Shameless Show Off Post

[P Thought]

I'm a Takamine nut, have been since I started on guitar. I am not blind or deaf, and I know there are other brand candidates for Best Guitar, and that many of them would outdo my Taks in a poll, so I don't play Best Guitar, but instead I play Takamine Nut, and I think instead about best guitar(s) for me, out of the many models made over the years.

Many times I've shuffled in politely to a thread and posted a picture of my main squeeze acoustic, with a kind word or two about how fond I am of it, and keeping silent where I couldn't maintain humility. Nuts. Forgive me. Just this once I want to brag up my lifer dreadnought.

For me Takamine in general means high-quality manufacturing, and Takamine Japan means high-grade woods, electronics, and hardware. Those are givens for any Tak--I'd recommend one to anybody--but since I can't afford one of each, my own choice comes down to particular specs. Here's a phone-photo choice specifications tour of my 2007 Takamine EF340S BG:

1) the comfortable 1 3/4" wide bone nut:

2) the big ol' handsome one-piece mahogany neck (strap by Jodi Head):

3) the smooth black ebony fretboard:

4) the tight-grained solid spruce top:

5) the badass split bone compensation saddles:
(see pic above, and also note the wires for the Line Driver stealth preamp)
6) the solid mahogany back and sides:

7) the sweet open-gear butterbean tuners:

8) and the cooly understated koa inlay headstock logo:

 

[ale.istotle]

Pics?

 

[haggardfan1]

Two of the best flattops I ever had my hands on were Takamines, and not high- end ones either. Actually, both G Series dreads. I had one awhile, and foolishly got rid of it because I wanted on-board electronics.

My best buddy traded a Fender Acoustasonic amp for a guitar identical to the one I had that is an A/E, and his plays even better than mine.

Taks and Yamaha are such great guitars for the money, it's incredible.

Post some pics of yours?

 

[P Thought]

Pics?

Sorry, ya caught me. I wrote the copy on my laptop, edited in the pictures from my gizmo. Took a couple tries. Here's a publicity shot from the archive files:

 

[Sparky472]

Good on you. They make great guitars. My first nice acoustic was an eighties Takamine F360s that I picked up in 1988. Beautiful guitar that I only got rid of because I became quite smitten by a 1969 Guild F47 I found hanging on a wall in a guitar store and I couldn’t have both. I’m not sorry I made the trade (plus a decent amount of cash for me at the time) - that Guild was really special - but I always missed the Takamine.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

My Tak story:

Maybe 15 years ago now, a collector buddy of mine ( former bandmate/bass) bought a beautiful used Martin M-36 ( the 0000-sized Spruce/Rosewood jumbo), which I would often ask to play when I went over to his house. ( BBQ Band jams- he has enough gear for everyone! Always getting cool stuff)

Anyway, years later, on one of these Sundays I go over to his house ( I'm early), go down alone, to his TV/music room, see the beautiful Martin already out, for me to play...thanks!

I pick it up start to play, and after a few minutes, my buddy's son (adult, great guy) asks me:

" What do you think of dad's new guitar?"

I'm like, "What?!"

I look over the guitar, up to the headstock, and realize I was playing his 'new' ('80's) Takamine 'lawsuit' D-28's ( all solid woods, w/Martin-styled script logo)
Amazing player, big clear tone, beautiful.

 

[Flaneur]

The keyboard Wiz, in our Country band, has a Japanese Tak, in the cupboard under his stairs, at home.
He took it out, to show me, maybe four or five years ago. Fantastic player and sound.
I'm not sure it's seen the light of day, since.....

 

[P Thought]

Takamine 'lawsuit' D-28

My first nice acoustic was an eighties Takamine F360s that I picked up in 1988. Beautiful guitar

The F-360S (rosewood back and sides) and the F-340S (mahogany back and sides) are great guitars, the mainstay models of Takamine's dreadnought line. My first guitar was an F-360, in 1976.

Note: the S means solid top; back and sides are laminated. "Laminated" conjures up images of the CDX plywood you buy at Home Depot, but Takamine's laminates are strong, high-quality layers of good wood. The "lawsuit" guitars all had laminated backs and sides. My old F-360 had a laminated top as well, as did many of the other 'suits. I'd still have it if it hadn't gotten somehow golfballed by somebody at school years ago.

 

[Gsweng]

I'm a Takamine nut, have been since I started on guitar. I am not blind or deaf, and I know there are other brand candidates for Best Guitar, and that many of them would outdo my Taks in a poll, so I don't play Best Guitar, but instead I play Takamine Nut, and I think instead about best guitar(s) for me, out of the many models made over the years.

Many times I've shuffled in politely to a thread and posted a picture of my main squeeze acoustic, with a kind word or two about how fond I am of it, and keeping silent where I couldn't maintain humility. Nuts. Forgive me. Just this once I want to brag up my lifer dreadnought.

For me Takamine in general means high-quality manufacturing, and Takamine Japan means high-grade woods, electronics, and hardware. Those are givens for any Tak--I'd recommend one to anybody--but since I can't afford one of each, my own choice comes down to particular specs. Here's a phone-photo choice specifications tour of my 2007 Takamine EF340S BG:

1) the comfortable 1 3/4" wide bone nut:
View attachment 1104159
2) the big ol' handsome one-piece mahogany neck:
View attachment 1104161
3) the smooth black ebony fretboard:
View attachment 1104162
4) the tight-grained solid spruce top:
View attachment 1104163
5) the badass split bone compensation saddles:
(see pic above, and also note the wires for the Line Driver stealth preamp)
6) the solid mahogany back and sides:
View attachment 1104164
7) the sweet open-gear butterbean tuners:
View attachment 1104165
8) and the cooly understated koa inlay headstock logo:
View attachment 1104166

Nice, I have several Taks and like them all. Your soundboard does look like spruce but the Takamine website says it is solid cedar. Either way, a fantastic guitar. I just picked up the 2006 Limited. Awesome all solid guitar, excellent craftsmanship and playability.

 

[BobbyMac]

I love my Takamine GJ72CE Jumbo 12-string acoustic guitar. The build quality, sound, and playability far exceed its price point. These guitars are $799 these days, but when I bought mine at Sweetwater in 01/21 they were going for $592. I also bought the Takamine case for this model for an additional $104. I looked at Martin and Guild 12-strings at the time, but this Takamine was the best combination of quality and affordability. In my book, Takamine is one of the premier guitar builders out there!

 

[P Thought]

I just picked up the 2006 Limited.

Sweet! How about a picture? I had a 2005 Limited for a few years--wonderful guitar--and gave it to my son a couple years ago. I loved it, but had too many guitars, and thisaway I'll have something to play when I visit him!

U.S. Takamine distribution--originally franchised to Kaman Music, the Ovation people--has changed hands a couple times (was owned by Fender for a while) in the last few years. Somewhere in the process they re-vamped the website, and nice-looking as it is, it has a few inaccuracies, especially in the archives section. The SBG has a solid spruce top. They currently sell a close equivalent to mine, the EF340S-TT (for torriefied top), but the website specs say it went back to the 1 11/16" nut, too narrow for me, the wider nut being my first reason for wanting this guitar.

 

[Gsweng]

Sweet! How about a picture? I had a 2005 Limited for a few years--wonderful guitar--and gave it to my son a couple years ago. I loved it, but had too many guitars, and thisaway I'll have something to play when I visit him!

U.S. Takamine distribution--originally franchised to Kaman Music, the Ovation people--has changed hands a couple times (was owned by Fender for a while) in the last few years. Somewhere in the process they re-vamped the website, and nice-looking as it is, it has a few inaccuracies, especially in the archives section. The SBG has a solid spruce top. They currently sell a close equivalent to mine, the EF340S-TT (for torriefied top), but the website specs say it went back to the 1 11/16" nut, too narrow for me, the wider nut being my first reason for wanting this guitar.

Yes, I’ll post some pictures. And maybe some of my other Taks. I have the 2005 Limited also. And a TF77-pt, NV360s, F370SS, EF440sc gn and an EF379. I have several nice Martins, Gibsons and Taylor’s and I rank my Taks right up there with them. Plus, a lot of times you can get one for a steal if you watch.

 

[Gsweng]

Here are some pictures of a few of my Taks. The first one is the 2006 Limited Edition. Spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, all solid. OM body shape/size. Rosette is a Tantric design. Beautiful construction, playability and sound. Also, probably the best set-up of any of my acoustics.

 

[Gsweng]

The TF77-PT is a very awesome guitar. Cedar top and Koa back and sides, all solid except the sides are laminated for extra stiffness. OM size. Sounds beautiful. Both the 2006 Limited and the TF77-pt have the Cooltube electronics which sounds great to me. Love this guitar.

 

[P Thought]

I forgot one thing, the thing that makes the SBG my lifer: how it sounds and plays. It feels right in my left hand, really right, and its voice is strong, balanced across the strings, not too shiny, not too middy, not too bassy. It makes me sound like a better player than I actually am.

I plug in maybe less than one percent of the time, but when I do its "stealth" pickup hooks up with my California Blond and sounds great, natural as you're going to get coming out a speaker. At home anyway, I usually don't need a soundhole cover. While I'm at that I add in a mike on a stand and give myself a nice concert, usually with a huge imaginary audience.

Please forgive me the bump. Thanks for reading.

 

[Dan German]

Not the first time I have replied to one of your pro-Tak threads—I am a Takamine Nut myself. My EF 360C got me through years of playing (I wore the fretboard to a scallop), and I will probably be leaving my F400S 12 string to someone when I pass. Sadly, I gave my bro in law’s F385S lawsuit back to him after fixing it and playing it for a few years. That was a good one.

Note: the common theme here is rosewood back and sides. Thanks to my Takamine experience, I will always go for rosewood back and sides.

 

[Gsweng]

Not the first time I have replied to one of your pro-Tak threads—I am a Takamine Nut myself. My EF 360C got me through years of playing (I wore the fretboard to a scallop), and I will probably be leaving my F400S 12 string to someone when I pass. Sadly, I gave my bro in law’s F385S lawsuit back to him after fixing it and playing it for a few years. That was a good one.

Note: the common theme here is rosewood back and sides. Thanks to my Takamine experience, I will always go for rosewood back and sides.

Agree but you would probably like their koa also. Try one if you can, I believe I have 3 in Koa. Some of my “better” sounding guitars, depending on what you like to hear.

 

[sloppychops]

Takamine made some great guitars...and I guess they still do. Never owned one, though.

I have to ask: How do you pronounce "Takamine." I've heard a few iterations. I've been going with "Tack-a-mean-eh." Is that the correct pronunciation or not?

 

[drewg]

Dan German sort of beat me to it, but…

P Thought? We’re going to have to start calling you Tak Nut. Or T Nut.

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing one of these, but you’ve opened my mind…

 

[P Thought]

P Thought? We’re going to have to start calling you Tak Nut. Or T Nut.

Only trouble with that is I'm several other kinds of nut as well!

P Nut maybe, I guess....