Tacoma EM16CE4

I bought mine brand new in 1998 and swore I'd never scratch it. Well, it's 2005, and it's got a few knicks, but you have to look for them. The craftsmanship on the EM16CE4 is just unreal. You'd be a fool to not give it a proper stand or to make it a "camping" guitar. Something like this just begs you to play it and maintain it and treat it right and watch it turn into a priceless antique someday. It's sort of quiet but of course it's thin, I knew that going in. The sound is gorgeous, though, and subtle, with natural sustain. I consider it a 'pickin guitar all the way. I play mostly bluegrass, folk, and country styles on it, but in the past I've strummed it in sort of a psychedelic folk-funk pop band, and it did OK. Without the pickguard it's not something you want to strum to death. I can't say much about the pickup as I never plug it in; they should have just made it an acoustic though I'm sure Tacoma probably has that version of it. Extremely playable with great action. Excellent recording guitar. Still searching for its soulmate strings; think I'm onto something with the Black Diamonds, though I haven't tried Elixirs. Any help here???

Thin line A/E guitar. Solid Spruce Top, Solid Mahogany back and sides with Fishman Prefix Plus electronics. Very clean lines with sharp cutaway sesign. The finish is all gloss with some small rough spots (like small grains of dust imbedded on back only) but not bad. The woods are beautiful and the assembly craftsmanship is superb.

I was knocked out by the acoustic sound of this guitar, considering the body is only about 3 inches deep at the sides. However, the lower bout is 16" across the guitar top so I suspect this is where it picks up it's volumen and acoustic presence. Electrically it sounds reasonably good for a piezo pickup. I use it mostly acoustically and it never ceases to amaze me with it's rich sound. Came with very nice archtop hard case.

The action is similar to that of Martin out of the box, a tad bit high for my tastes but I adjusted it down to a more playable level and it's now great for blues and string bending like many electrics. One little thing tha irks me. The bridge pin for the low "E" string sits about 1/8" higher than all the other pins, regardless of the actual pin used (I've tried all the pins so it has to be the pin hole in the bridge). Doesn't seem to affect the sound but is sure noticable when you look at it and it detracts from the other beautiful features. Also could use a clear pickguard as it comes without one.

So far so good.

The folks at Tacoma have been great, a little slow responding to e-mail (they told me only one person does all the e-mail) but when they do they really go all out. I needed some information about the date of manufacture and some literature that was missing when the guitar arrived. They mailed it right out and responded with detailed info on the guitar.

I am on a quest to own a solid wood guitar from all the major manufacturers and when I have reached that goal (I'm 3 shy) I will go back and investigate the rest of the Tacoma line for special values. If you'd like to write to me about this guitar please do so directly at: rmorris@jcc.mepcom.army.mil and/or include your e-mail address in the message body. Harmony Central adds some NO Spam crap to the headers that eliminates the senders return address.

Crafted 1998, in Tacoma, Washington. Sitka spruce top, mahogony sides, solid mahogony neck, rosewood fingerboard. Thinline acoustic, single cutaway, with Fishman electronics.

Delightful clarity, rich tones. Sustain is very good. I play jazz and pop, using a Fender Acoustasonic SFX as the amp. The combination is superb.

This is a very easy guitar to play. The action is low (from the factory), and the notes are true along the entire fretboard. I've strung D'Addario Silk/Steel strings as replacements. The Fishman piezo does a very good job at acoustic reinforcement. The guitar's workmanship can easily be compared to popular guitar brands and models costing three or four times more (Taylor, Martin, Gibson, etc.) Abalone inlays and Tortoise bindings are flawless, and add significantly to the eye appeal. All seams and joints have been meticulously crafted. The "Attention To Detail" category for the EM16CE4 is very impressive.

I don't think live performances will be a problem for this guitar, as long as the guitarist remembers that it's a finely crafted instrument, and treats it as such. There is no pickguard, so only time will tell if the finish can hold up to something other than fingerpicking. The resonance of this thinline guitar is surprising, so I assume the spruce top is a bit thinner than a standard dreadnaught. That shouldn't affect the instrument's durability, as long as the guitar is treated well. The guitar came with only one strap button, which is also the 1/4" plug location, which precludes the use of Straplock buttons. I've added the second strap button at the base of the neck, and it seems to be holding just fine. I would gig with this guitar, but only somebody asking for inevitable trouble would gig without a backup of some sort, even if Stradivarius made the guitar.

I've been playing guitar for 35 years, and have owned many other beautiful instruments, including: Martin D-35, Gibson 335, Gibson Les Paul, Takamine (Hirade) Classical, Ibanez, Epiphone, and a few others. I currently use (and am delighted with) a Washburn HD35-S (see the review.) I would replace the Tacoma with another Tacoma. As I said in my review of the Washburn, I'm convinced the price tag has very little to do (all things considered) with a guitar's overall quality and value. I don't believe Tacoma is the only guitar manufacturer that can craft a beautiful guitar like this, within this price range. Guitars of similar (or less) quality and playability, from the big name folks (Gibson, Martin, and now Taylor) are often in excess of two to four times the cost. Tacoma reminds me of Taylor, when Taylor was a relatively new entry, offering superb instruments at a reasonable price. I can also remember when I bought my Martin D-35, new, for around $700.00, including hardshell. Even considering inflation, it was a pretty good deal. The cost of a new D-35 is way beyond my means, but with Tacoma making guitars like the EM16CE4, I don't have to worry. If history truly repeats itself, it will be interesting to see how long it takes Tacoma to start climbing the price ladder. My one and only complaint with this guitar is the placement of the Fishman control. There is an infrequent tendancy for the volume knob to get inadvertantly "adjusted" down when I move my right arm to the left (as in reaching towards the head of the guitar.) Easy to work with, and never affects performance.