However I did play a Taylor grand auditorium and thought it kinda kicked some good volume and bass out of it at the store.

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Originally posted by marigold28:
...However, what do you guys think of feel as a differene or prefer and why?

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1 - Olson Dreadnaught - Rosewood/Cedar 12 yrs old and wonderful for either fingerstyle or strumming - big sound
2 - Bashkin OM, fanned fret, cutaway - Myrtlewood/Italian Spruce - creamy smooth high end with rich balanced tone
3 - Kronbauer mini-Jumbo - Koa/Sitka - a kicker for projection. Great for solo leads, fingerstyle jazz and ragtime tunes.

Having different sounding guitars has helped me to learn and write & play in different styles. They really assisted in keeping the sound fresh and my skills growing.

Larry J

I get confused with all these names - Grand auditorium etc

I've never been into Jumbo size guitars personally.
My Taylor 514ce - (is that a GA ??) is great for stage work -
my 612ce Taylor - (which is all round smaller) is just great for fingerpicking style, and i guess I use that almost exclusively at home - to the point the 514ce feels a bit awkward at first when i go and do a gig.

the 612 doesn't really cut a 'gig' where I'm strummng etc as well as fingerpicking - The 514 wins hands down for vol and tone.

I put some of it down to the fact my 612 is all maple body - which is very brite sounding - very balanced - but lacking a rich bottom end. As much as i love my 612 - i wish I'd got a 712 0r 912 - I think they would be all round warmer sounding guitars.

Oh well !!

Not much help to you - I guess - just a rave from me !

I love my Taylors !!

My acoustic preference is a Gibson J45... it has that "thump" for bass lines when fingerpicking. You can hear my 1949 J45 on our website Blind Dog Blues Band and judge the sound for yourself. I own a 62 J45, a 49 J45 and a 38 L-00, the smaller bodied L-00 is one sweet sounding guitar too. I do not like the "Taylor sound" or the "Martin sound" I have played some Larivee's that sounded pretty good but I tend to like the Gibson sound.... Ovations don't even count...

While perhaps not the prettiest of woods I prefer the sound of a guitar with mahogany back and sides. After all... you gonna play it or look at it? Many guitar players fall into the "pretty wood trap" and spend more for a guitar that does not sound any better if as good as a less fancy piece of wood.

Many newer guitars are overbraced or the tops are too thick. There are lots of boutique makers building nice guitars and many draw from vintage specifications.

You must decide... Go where there are several that you are considering and play them blindfolded (have someone hand them to you) and have someone else play them in front of you while you are blindfolded and choose the one that inspires you to play most.

Taylor guitars ending in a 14 are considered grand Auditorium style. ie 214 314 and so on(the first number representing the quality of wood and more expensive the higher the number)

The Taylor guitars ending in a 10 are dreads (210 310 and so on)
I do not know what the 12's are for Taylor or what a Martin OM is yet.

yes it is confusing schooling yourself on all the specifications of all the brands. I don't need to know everything. I don't sell guitars. so as long as I can tune, change strings and play I am content.

I can play barre chords now too which is a major milestone in my playing. It was not about brute stength as I have little of that but the proper positioning and angle of not only my fingers but my whole arm. For instance I noticed when I play an f barre chord my elbow comes in toward my body so I do that automatically now when going to the f.