New acoustic,anyone a Takamine owner?

I just got a replacement for my "53 Gibson,a 90's Takamine with an under saddle pup,and I like it pretty good after adjusting the neck,shaving the saddle,dressing the frets,etc.I just needed one for recording,and gigs.My Gibson is OLD and in OLD condition,it's fragile,and the intonation is fine for writing,but bad for recording.It was my great Grandpa's,so the road was out of the question.
I was noticing on the Opry last night that almost everyone was using Takamine,so I guess they are "Opry o.k."Good enough for me!
what do ya'll think of them?

Workhorses. They don't suck, but neither do they excite. They're really easy to get an OK live sound out of, but I've never heard one sound great.

In short, perfect for when you don't want to take your old fragile guitar out.

I have a Tak EF341-C, I will have to agree. It is a good sound but not great but I think they are good for gigging, they are tough as nails. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

They are solid, workingman's guitars. Good for what they are designed to do. It won't replace your '53 Gibson but it will give you good dependable service on stage.

I've had one since '86,it has never let me down with 70 to 80 gigs a year,I personnaly think it sounds great plugged and unplugged.I also have a '61 J-45 and I prefer the Takamine.

I used to have one, and I liked it a lot. I sold it to get a Telecaster (what else!); otherwise I'd still have it. I think you've done fine. You wouldn't want to gig or to mess with Granpa's guitar!!!

Takamines get the job done and they can be easily replaced. Heck, even Dave Mattews(spl) plays them on the road, though he loves his Martins. I guess that before being famous, he'd play in clubes and bars where guitars could be damaged or stolen...

BTW, You've already said it: once the guitar has the appropriate set up, you're in business!!!

I have a Takamine LTD2000. Its the best acoustic I have played. When i purchased it, I went out to buy a Martin, Played a ton of them none felt decent, played a few Gibsons, again none excited. I always had a dislike for Taks, but this one really caught my eye, so I played it. It felt great. I put it down, played a few more martins, decided to plug the Ltd2000 in, fantastic sound. Everything about this guitar was honestly great. So I swallowed my pride and stopped being an idiot.(Ireally wanted to be a 'Martin' player) and Brought the Tak. Never regretted it once! (I still want a Martin though!)

I have Takamine EG 523SC in black glossy finish. Is it good guitar? Mmmh, I dont know. Maybe It`s on the trebly side, without inough power on the low end.

I used to own one, but I had to shift some gear around and now I'm completely out of any acoustics!

The Taks are OK for plugged-in work, but I have giant problems with the "natural" sounds of plugged in acoustics anyways, of any brands.

1. I always feel like the under saddle pickups (all makes and models) sounds just about the same in any guitar.

2. I tend to lean towards having a great sounding "recording acoustic" and a dumpier workhorse "live/show acoustic"; especially since the pickup kills the sound of a great unplugged guitar when plugged in.

SO, I'd personally use the Taks for live work, BUT never to record or mic-up.

By the way, I recommend using the L.R. Baggs ParaAcoustic DI/preamp instead of the onboard Tak (or Fishman) preamp.

I gigged with a an EF341-C for a long time. I loved it for live work. It was, as has been previously stated, tough as nails. I traveled all over with it, and through three years of high altitude, low altitude, shifts in flat out damp to absolutely no humidity, heat, cold, etc. It never even needed a truss rod tweak. Always played perfectly. Sounded killer plugged, much less than exciting unplugged. Just kind of thin and lifeless. Everytime I got to hating the unplugged sound, I would just have to remind myself that I bought it to use plugged in, and it sounded great that way. I eventually dumped it though. I wish I still had it, it was a rock solid beast that played as well as my teles for acoustic lead work. I play a Martin now. I bought a D-35 and installed an LR Baggs I-Beam Active system. Now I have a guitar that sounds amazing plugged in, or unplugged, and after I shaved the saddle a little for height and intonation, rips just as well as the Tak did. It is a lot more prone to feedback than the Tak was, I never had a problem there, but that is the trade off for playing somthing that sounds that good unplugged.

All in all, I think you'll be very pleased with it's performance as a live instrument. I loved mine on stage.


Jake

Hi,
My only acoustic is a 1993 Takamine Steve Wariner. Mahogany back/sides with a cedar top. I will echo what the others have said regarding it being tough as nails. I've played outdoor gigs with it, taking it camping, and played almost every Sunday in church with it. It sounds great plugged in. It does tend to emphasize the high frequencies. However, this lets it really cut through when a full band is playing.

As far as the unplugged tone, mine is really starting to sound good after 12 years of continuous playing. It doesn't sound like a Martin, but the tone has gotten fuller and more complex over time. It actually has a much more even response than a Martin, which makes it a really good recording guitar. The sound engineers I've worked with were really blown away by it.

I have an FP350SMCSB. I use it all the time. It's the dread model with a cutaway, sunburst with flame maple back and sides. It also has the palenthetic (sp?) pickup and the DSP preamp. It can do alot more stuff than I can remember. :wink: I bought a cutaway because i thought I needed it. But now, I think it really hurts the sound copared to a non-cut. When I'm ready to buy a Breedlove, it will have to be a non-cutaway.