Takamine AN-16

My AN16 was born in June 2003 in Japan and was purchased second hand at the end of 2005 by me. Its original owner was an aging man who I suspect bought it because it looked nice, because there wasn't a scratch in sight and the wood was 'virgin white'. This beauty had sat in its case for the past year and a half, a tragedy not to be repeated any time soon.

All solid wood dreadnought, spruce and Indian rosewood, (the smell by the way, was out of this world!) very understated looks with no inlays on the fretboard. Tuners labelled Tak but they are Gotoh just like the Martin's I played. Pinless bridge is nice and tidy and a quality case better than one i paid #100 for with my last guitar - it's so soft and furry i want to sleep in it!

I play mostly Dave Matthews stuff, mixed with a variety of my own creations, some Pearl Jam, acoustic rock basically.

I was pleasantly suprised with how well this dread can be finger picked, it provides incredible feedback, but I prefer to strum with a flat pick for the volume and bass.

When I first got it home I was impressed with the deeeeep bass. Something not mentioned in other reviews is that the back is slightly bowed outwards (by perhaps 1cm - almost imperceptible) to give the body more volume without changing the classic dreadnought shape - clever. Whilst this doesn't make the guitar any louder (it's pretty loud as it stands) the frequency response seems to be incredible. I'd love to hook up a spectrum analyser and check exactly how low it goes because it's stunning.

Treble initially seemed a little squeaky and in the first position is probably the guitar's weakest point. However, after seven months of daily play it's much smoother and bright. I was dubious about the split bridge until I stuck a capo on the fifth fret, when I was floored by the beautiful bell like highs further up the neck. I played over 50 guitars before I settled on this one, and only three Taylors sounded better in this treble range - the cheapest of which was #1400 and the most expensive was #3000.

Sustain and balance across the strings is remarkably even. The bass E string will easily resonate for 15-20 seconds after a good twang. How many guitars can do that? But the best thing about the whole guitar is the harmonics. I've never EVER played a guitar with harmonics this good. Simply strumming up and down rapidly alternating between Am to E and you can hear the Sin waves build together and fall together. Mute the strings on the 12th fret and pull off as you pick, starting from the high E working down a-la Pearl Jam and the chimes are out of this world. Other guitars I've played simply can't reproduce this sound.

Overall, extremely versatile. I play quite softly when people are about, and much louder when they aren't. It can easily hold it's own playing with other guitars or along to Dave Matthews' 'Live at Luther College'. In particular, with Crash and Dancing Nancies, it's a fantastic match. My friend has utterly fallen in love with it and can play it in a way that I'm just not able. Very very loud and aggressive and it copes with it all.

I strongly advice getting D'addario strings on this bad boy too.

Finally, I can hear it's still opening up and getting better and better by the day...

The finish is as good as any I've ever seen with the exception of some the very high end (#2-3k) Taylors i played, which were peerless in appearance. I think maybe aliens made them or something...

I counted the grains of wood on the front spruce to see how old it is, they get so tight in the middle I lost count, but it's over 170 years old!!! My baby sure looks good for her age!

Guitar finish cannot be faulted. The back rosewood is one of the nicest I have seen. Almost looks like koa it reflects light so much. Wish I could upload a pic it's so nice. I don't like satin backs on guitars and I'm glad this doesn't have one like the Martins and Taylors in this price range. Show that wood off!

Don't know if the guitar had been set up since leaving the factory because it was second hand but this is perfect. Medium to low action, zero fret buzz, even under manic playing.

Pinless bridge is a revelation. Why doesn't anyone else do this? Changing strings is so easy...

Reliability initially seems good. Stays in tune for a couple of weeks, even if I stick it in the car and take it to a friends house several times, it just doesn't need tuning. Had a few knocks, only one has left a tiny mark.

I was horrified when, after about four months of constant play I noticed what looked like serious varnish wear above the sound hole. upon closer inspection, it's just the black colour of my plectrum which has rubbed off on the finish which is holding up just fine. Strap buttons are ok too. I play walking around in the garden with no worries. Can't comment on gigging because I don't - unless you count playing to my fish...

I'd had a 35yr old Contessa acoustic guitar lying around my room for about 6yrs. Learnt a few chords and would play it to relax every now and then. But it wasn't until about 2 yrs ago I started taking it seriously. Since purchasing this guitar my skills have catapulted through the stratosphere. I'd say I've learnt more in the past 7 months with this guitar than the past 5 years with my old one. I loved my old guitar immensely, but there is just no point in playing it any more. There is no comparison. My friend has been playing seriously for 6yrs and said he now considers all his time on his own guitar as 'practice for yours'. It's that good.

I've also got a couple of fairly decent electric guitars. But all my guitars are now on loan to a variety of friends because I don't want to play them anymore. That alone, is testament to the Tak's quality.

Before I bought this guitar, my car was my pride and joy (an MX-5/Miata). Closely followed by my stereo. But not any more. Were there to be a fire in my house, I would grab this, and this alone.

My quest to find the perfect all solid wood guitar isn't over. I'm always going to keep looking. I've played every guitar in my local shop (well over 50) and there were three guitars I liked as much as this, that sounded as good, if not better. They were all Taylors. can't remember their names, but one was all koa (the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen) one had Taylor's shorted scale - it was sooo easy to play and felt alive in my hands! But I'm gonna have to save for a long time to get one of those. For the money, this is a sensation.

My only concern was that I was worried the lack of dots on the fret board would be a problem, but there are markings on the top of the neck, and that's all you need.

What do I love the most? I just can't get over the depth of the bass, the intimacy when it's finger picked, the smell of the wood, and sometimes I can just sit and look at it smiling. My advice; play many, many guitars, learn and understand the subtle differences in sounds from the varieties of woods, and don't worry about brand names. I wanted a Martin D16-gt and had the cash for it, but after months of playing, reading and thinking, I walked away seriously impressed with Taylors, but in love with a Takamine and it's the pride and joy of my life.

This is a 2002 model that I bought on E-bay as a factory second. Although it was new, it had a small crack in the binding near the neck. Cosmetic only. This is a part of the "supernatural series" offered by Takamine. It is Japanese made, and is a high end guitar in terms of Takamines.

This guitar is solid spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides dreadnought guitar with a gloss finish. Scalloped bracing (ala martin HD-28). Satin mahogany neck with 20 fret rosewood fretboard (no dot inlays in FB). Headstock has rosewood venier on it. Nice inlay around binding, looks to be rosewood and maple, same inlay in center of back. Abalone inlay around the sound hole. Pinless rosewood bridge. It has no electronics. Very nice high ratio gold tunes with amber-pearl buttons. These are branded Takamine, but I am sure they are made for Takamine (Gotoh's maybe). Regardless, they are very fine tuners. Needs a strap button at the neck.

I am rating this category as a 9 because I don't think that the abalone soundhole rosette is the greatest match to the natural wood inlay on the rest of the guitar, and due to the lack of the 2nd strap button. This is not a knock in anyway to the craftsmanship of the guitar.

I play bluegrass gospel with this guitar, and it is very well suited to strumming/flatpicking. This guitar has that rosewood dreadnought sound. Not quite a D-28, but will definitely hold its own against banjos and mandos. Very good bass response with punchy mids and highs. Actually has a little fuller/complete sound than a D-28, just not quite the same bass response. This is a "bassy" guitar though, and I would not hesitate to play with anyone anytime in terms of its ability to cut through.

I am giving this guitar a 10 in terms of sound because it met the criteria I was looking for in my style. No it does not sound exactly like a Martin, but I don't think that is always a bad thing. If a Martin is a 10, this guitar is definitely at least a 9.5

The action was horrible from the factory! I'll give Takamine the benefit of the doubt as this was a second. The truss rod was as tight as it could be. I adjusted to my liking and now no complaints... great low action, virtually no buzzing. As far as the finish goes, I have always thought Takmines could compete with anything out there, and this guitar is no exception. It is as nice a guitar as you will find in the $1500 range which is the full list price on this guitar.

The bracing is top notch. No excess glue peeking out. Bridge was properly aligned, and very nice fretwork on guitar.

The only flaw was the factory defect (cracked binding), but I bought it knowing it had a factory flaw, so no fault there. I'll give it an 8 due to the minimalist nature of the guitar and the banjo string tight truss rod from the factory

I can't see any reason that this guitar will not last for years.

never dealt with for any of my 3 Takamines.

I have been playing acoustic guitar for almost ten years now. This is the nicest all around guitar I have owned. I am actually pleasantly suprised by this guitar. It has exceeded my expectations, and is a true high end instrument. I would definitely replace it with another if anything happened to it. The criteria for a 10 was "fantastic value". This guitar meets and exceeds that criteria.

This is a 2002 made, purchased Nov 2002, standard size dreadnought (part of the advanced natural range) with solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides, semi-gloss finish and a nice slab of veneer on the headstock. It has what looks like real abalone on the soundhole. The tuners are gold and Takamines own. Only one strap button, although I got the shop to add a second button for me a la Taylor guitars (i.e. on the base of the neck but placed on the underneath of the heel as opposed to the back). It came with a nice flock lined hard shell case.

Unusually for a Takamine there are no electronics, it's purely an acoustic.

The sound is well balanced although I sometimes feel that the mid-range can get a little lost and the bass gets a bit muddy with more energetic strumming. As a dreadnought there's plenty of bass coming through and sustain is remarkably even across the strings. Detail when fingerpicking is excellent, every note is clear as a bell. And as I've only had it for about 9 months, I don't think that it's settled itself in yet and there's plenty more tone to come.

It loves a new set of strings (d'addarios exp coated 12's) as it makes the sound really zing, which is what I liked about it in the shop. I compared it to many many other guitars in my price range (and quite a few outside it :-) ), in fact I spent many weekends searching for the right one as it is my first 'good' guitar. I would place it as, more balanced than a Martin, not as controlled (anaemic?) as a Taylor and with more personality than a Yamaha (based on the guitars within reasonable budget reach, obviously!!). I tried to like a Tacoma that I could have had a great deal on but just couldn't get on with it. I almost missed this guitar as I was convinced that I had to buy a traditional maker to get a really good guitar and 'Takamine only make electros for stage work don't they!!' Just proved to me that only you can know which guitar you'll like when it's in your hand.

Please take any criticisms of the sound above in the right way, I am being very picky where I've noted something - the overall sound and playability is excellent for the cost, and I just know that it'll get better as it ages.

I love the sound this guitar makes - after all thats why I bought it. I play a variety of music both strummed and picked, mainly for my own enjoyment only, and it's a good all-rounder to have. Takamine have obviously gone to town on these to try and break into the middle tier unplugged market as it plays far and away above it's price range.

After all that glowing praise why only a 9? Cos my next guitar will be the 10, honest!

*****Top Tips*****
Early on in my search somebody told me not only to 'play them all to death' but also listen to somebody else playing it - it's amazing how different a guitar sounds from your perspective and then an audiences. If you can take your existing guitar along to compare even better, as trying to remember what a guitar from another shop 40 miles away sounds like compared to 'this one' is impossible without a reference point.
Finally, it's ok to be completely anal about it! You're going to live with your purchase for a long time so take your time before deciding, no self-respecting dealer will mind how often or how many you try before deciding as long as its the right choice for you.

Ah, what can I say.

The first one I got, although lovely to play, I noticed when I sat down with it at home that the neck was fitted badly to the body with one side slightly (a millimetre or so out) higher than the other. It didn't affect the playing and the action was fine but it may have caused problems if I ever needed a fret dress or re-set. No problem, these things happen, just get the shop to send for another! Not Korg though, oh no, the muppet in customer dis-service told the shop that I would have to send the guitar back for them to check and, if they agreed, they would then send me another! It'll be about 10 days turnaround they said. Luckily, the managing director, who I was eventually put through to (never accept bad service from anybody, just keep saying 'well his/her boss then' until you get somebody who does care about the service - we all suffer in the UK because too few people complain), saw my point straight away and was very helpful in arranging the set-up and next day delivery of a replacement for me.

Apart from that I have to say that the fit and finish is spot on, not a blemish anywhere (ok, I found a bit of glue residue where the neck meets the body but boy, do you have to look for it - even I'm not that critical), everything is in the right place and does what it's supposed to.

The woods are also very nicely matched, the back looking an especially fine piece of timber and workmanship. The woods vibrate beautifully when being played, both the front and back are nice pieces of tonewood for the price, the rosewood adding just the right hint of darkness to the naturally treble nature of this guitar.
The action is a touch high perhaps, but I think quite a few factory set-ups are like this so that you can have the choice to go lower, if required. It certainly doesn't affect playability and you don't need to be a gorilla to fret either.

I'll give an 8 here for the second one I received and give Takamine the benefit of the doubt about the first one.

I have my doubts about the durability of the finish as I'm quite careful and I already have a couple of dings in the top varnish/laquer. No such doubts about the general build though, this is definitely a well built piece of equipment, designed to last for years of playing.

I would have no qualms about gigging without a back-up as this thing will not die on you, it's definitely a long-stayer.

See action, fit and finish for my experience. The managing director of Korg (the importer) may know how to deal with customers but some of his staff don't give a crap. Really made me feel like a valued customer, not! I am hoping that he fed something down to his staff about customer service as they made me feel like a fraudster trying it on rather than a valued customer.

So 10 for the MD of Korg, as he wanted me to be happy and 0 for his customer service team who couldn't give a monkey's

I have been playing seriously for a couple of years after messing around for a few years before that with cheapish kit but not really learning anything. I got rid of most of my equipment to buy this guitar so that I could concentrate on learning to play not mess with knobs, buttons etc.

If this guitar was stolen I would probably go all anal and start the search again but to be fair, this one won out over a fair number of respected competitors so I would have to say I would buy it again. Would I recommend this to a friend - I would certainly add it to the list of must trys for them