Tacoma DM-18

I was looking for a high end solid wood guitar. I have found it! Made in 2001, this is a dreadnought with solid spruce top and solid mohagany sides and back with 14 frets on the neck. There is not any electronics but those can always be added later. Find a guitar with solid wood and put the electronics in after rather than looking for a guitar with electronics on it made of cheaper wood for the same price.

Sounds amazing! I have a taylor 510 CE which I paid $2,000.00 to get. The tacoma is made of the exact same wood as my taylor and sounds equally if not better. Tons of sound. Great for fingerstyle players. Tacoma has not been around very long, five years I think. They are already the third largest maker of USA made guitars. It won't be long before they have the same reputation that taylor has and their prices may rise. Get one now!

The guitar is perfect. There was not any visable flaws on the instrument. Tacomas have a really neat bridge design that make the highs and lows equally loud. The wood is very nice and it is all solid.

As with any solid wood guitar you must take care of it. I have a humidifier for each of my guitars...I would recomed this for everyone no matter what climate you live in. If you do this the guitar will last a very long time.

This instrument is very nice. I really like what Tacoma does with their guitars. I am definitely going to look for another Tacoma the next time I buy a guitar. As I stated before, if you have a price range you are looking at try to buy a guitar with the best wood and construction and worry about electronics later. This is a solid wood guitar that I paid $868.00 for and is worth every penny.

The D-9 made my shopping list because Tacomas are made in The USA. I had every intention of buying a martin D-15 or 1 series. My DM-18 Tacoma fell from the heavens as a close out priced model. It has 14 frets to the neck like most dreads. ALL SOLID WOODS, spruce on Mahogany with rosewood fretboard. I like the traditional, matte look, but this satin finish is fine. Tacomas hae Gotoh tuners. I bought a generic case and stuffed teh gig bag in a closet. Mine has no pick-up. I'd give a 9.5, but I'm rounding up.

I play folk and lighter rock, but I have been known to race through RUSH's working man. It keeps a good tone while playing soft and loud. My voice has good power and I can actually play louder than I can sing. I use medium light strings. I am not a good player, but I am good enough to get different sounds out of the guitar. I am completely satisfied with the balance and tonal quality

Action is consistent> I have never adjusted the set up. I started playing a classical guitar with a collapsed top, so obviously this is great by comparison. The fit and finish were perfect! Like another reviewer, I do not like the flashiness of, say, the Martin D-45. This guitar has all the right touches. Herringbone here, abalone there. I rub the fretboard with Murphy's oil soap when i change the strings and the board just glows.

I have no idea whether this guitar will withstand live playing. I do not gig. I do play for friends and pass it around (to those who know how to play!!). It seems to respond well to other hands and alternate tunings doen on the fly. It came with one strap button, I added a second (see below).

I asked Tacoma where I should add a strap button. They were very helpful and explicit. I had read about locating a strap at other places, they warned against that for fear that damage would void the warranty. I'd give high marks. Life time warranty.

Duh

after reading all the reviews on this site, i went out and tried it out. it was perfect. not too flashy but the spruce top and mahogany sides are beautiful. the inlays on the fretboard give it a different look than any other guitar. the design around the soundhole is also very nice and makes this guitar stand out from the rest. the case that it came w/ is also very nice looking...ive had people gawk at the case alone, but their faces always light up when they see whats inside.

ok, now i havent been playing for all that long, so i still havent grown accustomed to hearing perfect tone. however, after comparing it to martins that were about the same price, the tacoma sounded and looked much nicer. they come w/ elixer strings which are obviously the best available. has a very full sound. i play it w/ a Baggs I-Beam pickup > Baggs para acoustic di box > fender acoustasonic jr and it sounds unbelievable. i can make my amp produce the same sound as the guitar itself which is exactly what i wanted.

action was not low, not high...kinda in the middle. the martin i was comparing it against had a lower action but it seemed to buzz more. i wouldnt take any points off for a slightly higher action since i like playing power chords but hate buzzing sounds. overall, it doesnt seem to affect my ability to form chords. the finish is a beautiful gloss, but i found one imperfection on the top side of the neck that seemed to be a chip in the finish. although it bothers me, its nothing you could notice w/o inspection.

ive only had it for a few mnths but it seems to be holding up very well. ive banged it off a number of things and havent made a mark yet. i thought i would need to bore a 1/2" hole in the strap button for my pick-up, but it already was 1/2" so that was very convenient. overall, it seems to be built very well.

very nice guitar. i would buy it again in a second. it seems that tacoma is trying to make a name for itself among martin, taylor etc, and it seems to be doing a good job of it. i love this guitar...it sounds, looks and plays great. tacoma was recently voted the 5th best guitar company for guitar priced between 500-1000 bucks, so thats reassuring. give them a few more years and i bet they'll be as well-known as martin, taylor, and gibson. if u have doubts, go try it out...you wont be dissapointed.

Either a brand new 2000, or a leftover 1999, made in USA. 20 frets, 14 exposed. Solid sitka spruce top. Regardless of other reviews here, the back and sides are SOLID mahogany (with a clear plastic pickguard). NOT CHEAP LAMINATE. That's what I read on the store, and that's what's on the spec sheet at Tacoma's website, check for yourself at www.tacomaguitars.com/models/d/dm18.htm There's your truth in black and white, and color too ;) No electronics standard, but in the DM-18E2 and the DM-18E4 come with piezo film pickup and a fishman prefix plus, respectively. The neck is solid mahogany, like the back and sides. It's unfinished, while the rest of the body is. The neck is pretty fast for an acoustic, with low action and easy fingering for barre chords. It's a typical looking dreadnought, but it's got much better designed bracing, that gives sustain you wouldn't believe. It has a rosewood fingerboard (25.5 scale) with frets on the tall and jumbo side, and and some abalone ginko inlays done almost flawlessly, and a rosewood "tone-shaped bridge, that actually works to even out the treble and bass. The tuners are regular 'ol butterbean style. There's also some flash for finishing details: Four color herringbone wood top purfling, tortise body and neck binding, and a rosewood peghead with an inlaid ivroid logo. It looks great, though the frets were sanded down in the lower fret region with some scratches I have to buff out. And the purfling around the sound hole was done a little sloppily to botch up the finish underneath. But they are minor details, the purfling could have been moved by picking attacks in the store. The case didn't come with the guitar, but they are sweeeeeeeet.

I play blues, rock, some metal (Metallica and Sabbath, not Korn and Bizkit), and everything else under the sun. It has a great sound that fits me perfectly. The only advice I can give is buy this guitar then sit down with Clapon Unplugged and lose yourself for hours. I haven't tried it through any amp, and I don't want to with a pick up, the sound is much to nice to lose through piezo's or fishman systems. The sound is rich and full, with a shimmering top end that is lively, but never shrill. It sounds a lot like a Martin dreadnought, only better (and it doesnt' cost the amount of a used car to boot). The DM-18 can make any sound in the acoustic realm you like, it's just that good. Soundwise, I've never played a better dread.

OK, this is where it's difficult. The action was great, suprising to me, because I always play my strat, and I could actually play fast leads on this with heavier gauge strings and a thicker neck. So the action is fantastic. The top, back, and sides look immaculate. I don't think I've ever seen a closer grained top. The tortise shell binding on the neck and body are absolutely, completely flawless. The flaw was just that purfling that botched up the finish underneath by the sound hole (which again, might have been from agressive picking in the store) and badly sanded frets. The inlays had some very very minor flaws that I can't hold against the guitar, they are the coolest inlays I've laid eyes on (tasteful, not loud) I'm a nitpicker, but for around $700 with this sound, it's worth it to just buff out the bad sanding job, and ignore the sound hole (possible) screw up from the factory. I have to take off some points though.

This guitar would survive live playing easily. But if you treat any guitar like Pete Townshend, your gonna shoot yourself in the foot. But the Tacoma is pretty sturdy. The hardware will definately last and is impressive. The gloss finish will protect the wood for years and will look great further on down the road. The lone strap button was fairly solid, but I always play acoustic sitting down. I gig with my strat, so of course I couldn't just go with this. But if I was playing acoustic blues I definately would gig without a backup.

I haven't dealt with Tacoma yet, so I don't know. It does have a lifetime warranty that can be transferred to someone else if you sell it.

I've played for going on 7 years now. I own many electrics (Strat, Tele Thinline, Wolfgang Special, Samick Artist, etc.), but only one other acoustic, and old Yamaha nylon string acoustic that's beat to hell. This acoustic is the best I've ever played, the sound is unlike anything else. I love the neck and feel, and the Tacoma's unique look (not like a Martin copy). I put this against Fender, Gibson, Taylor, Martin, but this came out on top. The sound will make you cry. The only thing I didn't like are the flaws I mentioned earlier, but that's no big deal, I can easily fix them. Sit down with Eric and Unplugged and break this guitar in.

+199? Model +Dreadnought +Solid top +Solid mahogany back, laminated sides +Mahogany Neck +Grotoh tuners
This is a straight forward Dread no electronics just pure sound. Abalone inlay around soundhole, herringbone top binding, tortiseshell side bindings. Gig bag included ( I wouldn't use it outside the practice room though)

Flatpick mostly, some fingerstyle. Guitar has nice full sound just enough bass clear highs. Guitar is very lively.

Action from the factory is just right. The back is nicely bookmatched. The binding really makes this guitar special especially in it's price range.

For $500 bucks I think I did very well

This guitar was made in Tacoma, WA; It's basically a Tacoma DM-10, but the woods are slightly different--Tacoma doesn't change it's "anatomy" in any of it's model's i think. The top is solid sitka spruce, the grain is absolutely beautiful, the back and neck are solid mahogany, the fingerboard is rosewood, the sides are laminated. This guitar is really nice-looking. It's very spartan--the pickguard is see-thru--it does have some beautiful herringbone inlays, which are absolutely perfect. It is a very basic acoustic otherwise--no cutaway, no electronics. Very basic, which was exactly what I was looking for. They did give me a very nice molded case with this guitar, which is really nice, stocky enough to make me feel comfortable with the guitar travelling--I'm contemplating whether I can airtravel with this case, since it isn't a hardshell, it is incredibly sturdy though.

I use this acoustic for everything possible--it has the most amazing tone I have ever heard on an acoustic. I play folk, acoustic rock, blues and jazz, strum and fingerpick--this guitar works in absolutely everything! I was shopping for a cheap acoustic to practice on, and the first store I went to I tried this, and fell in love immediately. This guitar sounds amazing when strummed--it has more dynamic range than any other acoustic I've ever played--I tried a lot of other guitars, before finally settling on the first one I tried, and I did play a lot of Martins, Taylors, and Gibsons, and the only thing I liked as much as this Tacoma was a Gibson J-200, which did have an amazing tone, but that guitar was more than four times as much as this, $4000... This guitar just responds better to a wider style of playing; I wanted a guitar I could fingerpick and strum, and this is the only one I played with the dynamic range needed. The sound is incredibly well balanced, you can hear that the guitar will mature into something a little mellower, but it already sounds great. Tacoma seems to worry a lot about the sound, and they have succeeded--although I played a wide range of other Tacoma's, and this one was clearly above the rest. Great guitars are individuals, and this one certainly is a great guitar. The only problem is that it has no electronics whatsoever--which was what I was looking for. This guitar wants to be amplified through an open mic, it's tone is too good to be processed at all. It sounds great through my crappy condenser mic in the studio, great and big without any processing at all.

This guitar was perfect at the store, and I've managed not to bang it on anything--I was looking for a low-cost guitar, but I just couldn't pass this one up. The action is unbeliavably good, without any rattles or hums. This guitar makes me a better player just because it just fits me totally--from the first time I picked this up, it was like the guitar was meant for me. My friend who I went to the guitar store with was absolutely amazed how much better I played when I played this instrument. The action is better than what you'll find on Martins or Taylors or Gibsons or anything else for that matter--trust me, the action on a nice Tacoma will impress anybody.

The finish and the hardware seem like they could last forever, the guitar is very sturdy, the see-thru pickguard seems as sturdy as opaque ones, eventhough it doesn't evoke that confidence at first glance. I would definately use this guitar without a backup, but I know it's easier to just grab another guitar than replace strings--although this guitar doesn't seem to break strings at all.

Haven't dealt with them--although I've heard good things. The people at Wally's Music were just superb though, I have nothing but good things to say about them.So the ten's for them--If you live in the Oregon City area, I would pay them a call--if you're looking for orchestra instruments or acoustic guitars, they don't deal in electrics.

I've been playing very actively for five years now, and this is by far the best guitar I've ever played--it's like it was made for me. I own an American Standard Telecaster, and that does nicely satisfy my electric needs--but ever since I bought this guitar, I haven't barely touched the tele(except at rehearsals and gigs). I can sit around playing this guitar for ten hours straight--last thursday I got up, played, ate, played more, and went to sleep. It is an unbeliavable guitar--the action is the lowest I've ever played on an acoustic, and the sound is unbeliavable for a guitar this cheap. When I first picked up this guitar, I knew it was destined for me, and I tried a bunch of different guitars--some very very expensive ones--and I would not trade this for any one of those. If this guitar got stolen I would cry, because I've played a lot of other Tacoma's, and none of them are as nice as this. I don't think this particular guitar could ever be replaced, but I would certainly research Tacoma's first when shopping for a replacement. I think the guys at Tacoma did an excellent job on this one.