Is the Taylor 110 a decent guitar?

December 12, 2006 5:03 PM

Looking for new acoustic guitar. Anyone have any experience with the Taylor 110, Martin DX1, or similar guitar?

I am looking to replace a very old, very crappy, very broken Epiphone. I have gone to Guitar Center a few times and have been drawn to the Taylor 110. I don't quite have the $600 cash to drop on this guitar, but I figure that it should last me a long time. For about $50 less, I could get a Martin DX1, and everyone seems to love Martins, but it didn't seem to have the volume and tone of the Taylor. Although it's really difficult to get good a true idea of the sound from any of the guitars there. It's loud, the guitars are usually very out of tune.

Anyway, if anyone has any experience with either of these guitars....
- What's your impression of the overall quality of these guitars?
- How do they compare?
- Is there a different guitar in the same price range or less that would be a better buy?

Thanks. One completely superficial strong opinion I have about guitars is that I really prefer the matte finish of the 110 and DX1. I really can't stand the glossy type.

posted by tom_g to Shopping (12 answers total)

I just bought this guitar. Our local store has a fine selection of Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, etc. I played all the high-end guitars and saw the Guild hanging on the wall with the less pricey guitars. As soon as I played one chord on the Guild I said to the sales guy, "This is the best sounding guitar in the store. We then went back through all the guitars I'd just played, switching off and comparing the Guild with the much more pricey Taylors, Gibsons and Martins. We agreed that none of them sounded as good as the Guild.

The Guild has a richness of tone and fat bottom that normally costs much more. The action is very low and easy to play. The Guild is all solid mahogany. The Taylor you are looking at has a wood top, but polymer back and sides. The one downside is that the Guild is not American made. It's from China. If you can live with that, it's a lot of guitar for the money. I got it for $524.00 with case and he threw in the tax. See if you can find one in your area and do the A - B comparisons like I did. I think you'll be impressed.
posted by wsg at 5:43 PM on December 12, 2006

I played the 110 and I loved it. Tone wasn't as deep as a typical dreadnought, but it was much more versatile and had a better range.

Martins, of course, are awesome, but I would put my money on a lower-end Taylor before a lower-end Martin.

Also, the 110 felt a bit light to me, but then again I didn't feel that I had to be a big muscle boy to churn through some music on it.

Good luck to you, and frankly I regret not picking up that Taylor while I had the chance. (I am in no way affiliated with Taylor Guitars.)
posted by snsranch at 5:45 PM on December 12, 2006

I just saw another down side for you. The Guild does have a beautiful high-gloss finish and you prefer the matte. But, like I said it's solid mahogany. The Martin you are looking at also has polymer back and sides, like the Taylor.
posted by wsg at 5:48 PM on December 12, 2006

For reviews, have you checked here first?

(I'm going to have to check out the Guild, wsg...).
posted by artdrectr at 6:19 PM on December 12, 2006

I've always felt that Martin's DX line are rather expensive for what you're getting, which is essentially a budget guitar. Whenever you buy a Martin, you're paying a lot of money for the Martin name on the decal, but in their lower lines that surcharge seems excessive to me.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:30 PM on December 12, 2006

Make sure you fix that tuning issue before making any serious evaluations, as you can get a completely erroneous impression of a guitar if it isn't to pitch.
posted by Wolof at 10:06 PM on December 12, 2006

Here are the harmony central reviews.

BTW, I have no association with Guild or its subsidiaries.
posted by wsg at 12:00 AM on December 13, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for the input. I'd like to check out the Guild.
posted by tom_g at 6:52 AM on December 13, 2006

Love my Taylor. Played 100 guitars before I bought it. Best sounding, easiest playing, tonally wonderful guitar I have ever held. Cannot recommend them highly enough, except for their little travel guitar with the curved back... but it is a limited purpose instrument.

I find the Martins I have played to be missing low end, though they are wonderfully made. They seem kind of flat to me.

I don't think you'll be disappointed in the short term with a Taylor. I have no idea if they'll last 100 years like a Martin might, but boy, out of the box, they rock.
posted by FauxScot at 7:14 AM on December 13, 2006

Response by poster: The Martin DX1 seemed to be flat (a bit more bass than the Taylor 110), but didn't have the crisp, loud, tone that the 110 has. Also, as a novice, the lack of fret markings is a bit confusing (DX1).
posted by tom_g at 8:01 AM on December 13, 2006

My 2 cents - when I went looking for an acoustc for my daughter I wanted a solid wood top that would age/mellow, not a plywood like many ~mid-level guitars out there. After some research I settled on a Seagull, which I purchased from Dave Snider's in Canada & had shipped to TN. My experience was very positive. They are well made & sound great. I got the oldest a cedar top and later got a spruce top in gloss for my younger daughter. They were very competitively priced (~$340-365) with case. On the 2nd one I had to pay an import fee (~$25), but check them out and look online - you may like it.
posted by Pressed Rat at 11:05 AM on December 13, 2006

This is in no way advice, but Oh God, I've learned from the advice you have had (from wsg) that Martin have produced a cheapo guitar with PLASTIC back and sides! WHAT are they thinking of?? They make the finest acoustic guitars in the Universe for well over a century and then feel they have to go down and wallow in the budget market - presumably outsourcing manufacture to China?? I have a 0018 (I think) made in 1954 that is the sweetest thing you ever heard, with the right strings - Black Diamond silk-and-steels were perfect, but BD have gone the way of too much quality stuff. That baby is insured for £3000 -about $6000. I also have a much later Martin 12-string (and they used to PROMISE they would never build a 12-string because they wouldn't guarantee the neck - but it's pretty damn good) - and an oddity - a Martin tipple - 10 metal strings in 4 courses - very sweet, rather like a cross between a mandolin and a uke.
Let's hope Martin aren't going the way of so many quality firms in all fields (Rolls Royce etc.)

OK - I haven't helped you make a decision, but I've enjoyed the opportunity of letting off steam
posted by Qihote at 9:18 AM on January 3, 2007