Taylor Guitars 455

2003 with nt neck design. evangkol back and sides with spruce top.came with nice plywood case.gloss top , satin back and sides.

this guitar seems suited to finger style. has a very clean crystal like sound when individual sting pairs are played, but they lose thier distinction when played with a fast flat pick style. the sustain goes on forever and as noted this may not be desirable in certain playing styles.the midrange and treble are very pronounced leaving the lower notes a little wanting. if played hard the bass does not improve in presence and does let you know the price for a very easy action.

very playable action when purchased. the appearance and fit and finish all seemed first rate. the woods were nicely matched and the finish is durable.now for the down side... I do not care for the finger-joined headstock to neck match. in a guitar of this cost one would not expect to see this kind of cost cutting shortcut. the argument that it saves endangered woods seems more like a marketing / sales tool .the other issue was found when I insatted a internal bridge plate pick-up. the wood between the string pin holes was missing as if the drill had been forced through to fast.I dont know if this would cause any long term issues but was surprised to see it anyway.(there is very little space here on a 12 string)the tuner knobs are very small and the ratio is a little notchy

aside from the above mentioned this 12 string seems like a tank.the finish holds up and I cant see any of that fine scratch haze that is appearing on my other guitar.it seems that it would go the distance.

had a couple of calls with the taylor tech department and they were very helpful.

what this guitar is best at is probably very specialized and would not do as an only guitar.the clear piano like sound when played finger style is lost to the jingle jangle and long sustain when played hard with a pick.for an occasional use guitar I find it nice to have around but if I didnt have it I would not run out to replace it

I got my Taylor 455 from a local PA dealer about two years back. See the Taylor website for the stabdard features. It is by far the biggest and heaviest guitar I have ever owned or played. But it is beautiful and comfortable.

A chorus-like sound with excellent bass for a twelve string. The treble, however, noticably lacks volume; i.e., so much so that I overcompensate when playing fingerstyle. Can't help but think its because the thinner strings cannot move what appears to be an extremely thick top to the guitar.

Unbelievable action for a 12 string. And it stays in tune! The top, unfortuneately, has a spot where the wood grain takes a funny twist and it looks like a serious blemish from an angle.

Lokrs sturdy enough to navigate rivers. Even the tuning pegs are Gibraltor feel.

I visited Taylor (missed the tour and inadvertantly wore my Martin shirt). Very nice people and place. They just get a sit & strum room like the martin factory (just twenty miles from my home here in PA).
The support seems great.

I give it an 8.5. Really wish there was a way to overcome the lack of sound/volume ton the treble end.

Model 455 made 2000.

Top sitka spruce, sides and back solid Ovangkol. Finsich: Top: gloss, sides and back satin finish.
Beautiful model. The used Ovangkol has - in my opinion- to much light stripes (the color isn't even)

Rich sound. It all comes out of the body (certain other guitars cannot produce so much rich tone due to the fact that not all of the produced sound come out their guitar-chambre.

The sound of the base strings yield to much treble: I would like to hear more powerfull base. Perhaps this could be maintained by using other internal bracing.

Perfect action. You never think of playing a 12 string: it almost feels like playing a 6 string yet the sound is a 12 sting.

The way the guitar is built mentions a lot of the facturers scillfullness in producing durable guitars. I think the guitar will last a couple of years without wearing off

Never had a problem