Takamine EAN-60C

The guitar has a tuner, a 3 band EQ and some kind of pickup. Its got a cedar top, satin finish and a cutaway. Made in Japan. Contrary to the other reviews, Musicians "Friend" shipped this guitar in a single-ply cardboard box. For $900 I assumed a case was standard especially since MF doesn't offer one one the page where you order the guitar.

What a dissapointment. Through a good accoustic amp the EAN-60C sounds pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. But as an accoustic guitar its pretty awful. Its not that the sound isn't rich; its that there is hardly any sound! I assume this has to do with avoiding feedback. This Takamine is not quite as bad as the Taylor nylon string but its still pretty dead. Experimenting with strings might help--a little. Either plug in or ask everybody to be very, very quiet.

Wow. Stellar. Although the guitar is somewhat plain, the workmanship is gorgeous. The neck is almost like a steel string neck--a bit wider but with a profile like a human hand, not a 2x4 classical neck. Frets, fingerboard, finish, binding, cutaway...all are just perfect. Lovely just to look at.

I returned it the day after I got it so I can't comment on the long term. But it looks to be totally solid (sounds like it, too!) and has a truss rod so not much to go wrong.

I didn't need support but I looked at the Takamine portion of the Kaman website and it was worthless. First you have to find the guitar and they have all kinds of product groups with names that tell you nothing. When I found the guitar there was no mention of the thinner neck which is its most important feature. Nor did they mention that this is one of Takamine's better Japanese guitars.

OK, here's the whole story. I've been playing a long time and own a lot of guitars. Always wanted an accoustic nylon string with a playable (non-classical) neck. Waited anxiously for the Taylor nylon string and was shocked at how lousy it was, unamplified. So I bought a Rick Turner Renaissance "hybrid" nylon string which is something like a much improved Chet Atkins guitar. No, its not great unamplified but its not desgined for that--so I'm back where I started. My reccomendation: If you want a playable nylon string and plan to use it in an amplified setting get the Rick Turner. The more you play it, the more you appreciate how great it is. Its far superior to the Chet Atkins, Godin Multiac, Taylor nylon, etc. But if you want a nice, totally accoustic nylon string with a playable neck, forget it. You're out of luck. You might try stringing a steel string with nylon and see what that sounds like.

The EAN60C has a solid cedar top and solid mahogony back. The finish is satin and helps the guitar maintain a very natural appearance. It's a beautiful instrument! The fretwork is flawless (with the frets set into a simple rosewood fretboard--no ornamentation). The cutaway body provides easier access to final frets. The tuning machine is gold with gold pearl knobs. Mine includes a 3-band preamp with depressable volume control. As classical guitars go, this one is feature-rich. It lacks solid wood sides and has a neck width smaller than standard classical guitars. I also play a Martin DCME and find the necks compatible (though the Takamine is of course wider). The only bothersome feature is the fact that the D string tends to rub against the head stock between the nut and tuning peg. You have to be careful to force the string to wind left of the peg hole or you will wear a grove into the headstock.

It was the sound of this guitar that attracted me to it. The tone is warm and rich. The resonance on base notes is amazing. This is my first cedar-top guitar. I'm really enjoying it! My primary use of the guitar is for fingerpicking pop, folk, and classical songs. The dealer suggested that I do NOT use high tension strings on this guitar. It does have a truss rod in the neck, however, and should support that option well.

The look and feel of this guitar is excellent. I look the clean, simple appearance. There are no inlays in the fretboard and no pickguard (which is as you would expect on a classical guitar). The satin finish gives the guitar a natural and understated look. Most importantly, the playability is wonderful. Tones are clean up and down the neck and fingering is comfortable even if you have small hands (mine are average, but my 13 year old daughter also finds it easly to play).

I am basically a hobbist--with limited performances. This guitar is well-made, however, and I anticipate that it will wear well.

Overall, I would rate this guitar as a fantastic value. I have been playing for more than 25 years and have owned Yamaha, Ibanez, Gibson, Epiphone, Ovation, and Martin guitars. I'm not a professional player and have not purchased top-of-the-line models from any of the companies. The Takamine is as close as I've come to owning an all solid wood guitar. Brfore I bought it, I played several high end classical guitars. The tone, resonance, and playablity of this guitar was better than most. Considering the afordability and more comfortable neck width, it was an easy choice for me. I'm not looking to get something "better" in the future.

Mine is a 2002 EAN60C, stock from the store. It is a nylon string classical stytle guitar with a nice cutaway and built in electronics. I am a jazz guitarist that was looking for an "easier" playing nylon string that the typical 2+ inch wide nut classical guitar for those bossa, samba, salsa, romantica, etc. tunes that just beg for that particular sound that only a nylon string can produce. Well, this guitar is it, at least for me. You can find the specs from other reviews or the Takamine website. The built-in tuner and the adjustable truss rod are nice features on this guitar.

I've been playing a long time but never owned a classical guitar nor mastered the art of classic or flamenco finger style playing (too bad BTW, I which I studied this at least a bit when I was a pup - I'd be a better player today if I had). Perhaps it's not too late for me to learn but I bought this guitar to play with a pick and/or with my thumb (and a little fore and index funger action such as I can muster).

As I said, my objective was to find a great sounding guitar for those certain jazz and latin tunes (e.g. - Russell Malone on Diana Krall's "Let's Face The Music"). I am a happy man. This guitar sounds great whether played unamplified in the den or through a PA system or even through my Polytone Brute IV. I'm still experimenting with strings but I think the high trension strings sound better on this guitar than the normal tension strings.

I had no idea how long nylon strings continue to stretch. The built-in tuner is a terrific feature.

All around, the guitar is well made. It has an adjustable truss rod which is also a nice feature. I just needed some minor tweaking to set the action to my liking (probably lower than must acoustics but that's what I like).

Can't say much about this. I have it in a HSC and have taking it out on a few gigs and rehearsals. For what I play, this would be my second on-stage guitar. My impression is that it would hold up well and be a good road warrior even as a #1 or solo guitar. It gets a lot of play time at home.

Can't say, I've never used Takamine's support.

I've been playing steel string guitars for well over 30 years. This is my first nylon string guitar. I like it a lot. I looked around long and hard to find a quaility classical style guiatr with a less than a 2" nut and at a reasonable price. This one hits the mark on all counts. To my standards, I've only played one 10 rated guitar in my life(and no, it wasn't one of John D'Angelico's New Yorker's- although that was close to a 10). This EAN60C is a solid 9 and good value for the money.

If you are looking at this eval you already know what this is but just in case, cutaway acoustic/elec nylon string. I'm not going into all the specs, you can find that at the tak website. First of all I have a couple of Taylors, LOVE them, and would have bought one of their new nylons could I afford it. But I am very happy with this guitar. It is well made, mahogany S&B and cedar top. It sounds pretty good unamplified, it has a voice and records pretty darn well. Not as good as a multi-thousand dollar classical but I can't stand the neck on those things anyway. The tone is I guess generic but expressive enough. This neck is VERY similar to a regular guitar neck, maybe Martin more than Tayor, but very accesible, no great fat 2 x 4 like most classical necks. The intonation is remarkably good for a "cheaper" guitar.(If you watch Ebay you will eventually be able to pick one up for 5-600) Playing out, this is a great guitar for varying things off of strictly steel string format. This is NOT a campfire guitar, although I was sitting across from someone playing it and was moderately impressed. Final note, with this type of guitar strings are VERY important. Best so far Savarez with the Allaince highs and Cordum lows, about $8.00 in the right place.

These are the new higher end hirade natural classical electrics from takamine. Solid cedar top, solid mahogony back. Laminated mahogony sides. Takamine GT-48 preamp with B/M/T/V and onboard tuner. Made in Japan. 1 7/8" at the nut (476mm). 14 frets to the body, then cutaway. Has what Takamine calls a palathetic pickup. I have no idea what this is, but I know what it does. It sends a signal that, when send directly to an amplification device without any coloring added, sounds exactly the same as the guitar without the amplification. I have never heard that before this guitar. Finish is natural throughout. Excellent tuners with nice carmal colored tuning pegs. Purchased at Musicians Friend where I was told "no case was included". Obviously they were wrong, because a Takamine SKB case came with the guitar. Neck is flat.

Rich full bright sound. Very good presence for a classical cutaway.

Everything from the factory was perfect. No flaws.

Well made.

Had to purchase this guitar because it was the only classical with all the options I wanted. Narrower nut width than the 2 1/8 of most classicals (I have smaller hands), 14 frets to the body with cutaway (gives access similar to steel string guitars), preamp (tuner a plus), solid top (and back, that was a plus). Just high quality craftsmanship at a reasonable cost. Throw in the hard shell case and I was very please with it all around.