Taylor Guitars 712ce

This is a 2002 Taylor 712ce acoustic/electric guitar made at the Taylor factory in El Cajon, CA. It is a gloss-finished instrument with solid East Indian rosewood sides and back, solid Engelmann spruce top and mahogany neck. The fretboard and bridge are ebony with a simple, small-dot inlay pattern. Binding is rosewood and the rosette inlay is koa. The body style is grand concert, which is the smallest full-sized style Taylor offers. The neck has 20 frets with a Venetian cutaway which provides access to the 18th fret. The tuners are gold-plated Grovers and the original pickup system was the Fishman stereo blender but this was upgraded to the Taylor Expression System in 2005. I am taking a point off from features due to the Fishman system, which was a real hassle and necessitated the upgrade at considerable expense to me.

I play a fairly wide range of music including blues, rock, country, folk, bluegrass, reggae and jazz and this guitar is very suitable for some of these styles but not others. It has a nice, bright sound for contemporary styles but leaves something to be desired for more traditional ones like bluegrass. It is a small guitar and designed for fingerstyle, though I mostly strum and flatpick on it. It is a Taylor and has The Taylor Guitar Sound. Either you like that or you don't. I do like it. The rosewood gives it a surprising amount of bass for the size and it sounds great either playing at home in my living room or on stage through a good amp or PA system. Some people dis the ES system but as far as I'm concerned, it is everything Taylor advertises it to be. This guitar will NOT hold its own, however, in an acoustic jam with dreadnoughts or jumbos. I love this guitar but I kept my Martin D-18.

Setup was flawless, as one would expect from Taylor. I am especially gratified that the infamous finger joint to be found in all the Taylor NT necks is almost invisible on this instrument. You have to look very closely to find it as opposed to some other Taylors I've seen where it sticks out like a sore thumb. I did have my luthier do a setup for me but I prefer an ultra-low action which one can hardly expect in a mass-produced instrument. The guitar plays extremely well and is a true pleasure to use.

This guitar has withstood a substantial amount of live playing by me. The finish is Taylor's UV-finish and is virtually bulletproof. The tuners are gold-plated and there is always a concern that the gold will eventually wear off but, so far, so good. The biggest problem was the original, Fishman pickup system. Perhaps the one in my guitar was a lemon but it was an utter piece of crap that made totally unacceptable and obnoxious staticy noises even after being sent back to Fishman for repair. But once replaced by the ES, the problem became nothing more than a bad memory. This is a very dependable guitar and, though I prefer NEVER to gig without a backup, I would do so with this instrument if necessary.

The only time I dealt with the company was for the ES upgrade. They were extremely helpful and friendly and had it done in about half the time they advertised it to take. Taylors have a limited lifetime warranty for the original owner (which didn't cover the ES because it was an upgrade, not repair) and some of the best customer service in the business.

I've been playing for about 30 years and also own a 1970 Martin D-18 and a cheap Washburn acoustic, as well as several electrics. I love this guitar for what it is but recognize it doesn't cover all the bases I want to cover musically. Thus, I continue to own other instruments to do so. I love the small size and intimacy of this guitar and the cutaway is just great. On the negative side, I might prefer a 1 11/16" nut as opposed to the 1 3/4" one intended for fingerstylists and I think I might also prefer a Sitka top to Engelmann for my particular style of playing. If it were stolen or lost, I'd replace it if I had the money. If not, I'd replace it with the best Taylor I could afford.