN40C NEX because it looked more unique than the dreadnaughts that most pickers in this area play. However, after playing both of them plugged and unplugged, and loving the sounds that both were producing, I settled on the dreadnaught. I would have been proud to have the NEX had it not been for the 10C.

Now, I want to purchase an amp so that I can sing at campgrounds and small churches. Anyone have suggestions about an amp that I could use both as a personal voice PA, as well as plugging in my guitar?

[aunchaki]

Originally Posted by rlarvin

Now, I want to purchase an amp so that I can sing at campgrounds and small churches. Anyone have suggestions about an amp that I could use both as a personal voice PA, as well as plugging in my guitar?

I've had good luck with the CRATE line of acoustic amps. My last church had two of them. I've played with the Fender Acoustasonics in the store -- nice...

[fenderslash]

I'm mainly into electrics, but back in 2001 I was in the market for an inexpensive accoustic guitar. It was just to have sitting on a stand in the living room within easy reach to noodle around on whenever the mood took me, so the accoustic tone was the highest priority for me - I wasn't interested in guitars with pickups.

Being an electric guitar player I knew nothing about the quality and reputation of various accoustic brands and models, so I just went shopping without any preconceived ideas along those lines - i.e. I was choosing solely by feel and sound without being influenced by other factors. After trying quite a few brands/models out in a music shop where a friend worked at the time I settled on a Takamine GS-330S. It's a bare-bones dreadnought - no pickup; no scratch guard; it doesn't even have dots on the fret board. But it sounded absolutely fantastic to my ears and sounded better than some in the shop selling for plenty more dollars. It even came in well under the budget I had allowed myself. There were a few identical GS-330S examples in the shop and I had a hard choice deciding which individual guitar to take home with me, which indicate good and consistant quality control.

I'm sure there are better sounding guitars out there for big dollars, but this one really did put more expensive guitars to shame. I think this model has been discontinued now, and I often wish that I had picked up a spare back then.

[MexicoJoe]

I have a model F-385 12 string that I purchased new back in 1972. I believe I paid $129.00 out the door for it. It's one of the "lawsuit" guitars and it still sounds great to this day. For the price, great guitars.

[Steve G]

I believe mine is an EG 330. Really nice guitar and my first decent acoustic.

[sharkydude50]

Here's my '98 EG10c. It's been my #1 gigging acoustic since then. Great guitar that shows very little wear & tear after all these years. See for yourself. BTW- this is the same type (except the top wood) that Pete Townsend played thru most of the '80's. Nuf said!

[franchelB]

Something like Ronnie's Guitar Shop? Nice little place...
Anyway, I have a Tak classical: CD132sc. IMO, a great under-valued acoustic/electric classical guitar that has been discontinued.

[bugman96]

EF341DLX and a 2005 Limited Ed..

here's the limited

[gtrman423]

Since 79' I have made my living without a day gig, and have played my EF-349 "lawsuite" every week in some bar, supper club, wedding, boathouse, studio, 2 cds, taught students, woed chicks, slid with a Craftsman 11/16ths deepwell socket, tuned down rediculously low, left in the truck over night in Fla. heat, in Ky cold, fixed wiring myself because no-one would touch it, found another just like it and bought it for the guts, never have (un-wanted feedback or overtones), I say un-wanted because I sometimes like to feedback just like you tele guys, tried to justify spending $$$ on a Taylor, but bought a Korg D-3200 instead. My obsession with this model is even worse, I've tried to upgrade the pickup to a Kaman Tak pickup and hated it. This is the real deal when it comes to crisp highs, full lows, loud vol. without feadback. I found that the harder I drove the pre-amp, it seemed to slightly compress, which was cool. The pre-Kaman Tak's are better in my book, they are simple, treble, bass volume, don't eat batterys, beat-em up, their plywood tops make them un-warpable, use d'Addario ej-17's and they'll stay in tune. I had it re-fretted last week for the umpteenth time, and did a countyclub gig last night. I made 100 bucks and $42 in tips. I've never had a real job in my life. Find one and enjoy. By the way you can adjust the saddle for tone with the two screws under the mother of pearl dots, enjoy.

[Dogbear]

The reality was that Takamine had beaten Martin at their own game, and was producing a guitar equal in quality and workmanship to the Martin, but at half the price.

The above quote is somewhat correct, as Takamine did make some design changes to their guitars that certainly in my eyes, makes the quality of their earlier guitars less than Martin. I own a 12 string Takamine that I purchased in 1978 and took all over the world. Late last year, it was obvious that I could no longer continue without a neck set. When that was attempted by a very skilled luther, it was determined that the neck was doweled and solidly glued to the neck block and the rest of the guitar body had been built around it. Without a neck dovetail, the repair was impossible (without taking the guitar apart and rebuilding the entire instrument). Certainly not Martin specs..... That being said, it held together for 30 years...that's $12.50 per year and I still have a functional hard case. Not a bad value.

For sentimental reason, I still have the pieces and although I have other 12 strings, I miss this one........

[sneakyjapan]

I`ve got only one Tak...an old 1963 nylon string. All solid wood and came with original hardcase for $20.oo...I love it, really loud and the neck was made for me I swear...