-
Good day,
I work at a major Taylor dealer outside the US, and have become quite enamoured with this brand.
I am interested in perhaps ordering a 312ce-n, but no store has this in stock and I don't want to burden the store with an expensive guitar just so I can see if I like it.
We do have a 412ce-n in stock, but there's a whole long story here about employee discounts applying to new orders, etc etc.
This is why I am curious if anyone on here owns or have tried the 312ce nylon model. Is it loud and expressive?
The grounds for comparison would be a traditional classical model with all-solid woods. I understand that the different types of woods and the shape/size would make them different, but I don't know how exactly without having played one.
As usual, all the demo videos I can find sound like rubbish, but that's going to be more on the players than on the instruments. Why is it always shoddy blues guitar and/or 4-chord open voicings, even on nylon-string guitars that cost thousands of dollars? And/or poor mic placement and choice. Ugh...
Any thoughts are appreciated
-
03-21-2021 05:13 AM
-
The 3xx and 4xx series Taylors are very similar in quality, if that helps.
-
I had the 114CE-N.
I thought it sounded fantastic. It seemed to have good volume and projection.
That being said - I have to let out this rant.
A few days after I purchased it, I took it back to Sam Ash and expressed concern in a gap under the middle of the bridge. They contacted Taylor and I was told it was "normal" and they don't necesarilly glue all the way to the edge. (not a flaw) Within a month it got worse. I take it back and they told me it's my fault for letting it get dry. I kept it in a well humidified room. A month later it was even worse and I could see the center seem of the front of the body sinking inward (which is why the gap was there to begin with). Sam Ash refused to help and blamed me. It continued getting worse.
I tried contacting Taylor who did not help. Essentially since the crooks at Sam Ash refused to take responsibility it was my fault. Kept it in a humidified case in a humidified room for another month, did not help. I couldn't even sell it. Anyone interested in that pricepoint could see the flaw. Ended up selling it to someone with the issue known and took a HUGE loss.
Also the pre -amp in that model did not have a useable treble knob. 3 different shops told me it didn't work. Taylor replaced it. It still did nothing. They told me I'd have to plug it into a loud PA system at loud gig volume to hear it make a difference.
I have plenty of other guitars (including full wood Washburns). I've had ZERO issues with them in my house.
-I'll not buy another Taylor.
-I'll not buy from Sam Ash.
-
A buddy of mine uses one and he sounds great. Acoustically I find it lacking, BUT, l also think that helps the amplified tone. My Cordoba GK Negra runs rings around it unplugged, but amplified is another story. The Taylor also is a 14fret body join, with a narrow neck, so it’s a cross-over instrument, good for flat-top and arch top players, not so much classical.
-
Is there any radius to the fretboard?
Originally Posted by D.G.
My memory of trying them out jibes with what you’ve said. They seem a good choice for jazzers who want to play some nylon string, not necessarily people playing exclusively classical repertoire.
I have a 12-string Taylor and find it to be extremely well made, in fact arguably the best in its price range. And I played my friend’s Koa cutaway recently, also a great guitar. But of course everyone has different experiences.
-
The OP asks about the Taylor nylons in terms of a “comparison would be a traditional classical model”.
I had a Taylor nylon, at least ten years or more ago, so with that caveat there is no comparison. The Taylor was built far more heavier than a classical guitar. It lacked the touch response of even a mid grade classical with laminates. For jazz, picking or fingerstyle it was fine...nice even. But to a classical player it’s apples and oranges. None of the pop and sparkle of a true classical.
But I’ve seen comments over the years in Wood and Steel by Bob Taylor that he is well aware of his market for nylons is not classical. and that if a Taylor ever decides to do a classical he would do it ‘right’. I think given how beautifully thin and light he can make his steel strings, he could craft a great price/performance classical. I wish he would.
d
-
Most Taylor’s have a 15” radius. The 412 and 312 will have the same body shape and top wood, spruce, and the same electronics. They will vary by the back and side wood used and that will vary by year but is a solid in both models. Doubt there will be much if any difference plugged in. Unless the 412 has been in the shop for 4 or 5 years then it might have the older electronics.
-
The body is too large to hold in classical position...left hand needs to be held too high. My cordoba fusion 12th fret join can be held in classical form but not the 14th fret models. On the other hand the taylor was great for strumming and jazz...that stuff tends to get muddy on my 12th fret cordoba...could be partly that it's cedar tho. Before the defect I thought the taylor was great for non classical stuff.... I absolutely couldnt play proper classical form tho. It does have a very slight radius and a slightly narrower spacing than classical but I frefered those traits. I do miss playing fingerstyle jazz on the taylor.
-
I was using a 214ce-n on my show tour; it was purchased for me by Disney at the behest of the NYC-based sound designer. It is very heavily built and doesn't have much acoustic volume, and it's certainly not expressive, in my opinion. From the first show the strings were woefully unbalanced - the D and A strings didn't speak through the pickup at all. It was unusable. Since I was in San Diego, and the Taylor factory is only about 25 miles away, I took it to the repair shop there. They replaced a side dot that they told me wasn't very well done and gave it back.
The D and A strings still didn't come through - I don't think they did anything to the electronics at all. I took it back a second time: still no improvement. With the sound designer putting pressure on me to use the Taylor, I pulled the pickup out and put a piece of paper underneath the D and A strings, and that pretty much fixed it.
However, no one in the production - the Musical Director, the other musicians, or the singers - cared for the sound. Before that I had been using a Córdoba FCWE with a Fishman Aura pedal, which I liked a lot. I ended up buying a Córdoba Fusion 12 rose, with an internal mic supporting the piezo pickup, and that's the guitar that everyone likes the best.
The 214ce-n is not designed to be played in classical position, or with classical technique - it's designed for steel-string players who want to dabble in nylon-string guitar without having to adapt their technique to suit. Mine is quite a dead feeling and sounding guitar, and I can't believe that it cost 1100.00. The fingerboard does have a radius to it.
-
Not sure if this applies in your case, but if it’s a typical piezo pickup under the saddle in the slot there can be dead strings if the slot is not perfectly flat. Originally Posted by Robertito
I had an issue like that with my Alvarez nylon A/E. I smoothed out the slot (forget exactly what I did) and installed a new bone saddle (the old one had been filed down too low anyway) and it worked fine.
Interesting to hear about the Cordoba guitars. I hear good things about them.
-
Thank you all for some fantastic inputs more or less confirming my suspicions. In that case, I might just get a regular 412ce instead as I currently don't have a proper flat-top guitar, and should prioritize that instead of satisfying the part of me that cannot accept that my classical is more than good enough.
-
I think it's a safe bet that if you like the 412ce-n, you'll like the 312. They're pretty much the same except for the wood on the side and back. I own a 310ce (steel) and it's a fine guitar. That being said, it's probably not a direct competitor to the best classical instruments.
-
I have played the newest nylon series and find them similar Originally Posted by mr quick
to my old series (2008) NS-32ce. As an amplified guitar for
gigging I have yet to find a nylon string instrument I prefer
to that guitar. Particularly for "fingerstyle" playing of standards
or Chet Atkins type of arrangements.
Regarding loud and expressive... being electric, it can get
as loud as your amplifier I suppose. Expressive... if you
are comparing to a traditionally made classical guitar then
no, not very expressive.
I have a classical from Valencia, Spain and a Taylor from
El Cajon, USA. Different tools for different jobs.
-
A little diversion, I had a Cordoba Fusion 14, played and sounded fabulous, I just couldn't get used to the body/neck size, holding it.
-
Don't give up on nylon. It can be incredibly satisfying, and completely different from steel string. Originally Posted by mr quick
-
Slight digression I had a cheaper Alvarez A/E nylon string with a quite narrow neck and radiused fretboard. It was in the Regent series. Had a Florentine cutaway. Cheap preamp for the electronics, but a very striking looking guitar. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
With the narrow neck it was awesome at fingerstyle jazz music, but it sucked for classical, so eventually I upgraded to an an Alvarez Artist, which I like quite a bit and still have. Nice idea for jazz or more rock-oriented music though--the radius and neck sure help for that.
-
I'm not, I already have a nice classical guitar that the 312ce-n would be the replacement for - evidently not! So, I'll go for a 412 instead, when I have the funds :-) Originally Posted by Woody Sound
-
I've seen several of this kind of comment ... I played my jumbo in classical position, idem for my archtop and my Cordoba Fusion 14. Yes, your left hand moves out about 2" more to the left and if you're an insistent looker you might get neck cramps in the beginning. But it's perfectly possible. Originally Posted by Robertito
Even for someone who's probably a lot smaller than I:
I *probably* prefer the sound of this Taylor over the sound of the classicals used in just about all the other recordings of this piece, but it's impossible to know if the performance sounded as good in the room as it does in the recording.
It's also true that the trebles sound subdued compared to the lower strings in most other videos (there's an Acoustic Paradiso comparison pitting this Taylor against a higher-end Admira).
Reply With Quote
$1649- Henriksen Forte Solid State/Tube Hybrid...
Today, 10:37 PM in For Sale