Takamine EAN-40CX

Bought my 'Tak' in 2004 from merchan City Music in Glasgow, Scotland. It cost me ?640GBP which was one of the cheapest prices about at the time. The guitar now costs ?740 from the same shop! It has: Body Shape: NEX Cutaway, Rosette: Tinted wood rings, Top: Solid Cedar,Back: Solid Mahogany, Sides: Mahogany,
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Electronics: CT-4B, Tuners: Gold with Amber Pearl, Features: Scalloped bracing. It also came with a solid Takamine hardshell case which cannot be sold seperately so I only hope that it lasts me for years.

I play Irish Folk and this guitar is excellent for me. Takes a lot of knocks at gigs but can easily withstand them. I run it through Bose speakers and it has a very nice clean sound. There is nothing I dislike about my 'Tak' and it is one of my favourite posessions. If it got damaged I would try my best to get it repaired.

The action was great from the factory and never seen any flaws in the body or neck. The guitar is flawless.

This guitar has been gigged since an hour after it left the shop. The body has plenty of marks, dings and burns which I really think adds culture to it. There was no scrath guard, but I stuck one on as the plectrum really starts to wear the wood away when playing. Will have to varnish soundhole as at the bottom wood badly worn as plectrum has took its toll in it. Never had any problems with the Electrics and they sound really nice. Had to get the frets replaced recently as they were badly worn, don't think the frets are up to much and this is the only fault I have with it. Managed to get the replaced for ?45.00 which is very very cheap! THis guitar will only improve with age and is brilliant for gigging or playing unplugged in a house.

Never dealt with Takamine so don't know how good their support is. Don't think I will ever have to contact them as the guitar is pretty solid!

I have been playing a few years now and this guitar is ideal. Ifsomebody stole it then I would buy another guitar, but maybe a dreadnought 'Tak'. I love the shape of it and the gold and amber tuners make it look really great. I hate that the finish can be marked easily but at the same time I love this as it adds culture to the box! I recommend anybody to get one of thee guitars or even any of the Takamine guitars as they are at an afforable price to have a great top of the range guitar,

this guitar is from the 'natural' series, not sure what year it was built.
20 frets. says that all are fitted with D'Addario strings out of the factory. i got a very nice heavy-duty hardshell case with the guitar. both strap buttons. NEX cutaway body. solid cedar top, solid mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard. lovely matt satin finish and no pickguard ? the website claims that anything that could have possibly impeded the vibration of the soundboard was purposely left out. the tuners are gold with amber pearl. scalloped bracing.

i bought mine with a preamp already fitted, the CT-4BII.
this features a 3-band graphic EQ, a volume control slider and a very handy chromatic tuner. when amplified, one press of the tuner button allows tuning the guitar with sound to the output, a second press mutes the output to allow silent tuning, and a third press turns the tuner off.

the frequency response is well balanced, the deep bass resonates beautifully, the treble sings clearly, and the midrange projects well. this is also the case when amplified. on its own though, the body carries depth which ensures a good level of volume. still sounds wonderful when the strings are down-tuned to alternate tunings.

it kinda has the feel of a smaller-bodied guitar but it does yield impressive performance..an excellent choice for the singer-songwriter, or the finger-style player.

everything is so well done, the finish is perfect..not black or glossy (i dont like all scratches and fingerprints showing up under stage lights..) action not high at all.. and not too low - what you want from an acoustic. intonation spot on of course. cutaway allows for easy access to the final fret. no buzzing or odd vibrations. 'nuff said really.

i'd use this live definitely. the hardcase should keep it out of harms way most of the time. it looks really well built, i can't see anything coming loose in the near future! i'm sure it will last ages, i just dont want it to get any knocks as it's such a nice guitar, i'd hate to spoilt its bodywork.

an absolute bargain for the price (including case and preamp!) if it were lost/stolen, i'd wish i could buy another! it just looks so sexy.. feels really comfortable to play, the preamp does the job (the tuner is a good feature)..stood out like a sore thumb next to the other guitars in the shop.. wasn't interesed in a g-series takamine, and some of the other models are just too expensive for me. this was just right.