Taylor Guitars GC4

Simple and very elegant. The neck is fully bound. No pickgaurd which I think looks great. I may get a Taylor clear static cling pickgaurd. It can be removed and reused. Ebony Fretboard with dot markers. The wood is covered with Bear Claw on the Sitka Spruce and Lion Claw on the Ovangkol. The solid Ovangkol back and sides are in Satin and the spruce top is semi gloss. Chrome Taylor Tuners. Strap buttons.

I finger pick and strum and this guitar fits both. This is a fingerpickers guitar with its 1 and 3/4 inch nut length. The tone is so even and full that every note comes alive. It doesnt have the volume of a other guitars but its clairity is the best I have ever owned. The guitar is cool for blues, country, blue grass, classical, folk (great folk guitar). Its pretty.

The fit and finish are very good. The semi gloss is perfect the satin is perfect. There binding and the although the guitar is light it feels solid. The tuners are exacting and when i pluck a note the needle buries in one place on my tuner.

This guitar will last a life time. I have had two other taylors and they are built to last.

I bought the guitar from an ebay overstock seller so I dont have a warranty. I called taylor and they were more than happy to tell me everything I wanted to know. Very cool folks at Taylor. Their videos are very helpful. In 2008 they made only 70 of these guitars.

This is the greatest acoustic i have ever owned. I have owned a Guild, Two Taylors, a Tacoma, three Yamahas, a Godin and an Epiphone Masterbuilt. I have been looking for this sound for years. I have played the Taylor DN4, the GC8, the GC5, the GS4, the 414ce, This is the one for me.

This guitar has a gloss top made of Sitka Spruce. My version has some slight figure, what Taylor refers to as "bear claw." The back and sides feature ovangkol - a tonewood imported from Africa and with a reported soundrange between rosewood and mahogany - this guitar features solid body wood - no laminates. The body style is what Taylor describes as "Grand Concert." Very compact and pleasant to play. It features Taylor tuners. The neck has a satin finish and is made of what appears to be mahogany. The nut is an 1 3/4 and the fretboard ebony and has medium frets. The guitar came with a Taylor case, a warranty registration card and tech sheets on issues regarding humidity. You have 12 frets to play with. No electronics.

I play fingerstyle blues (piedmont style) and am just learning to play ragtime...this size guitar (and its design) suits my musical tastes quite well. The spruce and ovangkol combo is surprisingly warm, there is a bit of a snap to the treble notes and the bass is not overpowering - I happen to like the sounds this combination makes. The wood combination presents with a surprising amount of warmth, it will be interesting to see what it sounds like after some extended playing time.

The action was set up well and fits my playing style. The top as noted above features some mild bear claw but is creampy - the sitka makes a nice presentation as a top wood. The body is bound in plastic - cream in color. The neck is bound with the same material. The soundhole rosette is plastic but set into the wood and protected by the finish. The bridge, neck and nut are all balanced and as expected from Taylor. No flaws noted at this time.

While I intend to use it live, I honestly have no idea how it will do. The hardware is nice - maybe adequate is a better word, and I believe it will last. The finish is just fine, not my favorite (I wanted honey sunburst and I like a satin finish) and I am irked a bit that Taylor advertised a program to modify an existing model and featured sunburst as an option, but failed to honor their (propaganda)advertisement. Not good business practices.

I have not had it long enough to warrant an repair issue. The warranty is limited to the original owner and if you are considering buying a Taylor, get on their website and read the fine print...they want you to purchase a "service package." Again, this is not good business practice. A warranty should stand alone and not require further financial investment. I have not had any contact with Taylor, so I cannot give an informed opinion about how they deal with the public.

I have been playing for over 40 years and I own two other acoustic guitars - all dedicated to playing country blues and country and ragtime fingerpicking. This is a well built, quality guitar and I am very pleased with it despite the sour grapes noted earlier. I absolutely would replace it if stolen. I love the size and body shape, the wood combination has a voice made for blues and traditional music and the short neck and wide nut make playing easier for someone with big ole fingers. I spent several months comparing different Taylor body sizes and tonewood combinations and finally settled on this one due to the consistent good tone and performance when compared to others in the GC series. The spruce/ovangkol combination is highly underrated. Anything I wish it had? A sunburst top.

The GC series came out in 2007 and includes 6 smaller, OM-size guitars that naturally don't have the boom and bass of dreadnoughts, but are perfect for me, who plays guitar 98% of the time in my livingroom. I have owned the GC-4 for about a year. It has a glossy sitka spruce top and orangkol sides and back with a satin finish. Orangkol is a nice medium dark wood from W. Africa similar in sound to rosewood. Neck is mahogany, and the fretboard -- ebony. There is no pickguard in the GC series, giving the guitar a nice, clean look. The top, back, and sides are solid wood. Being a pure acoustic guitar, it has no pickup or built-in electronics. 20 frets, harshell case. It has a solid peghead, the 4 models above it (GC5-8), which mainly differ in the kinds of wood used, all have slotted peghead. An attractive-looking guitar.

I haven't found a guitar costing up to at least $1,000 more that sounded as rich, bright, and just downright pleasant as the GC4. I play fingerstyle and a little bit of flatpicking, and I continue to love its sound.

The guitar came to me with no flaws I could see, but the shop (McCabe's in Santa Monica) is well-known for its care in doing setups of guitars it sells.

I haven't had the guitar for much more than a year, but see no problems in reliability and durability. Its hard-shell case provided is sturdy, and everything looks well-made. It looks as new as the day I bought it.

I have not had to use Taylor for any support or repair yet.

I have been playing guitar for 15+ years, got the Taylor as a second guitar after my Martin OM-28, considerably more expensive, but no better in sound. I can't think of anything I would want to change in it, would buy it again if, God forbid, it were stolen.