Tacoma DR12

Rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, spruce top. This guitar is just sweet. I played every single acoustic in the shop including a few takamines, fenders, other tacomas, a martin and this one was by far the best. it has a very sharp sprucy sound so if you like a more classical sound, this guitar isnt for you. The projection is great.

Very bright

The ppl at tacoma are artists.

I've only had it for a few months so i cant say, but im sure with rosewood construction, it'll last a life time

Send them and email, they reply in a few days with helpful cheerful service

an amazing value. If i had not known the price before playing this guiatr, i would have guessed that it would easily cost over a thousand dollars. The suggested retail is around 950, but you can find it online for around 750

Price includes sales tax and hardshell case.
The DR12 is a satin-finished dreadnought with East Indian rosewood back and sides and a sitka top. The top and back are solid, though the sides may be laminated. I believe Tacoma's making the transition toward all solid woods. FWIW, the composition of the sides is not the determining factor in acoustic tone. I've since installed an EMF B-Band undersaddle pickup and Core99 preamp. Highly recommended as the best value-for-dollar system available. The neck is a girthy 1 3/4", with a rosewood fingerboard and abalone dot inlays at 3, 7, and 12. Appointment-wise, the guitar is satin-finished with a clear pickguard,grained ivroid binding, and an abalone rosette. The tuners are Gotohs, I believe. They're admirably stable. The DR12 is receiving an 8 relative to the overall picture, as there are still a few things wanting: Waverlies, a cutaway, a gloss finish, that sort of thing. However, I will run the Tacoma against *anything* in its price range. I owned a 400 series Taylor before they were huge, and I've seen the comparable offerings from Martin and Larrivee. This is a better guitar.

Someone on the RMMGA newsgroup described their Tacoma (I think it may have been a Chief) as having a "happy" tone. Having owned mine for a few months now, I understand what she was trying to convey: the DR12 is strong and bright and earthy. Certainly not shrill, but not mellow, either. It has what I'd call a "robust clarity". It has uncommon balance and presence in the upper registers, relative to other dreadnoughts. Since intalling the B-Band I've run it through both SWR amps on several occasions; I turn the EQ settings to the notch/off position and work from the reverb. The results are phenomenal and, I think, a testimony to the quality of both the pickup and the instrument itself. I've also been using the Tacoma in a church band setting. To give some idea of setting, we'll ordinarily have six musicians and four or five vocalists. I've run the guitar through a Rocktron Tsunami chorus (wonderfully hifi and subtle) to the DI, and on to the board. If it's the guitar by its lonesome, I'd probably discard the chorus, but it seems to work well with the overall sound we're pursuing. Anyway, it's a very stable and predictable instrument, certainly a fine "working man's" guitar, if that makes sense. No complaints.

There were some minor adjustments to be made after I bought the guitar. For one, I changed string guages almost immediately (I've grown rather fond of 12s and can't understand why someone would actually *want* 13s on a guitar, but to each his own), which will invariably have some effect on the overall setup. After a once-over by a local technician (which included minor work on the nut), it was ready to go. Tacoma did a very fine job in terms of fit and finish here. The binding and purfling are in place and neatly trimmed (had some difficulty/disappointment in this area with a Larrivee OM-09, which is ordinarily a wonderfully fine instrument. Go figure), and the top is a clean and evenly shaded set of spruce. My only complaint is that someone evidently made a bit of a handwriting mistake, and so the 2 in DR12 looks a bit amateurish. Otherwise, clean and competent work.

As I've said above, most everything feels very solid. I'd love to have the money for a second instrument (or, more accurately, to make *this* my second). But it's held up well, and I can't find any "real-world" sort of weaknesses. Perhaps the tuners, which are (again) quite adequate in their own right) might be replaceable. That's about as near to criticism as I can come.

Quick, intelligent response to email. Tacoma is developing a reputation for great service and support, as evidenced by the consistently positive feedback on the RMMGA newsgroup.

As mentioned above, the neck has a bit of heft to it. I happen to like the feel. It's reminiscent in a way of older Gibsons. It is *not* a Taylor, and if that's the feel you're looking for, then please take this under advisement.
As with any acoustic instrument, it's important to find an individual example that's right for you. I've noticed a fair bit of variation between Tacomas, particularly with the DM10 models. Some have a decidedly mellow tone, while others are bright almost to the point of shrillness. Many capture that ideal sort of "sweetness" that mahogany is best known for. I've played fewer rosewood Tacomas, but the same advice would seem to apply. I'm quite happy with mine, as it possesses both the common richness and bottom of a rosewood dreadnought, and a healthy upper register, which is less common.
Again and finally, I have yet to play anything in the range (and I've played most everything in the range) that I believe to be better or really even comparable to the Tacoma. It's not the ish, but pound for dollar, it's the way to go. Strongly recommended.