Takamine EG523SC12

This is a beautiful guitar, no doubt. A huge jumbo body allows for a lot of wood grain to show. The curls really pop in the lights. Visually, this guitar is at the top! The preamp and onboard EQ really makes this thing sing when plugged in.

Because of the giant body, this guitar is loud and sounds excellent either unplugged or plugged. I run my acoustics through our PA since my rig is mainly for my electric. We play classic rock so I have a full Marshall stack behind me powered by a triple super lead 100 so it is a bit over the top for a 12 string. We have 8 JBL forwards, so this thing really sounds beautiful coming out of 16 speakers!

Here is where things went south on me. When I first got the guitar (1 year ago) it was near perfect as far as action and playablity were concerned. However, a year later, the action began to get REALLY high off the neck. I measured it and the relief was 6/32" on the 12th fret which makes this thing nearly unplayable. I took it to my guitar shop and the guitar tech was able to lower the action back down to where it needed to be. (3/32") Hopefully, this will be the end of my problems, but who knows??? This thing started doing weird things only after a year so who is to say what will happen in the future!

Read the above notes. I don't really know if this thing will last or not.

My tech told me that it really should be sent back to Takamine because of all the flaws in the neck that he had found, but since I got this thing from Musicians Friend, they would probably deny warranty work because it was a mail order purchase. I tried to contact Musicians Friend about this, but I have yet to get a response. I'm not sure how to rate this because my tech got the guitar back to where it needs to be, but neither Takamine or Musicians Friend had nothing to do with it.

You get what you pay for folks. This is a "so-so" guitar. If you are serious about a 12 string, and can afford it, you should certainly go with Martin, Taylor, or even Ovation. Overall, Takamine disappointed me here. I would have expected much more from them. BUT keep in mind, this is not a high end guitar.

Solid spruce soundboard
Flamed maple back and sides
Jumbo body style
Abalone rosette
Active electronics with onboard EQ
Built in tuner
Chrome tuners

Pretty well loaded with features.

This is probably the loudest guitar I have ever played. The sound is really bright and punchy. I have only played it plugged in once and was able to get a desired sound with the EQ's. I would be happier with a tad more bottom end unplugged, but the sound is still awesome. From time to time I record a song that begs for a 12-string sound, and this guitar certainly fits the bill.

Not only is this guitar extremely loud, but it is the most visually stunning guitar I have ever owned. The set-up was great from the factory and the high gloss finish will knock your eyes out. Everything is tight as a drum.

The guitar seems to be built as solid as a rock. I see no reason why I would need a back-up.

The customer support is as good as it gets. When the guitar came it had a tuning gear broken off. I contacted Takamine support and they shipped me one out pronto no questions asked.

I have been playing guitar well over 40 years and own about 30 other fretted instruments. I love the volume this guitar projects and look forward to playing it in a group setting. I'd have to say my favorite feature is the volume and the appearance of the guitar. I figure the bottom end may improve a tad over a period of time since it has a solid top.