An Eko Ranger 6 given to me by John Ashton of the Psychedelic Furs in 1985, and then 21 years later I also got that very same Taylor! Still my main acoustic too. Would love an upgrade one day though…
easier said than done. the neck could possibly be jointed on with dowels. for some reason thats how they built some of the martin clones in japan in the 70's. your typical reset method will not work if there is no mortice tendon, you would have to do what we call in the luthiers business, a "kung fu"neck reset, and that involves cutting the neck off at the heel, correcting the angle at the joint, and bolting the neck back onto the body. it costs less than a traditional reset, it takes less time to do, but you have to damage the guitar in the process when you cut the neck from the guitar. but doing it that way will make future resets alot easier as well. just un bolt the neck from the body, make your corrections and bolt it back on.
Something worth mentioning about neck resets and Taylors. If you are the original owner of the guitar, it is under a lifetime warranty. The necks are bolt-on and use neck shims to get the right spacing. I literally got a neck reset done yesterday. Work was really simple, and it was free through the warranty service.
I believe warranty gets you one neck reset if you are the original owner. I got one on a 12 string. If you need another it is easier on Taylors so should cost you less.
A crappy Kay with Black Diamond strings. Replaced with a new at the time '68 Yamaha FG-180 which was my first "real" guitar. Ir cost $99 new (in 1968). I still have it and the neck reset cost $300. It doesn't get a lot of play time. The Collings and Bourgeious get the most attention.
Before doing a neck reset you should look at a belly bulge reduction, it's way less invasive and fixes the main issue of the top being "pulled up" resulting in a bulge, which raises the bridge. With the top flat again there is no need for a neck reset. I've had it done on 2 of my 50+ year old Yamahas.
I knew someone that had a Driftwood guitar and got to play it. While it was a beautiful instrument and sounded great I could never afford $10k+. I ended up buying a J-45 and a Furch Vintage 2 OM. The Furch is a great example of a small body guitar with a big sound. The J-45 is a mahogany guitar and the Furch is rosewood.
In 2015, after more than 20 years of playing, I picked up a beat up Tacoma. It’s so ugly but I never played a better guitar for me. BTW, the big dreadnaught body is just fine for finger style. Sounds great.
We should talk more about acoustic guitar IRs, most gigging guitarist have to plugin their guitars to a DI box and most acoustic guitars sound horrible pluged in, IRs makes a huge difference!
Buying the wrong guitar is a killer for learning and then continuing to play. What many "think" they want or need, isn't really what is best for their actual use. I thought since I am a big guy, and a "cowboy", I needed a dreadnaught. And I thought I wanted and needed a Martin dreadnaught. I could not afford one, so went with a Fender dreadnaught. It worked fine, but since I am NOT a bluegrass player, or a "strummer" in general, it was just not really the "right" guitar for me. And then when I played a couple Martins, I just didn't like their neck profiles. Thus.. .Taylor. I don't like how Taylors sound when strummed hard (over driven), or for bluegrass type applications, but for finger style and modest flat picking... there you go! The body shape is amazing, and the neck is wonderful. And you will get that with almost all Taylors. But the sound and type of playing you TRULY want, and do, matters. There are others now that offer a similar experience, and if you glanced at them you would think they ARE a Taylor (but are not), so whether you actually get a Taylor or not isn't the point. What makes a Taylor what it is, is what matters. And like I said, depending on your body size, your intended use, and other factors, you may gravitate to some OTHER size, shape, or manufacturer of guitars. It's AWESOME that we get so many options though. But getting the right guitar is so important. Cheers!
Completely agree with Taylor if you're on a budget. Their less expensive guitar will be better than everything else in the same price range or above that I know!
The OM was built for strumming, actually; it’s right there in the name: OM stands for “Orchestra Model,” and the guitar was designed as a direct competitor to the Gibson L5 for Big Band “orchestra” use at the behest of Perry Bechtel, who felt the L5 sounded too harsh. And it is a great instrument for strumming (as is a 000).
My first "big kid" acoustic guitar was a Taylor 110ce... just the same as yours but with the cutaway. Love that thing. Edit: Freight train, freight train... run so fast. :)
anyone have opinions on Breedlove?My wife bought one years ago but quit playing it. I picked it up for myself when I started getting serious about guitar.
It’s unfortunate, definitely watch his “I hate youtube” video. I guess it started with Mr. Beast thumbnails, I hate it too I try to give creators the benefit of the doubt even if the thumbnail has that dumb “ponder face”
"Ponder face" is pretty accurate. You've likely heard of the great sculpture titled "The Thinker". I refer to that face that so often shows up in RU-vid thumbnails as "The Stinker" 'cause it always looks like they just pushed out some air and they're checking for the smell. Yeah, admit it... we all do it.
ive got a hondo II d-28 clone i salvaged out of the trash and glued back together, its got a beautiful sitka spruce top, but sounds like garbage doo trash. i need to reset the neck but im not looking forward to it so i just threw a rubber saddle on it and a single coil sound hole pick up to get that funky sound in the mean time.
Sorry Rhett. This is the first vid of yours that I’ve seen that was disappointing. So what you wish you knew is no glue glops, don’t be fooled by the purty ones, and keep it in proper humidity? That’s it? How bout solid woods vs laminate? Basic tonal properties of cedar tops vs spruce? Of rosewood vs mahogany backs and sides, and how it relates to your playing style. How about projection? Overtones? Sorry man, but glue glops, humidity and not being fooled by looks should be mentioned but NOBODY at Carters is gonna tell a first time buyer that these are the 3 most important things. You got tons of great vids. Just missed the basket on this one.
try a Seagull S6 or SM6: it sounds good, it's well-made, it's NOT expensive. Unlike a Gibson, a Taylor or a Martin, YOU CAN take your Seagull outside and/or to a campfire without fear. Kim Deal (Breeders, Pixies) plays one since the early '90s. Mine is so old, the Schaller tuning keys are stamped "made in West Germany"...
My first acoustic was a cheap takamine, OOO size. It is actually very good, holds up 25 years later and is apparently indestructible. About the "Taylor sound" - yeah, not played many, but all of them were just so dull sounding. I understand the craftsmanship part, but I would never buy one.
It's been 35 years since I got my first Accoustic, I just got my 4th, they wear out if you use them, they're just way too delicate to last if you do like I used to do and take them everywhere, hitch hiking, camping, and a lot of time basically living in the back seat of my car. This one might last, it'll likely be able to live in my house for the rest of my life, it's a nice barely used Yamaha that sounds great, and thanks to a bit of settling up I did, it plays great.
It took me years to find my favorite guitars. It started in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. I bought a Yamaha FG830. Wow, what an ah ah moment. I had turned 65, having played since I was 11 years old. I have since purchased a Yamaha LL6M A.R.E. as well as an LS6. Yamaha does it for me as well as my Alvarez AD66SHB.
Great video, Rhett. I have the same issue with my $300 Cort accoustic. It has a nice sound but the action higher up the neck is very high. I think I'm going to use it for slide when I can afford another accoustic for standard tuning.
I bought a high end dreadnought Takamine from a pawn shop about 35 years ago. It had huge projection and the sound would fill a room. Best $100 I ever spent! Four years ago we had a house fire and that guitar got heat, smoke and water damaged. Wound up with a small hairline crack from the sound hole down to the bottom, right in the center. Now that guitar sounds better than it ever had before and I wouldn't have thought that was possible. You never know.
Thanks for great video. The most basic tip I would give anyone buying a guitar no matter if they are beginners or been playing for years is: If YOU think it sounds good it IS good. If YOU think it feels good IT DOES. Don't buy a guitar based on what brand it is. The most renowned american brands are kind of overrated and extremly overprized. There, I said it. If you are a beginner you will probably not be able to appreciate a high end guitar (1000 dollars+) and probably not be able to tell the difference. Buy second hand. A fairly well built instrument will last you for years even decades and if you care for it in a reasonable amount it will sound better over the years. If you like a guitar, buy it. You can strum or fingerpick any guitar, it is all up to you what you find fitting for you. Don't complicate it. When you have been at it for a while (some years) and played 200 guitars+ then you might start hear and feel the difference between a good guitar and a more regular one. That is not decided by the headstock. There are crappy so called high end guitars out there and yes, some of them are branded with the logos of the renowned brands... and there are some great guitars from less renowned brands and much more reasonable priced. If you ever have the money to buy 5000 dollar+ guitar you should consider to have a luthier built guitar specifically for you with your specs. It will beat any "factory made" guitar in quality and sound eight days a week 366 days a year for the same money. Good luck!
The keyboard player in my last band had his son bring over a Taylor guitar he bought from Sweetwater last year. He was busy at the time and didn’t really check it out that well when he bought it. The strings were over a 1/4 of an inch high at the 12 fret. I told him I could bring the saddle down as low as it could go but it really needed a neck reset. My point is, shame on Taylor and Sweetwater for sending a guitar out that wasn’t even playable. I never owned a Taylor but have heard nothing but good things This makes me wonder.
I had several low end seagulls and S and P lutheries that were all okay. But my first real acoustic is a used 1980 guild. It's really heavy and projects beautifully
I picked up a 2004 Taylor 110 about a year ago. Did some minor maintenance on it and it’s been my #1 ever since. Granted I don’t have any other good acoustics but man, it has that “it” quality! Definitely see how they treat the craftsmanship the same as their higher end guitars. My uncle has a couple really nice…read expensive…Taylors. Everyone else I’ve let play it is amazed at how little I paid for it. Very solid build quality. I expect it to outlive me. Great video. Cheers Rhett!
I love my Baby Taylor I had a big Jumbo, and a nice Concert But the Baby guitar is the one I love to play I can sit and play it anywhere (in bed even) and it sounds GREAT to me. Since I'm only playing FOR ME that is the only person that matter in this discussion
A good (not necessarily expensive) acoustic guitar is an absolute must. I love the fact that during a poer outage, i can just pick mine up.and noodle away and keep myself entertained. Or take one on holiday and sit on a coastal hill overlooking the sea and write a few riffs and melodies. I love my electrics, pedals and amps, but theres something special about an acoustic younenjoy playing. Inonly have one, and its a Harley Benton D45 copy and cost me £200, is permanently in open C tuning, and has gifted me at least 8 of my my own songs that a good friend has put beautiful lyrics and vocal melodies too. I know so many people thatnjust can't function in a power cut because of their reliance on technology. I genuinely enjoy those moments
The newer Yamaha Red Label guitars are really nice, if budget is below Martin say. And I particularly like the FS series, because there's so many dreadnaughts on the market, but less so, slightly smaller than that. I find that body shape sits well and looks right to the eye too. Like classical guitars, which to me, are the perfect guitar shaped objects.
I'm so very happy with my Fender Highway dreadnought. Perfect singer companion. Tilt neck. I've been chasing after a thin body acoustic for 20 years. It's nothing like the Acoustasonic, what a let-down that was DOA. The Highway has great tone (I use Elixers) is loud and plays easy. Sounds the same amplified as not through an acoustic amp. No under saddle piezo weird ass sound signature either. Glad I didn't give up, glad Fender didn't give up too.
When i first moved to LA back in 2002 I picked up a Yamaha acoustic - FG 402 - at a garage sale for 50$. I took it home, thought there was a pick in the body... I shook it around trying to get the pick out and a rattlesnake rattle fell out instead. I put it back in and thats where its lived ever since. I've played that guitar almost every day - hell, I played it until I ground divots into the frets... I thought that was the end of it, but my neighbor (who is a guitar tech for a very big band that I probably shouldn't mention) did a fret job on it for free because he knew I loved the guitar so much. To this day I regularly have people at shows, other musicians, comment on how great this guitar sounds... but recently the action on the higher frets has gotten higher and higher. Its just like what you described in this video... so I've started looking at Martins and Taylors - and I'm sorry but they just dont sound as good as my Yamaha - even with the issues it has. I dunno, maybe I just got a unicorn... maybe there's some sort of mojo in that rattlesnake rattle. haha.... but seriously - I'm seriously considering having the neck reset so that my guitar can live on.... but I'm worried I'll spend all that money and the sound will change. *this long ass post was all to ask: is that a risk of having the neck reset? Will it significantly change the sound of the guitar? Should I just take my money and spend it on a nice new guitar instead?
god you're a baby RHETT... my first high end INSTRUMENT was a gibson ebony standard 1991 i was 16 and paid it over 6 months so i could take it home eventually, every free minute I had i would bus down to the music store and plug in. when I paid it off, the whole staff applauded and packed it up and sent me home in a taxi - but man are you more rounded than me... i don't mind though I go at my pace you go at yours ... all i know my last effort will be reaching for my guitar! i believe you will too! my first acoustic was a takemine my brother never wanted!
Your thumbnail is an inverted image because your T-shirt logo is backwards. Is that because you think the algorithm prefers your face the other way round or do you prefer it?
I’d be curious to hear him talk more about voicing. I’d love to have both the quality and feel of a Taylor with the voicing of a Martin… and not go broke in the process.
I own several acoustics that I like for different things. For example, my Taylor is great for finger style or intricate picking, my old Alvarez dread excels at strumming and flatpicking, and I have an inexpensive Gretsch cowboy guitar strung in Nashville high tuning that I use to add "decoration to the cake" so to speak. My guitars are like old friends to me, and each one brings its own thing(s) to the table. I really want to play some J-45 slope shoulder style guitars to see what they offer! My advice to acoustic guitar shoppers; set your budget, play a bunch of the guitars in that price range, and buy the one that speaks to you in such a way that you can't put it down.
Rhett I don't think I've ever heard you finger pick especially with a little Chet style. Love it! Great video. He's absolutely right. With acoustics you really need to know what you want in terms of tone, volume, and these days, pickup systems. I have a Taylor 810CE which is 20 years old and I still use and love. Your Taylor sounds incredible to me.
What was my first … Gibson J-160e I was really young 1982 and didn’t know what I had I thought someone had altered it by putting in a pick and had drilled through the sound board and ruined it it was a hard plying guitar so I’m sure it needed work I still a couple of pictures I sold to a guitar shop for a 140.00 I got my first musicians friend catalog and seen a reissue for like 1500.00 and realized I screwed up made sick to my stomach I wish I never sold it but I was broke !!!! … any way you Taylor sounds
Great video. Thanks! My first acoustic was a nylon string no name . . . sounded terrible but was super comfortable and fun to play. Next was a Taylor I got from the Pennysaver in the early 90s (still have even after a headstock break - sent to Taylor for repair - without asking just replaced the entire neck with a big bill.)
I am fond of twelve string guitars... sadly they are prone to ALL kinds of damage due to the pressures that come with the additional string tension. I've gotten into the habit of detuning my acoustic 12s just to minimize (hopefully) any bulging and warping.
I’ve been playing guitar for a while, but mostly electric, so while I’m a pro at picking a good solid body, all I know about acoustic guitars is from watching Ted Woodford repair them, which is to say I know enough to be wary A great video that we all could have used sooner. I hope to be able to utilize these tips soon because I need an acoustic with a pickup; the cheap one I bought 20 years ago doesn’t plug into anything
A guitar that sounds bad is most likely one that has flaws on the basic level such as intonation. The sound chain matters in an acoustic guitar. The more compression, for example, can make one acoustic guitar sound like another acoustic guitar. Placement of the listener maters when no electronics are involved. The hearing quality of the listener matters. More people are going to complain about a bad song over a bad tone
I think I own that same Ibanez orange flame style you flashed in your first pics. Yes, I fell into that looks great trap. Will say it’s not a bad acoustic for the price I paid. But again the look trap bit me. Great vid.
Man it’s so cool seeing Chris popping up in other creators spaces I follow. This dude is good. His work is beyond amazing. We were band nerds in highschool together. And even back then his abilities in creating things, as well as music were well apparent. So cool watching a friends business go beyond their imagination.
Question for people who follow this channel and possibly Rhett himself. What is your opinion on epiphone acoustics? Your thoughts don’t affect my feeling on them but I’m just curious. I have 2, a 12 and a 6 string. I have nothing but good things to say the 6 string I’ve had for 20 years and it still as good as when I bought it. Also they’re not expensive for what you get.
Most people start with dreadnoughts and never really get good at acoustic because of that ....that's just my opinion but . I'm right. Most people should start with parlors, OMs or- Buy a Multiac and learn how to play the acoustic on a tele....then go and buy a dreasdnaught
@RhettShull Did you get that lawsuit era Takamine at Fanny’s? I don’t know how long you’ve had yours but I’ve seen a few come through there that were very tempting to buy.
I have an 80's Univox acoustic guitar... a junk man pulled it from the garbage. I paid $15, put new tuners and strings on it and it's awesome. this was interesting. Maybe I got lucky, nobody will ever care.
Great video! I just picked up a Taylor 314 a couple of weeks ago and im super happy with it. Only other acoustic I ever owned was an Ovation that I got in high school back in '99
I have a Seagull Maritime dreadnought that sounds fantastic. Solid cedar top and back, 7-layer sides alternating cedar and cherry. I don't play acoustic much, but that guitar is a purchase I have never had any regrets over.
My first guitar was a Seagull S6. Bad setup that punished me for playing it and a mediocre sound. I replaced it with a Taylor 710. I bought it used because the price was a steal and it had been well loved. New Tayors, to me, sound overly bright. But the lesson I learned with this guitar is that they change over time particularly if they're played a lot. Mine has lost a lot of that harsh high end and settled into a really good dreadnought sound that makes it the standout rhythm guitar I need it to be. An important part of that is the pick. Do the neck reset. If it's a really Martin sounding lawsuit guitar you will have a tough time replacing it with an equivalent for $900.
Not sure the Takamine is an exact replica of a Martin. Most of their necks are a doweled butt joint epoxied onto the body. Perhaps those specific ones are dovetail joints but, need to know that for sure before attempting a reset. If anyone out there has reset those Takamine models let me know!
A neck reset is a byoch to do, and expensive to have someone else do. Nice tonewoods are great, but pay attention to all the measurements before you buy
Great tip for songwriting: If it sounds good on an acoustic, it'll sound good on an electric, but it's not always true the other way around. Test out new song ideas with an acoustic first
Fender acoustic. I was holding it and fell down the stairs many years ago. It broke in a few places. I had it repaired by a local luthier. I still play it once in a while. It’s current tuned to B standard baritone.
