Taylor Guitars 310

Plain Jane 310 dreadnought. Satin finish solid American mahogany back and sides. Glossy solid sitka spruce top. Mahogany neck with ebony fretboard, and bridge. No electronics. 2003 model bought brand new in January '04. I hated this guitar the day I brought it home. I wanted the 510, but couldn't justify the extra 700 bucks. I compromised, and bought a Gibson Smartwood along with the 310. Ten months later I can't give enough praise to the people at Taylor Guitars. My God! What an incredible guitar. For the price it really is an investment. This thing just keeps on sounding better, and better. Rock solid.

I use DR med/lite 11-50 strings on mine. It came with Elixers, but they kinda suck. My old Stupidvisor recomended DR's, and I hate to admit it. He was right. Fresh strings always equal better sound. Those GD DR's always last way more longer then anything else. The sound of the Taylor is 'aggresive?'. Not sure how to describe it. If I hit strings hard, they respond. If I brush strings soft, they respond. Very responsive. How's that?

Bought mine from an independent dealer. Mom & Pop shop. Had three 310's to choose from. Played 'em all. Looked at 'em all. Bought the one I thought was best. I was still kinda wishing I could get the 510. Anyone with a Taylor 310 has nothing to be ashamed of. Fantastic guitar.

I am a guy, so I guess I'm kinda rough on stuff. I can't imagine doing anything 'normal' to this guitar that would require factory service. I've done wonders with pipe cleaners, and dental floss in years past though. Maybe I am a 'luthier' at heart. Well, the 310 will not ever fulfill that dream. That's a good thing. Solid, heavy feel guitar. Pick up a $400 Yamaha, and you'll know what I mean.

Obviously this is not a guitar with major problems. Or minor problems. Or any problems. I'm pretty sure you could buy a B-stock 310, and be happy. I have not ever had to bitch at Taylor about anything. GREAT product!!!!!

Been playing around ten+ years now. Still not that great, but I have a network of friends who are way more gooder then me. Some of 'em even have way more expensive stuff that sounds crappier than the 310. Some of 'em have stuff that sounds way more better then the 310. Stupid maple Guild 12-strings! For the money though, you just can not go wrong. It will out class a lot of Martins. Hands down. Just don't put it up against a classic maple Guild. Dear Lord, gimme an old school Guild!! I'm beggin' ya!!

My 310 Taylor is a 2001 Model. I'm sure you have read all the features of it through the other reviews. It simple and to the point no thrills here. It gets the job done.

When I first got this guitar I fell in love with it. I compared it to Martins and Gibsons but for the price and quality Taylor is where it's at. The more I play this guitar the better it sounds. I notice a huge diffrence in sound when I first got it to how it sounds now. This guitar has really opened up.

Set up just fine. Low action for fast strumming and quick scales. The neck handles like a Ferrari and is very fast.

The only thing you have to worry about with this guitar is the solid wood. You have to keep it in the case when not useing it and make sure it is not to humid. Its a small price to pay for a lovely guitar.

Overall this is a guitar I'm going to have the rest of my life. It sounds better everyday I play it and is worth the investment I put into. Screw Martins Taylors RULE!

Made in 2002. You know all the features, it's a basic guitar with no frills. It is made of solid wood, Mahagany sides and back, Spruce top.
I think the laquer on top is way too thick. HSS configuration. Just kidding. Pretty hard to assign a numerical value to an intrinsic attribute which does not neccessarily coincide with the stated objectives.

I play Jazz, rock, country, blues, pop, rap, disco, grunge, death metal, gospel, new-age/fusion/seattle-based punk/hip hop, and classical/flamenco. It gets way too much hum with gain past 10. Jk!
Bright beautiful sound for all my styles. The guitar makes a loud knocking noise when I have a hissy-fit and punch it.

Neck was crooked and it buzzzzzed badly, but I fxied it myself with a pair of plyers and a screwdriver. I'm not kidding about this. The bridge was not routed for humbuckers, bummer.

I can kick it, step on it, and drop it, and some how it never breaks.

I fix evrerything myself, as I have for the last 40 years, although I've never actually improved the sound of anything, just fix junk as it falls apart.

Been playing 45 years. I have owned every model of every major company from Fender, Marshall, Gibson, Taylor, Martin, Yamaha, Mesa, Bogner, you name it. I hate Martin beacuse their stuff is crap and overpriced and made of plywood and sounds blah blah blah, flat, dull and cheap. I Hate Martin with all my heart. Taylor, Alvarez, and even Yamaha all sound better than Martin.

My Taylor was made in 2002 in El Cajon, California.
I have intsalled FISHMAN Acoustic Matric Natural-1, under saddle pickup. Like Standard 310 is has Sitka Spruce top n' Sapele sides which are really very BooTiFull. The Pickguard is also Carved very beautiful. Came with a gigbag as i wanted to waive off few $$ on case.

My music style is contemporary Indian Classical, Fusion kinds, blues, fingerpicking. I use it with Boss Chorus which is pretty nice and add flavors to d' sound, i also use L.R Baggs D.I which makes the piezo character minimized.
The guitar has a Bright Sound but Volume is low too. It sounds beautiful to ears when no other Guitar is in the Scene. Once u start doing Flatpicking it's hard to keep it Down but anyways.
As far as what i feel, this Guitar is only for Country kinda stuff or fingerpicking or just Soft Light Strumming. No Blues, No Bluegrass, No Folk nothing else.
I compared it to Martin D-35 and Believe it was no where
d' Sound of Martin. Martin is simply a Class apart with such a Crunchy tone. this Taylor has a tone which is like Compressed tone and doesn't sparkle n' comes out like Martin.
Moreover, Taylor has a very thin sound comparable to Heavy n' Thick sound of Martin. It just can't take the sustain ,vibrato kinda stuff like Martin D-35. The element os Acoustic Guitar is not in it.

Action is really nice and good good kinds.
FISHMAN is good too.
the finish on the Guitar is absolutely flawless,
oh my Lord it's Wonderful (Every)nite.
U will love the Guitar for the Finish it has like me.

It can with stand live playing easily n' hardware is made to built till last. But i'm really Apprehensive bout the Bolt in Neck it has, which tend to make d' action n' sound of higher frets waivery any time it is abused with tempertaure.
also, this guitar need lots of care, it's not for road Blues. Extra amout of heat will make cracks on the top. This is bad bout d' guitar.

No Comments, Never Done that.

In the end i would like to suggest one thing, Please consider the music style u gonna play on the guitar. Don't go for Brand name only. It is good but it has limitation as it cannot handle all kinda music.
My prefernce will be Martin D-28 or D-35, rock solid guitars and Classic Tone which can do anything.
That's it, Happy Shopping !

Beautiful sitka spruce gloss top and mohagany satin finshed back and sides.Made in Septemeber of 2003 and purchased in December 2003.Case is absolutely one of the finest in the business.Guitar has ivory fingerboard and bridge,a very well made guitar to say the least.Tuners are new Taylor Gotah type tuners and have large buttons,this is exceptional in this price range.I seldom stray from Martindom in acoustic guitars and was honestly seduced by this bright and articulate tone producing beauty.I believe the nut and saddle are tusque,again high marks for the quality materials in this price point.

The tone, sustain, articulation are beyond my greatest expectations.I play rock,folk,blues and bluegrass,this is defintely adaptible to various styles.Honestly would have expected this kind of sound quality to come from a much more wxpensive guitar.It is beautiful to flat pick and just as luscious tone wise finger picking.This guitar has a very focused jangle and is quite distinctive and a pleasure to both hear and to play.

The factory set up was dead on and have had only one adjustment for the neck due to change in the weather.The wood is very high quality,all internal sanding is neat and smooth,can find no flaws.The action is unbelieveable.Although I still prefer the Martin tone overall,this is the most exciting guitar I have purchased in many years.There is a nice bear claw pattern through the top wood,it is very distinctive.

This guitar is a no-brainer for live playing,sturdy,purdy,dependable and sounds wonderful.(Sound being the most important).As for back up,this acoustic has the sterner stuff and then some.I am old school,46 yrs old and seldom get caught up in sales hype and will say that Taylor's claim of the 310 being the full Taylor experience does mean something to me.I suspect it is only a matter of time until I play a higher end model and add another Taylor to my Martin heavy collection.The strap buttons are tight and well made,finish is very durable on both the gloss top and satin sides and back.

I have been well pleased with the Taylor help and info by phone,a set up at the dealer and sleep with no worries knowing the 310 has a lifetime warranty.

Have been playing for over 33 years ansd own some Martins,Larrivee and a vintage 12 string and a few old timers.There is nothing overlooked on this acoustic,amazed it was under a thousand dollars.If it were lost or stolen I would defintely get another.The best feature of this guitar to me is the free wheeling action and the bright jangly tone,it is defintely not a Martin tone which I prefer,it is s distinctive breath of musical life that adds much to the music.

Basic all wood Taylor. Quality of fit and finish is excellent.

It can be sweet and it can be LOUD. But whatever I play, bass, mids and treble come through clearly and distinctly. I just love it. I play mostly old acoustic rock and new country and it's perfect for finger picking or wailing away.

Like I said, fit and finish is excellent.

Been playing around for a couple of decades now, but just fooling around. My last guitar was a cheap Yamaha acoustic that was good enough for my level of interest. Something tweaked my interest again and now that I have the resources for a quality instrument, I went out and got one.

I went to my upscale music store and tried a bunch of Martins and Larrivee's that were great guitars and then I saw the Taylor. Like they say, I tried it and it sang to me . . .

This guitar is a beauty - nothing I don't like about it - and the sound is awesome. I'd replace it with the same model in a heartbeat.

2001. Very simple and clean design. Quality case included in price. To me quality is most important feature so its a 10.

Excellent intonation and action. Very responsive to playing style. Sounds great whether using fingers or pick. It can sound like 2 or more different guitars depending on how you do it. Sounded great new, but over several years it has improved dramatically. Louder, and fantastic sustain that almost reverbrates and swells. Makes me smile sometimee just to play an E chord 1st fret and listen to it ring. Med strings sound best to me

Virtually perfect. Haven't noticed a single flaw. Don't use any polish on the satin finish. As easy to play action wise as many electrics.

3yrs old. No problems.

Helpful when I called with a question

38 yr playing. Other guitar is 73 strat thru 66 super reverb or 66 princeton reverb. Tone very important to me, and this guitar has it. I played virtually every guitar in Mar's store (at least 25 or so) and this was the best for the money by far. You can feel the vibrations in the neck when you hit a chord, and that seems to correlate with a good sound in a guitar. I did take the time to play 4 or 5 different 310's and each did have it's own sound. REcommend doing this if you can. I love this guitar!

My 310 was built in September 2003 in El Cajon. I like the Taylor 310 because of the simple quality features. The wood is beautiful, and the hardware is solid. Sometimes less is more.

The sound is bright and crisp. Interestingly, almost all the guitars I tried out had a great disctinctive sound-even identical models. I chose the 310 simply because I preferred the clear high end and overall tone. I agree with Taylor that the medium strings work. While I had always played Martin Marquis I find that I like the Elixirs.

The action and playability are like butter. The intonation is perfect, and the neck is straight and true. I can easliy play a bar-chord C or D up hight and still maintain feelings in my fingers and no buzz. The only flaw is a small discoloration in the rosewood fretboard at the 12th fret. I understand this to be "character."

Since this is a brand new guitar, I am hopeful durability will not be an issue.

No experience.

I have been playing for 30 years. I had sold all my guitars, including a Guild G-37 years ago and I simply wanted to buy a guitar to once again become acclimated to the instrument. I really enjoyed the shopping experience. The short list came down to a Martin D-16GT, a Gibson Working Man 45, a Guild D-25 and a couple of Taylors. What a pleasant suprise to discover the Taylor guitars. While I found all the aforementioned guitars to be very nice, I settled on the Taylor 310 simply because of playability and tone, as this guitar just worked for my preferences.

a 2003 model 310. It has a gloss top of solid sitka spruce, and satin finish sapele( a sort of striped mahoganey) solid back and sides.
I think the striped sapele is much prettier then american mahoganey.
Believe it or not at this price it has an ebony fretboard an ebony bridge, and bridge pins.It also sports grover tuners.
Mine came with a very nice hardshell case with arched top.
A totally unbelivable guitar for around $1000. new

The sound is what sold me on this guitar. I mean I,m a martin fan all the way. I applied for and got a guitar center charge card. It had a $1000. limit. I went and looked around and found a martin D16 GT for $899.plus tax. I bought it, took it home , put on new strings. Very disapointed. I took it back and decided to wait till they got something else in. I saw the taylor 310 looked pretty good. Until then I never really liked taylors. Played it blew me away. bought it.

This guitar plays better then any guitar I've ever played.
Great action. It was close to being in tune right out of the box.The top back and sides look great . real premium woods used thru out.
I must say I never seen one set up any better. The only thing I did'nt like was the elixer strings it comes fitted with I replaced them with martin sp medium phospher bronze. I give a 9 here because of
the elixer strings.

This guitar will last a lifetime. solid as a rock. My wife and I sing
at our church and this guitar works great. You can hear even when it is being backed up by a baby grand piano and electric base.
It's great for home or travel anywhere.

Has a lifetime warranty. As of yet I hav'nt used it.
One thing I really liked about registering my guitar warranty, was that Taylor lets you do it online. No card to fill out and mail in.
Plus they sent you a free subscription of their magazine wood and steel. Somebody said you get it for life. (cool)

I haved been playing for 38 years. I also own a Gibson J60 and a martin shenedoah model like the D28. The taylor has the best range of sound. I wish that maybe the body of my Taylor was a litte thicker and had back center stripe.

I purchased my 310 (yr. 2002) from a corporate chain (I highly regret it, should of bought it from a privately owned store) in San Francisco. For the past 2 years I searched long and wide. I had the budget for $4-5.5K, and being extremely anal with sound, I chose the 310. We must remember these guitars were once living rooted to the ground. They are forever changing due to the elements within the store their in as well as their chemical compositon. Bad strings can kill any sale of any guitar.
The dreadnought design was the best for my ears and application because of it's ablility to have an overall balanced sound from the low to high MHZ's. The 310 has the depth and driving boxy loudness, yet has the suprising moderate crisp sound. Strings can make a difference. To note I use Elixir 13's for the best tone As comparing to a majority of the other series, I was impressed the most by this simple guitar. Sure the koa backed, multi-wood Presentation Series looks nice, but looking good and finding your sound is 2 different things. Guitars are like wine... BE SELECTIVE!
As for the 310 series, the are naturally produced with an higher action. If your going to be using thicker gauge strings, you might want to lower the action so that you can play easier. MAKE SURE YOUR ACTION IS SET UP BY A PRO!
I play live and use a Fishman sound hole pickup, as well as a condensed mic for external. Foe best results electrically, special order a 310 from the factory with a custom "Expression series" magnetized pickup sensor system. If your playing live, this will make your job a little easier
The action

The sound is deep rooted and punchy. With sustainable playing, you can make this guitar roar. This is by far the loudest acoustic I have played, yet having the ability to be crisp enough to distinguish a soft finger picking style with clarity.

The factory set up is pretty high. I use 13's, and it was hard to play because the tension was thicker, until I had Gary Bauer in S.F. "professionally" set my action as well as tension lower. He is the best! Please... Please, only let a pro do this. You don't want some yahoo touching your baby. As for flaws... ha ha ha. Take a tour through their factory. These guitars go through rigoruos testing, and are approved by many departments before they even leave. i had a chance to peek in the warranty department, and saw less than 30 guitars. that is pretty good for a company that sells over $30 mil a year in guitars

Wood like I said was once living. Solid wood tops, backs, and sides only get better with the more sound that penetrates. Taylors only sound better over time. I play mine on average 10-12 hours per week. There isn't one other 310 that sounds the same guranteed. I use this guitar live all the time. Relaibility is an A+

Taylor Guitars and Customer Support... ha ha ha ha ha ha. Imagine your most favorite hobby and pastime your career. Imagine waking up every morning with a smile on your face because your excited about the next 8 hours. Seriously, take the factory tour. You will see the happiest employees in the world.

I have been playing for 15 years. The only thing I wish was different is that I had the expression system pre-installed, for the 310 comes without electronics.

If your thinking about purchasing a Taylor guitar in any of the series please call me at 415-543-3557 (home office). I can help you find what your looking for, give you full detail on design/ construction, and can fit you for your application. -Jeff Yates-