Product: Tacoma DM9
Price Paid: US $509
Submitted
03/17/2000
at
10:19am
by
Jay Northrop
Email: jay_northrop at yahoo<dot>com
Features
:
8
Brand new 2000 model Tacoma DM9 made in the USA, 14 fret access, solid sitka spruce top, solid mahogony sides back and neck, satin finish, dreadnought. Tacoma mini tuners (I've heard that they're actually Grovers, enclosed and of very high quality). The neck fits my big hand perfectly. Came with a very nice molded plastic case.
Sound
:
10
It was the best sounding acoustic guitar I could find within my price range, and the best sounding acoustic I could find for hundreds of dollars over my price range. I was trying a lot of guitars with laminated back and sides, but solid spruce tops and wasn't satisfied. Finally they dropped an $800 Taylor with all solid woods in my hands and I fell in love, but I couldn't afford it. I also played a comparible Martin (same price and features) and it didn't sound as good as the Taylor. I was dissapointed. My price range was below $500. I tried solid top Hohners, Seagulls, a formica Martin DXM...the list goes on and on. Then I found my Tacoma in a shop in Lemoyne... I liked it just as much as the Taylor. The sound is so full and balanced. I play blues style music and this guitar works perfectly for this type of music. I am now of the school that believes that nothing beats a solid wood acoustic.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The guitar was set up perfectly from the dealership. The top is absolutely gorgeous sitka sprice. Everything is perfect. This guitar is a work of art. It has tortoise-shell binding around the body and fretboard. The frets are finished off beatifully. Everything is of the highest quality, as you would expect for a handmade USA made acoustic.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
I have no interest in playing live so I wasn't looking for a guitar with any pickups in it or anything. Most of the guitars with electronics in my price range sounded miserable unplugged. Everything is solid and well made.
Customer Support
:
7
I've emailed them with questions. The first email got a response the same day with the specs (The guitar isn't listed on the website yet), and the second email hasn't been answered yet.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have been playing for 20 years and I've never had a really good acoustic. My other guitar is a Washburn BT9 solid body electric, which is a very nice, well dressed up version of the cheap BT series...sort of like a Ford Escort with leather and sunroof and a better (Mazda) engine option. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another as long as the build quality and sound were as good. As I said before, nothing in this guitars price range can compare to this, and very few guitars that are $3-400 more than this guitar are as good. It's exactly the guitar I wanted.
