Takamine GS-330S

I think all the basic features have been covered, solid cedar top, nato back and sides, dreadnaught body shape, covered tunners etc. I'll leave it at that. It is a fantastic guitar in every aspect, but features are very, very basic. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just the way it is.

I took a big risk and bought this guitar based 100% on the reviews of others. I was not let down at all. I had played other Takamines with cedar tops in the 600-1000$ range and they have nothing over this one. It has that "punchy", woody sound. Great tight bass, but not overwhelming like the lower end Martins. Great highs to, it is basically a fill rich sounding, well balanced guitar. Really, any style of music could be played on this guitar, I play everything from Eric Clapton's blues (Driftin'), Bob Dylan, U2 and even some classical. It handles them all. It's a lot louder than I thought it would be too.

The factory set up was good. Not perfect but comfortably playable. The action was a little high, and the neck in need of a slight tweeking, but no other problems. The neck feels great, very comfortable and solid. No buzzing to speak of anywhere along the neck. I'll eventually make some standard upgrades, bone nut etc. Maybe add a pickgaurd, as I have heard the cedar isn't as resistant as spruce.

Some of the reviews mentioned that the guitar didn't weigh very much. but when I got it I was surprised it weighed as much as it did. I have yet to play live with it, the finish is the only thing that would worry me, the light matte finish seems like it would be very unforgiving to bumps and scratches. I would say it's a very dependable guitar, I'd always try and gig with a back-up, but that's usually just standard procedure.

N/A

I have been playing about 8 years now and have owned several guitars. I currently own a Gibson Les Paul Standard (my baby), Fender Standard Tele, Hohner 335 copy, and building my own custom Stratocaster. As for acoustics, I am very, very picky about my acoustic tone. I have owned various guitar from Ovation,Epiphone,Martin,Tanara(CRAP!),and Ibanez, all ranging from 200-700$. This one is the best I've found for my particulat tastes, and the value is absolutely incredible. If it were lost or stolen I'd get another, or consider moving up to the AN10 perhaps, ut for value alone, this guitar is awsome.

2000 model
Paid $180 on ebay. New but stamped used.
Standard dread. No electronics. 20 frets
No cutaway. Solid Cedar top.
Laminated Nato back and sides.
Black bound neck. no inlays.
Very plain looking guitar, which is not bad
by any means. This is a players guitar!
Not a show piece!

Style-wise, I'll play it all.
Blues, instrumentals, Spanish stuff.
Rock, and the pretty ballad things.
Has a bright mid-rangey sound.
Now lets get this out of the way right up front.
This is no $1500 Tak. This is a budget minded
entry level guitar.
That being said, this is one helluva guitar!
Now I own 2 other high end Taks. So I know a good sound,
and this isn't it, but I'll say this.....every time
I play this guitar, I enjoy the hell out of it.
It has great response and terrific projection.
Very balanced sound string to string.
The best way to describe it is this way. It sounds
dry and woody! Especially fingerpicked.
I love 'dry and woody' !!
There is nothing in this price range that can compare.
In fact, when compared to my 'good' gutars. The only thing this
is lacking is depth of sound. But after getting into
it for 5 minutes or so. I forget about that and I really enjoy
the sound and responsiveness.
This should say something about the sound.
I have those other high end Taks and for some reason this
GS300S still gets played alot! 'Nuff said!
So considering price and it's targeted audience,
I give it a solid 9

Action was decent enough when I got it.
I've filed in the bridge and tweaked the truss rod
and now it sits pretty good.
Neck feels good. I hate saying this but the
Nato wood is actually gorgeous. Flamed and everything!
Cedar top is solid and has great color. Satin finish is
holding up extremely well.
Many finish flaws though. Thats why is was sold
as a 'second', and 'used' So i have no problem with that!

I wouldn't use this on a gig but only because I
own better guitars. Considered all on it's own though,
I would not hesitate using it. It does have a lovely
sound. Plays very well and seems to stay in tune
indefinitely.
It feels very, very light but I know it's
built like a tank!

Who knows, who cares. If there ever was a problem,
which I doubt, I figure it was cheap enough to
just buy a new one.

20 years playing. Own lotsa good stuff.
'94 American Strat, 2 other Takamines
a '92 LTD, and a '97 LTD
Love 'em both. Fender Princeton Chorus Amp
Boss-BR532 digital recorder and CD burner.
This GS300S is a great guitar for the money.
I'm not much for dreads anymore, I like Tak's NEX body,
I'd definitely buy this one again. In fact I'm thinking of
sinking a little money into this one and getting a
bone nut and saddle, and maybe some tusq bridge pins.
Maybe it'll improve the tone a bit.
The biggest attribute of this guitar has to be the
solid cedar top. You can't beat cedar. right out of the
box it sounds aged and woody. Spruce just doesn't do
that for you.
So, yeah, I'd buy one again in a heartbeat if some
dirtbag stole it. And I'd recommend one to anyone,
especially a beginner, they play nice enough to
keep a beginner interested in playing. And sound nice enough
to keep 'em happy for a few years.

Features are already listed in other reviews. It's a pretty simple guitar. The solid cedar top is very nice-looking and evenly matched. I'd purchased this one for my son to learn on and bought an old Fender F-50, which I loved but found the neck too thick. So my boy, who has no trouble with the Fender, switched with me. I really wanted the older guitar but I can't complain about the look or sound of this one. I like the flat, satin finish. He added a pickguard. I preferred the look without, but I have to admit it's practical and still good-looking.

Excellent sound in all ranges. My son and I were in a guitar store recently fooling around with upscale instruments and an experienced player there felt the Takamine compared favorably with the more expensive lower-end Martins (selling for about $900). Not with the D-28s, though, or especially the 45 year old D-18 they had. But for the money this strikes me as remarkable.

Given my discomfort with the neck of the Fender, which I liked otherwise, this one seems much easier to play. Don't know who set the action but it seems fine. No flaws that I can see, and everything looks to be of good quality. I played autoharop off and on about 30 years and have met many 'harp luthiers so I've picked up a little bit about tonewoods and assembly. Custom harps top out at about $2 grand, but it's hard to get any harp of this guitar's quality for less than $500 or $600.

This is the big question, but I'm encouraged by the responses I see. In the few months we've had it it's held up fine but I'm told spruce is more durable than cedar, although I suspect cedar may produce a nicer sound without needing to be broken in. Live playing? Probably not a major issue.

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I bought mine brand new at a pawn shop (always check pawn shops right after christmas for kick ass gear) for 200 Bucks I'm assuming it was made in 2002 since it is brand new. It has 20 frets which is standard as far as I can tell. I also have a Takamine F-340s (List Price $400) from 1978 (well thats what the stamp says) which sounds great but is a little deeper than I like and feels a bit more stable. If this one wasn't so light I wouldn't worry about it but it feels more fragile even though I know its pretty solid!

This guitar is very well balanced in my opinion it has just the right amount of bass and treble the britness is a plus. Like I said I am used to my F-340s but this one is becoming my favorite! It stands up to PunkRock pretty well. Everything I write is on acoustic and this baby really works great even standing up to power chords!

I cant find any flaws accept for the cheap strings that came with it but then again every company puts those cheap o strings on to keep the price down.

I never play a gig without a backup but I could get away with doing it on this guitar although I would never recommend it. I treat acoustics more like a percussion instrument instead of a delicate flower type thing. And this thing seems to stand up to it.

I love this guitar and would recommend it to anyone. Great starter guitar and if it turns out your too rough on it your only out a few hundred bucks. I've had 2,000 dollar Gibsons break on me and that is a pain! I would buy this guitar again in a heartbeat if I lost it.

This dreadnought guitar was probably made in 2000. It was made in Tawain. There are twenty frets, soldi cedar top, satin finish, with no pickguard. The tuners are generic, but of good quality.

The tone with this guitar is very good. I tried out a lot of acoustics and this guitar sounded better than any I tried out that were under $400. I like the way this guitar projects its sound. It does not sound like a plywood guitar, as so many of the lower end guitars sound.

The set up fro this guitar was very good when I purchased it.The action is low. There are no noticable flaws in the construction.

I don't gig, so I do not need a backup. I think you could get by playing this one live though. I am not sure of the durability of this guitar or how it will age over time. I have had it for two years and have not had any problems with it.

Never need it.

This was my first real guitar. I have been playing for about two years. If it were lost ro stolen, I would probably buy a higgher end accoustic. But I would recommend this guitar to anyone. I looked at all of the other major brands. Thsi one felt mroe comfortable and sounded better than any in its price range.

Standard acoustic dreadnought features, except no pick guard

Stunning. I work in a music store, and have plenty of time to compare all different models, makes, styles etc. of guitar. I was originally thinking about the Taylor Big Baby, but it's overly bright for my taste. I never much cared for Takamine's, always found them too bright, until I played this and the EN10. The first thing that struck me was how clear the guitar is - reminded me of the first Martin I played. Far better than the Martin X range, which sound hideous.

Beautiful looking, although there's a little excess glue here and there.

As mentioned above, I work in a music shop - several people with cedar top guitars with no pickguard have mentioned that the wood is very easily worn, but since I don't strum hard, this is of no problem. However, if you do pick hard, it's probably best to stick on a pick guard.

Well, I work at the shop, but the service really is great.

Spent a lot of time looking for a good acoustic. This is a great one, and not only for the price. Whatever you own, check out this gem.

The guitar was made in 2000. It has a 21 fret neck. The case was bought seperately. It is a solid top guitar. The guitar is a price leader, and it is very pretty but very plain.

This guitar has a great, clear sound, probably because of the nice wood it is made of and the natural finish. Compared to my Guild D25M it is brighter, and has a clearer bass, but is not as loud. I play mostly with a pick and capo somewhere around the third to fifth fret,and use a lot of arpeggios. This is a great guitar for this type of playing. Because my finger picking is very limited, I will not comment on this. With the capo, you can emulate an Ian Anderson kind of bright sound.

The guitar did not have any flaws. I have not messed with the action because I found it to be very good, with no buzzes. I changed the strings to Martins.

I have not used this guitar for live playing. I think the guitar will last, but it feels very light. This may be because it does not have a heavy finish. I would recommend treating it with respect and not banging it around too much

I have been playing guitar for 35 years. I really bought this instrument for my wife, who has been learning for two years. I also own a Guild D25M, a cheap Ibanez acoustic, a gibson ESTD330, and two dearmond electrics. We also own a very old nylon string classical guitar and a Kay electric mandolin.
I tried out many acoustics when I bought this guitar, including some of the big names like fender and epiphone.
In this price range, I was unable to find a guitar with this good of a combination of sound and playability. If asked, I always recommend Takamine for these reasons.
Like more expensive guitars, this one is sounding better and better the more we play it. I would buy another one in a heartbeat!
I am also very happy with the music store. They did not try to influence my decision, but were very patient and gave me plenty of assistance, even though I wasnt buying a top dollar guitar!

New guitar, no idea when it was made. Made in Taiwan. Twenty frets. Solid top. No pickup installed, using a Dean-Markley magnetic soundhole pickup. Solid cedar top, no idea about back, sides, and neck (beautiful figured back). Satin finish. Dreadnought body style, no cutaway (unfortunately). Generic tuners, high quality. Medium width neck. No pickguard. Had Elixer lights on it when I bought it. Had a strap button installed on the heal.

I play in a church worship group that covers a lot of ground musically (some blues, pop/contemporary, rock, ballads, etc.). I play mostly rhythm and finger-picking. I run the Dean-Markley through a chorus pedal directly into the PA system. This guitar has a very balanced sound, good for strumming and finger-picking. It does not have quite the bottom end that I would like, but it is still very acceptable. Has good sound up the neck.

The action is a little high for my tastes, but very workable. The top does not have a perfectly even grain, but that in my opinion adds character to this guitar. Beautiful blonde finish, vintage-cream binding. Did I mention a beautifully figured back? There was some excess glue visible inside the guitar, but nothing major. Extremely well put together throughout.

My only major concern with this guitar is the lack of a pickguard. I am going to research getting a clear pickguard installed. Since it has the satin finish, I expect I will have to use lemon oil/wax more frequently than on my previous guitar. The rear strap button seams very solid, but I will have to talk to the guitar dealer about the one he installed. Once I have a pickguard installed I will feel confident about playing this guitar every service.

No experience in this area, hope not to in the future.

I have been playing for about two and one-half years. Up until now I have played a Washburn D-10. The D-10 has served me quite well, but did not have the sound I wanted. I traded it in to get this guitar. I have played many, many guitars (Taylors, Gibsons, Guilds, Tacomas... Yamahas, Fenders, Oscar Schmits...) before getting this one. The only other guitar I would even consider getting to replace this one is one of Tacomas dreadnoughts (better bottom end, overall sound and fit-and-finish). All the Martins, Taylors, and Gibsons I played did not have the extra-special sound to go with the extra-special price. I give this guitar a ten because, in my opinion, no other guitar comes close in sound-quality/value.

basic features. no frills. made in taiwan. solid cedar top (which i love - solid top is the way to go). resonates well because of the solid top.

deep and full/thick sound. i can only imagine that it will get better with age. sounded better than any of the other guitars that i had played - up to $500 (even other takamines up to that price)

the action is a bit high for my liking so im getting that fixed fairly soon. as with most lower end guitars, the company generally sets the action higher to avoid fret buzz. the 13th fret on my guitar buzzes and will probably need to be adjusted - which is pretty sad, i think, because of the high-ish action. this was the only one in the store so i had to settle for this guitar. however, ive played others and the action is pretty good on those.

no pick guard so its easy to scuff it up when playing. and the bridge needed to be reglued straight from the factory - ive seen a couple like this. but now that its on there, i think this will last a long time. can scuff it up and put nicks in it fairly easily since theres no satin finish or anything on it.

havent had to deal with them.

ive been playing off and on for about 5 years. if lost... i would definitely buy another - you cant get this kind of quality sound at this price in another guitar. i love the cedar look of the guitar and i like the full sound that the gs-330s has. its my baby. i compared it with a guitar that i already have (ibanez aw10 - which is one of the loudest acoustics ive heard and well worth the tiny bit of money that it costs if youre looking for a good guitar) and i think i love them both equally. the ibanez has a bright-ish sound. so im getting the best of both worlds.

Satin finish, standard tuning pegs, no pickguard but who cares!!!!
I agree with Dave Starns in saying the lack of pickguard actually plays a part in the beautiful sound this guitar has.

I play fingerstyle with the occasional strum. Folk, blues, bluegrass, country and this guitar still suits these styles. The volume and tonal qualities are well balanced... there is not a dominant string or extra sweet spot on the neck. I have been playing different guitars for about 12 years and I liked this guitar so much I bought it! My friends like it too because now they can play their own guitars!

This guitar needed a bit of work on the action. Intonation was fine out of the box but buzzing was inevitable given the lowwww action shipped from the factory (combined with a heavy handed playing style!!). It took two attempts to get this right... i'm not sure whether this is due to the guitar or the luthier who set mine and my friend's up.

I'm told the cedar top is weaker than spruce but Takamine have enough confidence to give it a limited lifetime warranty...nuff said. The top has withstood my tapping and scratching after about 6 months of playing (not Tommy Emmanuel league just yet though!). Tuners are good without feeling like they will last forever. I need to give this guitar a bit more time before I can give it a fair appraisal though. I'll let you know in 20 years or so... by that time it may even sound better than a Martin.

N/A yet...
Hopefully never.

I wish I had bought two (especially since I paid $500 A for it - being floor stock and a serious mistake by the salesman giving me the price for the inferior G-300s). My friend and I had both looked at the guitar one evening and had to fight each other to see who would get the particular one on display. My friend eventually tried to get the pickup/cutaway version (after suffering two black eyes and the threat of broken fingers) but when they had brought it in it wasn't a patch on the guitar I had commandeered. My friend was able to get another GS-330s after begging them to search the country for any that remianed unsold (a lengthy and arduous task, spiced by threats of boycotts and arson acheived the desired result and he is now the proud and happy owner of this fine instrument). I have recently played the Takamine 2000 limited edition worth $2000 Australian (yes I realise that is about $50 US!!!) and have been enamoured by it but I would have to sell my beloved beast (mother?!?) to afford the luxury of having a similar sound with the flexibility of a pickup and cutaway. Could any kind hearted benefactor please e-mail me their credit card number so I can purchase this legendary necessity.