Takamine EF-340C

Born Aug 24th, 1979, not sure where at..... This Dreadnought has 20 frets 5 of which I just had redone. She's a solid spruce top, Rosewood fret board, not sure what the body is made of, pretty dark red wood, maybe Mahogany????. It comes with an active under the saddle pickup with a volume and an eq slider control. Has a hardshell case.

I have been playing for over thirty years a variety of music from old country to Dave Matthews to Sade, to Barry White. Have done a solo "unplugged" gig called "ONE MAN ONE GUITAR" for past 20 years. My main Guitar of the 3-5 I take with me per gig. This guitar is very rich deep warm full and exotic in sound. I get many compliments on the sound.

I just had the first 5 frets replaced as I was having some buzz begin. Should have had them all replaced. It was like playing a brand new guitar. Truely felt inspired to go out and play it afterwards. The action is wonderful. Just high enough to keep its rich sound yet low enough to play fast if needed or just noodling....
Has a satan finish on the body, neck and head stock.

This guitar is going on 25 years old, I have been gigging with it on a regular basis the past ten years of its life... Very durable guitar... The finish is still in great shape. The body has a few nicks in it but who doesn't at 25???????? Can definately depend on it. Has done a few gigs with no other guitar.....

I have been playing for about 33 years. I am a self taught or garageband taught guitaist. I have played in 3 piece rock bands, 15 piece jazz bands and was a guitarist in the U. S Armys FORSCOM band of the year in 1985. I have done a continuous solo acoustic set all along the times I have done the band gig. Music is very musch a passion and has control of my life....lol I have 17 diferent stringed instruments, 3 electric guitars, (1 is a 1966 Fender Mustang) 1 bass, 1 Russian made Madolin, 1 ukelaly (sp) 2 clasical acoustics, 1 Yamaha electric acoustic 12 string, and 8 other acoustics, 4 which are electric/acoustics and 4 which are jsut acoustics. I also have my own pa for the solo gig with a very nice rack system for both the acoustic and electric gigs. I would definately buy this guitar. If this one would get lost or broken or whatever.... It is my main guitar because of its playability and its sound... It is the Alpha-Guitar if you ask me. Plays, Looks and sounds like an old Martin. I get asked if thats what it is all the time as the namesake "TAKAMINE & CO" is acroos the headstock just like Martin & Co. In fact I had heard that when Takamine left Martin and started his own guitar series he took some of the wood as part of his severance package, part of which this guitsr I ahve was made of???????? Also heard he was threatened with lawsuit because of the way he posted namesake on guitars, same as Martin, script and all. I keep a capo over the end of the headstock and the regular question I get is " What year is that martin??""""""

1999 made in Japan. Bloody nice unit, solid spruce top with solid maple sides, nice pickup (usual takamine type, but older version without built in tuner). rosewood neck, light satin finish.

I play light to mid rock (even heavier, but it sounds too light). Sound unplugged is rich, and covers the entire range. Stays in tune like nothing else, the only time I touch the keys are just before recording, or drop-D. Plugged in, use it with lows at half, mids at a quater, and highs about 3/5 of full. excite i keep at half way, but mess around with it alot. It sounds so clean and sparkley, and even techies that have heard it recorded on a minidisc 8 track have sworn its a much, much dearer guitar.

Bought second hand from a guitar repair shop, so luthier asked how I wanted it, and set it up in 5 minutes. Great bloke. Because of the 2nd hand, there were light marks from a heavy pick on the face, but these were only noticable when reflected in the light.

only had for a few months, but its a keeper. I'd say I'll never sell it, even if I buy another.

Dont know. The place I bought it from, being a repair shop, gave me 18th month warranty on it, so they think its not going to give me grief

A lucky find, great value, and a better sound that almost all the dearer guitars i played new.

I purchased the newer version of the Takamine 340, called the EF-340SC.
It was made in Japan, in 2001. It has 20 frets, a solid pruce top, and laminated mahogany sides and back. It has the higher end featured electronic pickup, under saddle system that Takamine has developed.
I purchased my EF-340SC brand new out of the box. The neck is mahogany, and the guitar is finished in a very pleasing gloss. The whole guitar shows great care in assemby and looks.It is a dreadnought style body. The bridge and saddle are standard dreadnought configuration. The tuners are of Asian manufacture, and very well done.
The neck scale is standard dreadnought, and fret width would appear to be the size between thin and a medium size. All the features of the guitar as presented, would appear to be a 10. But more on that later.
Cases are now included by most retailers, with this guitar.

The 340 is supposed to suit all styles of music, including country of which I play. The pickup and electronics are well suited for sound in different adjustments. The guitar is at it's best only on an amp. It does not have a deep, or traditional sound of mahogany and solid spruce, when played unplugged. It has a more tenor sound, with not much sustain, with either light gauge, or medium gauge phosphor bronze strings. The sound is only good above the third fret, when strings are chorded. But chording below the third fret, the sound is very short and dull. This takes away much of what this guitar should be capable of. Maybe the laminated sides and back contribute to this I'm sure. But it is a disappointment.

The factory set up was right, and the action good. The solid spruce top well done. The bridge saddle routed good.
The guitar has no fit and finish flaws, or poor quality features in appearance. Inside and out. All controls function fine.

The hardware is all good quality, along with what is a very duable finish, as I have said.

Now comes the hard part.

The guitar will not stay in tune!
Even with the on board electronic tuner, it will not tune properly. It is off pitch. Even compared to tuning forks, or the piano.
When using other high quality electronic tuners, and getting the strings into proper tune openly, it is out of tune when chording,
Going from chord to chord, the strings are out of pitch.
Even when getting the guitar tuned as close as you can, it will lose its tune after playing for a number of minutes, with each playing session. Even sitting over night in its case, and picking it up the next morning, it is again out of tune.

I am not a hard stummer, nor abuse my 340 in any way. It has never been out of my house since I purchased it. Nor for any gigs. I did take it to a luthier for his opinion, and he found the same trouble I describe here. He tells me there has to be neck problem. And some of the fret hieghts differd down the fret board.
He made a neck adjustment to slightly lower the strings, but it still has all problems I have listed here. Simply not staying in tune, and a pure strain trying to get it to stay tuned on its own.
He mentioned that I should have purchased the Takamine EF-341SC, which has a more solid reputation, and more durable guitar.

My 340, as you can see, can not be depended upon. Some of my friends come to my house as uaual, and we play a lot of bluegrass. I have to take a lot of time out, just to get the 340 back in tune to play along. It is a constant struggle. I find I have to lay it aside finally, and play my reliable well sounding Guild D-4, and Epiphone EJ-200, to really enjoy playing with them. These two guitars truly out shine my 340 in sound projection unplugged. And they have Fishman under saddle pickups I had installed after purchasing them. Those two guitars are great, when playing plugged or unplugged.

I contacted Takamine. There policy is to return the guitar to the dealer where purchased, then it would be sent to them for evaluation. Which is probably a good procedure. I don't plan to do this. I live in the midwest, and would have to ship my 340 to the east coast. The dealer would have to send it on to Takamine from there, and follow the trail back to me.
I will not do this. I will take my loss on this guitar, trade it off locally, and go on from there. It is not a keeper.
Surely other 340 owners, must have had a better 340 than I got.

I have been playing for 30 years. I own a Guild D-4, Epiphone EJ-200, a 1954 Martin D-28, and a Gibson J-45.
If my 340 was stolen, with my insurance coverage, I would replace it with the EF-341SC. It's maple sides and back make a far better sound projection, and through an amp too. I had played a few of those, before I bought my EF-340SC, and they were great.
There is nothing about this guitar I like, except the high quality fit, finish and appearance. The factory electronics are well engineered too, but I am disappointed in the on board electronic tuner.
I made the mistake of just buying this guitar out of the box, thinking it would be a great guitar. It probably is in reality, but not mine.
If anyone is in the market for a Takamine dreadnought, go with the EF-341SC. I don't think you will be disappointed with it at all.

1998 model, made in Japan. @1 fret acoustic electric, with Graph-Ex preamp. Controls for bass, mid, treble, exciter and volume. Has Takamine Palthetic pickup system (under saddle). Top is laminated spruce, sides and back mahogany.. cutaway dreadnought. Included hard case from SKB.

This guitar sounds great unplugged, a very rich, thick midrange sound. Bass response is very full and the highs sparkle, especially with the Dean Markley Blue Steel strings (medium light). Plugged in the guitar has a very workable sound, but not fabulous without effects. Takamines are famous for plugged guitars, but I was not overly pleased with the natural plugged sound. That was untl I got my effects. I play this guitar through a Digitech RP-7 and a Zoom 504, both run in a series through the effects loop of my Fender Acoustonic Jr. WOW!!! The plugged sound of this guitar was made to be tinkered with, and now my acoustic shimmers through the PA system. The sound is absolutely unreal. My suggestion would be to run the bass and treble on the guitar at half way, and notch out the mids completely. The exciter adds copious top end, but can also lead to generous feedback in a tight setting, along with a shrill when used with a bright chorus. Although i was initally disappointed with the plugged sound, now I couldn't be happier with it. I bought this guitar to replace my Fender DG41, and it was a fabulous move. Next up for me is the Tak LTD2000. I play country, acoustic rock, southern rock, and bluegrass and this guitar does all that and more. This guitar has a commanding sound.. a very 'listen to me.. i rule' sound. If done with the right effects, the sound through your monitors will give you that 'welcome home.. we've been waiting for you' feeling.

From the factory the guitar wa sset up near perfectly. The top was well matched, although it had a small flaw (scar) in the wood. However, those little imperfections are what gives a guitar character. The factory strings sucked, but the Blue Steels I use solved that problem... use Blue Steels for everything.. the rock. One complaint is the frets. Perhaps I just got a bum set, but my top five frets have needed to be filed more times than I care to count, so I had them replaced. No other problems, and don't let that stop you from buying one. Everything was properly tightened and matched, the nut was cut to perfection, and the saddle was a perfect fit. Takamine guitars do require one thing, a break in period. How they play in the store is not how they will eventually play, the action will get much lighter and the sound will mature. My action is as light as an electric.. a great feat for a dreadnaught guitar.

I use this guitar live with no trouble. The hardware is like a rock, except for my few bad frets, but I don't think this is common to all Taks. I agree with other Tak reviewers that a top strap button should be included, but oh well. If you want one.. HAVE IT INSTALLED. With a guitar that lists over $1,000, don't try to be Mr. fix-it and drill into it yourself. You have to put it on the back of the neck bracing, the side is to round, buthave it done anyway, don't crack your joints. the finish is great, except for what I did to the back. I am a country singer/player so needless to say I wear a large belt. My belt scratched the finish on the back something awful, a common problem to country players. Anyway, this guitar has been put through the hammers of hell. I am on the road 200 days a year or more, and this is my only one. I stil have my old fender,but it stays home. I depend on this guitar 110% and have no worries. It shines when miked in the studio, and with a little tweaking, is a fabulous live guitar.

I dealt with Tak when I ordered this guitar, cause it was not in stock. It took a while, but the company was great. Because it took a while to come in, I got some free stuff along with the guitar, some strings and a t-shirt. Minor stuff, but I really appreciated the effort they made to make up for the lost time. I have since dealt with Kaman for many other things and they are fantastic people to deal with, always eager to please.

I have been playing for about 3 years now and have a severe case of G.A.S.(guitar acquisition syndrome). I kept buying and selling guitars every week, until I got this one. Now I just buy and sell electrics, for my search has ended. I actually am going to buy another of these, b/c my one I have now has been signed by a few of my favorite players. my local store just got one in, so to me it goes. If this guitar were stolen I would kill the person who did it, then dance on their grave playing my guitar. I compared this one to offers from Guild and Martin. it blew the guild away, ad the martin was just as good, but twice as much. Besides I live one hour from the Martin factory and everyone around here seems to own one. At first I wished this guitar had a direct recording out, but i mike in the studio anyway. All I can suggets is go to your local music store and try one out. When you see how beautiful it plays in the store, just think it gets better... way better with a little breaking in. Go buy one... buy one. what are you sitting here for... go buy one!! it is more than worth what you pay. A great guitar for country, acoustic rock, and bluegrass.