The price would have been better had I got it for the price I did from a private seller, because of sales tax, but I still feel like I got a bargain (for what it is...ha!).
Oh, man...I wish my photos didn't suck.
I always thought my house just made all of my acoustics sound like butt. It turns out...all of my acoustics just sounded like butt. This thing is magical... :shock:
Koa, quite often, has a definite...umm...gender...to it's bookmatch. Typically, that type of grain pattern is the least appealing to me on a guitar, and I generally prefer ones with straight grains, especially if there is some sapwood/heartwood contrast going on.
This one was so interesting, though, that I forgave it.
I'm getting a sort of angelic vibe from it.
I've seen a couple tops that were nicer, sure, but I've only seen 1 back (in person) that was nicer, and it was one that was hand-selected for a road show. Sure, I've seen photos of some that looked better, but I firmly believe that I have the best one in the Bay Area, after checking out every store I could find.
I know he mentions how much he likes just about every guitar he tests, but something resonated with me on his short review of this guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFSoOfrvsGw
Then when I saw one in person a few months back, I fell for it like I've never fell for a guitar before.
I think I might swap out the tuners' knobs for ebony. I also ordered a Taylor leather strap, which should (hopefully) arrive tomorrow.
Man, this thing is vibrant! I've played several other koa guitars from other makers, and to me, most sounded like a lot of mahogany guitars...which makes sense because they are related, but is also a tone that I just don't care for. My main acoustic for the past 15+ years, a Cort, (I bought it used and it already had a gashed headstock, and it was in the car with my when I had a car accident where I rolled my vehicle...this thing has seen some action, to say the least!) has mahogany back and sides, and it was just too warm/mellow for me. Not enough "life" to it.
This thing, though, is sooooo resonant. Taylor has recently updated both the 800 and 600 series guitars with features that make the guitars more responsive: thinner finishes, and thinner bracing that doesn't even extend all the way to the sides. These changes do make the guitars sing a bit sweeter, but I've always had this nagging fear that by minimizing all of that support to allow the guitar to "move" more...that it's not going to be as durable long term. I have no actual facts to back up my, likely irrational, fear...even though they really do work well as far as the tone of the guitars. This guitar is from just before these updates, so it let my mind rest a bit easier knowing that it has the "old" level of structural support which may very well be over-engineered...but it helps me sleep a bit easier.
It has the same bracing that Taylor uses on the 800 and 900 series ("CV" bracing, which is more deeply scalloped in comparison to their other bracing patterns), In addition it also has what they call the "relief route." Basically, for the sake of easy math, imagine that the top is 5MM thick. Around the perimeter, they actually route out a thin channel under the top of the guitar to, say, about 3mm thick. An entire 3mm top would be too thin, but by making a thin channel around the top, it let's the whole top vibrate more. From what I can tell, it's only done to the top, and not the back.
I'm terrible at describing tone, and note that I'm only hearing it as the player, not as someone listening to it...but it sounds incredibly loud compared to by other acoustics. My Cort is a "jumbo"...so while this Taylor is louder, the Cort has a more pronounced low-end in it's mix. I don't know yet if I prefer that balance, but I will say I always found myself having to EQ out "boomy" bass from my Cort when I plugged in.