Taylor vs Martin who wins?

[Arthur Sweeney]

Hi all.
I was wondering what people's opinions were in regards to these top makers
of acoustic guitars. Which do you think is better, Martin or Taylor, and why?
Thanks!

[Eric Steven Johansen]

See I knew you had it in you somewhere. Oh and glad to be one of the 99% as well. :)

[Pat Foster]

Hesh,

Wondered what happened to you!

Pat

P.S. Sorry, this is a bit OT.

[David Burns]

I'm kinda out of the loop when it comes to what's new in guitars nowadays... A Formica guitar? That's wacky!

 

Yes the Martin GE's we played had ajustable truss rods accessable thru the soundhole. I was going to say in my last post the finish on the GE's was "almost" as good as a Collings; who certainly are top notch when it comes quality. The GE's were the nicest finish Martin's I've seen though... I've played some of the Collings D1-A's with the Adirondack tops and thought the were very nice but these D-18 GE's had something special tone wise and I usually prefer the Collings in that dept. too. 

It's weird cause I hardly ever go gaga over a guitar. I've got a Goodall acoustic that'd I'd put up against any acoustic I've played so I feel like I've heard some good guitars...(I literally did compare it with all of the Martin and Collings D style guitars ayt Gryphon one slow saturday before I bought it) but the D-18 GE's made me feel like I was playing the Stradivarius of acoustic guitars...

It does suck thinking about buying with G.C. instead of a good guitar shop that also does service but they've got the purchasing power plus the financing that small shops can't compete with when it comes to price. In the end a service oriented shop will eventually get their business though and keep the craftsmen employed...

[slowhand15]

I think Martin has finally come around to producing the best guitars they've

ever made and I think it was the competition like Taylor that made them step up their game...

+1

[Jason Gatewood]

It is is hard to say, considering there is so much "player preference" involved in choosing a guitar.  For me, Martin wins out in the body shape/size category, because I like 000 and 00 guitars.  Neck feel, I like the shape and feel of the Taylor necks, plus on the flip side - I don't like the Catalox (or whatever Martin call's it) fretboard material that Martin is now using on many of it's mid-priced and lower-priced guitars... I like ebony, which Taylor usually makes standard on all of their guitars, at least the mid-price and up.  As for sound, that is in the ear of the player, the species and exact pieces of woods, etc... and the bracing patterns - which Martin offers many more bracing pattern options in some of it's higher end guitars, and some of their "era-specific" guitars.  As for electronics... I am not a fan of anything either brand offers.  For neck resets, as has been mentioned before... the Taylor neck joint makes it painless, while many Martin's have the dovetail, which can be more time consuming to reset... but I probably wouldn't factor that in to a guitar purchase.  I would probably like a hybrid of the 2, something I no doubt could get from the Martin Custom Shop, and perhaps the Taylore BTO program.  However, if I were custom ordering, I would do a Martin, because I would want some of the historically accurate construction options (ie. bracing patterns) that Martin has.  That being said, I will add that I enjoy the fact that Martin still offers reproductions, and options that are historically accurate to earlier Martin's.  So, I guess I would choose Martin, but honestly, I probably wouldn't choose either of these manufacturer's for myself.

[slowhand15]

Taylor is kind of a new player in the the game.

I remember when the Martin-Gibson debate was going on, before Taylor existed.

One thing about Taylors, they do need more attention as far as proper humidity is concerned.

It's hard to compare the two makers, they are so different.

[Jason Gatewood]

I agree that they are hard to compare - it simply player preference... but when asked to compare them, there are some noteworthy points, however - they are all kind of moot, unless they matter to the potential buyer of one of these guitar makers.  I will say this... it seems like Taylor is taking over the acoustic guitar world. (;  I get tired of seeing the "x14ce" models everywhere, but hey, more power to Taylor for making such a desirable product... brilliant from a business standpoint.  

I've worked on many Taylor's, and in 1999 I actually bought the only one I ever owned (and I owned it for about a year)... it was a 314Kce (koa limited production)... it was very lively, and played like butter, but I actually found it TOO easy to play, it felt like an electric with medium-heavy guage strings on it... and I, myself, for whatever reason, did not care for it.