Tacoma C1C Chief

OK, I traded this guitar away a few years ago, so my memory may not be too clear, but I do remember it fondly. I traded a Martin D-15 w/ OHSC straight for the Chief w/gig bag. Martin was good guitar but weak, the Chief was very user friendly. Nice 1&3/4" nutwidth, short 24&3/4" scale. Sorta like an acoustic Les Paul. Nice big fat tone. I never gigged with it, played it on the couch for a couple of years. I question durability, local music store where I did the deal had a few suffer damage from minor biffs. No electronics.Guitar is made in USA but company is Korean.(!?)

Lotsa fun to play, nice big unsophisticated tone. Worked well for both flatpicking and fingerpicking. I mostly fingerpicked it. Rich and full describes the sound nicely. Broke up a bit with heavy strumming, better for fingerpicking IMHO.I liked 80/20s better than phosphor bronze on this guitar. Note to all: try both 80/20s and phosphor bronze strings on your acoustics. Also try different string gauges..

Played great, fat frets, EZ action. Liked 80/20 lights (Martin Marquis). There were some minor finish flaws, but playability was not affected. It's a plain jane guitar. You want something flashy go buy a shiny piece of crap import.

Seems a bit fragile for gigs, very lightweight. Finish is nearly non-existent. Eh....

No experience.

I've owned lotsa stuff, I'm a long time (48 years) guitar sicko. I eventually traded it for a Peavey/Landola (handmade in Finland), one of the stone bargains in used acoustic guitars. They were only imported for 2 years, 94 and 95. The Peavey/Landola had higher quality construction and a nicer sound but the Tacoma was easier to play.. I wouldn't buy another one, I've moved on, but it was fun while it lasted.

Cedar top. Cutaway. Satin Finish. Paisley sound hole. No electronics

The sound of the Chief is great, as others have noted. I played a lot of guitars while searching for a new one. The first Chief I tried at Guitar Center sounded flat. They had a Roadking that sounded much better. Also looked at Martin, Ibanez, Ovations and Takamines. I liked the Takamines best, and almost bought an EAN-15. Then I figured I'd give the Tacomas another chance. Went to another music store and played a C1C and Roadking. The Roadking has a bit more sound, but it's dreadnaught body is not as sexy as the C1C, which sounded nearly as good. Lots of definition and sustain; just great for fingerpicking. The intonation is good all the way up. No buzz. I thought about it for a while and finally bought the C1C from a dealer on Ebay... something I was hesitant to do... but when the guitar showed up (yesterday) everything was as advertised, and it sounds really good. Just makes me want to play and play. I opted for a model without any electronics, beacuse I'd read several posts from people who had difficulties with their pickups (shorts etc.), so I'd rather install something fresh. I really don't want to cut a hole into the side for a preamp, and the standard Tacoma "Tone Bar" pickup may not cut it. The problem is, due to the offset paisley sound hole and slim depth of the box, it's fairly difficult to add many pickups. I considered the K&K Pure Western, but decided that it will be far too tricky to install (super glue) the 3 transducers to the bridge plate. A local luthier with Tacoma experience suggested I go with the Fishman Acoustic Matrix with an outboard preamp, which I'll likely do.

Guitar is mint. Beautiful, simple design; like a piece of Shaker furniture. I had the guitar delivered to my office, and everyone wanted to touch it as I wandered the halls pickin' and grinnin'. My wife, on the other hand, thinks it's plain and ugly... but what does she know?...;-)

Well put together. The bolt on neck is unusual for an acoustic, but works fine. I'm sure the cedar top will take a beating over time, but I buy instruments to play, not just look at, so that's not a problem.

Haven't been out with this yet. I've been gigging as a piano player for the past 9 years, although I've been playing guitar for 40 years. I usually bring my strat to rock or country gigs, since I still like to pick. I'll probably take the Chief on a gig once I get a pickup into it.

Been playing guitar since the Beatles were a new band. Switched over to piano a while back, because there's a lot more work and money out there for piano players, but I still love to play the guitar. I have a number of electrics - American Strat, '57 Les Paul Special, Ibanez MIDI guitar, as well as a beautiful handmade Bozo Poduniak 12 string and a crappy classical, but in all this time I've never had a nice 6 string acoustic. I bought a $75 cheapo guitar for my son off the HSN last year and figured it would be good enough to sit at home with, but I needed an acoustic for a gig and was embarassed to be seen with it (borrowed a friend's Ovation). So I realized it was about time to get a decent axe. Several friends have Taylors, and I like them, but couldn't see spending the bread on one. The Chief is unbeatable for its price. Nice to look at, smallish body, unbelievably light, loud and clear. Just a great instrument to have around. I'd never heard of Tacoma before a coupla months ago. If all of their guitars play as well as the Chief (what a dorky name) and Roadking (sounds like some sort of Buick) they're going to sell a lot of these. I am thrilled with this guitar.

American made lightweight guitar of mahogany and red cedar construction. I have the acoustic model with no electrics. Scott Krell at Ed Roman's World Class Guitars said that I could have it factory upgraded with several pickup and preamp options at a later date by the factory if I wished. Mahogany neck, back, and sides with a western red cedar top, all in a natural satin finish. This guitar is beautiful in an understated and elegant way. Everything about it seems to say "I was made to play and make happy sounds". There are no edge bindings, purflings, or fancy inlays anywhere on the guitar, just a few simple abalone dot inlays in the rosewood fingerboard. The design and style is inovative with the unique paisley soundhole in the upper bout, transparent pickguard, bolt-on neck, unique rosewood bridge, and strap button by the neck heel (no need to tie your strap to the headstock). The body is what I call a small jumbo style with a cutout in the lower bout for easy access to the upper frets. The body is thinner than usual with a flat back, but that does not seem to hurt the volume of sound. The guitar is extremely lightweight, but seems to be ruggedly constructed. Workmanship is first rate everywhere I looked and the back, sides, and neck are the same even shade of natural mahogany. The red cedar top is close grained and slightly thicker than the mahogany back. The halves are so well matched that it looks like a one-piece top. A first rate new design made from top grade tonewoods. It comes with a decent case made in Indonesia. The tuners are really nice and hold the tune well.

I bought this mail order without hearing it, based on what I had read about it. I would characterize the sound as bright and woody, with more volume than the size would indicate. I am happy with the sound, as I wanted it mainly for finger picking. A Martin dreadnought would have been too dark sounding without a pick. Not to knock the Martin, as I like that sound also, but not for fingerpicking. The red cedar top gives a lush overtone structure to the sound without a long break-in period, just as is characteristic of that tonewood. It will not boom out like a Martin with a spruce top and rosewood back and sides, if that is your trip. It also does not need a long break-in period in order to sound its best like a guitar with a spruce top. It is a nice comfortable little guitar to do some fun and easy fingerpicking on, and that's why I bought it. The sound changes considerably according to how you pick the strings. Elixir strings are standard, and they sound OK to me. The internal bracing is very nicely done, and that no doubt helps the sound immensely.

Mine came with a low action, just as I requested from Scott Krell. Ed Roman usually carries several in stock, and the sales ticket had "low action" written on it. The action was lower than my Rickenbacker 650D electric, but I adjusted that guitar for an almost-no-buzz action. The action can buzz quite a bit with a dropped tuning and hard picking style, but I play standard tuning and a moderate style, so not much buzz. The action is fast and the neck is slimmer than my Rickenbacker, but the same width as the Rick. The neck had less relief than my Rick, but I may increase the relief and that will decrease the tendency to buzz and raise the action slightly. The satin finish is very thin and offers little physical protection to the wood surface. I put a small dent in the back edge on the first night I played it. I expect it to have a lot of surface scars later in life, but it is very well made and will hang together, I do believe. Edge binding may protect the edges, but it would ruin the understated and elegantly simple design that sets this guitar apart (as well as raise the price with no increase in sound quality). It seems to be a return to a bygone era of guitar making, with a few modern twists. It was obviously built by real craftsmen with a passion for their work. It was made to play, and not just admire.

Outside of the fact that the thin satin finish will allow surface damage to the wood more than a thick hard finish would, it should hang together and play just as well as any other guitar out there. I can live with more damage to the finish in exchange for the better tone that the thin satin finish will allow. The design and workmanship is truly excellent. I think it would be utterly reliable as far as holding a tune and just being played on. It's not a beater guitar for rough camping trips.

Never dealt with the company.

I am not as familiar with acoustics as electrics, so I will not rate it a 10. It may very well be a 10 when price is considered. I do not believe it is the ultimate guitar in it's class when price is not a factor. That is not true of my Rickenbacker 650D, for instance. The 650D outperforms guitars that are several times its price, and rates excellent against all competition even when price is not considered. For pure sound quality and versatility, it may be the best Rickenbacker ever, even though it's the cheapest Rick in production. I think of the C1C Chief as being more different than the best. Acoustics are different than electrics in that tonewoods and workmanship account for more to achieve the final sound quality. Electrics rely more on electrical and mechanical design
and can therefore be highly automated in production and still end up with an outstanding instrument. That means affordability. Great acoustics are built by great craftsmen, and they can build a better instrument with more time to spend getting it voiced just right, and that means that higher prices really can bring a much better instrument (not that it always does). I am sure that lots of guitars can beat my C1C, but I bet that over 95% of them that do have a higher asking price. Tacoma has used modern engineering methods to produce a guitar that sounds great simply due to the fact that laws of physics are better utilized. That reduces other factors that must come into play to make a great sounding instrument, and that reduces the final cost. They also grow and process their own tonewoods, so that gives them a cost advantage over other big manufacturers such as Martin and Gibson. No acoustic has the "best sound", since to me you must match the acoustic guitar to the music whereas an electric guitar has much greater tone adjustment as well as the ability to change character by changing the amplifier. No acoustic can match the versatlity of a good electric hooked into different amps. The C1C can get a very wide range of tones for an acoustic, however. If you need a bright, lush, woody, and happy tone that can fit into a wide variety of styles, give the C1C a try. I did, and I would buy it again. It is definitely worth the money.

This is a 2002 American solid wood guitar, no glossy finish, no electronics, just great wood, strings and air. All the features you need, none that you don't. (You can always get the piezo version if you must).

Different guitars suit different people. I tried literally dozens of acoustics before getting this one. I quickly gravitated to the Tacomas because they all seem to sound good and are much more competitively priced than the Martins or Taylors. (You can get a solid wood Tacoma for the price of a plywood Martin.) Then I tried almost the whole Tacoma line and three or four of this model before I picked out my guitar. This is not a jumbo, it is not a dreadnought, it does not sound like either. It is closer to a parlor guitar. The reason that I bought it was because it sounds fabulous and a little different; very individual, very woody. Great for fingerpicking.

There are no frills on this guitar but what is there is perfectly done.

This guitar will hold up as well as any acoustic guitar. It came with case and it is still in great shape after over a year of hard playing. I don't gig anymore so I don't need a back up.

I have spoken with Tacoma on a number of occasions and they obviusly care very much about the product they are selling. I have not had any problems with the instrument itself.

I have been playing for over 25 years, I have a bunch of other guitars, acoustic and electric. This is just about my favorite along wiht my '63 strat. I have more expensive accoustics but this is the one I pick up most often. I would get another one in a heartbeat if this were to disappear. I love this guitar for the sound, plain and simple. I have had comments from some people that they do not like the offset soundhole and the non-glossy finish. As far as I am concerned this just makes the guitar all the cooler.

The numerous reviews have covered this exhaustively, and I'll let you refer to them for details. Mine has the requisite six strings, mahogany body, cedar top, Fishman pre-amp, and weird little "paisley" shaped soundhole up on the left.

To me, the sound has such wide variations that it's hard to pin down. Sometimes I think it sounds boxy, other times it's rich. I will say that when you strum or pick in different locations on the body, you get a breathtakingly diversity of tone. The highs are very pronounced, and as another reviewer noted well, the entire top just resonates, regardless of the frequency pbeing payed. It;s a very lively guitar. At the store, I played through a Mesa Boogie of some sort that sounded just awesome. Ihaven't yet played it through my Hot Rod Deluxe or a PA.

No problems or complints whatsoever, but the case sems kind of cheesy to me, given the price of the guitar.

Looks to be quite stout.

N/A

My primary guitar is a Martin SP00016TR, and I have yet to play anything at any price that matches it. I feared that taking it to club gigs would eventually end in tragedy, and I needed something with a pickup, since microphones and soundboards are so inconsistent. This guitar totally serves my purposes as a distinctive, light weight gigging guitar that compliments my accompianist on his Taylor. We do a singer-songwriter duo thing around town, and this has such a wide variety of voicings that it suits virtually every style of song that we do, from super-quiet delicate pieces to more raucous ones. I picked it up for the novelty of the soundhole, and found myself intrigues. As noted elsewhere, the action and neck are ultra-playable. I'm terribly impressed.

What first attracts you to this guitar is it's simple and natural look. The Fishman pre-amp is the best on the market. Action is low with minimal buzzing. Every guitar comes with a set of Elixir strings...best sounding strings but not too durrable I've found.

I play a lot of rhythm. Everything from basic strumming to hard percussive palm muting. I've had my Tacoma for a year now and have been more and more impressed with it as time goes on. You have to play one!!!! The only reason I believe it doesn't rate up there with the Martins and the Taylors is because the Tacoma name hasn't been around as long and because people think you have to pay a couple grand to get the best sounding guitar. If you were blindfolded and handed this guitar you would probably guess you were playing a Taylor. The sound is bright and surprisingly loud. Each string can be clearly heard in each chord. If you're looking for a Taylor sound, check this guitar out, it's darn close. If you're looking for a Martin, this isn't it.

Tacoma is starting to make a name for its product line and they have gone far to give the best quality at a reasonable price. The action on this guitar is low! One of the reasons I decided to buy this guitar is because of the low action. Only drawback is you have to make some small adjustments to keep the fret buzz at a minimum. The only complaints I have are 1) the saddle looks cool but putting on new strings and making sure the string is securly in the right position is sometimes difficult 2) this may not be true for other Tacomas but the wiring to my Fishman pre-amp hangs loosly in the guitar and sometimes rests against the wood and vibrates...very annoying! I'm sure there's a way to keep this from happening though.

I play this guitar live every week. It has been played indoors and outdoors, in the cold of winter and the heat of summer. It is durrable! The finish is satin so it scratches easily and the wood is soft and light, without the protection of a lacquer finish, so it dings easily. I take good care of my instruments so after a year of constant use it still looks near new.

N/A

I'm a youngster by most standards...24 years old. I've played some of the best brands of guitar and although I favor the Taylor I can't afford one yet. The Tacoma's sound and quality will pleasantly surprise you! If it were ever lost or stolen I would buy another as soon as possible.

This is a very light, earthy and organic instrument. It just feels like a work of art to me. I played several of these models and found that there were some that had the electronics muting the acoustic voice whereas the models without the electronics sounded great. This model has the Fishman Prefix system that does NOT affect the acoustic voice and still allows the player the choice of an internal pickup system. The body is a somewhat small jumbo size with a single cutaway. It has a bolt-on neck, which doesn't bother me in any way. Very light, satin-like finish with an almost invisible pickguard.

I haven't bought an acoustic guitar in over twenty years. I have an Alvarez-Yairi Classical and a Yamaha steel string that I don't play often. I primarily play one of my 12 electric guitars or mandolins. When I saw this guitar, I was intrigued by its appearance, but was sold on its sound and feel. I primarily play jazz-rock instrumentals and blues. I found that playing this guitar (which I've only had a week) has improved my technique and touch on any electric that I would play afterwards. This may be true of most other practice on acoustic instruments, but this seems to make you dig in and feel the note more than any other acoustic I've ever played. The Taylors seem too delicate for my taste and the Martins I've played had too much of a "V" neck. The Larrivees seemed nice, but were twice the price. In summary, this guitar has a sweet, defined soul that brings out the best in me whenever I take it for a ride.

No problems here. It came stock with Elixir strings and there was no buzzing to speak of. Clean, well-made instrument.

too soon to tell, but I'm optimistic

no contact

I've been playing for over 30 years and have amassed too much equipment to list here. I had an oppurtunity to purchase many other items before I bought this, but when I played this guitar, I knew I wanted it. If it were stolen, I would get another one just like it.

Cedar top, mahogony sides and back. Rosewood fretboard. Clear plastic covering for a pickguard. There are no pins in the saddle. Instead the strings bind the ball ends behind curled openings in the saddle. Clear satin finish. The wood seems to dent or scratch easily. Wide rather flat fretboard. One and 11/16ths inch. This is a good thing for an electric guitar player that wants to play acoustic every now and then. I can play songs on this acoustic that I thought I would only be able to do with an electric guitar.

The whole top of the guitar seems to vibrate. You get a pronounced presense with the guitar. When chording the top three strings do not seem to have a crisp treble sound. Rather there is more of a flat mellow sound. Solid presense though. Good bass. Attack to the strings seems compressed or not as pronounced. So, if you have a staccato pick attack, followed by a soft passage...you sound changes are a bit minimized. The guitar was pleasing and addictive to me right off. It plays rather easily and gets a good clear sound. Not a big Martin D28 sound, but then at this price I wasn't expecting a Marshall.

Again, the fretboard is rather wide and flat. Makes an electric guitarist feel right at home as the action is low too...with the strings buzzing against the frets. This enables me to play many things that I thought I could not play on an acoustic guitar. The finish is a soft satin finish. The guitar scratches and dents easily. But, it seems to cover up nicely with polishing.

Have not had it long enough to make any definitive comment.

They respond quickly to questions on the internet. Seems that some of these guitars, prior to 2001, were made with laminated mahogany sides. However, I have not got an answer from them yet about whether mine was made with laminates or not (based on the serial number).

I got a great deal for what I paid for this guitar. A solid wood (I think) very good playing American guitar with a hardshell case. Could not beat the price. If I was more serious about playing an acoustic guitar and was going to make a lifetime investment I would look that the Santa Cruz D28 or a Martin. I am biased toward the Martin since I previously owned a D35. Just did not play it enough to keep it.

Where to begin... 22 frets, solid cedar top, mahogony back and sides, and a natural finish with no polish This baby is USA made, very nice. Fishman electronics, tons o' options, and excellent if you ask me. If you can't get the sound you're looking for, then it must be insane. The neck is on the wide side, so take that as you will. It is a cutaway and has a soundhole on the top left of the body. That gives you great tones throughout the range of the guitar.

This guitar has a sound that will either fit your style or not. I play originals which fit into many genres. If you want a guitar to play bluegrass, folk, or old style blues (and most anything in between), then this is your guitar. If you wanna play dave matthews, look elsewhere. This guitar really has a bright, warm-ish, and striking tone that sticks out in a band. If you are just playing rythm, this may not be the guitar for you. The sound throughout the range of the guitar is what gets me. Its fluid and you get hearty bass all the way up to the extreme high end. Great sound.

The factory set up for this guitar fits me perfectly. Its not the best action I've ever used, but its far from the worst. Overall, very good. The whole fit and feel of the guitar is top notch, very solid. The one thing that I can say wrong with it is sometimes I feel like I may hurt it, simply for the reason that this guitar is insanely light! However, I haven't. I take good care of my guitars and anyone who would buy a guitar this nice should too. The strings also stay in tune very well, and this thing gets a lot of playing, so it says something. Not the best, but really close.

The guitar has shined here. I gig a lot, so this thing has gotten tested in this department. It's really held up great. I can depend on this guitar for anything I need. I usually gig with a backup, but I have played without one occasionally. I would only do that with this guitar.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I've been playing for quite some time and I own my share of gear. When I started looking for a new gigging acoustic I spent most of my time looking at Taylors. I loved their sound and feel. Then I picked up the Chief one day and started playing. I kept playing, for some time before a salesman who had noticed me playing the same guitar for about an hour came up and asked if I had fell in love. This guitar is all that I want in an acoustic. I will say that if you get into stuff like action, the Taylors have this thing beat, not by much, but they do. But the sound of this guitar is what gets you. If it gets, lost, stolen, broken, or abducted by aliens, I'll buy the same thing. I expect to be playing with this guitar well into the future.

American made, solid woods, 2001 model, mahogany back and body with western red cedar top. Funny little teardrop soundhole in the upper bout. Satin finish, all natural color. Grand Concert shape. A guitar made with a high scientific input, but with old fashioned woody looks. A very appealing overall package.

I use mine to fingerpick and strum. It suits both very well because it's a pretty loud guitar and fingerpicking works well, yet the action is fairly low and when I strum with light picks, it blasts out the most articulated tones like a canon, with no fret buzz. I've never seen a guitar where I could strum a chord and hear each individual note in it. This one is it.

The overall tone isn't as boomy as my Martin DM, not as bright as my Yamaha Compass or a Taylor. It's more like the rich tone of a higher end Martin that has aged well and accumulated some balance across the bass and treble. I've only had it 4 months, so we'll see how it ages, but right out of the case it had a tone that was impressive as hell.

The factory setup was very good. The action was very low, but it doesn't buzz under hard strumming. The cedar top lays on the mahogany sides and the edges have no binding. They are finished perfectly smooth. You would be hard pressed to find anything the slightest bit off about this guitar. Tuners are heavy and hold for weeks at a time. Frets are jumbo and beautifully finished. The nut is tight around the Elixir strings, so when I go to a slightly smaller guage I prefer, I'll see how well they work. If they rattle, I'll go back to the Elixirs to preserve the tone I bought at any cost.

This guitar is extremely lightweight, possibly giving one the impression it might not tolerate abuse. For me, it's strictly a recording guitar, not something I take on the road, so this doesn't apply.

No experience, but I've heard some good things...

$700 for a guitar of this quality with a hardshell case is a steal. The case weighs twice as much as the guitar and it's made with the same high quality the guitar is.

Lost or stolen - hell yes I'd want another one.

I compared it to a few other guitars when I bought it, mostly Martins. I was actually looking for something else and just pulled it down off the wall because I'd seen so few Tacomas and I just wanted to try it. I fell in love. I bought a different guitar that day to fit my needs and went back for the Tacoma a week later.