Taylor ES System....Your thoughts???

Curious how many are fans of Taylor's ES system. I've had a GS7 for going on 5 years now. I am quite happy with this guitar, but I will say I've never been a big fan of its tone plugged in. I'm wondering if maybe I should be using some sort of parametric di....maybe this might help???

Any feedback :razz: is greatly appreciated

I have only heard good things about their ES system. Possible exception is the one that goes into the GS Mini.

I guess I should add that I'm plugging direct into most PA's....it just seems to be a bit shrill and lacking the natural warmth I'm after. Just curious if the extra eq might help in between

Try going thru a BAGGS preamp system...Para DI or the new Venue.
What kind of PA system ? AMP ? Speakers etc..This is very important...

t

I have multiple friends who've had to replace their expression system boards multiple times. Taylor did a poor job sourcing the parts, so while the pickup/preamp sound good, they are not particularly robust/reliable. I have a GC4 without the es that was retrofitted with a baggs m1a. Works perfectly every night.

I have multiple friends who've had to replace their expression system boards multiple times. Taylor did a poor job sourcing the parts,

And there are thousands of Taylor ES systems out there that have been operational and trouble free since 2004....are there a few that fall thru the cracks ? sure...IF the ES systems were a problem they would not have lasted this long without general awareness. To say Taylor did a poor job at anything is quite a stretch...

Well I use a GC8 with ES into an AER Compact 60 and am very pleased with the sound. Its not powerful enough for bigger venues but as far as tone is concerned I am completely satisfied. I always use the amp with the colour switch engaged as this gets rid of an excess of mids and sounds much more natural. This amp has an on-board DI socket to take it into a desk should that be necessary. Anyone else using one of these ?

I'm thrilled with mine (on a 716ce). It's the first pickup system where the guitar sounds the same plugged in as acoustic. Mine is also a recent model (2011). Not sure if they've made any changes in recent years. I found the onboard EQ to be pretty effective with some practice getting things set right, but a parametric might be worth trying.

And there are thousands of Taylor ES systems out there that have been operational and trouble free since 2004....are there a few that fall thru the cracks ? sure...IF the ES systems were a problem they would not have lasted this long without general awareness. To say Taylor did a poor job at anything is quite a stretch...

If it quacks like a duck...

Ok, I'll do some stretching, I had my Expression system removed from a 654. IMHO I think they just don't do it and this is after talking to a Taylor rep in LA a while back. He told me that I should have my edition 3 replaced with the new model 4 version. What, they can't get it right from the git go? And I'm certainly not going to spend another 4-5 hundred on a matching preamp, there's just to many better ones for less. The K& K system blows em out of the water, but I have a Fishman duel source so it is a matter of taste, it's just my taste lies elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, they're great guitars, I own three, it's just the pup. Could they be eq'd to sound good, maybe, but for what you pay, a treble/bass control doesn't even come close, it's mostly mid range

I have an '05 814CE that I run direct and love it. I had to label the knobs so I know what's what, and have to work with the sound guy to get it warm and fat if I'm by myself or crisper if I need to sit in the mix better. My only gripe is the volume pot is a little noisy.

Ok, I'll do some stretching, I had my Expression system removed from a 654. IMHO I think they just don't do it and this is after talking to a Taylor rep in LA a while back. He told me that I should have my edition 3 replaced with the new model 4 version. What, they can't get it right from the git go? And I'm certainly not going to spend another 4-5 hundred on a matching preamp, there's just to many better ones for less. The K& K system blows em out of the water, but I have a Fishman duel source so it is a matter of taste, it's just my taste lies elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, they're great guitars, I own three, it's just the pup. Could they be eq'd to sound good, maybe, but for what you pay, a treble/bass control doesn't even come close, it's mostly mid range

This is exactly my point....far too much mid range, and simply un-natural sounding. My girlfriend has a Taylor Big Baby that I stuffed an LR Baggs M1A into, and plugged in it blows my 2700 dollar GS away....just sayin. Keep in mind, I'm only talking pickups here....on its own it sounds brilliant....which is why I bought it :shock:

I have a 2006 310. Its version of the ES is powered by 2 AA batteries, which was a Taylor design mistake they since corrected. I think my guitar's ES only works best when the batteries are new. In other words, once they lose a bit of charge, the sound suffers. I do not let them go for 20 hours of playing time like Taylor advertises. I use my Taylor at church, I use rechargeable AA's, and they get replaced after every service. I don't know if the newer 9 volt ES systems have the same problem with batteries.

Next, I've already had three warranty-level issues with mine. First one, the preamp went out which Taylor replaced. Second one, the AA's can get stuck in the compartment, so of course, mine did. The only way to get them out is to remove the whole assembly. Even though that was a warranty job I fixed that myself. Third, the ES has recently started popping when I move the volume pot rapidly. <Sigh> I haven't sent this off to be fixed yet. Kinda not excited about paying <again> to ship my guitar to Taylor, or drive 5 hours round trip to the nearest Taylor authorized tech.

So there's my review of Taylor's ES. I like the sound (with fully charged batteries), I'm not happy with the problems.

well from reading I would say that several ES systems have given grief, I have not had any exposure to problems..

t

well from reading I would say that several ES systems have given grief, I have not had any exposure to problems..

Well, I do sincerely hope for Taylor's sake that your experience is the norm, not mine. I am a Taylor fan, and my experiences haven't changed that. I will still consider Taylor whenever I next buy an acoustic. They got the playability side of things locked down pretty solid IMO.

I have a 2008 914ce with ES, and one of my favorite aspects is how easy it is to plug in and get a good sound out of it. When it's just me and plenty of time to set up, I do use a LRBaggs venue into my Fishman solo amp, but it's great right into the board as well. No feedback issues like my 114e with piezo or Martin with K&K. All these comparisons are apples and oranges, well, maybe not the 114 so much, but different wood.

I like them, they're easy, they don't get in my way.

I'm getting a Taylor GS Mini. I have been scared away from the ES but I would rather use a Lawrence A-300 anyway.