Taylor Guitars T5 Thinline

Sorry, but it's an one trick pony neither an acoustic guitar nor an electric. Surely solid gold to some people, but certainly not what the company promised: It's absolutely no acoustic and electric in one!

The acoustic sounds are much too electric and vice versa - an instrument without soul and - frankly - any pursose whatsoever in my opinion.

The switch is noisy, rest is perfect!

Well built crap to me, solid gold to some people. Not what it claimes to be, but a voice of it's own that you'll love or that means nothing to you. Go and try, if you`re looking for something completely different that takes place in the Jazz world.

2005
21 Frets
Solid maple top
Controls (volume, bass, treble, 5-way)
Pickups (body sensor, bridge pickup, inside neck pickup)
Pickup Configuration (Neck/body, Neck, Bridge, Neck/Bridge Parallel, Neck/Bridge Series)
Custom Taylor Pickups
Active Electronics
Back & Sides are Sapele, Neck is Mahogany
Sunburst very dimensional Flamed Maple Top
Fully hollow, thinline, acoustic body with f-holes
Taylor acousic bridge
Taylor Gold-plated tuners
Neck is Taylor profile with 24 7/8" scale
Black "Crocidile" Case with black plush interior

It's really irksome to see some nitwit give this guitar a "1" for sound when they wouldn't give a "1" to the Sam Ash store brand. However, that score is a reflection of the reviewer's utter lack of objectivity rather than a reflection on the sound of the guitar. The T5 is is every bit as good as the glowing reviews it has received
in the press. I have verified that over the past two months at gigs in a number of different-sized venues rather than trying one in the store (which certainly seems to be the basis for the negative reviewer's critique). The T5 successfully does what Taylor says (in all its promo info) it wanted to do -- build an acoustic guitar that you'd keep on your shoulder all night long instead of switching back and forth between electric and acoustic. As one who plays out regularly and carries a couple of guitars to cover the bases, that is certainly a worthwhile objective. From that POV, mission accomplished -- at least, it's the best alternative available today. The Chet Atkins sounds fine as the "been-there, heard-that" alternative, but it was the compromise of choice for the last millenium. There's no versatility. The Duo-Tone? C'mon! Get serious. If the other reviewer had taken the time to read any of the articles about how to use the T5's wide EQ capabilities in conjunction with the various pick-up combinations, along with an acoustic or electric amp, maybe he would have gotten more than the howling sound any acoustic will deliver when you turn everything up to 10. Just goes to show, you can own 200 guitars and still not have a clue. There are a wide number of sounds available in the T5. Figure out how to dial them in, and you'll find they are authentic. Period.

Like all Taylors, great -- for an acoustic, the best. As an electric, since Taylor has positioned this guitar in that world -- it's fine, but you won't want to be shredding on a guitar with an acoustic bridge and with acoustic strings.

Too soon to tell, but my other Taylors have a great track record.

Best of the major manufacturers.

Like the other reviewer I referred to above, I own a substantial number of guitars. In 43 years of playing, I surpassed owning 200 guitars a long time ago. I too am a pro guitarist, serious collector and, most importantly for HC, an objective reviewer. That's why I compared the T5 to guitars that attempt to do the same thing: provide BOTH realistic acoustic and impressive electric tones. So, I compared the T5 to my PRS Hollowbody with a the LR Baggs system and to my Parker Fly. The Fly deserves credit for starting the
electric-with-acoustic-sounds trend, but the acoustic sound leaves a lot to be desired. Still, thre's a lot of electric-side versatility. The PRS Hollowbody's acoustic tone is good -- very usable, but not very tweakable. The PRS's electric side is impressive, albeit, with similar tone latitude to my ES-335. It fits a niche. Finally, the Taylor uniquely affords a guitarist more tonal options -- on both the acoustic side and the electric side. You can dial in a host of electric and acoustic sounds, short of metal in the realm of electric guitars or a well-miked Martin D-28 or Gibson Jumbo in the realm of acoustic guitars. Still, no other guitar offers such a broad scope of sounds as the T5, making it a fantastic value.

Body was started at the beginning of June this year and I took delivery about 3 weeks later. It's a Standard with maple top, honey sunburst finish. Sapelle body, ebony fretboard. Thinline body style. Standard Taylor tuners. Shortscale neck. One ES-style body sensor and two stacked humbuckers (one visible near bridge, the other under the neck). 5-way selector, 1 volume, and 2 tone (both are active controls, meaning they will boost signal above middle detente position, not just cuz relative to full signal). Awesome looking faux-alligator case included. Absolutely incredible looking guitar.

I play at church, both in liturgical and "praise and worship" settings, and at benefit shows, etc. This guitar has it all for style. The first two positions on the 5-way selector give very convincing acoustic tones. The middle position is the "Tele" sound. 4th position is a lot like a Gretsch hollowbody while the last position is the most electric of the tones. Basically, play any position through an acoustic amp or PA and it sounds convincingly acoustic. Through an electric amp, it sounds very much like an electric (which it primarily is). I redid my whole pedal board to include an A/B box so I could go either acoustic or electric with this guitar...it's that good in both! Not quite as powerful as my PRS McCarty on the electric side, but sweeter than my 335! Bridge humbucker can be a bit noisy at times (might be wall wiring though). Tone controls are very interactive and aggressibley responsive. Never had so much control on the guitar-end. I feel comfortable playing everything from fingerstyle acoustic to ZZ-Top grit.

Wonderful guitar to play. I've put so many hours into this guitar in the past 6 weeks! As soon as I opened the case at the shop (I was the first to see it), I knew I was going home with it. Incredible honey sunburst finish. I looked pretty hard and did not find a single blemish anywhere on the guitar. Tuners work great. Nice medium to low setup.

I've been playing the T5 live 3 nights a week now for 6 weeks. On my occassions, I've played without my Taylor 410CE on standby. I feel very confident in it's dependability. Stays in tune pretty well after fixing the string problem (read below), though more susceptible to A/C than my other electrics. I put straplocks on, but the original strap buttons seemed solid.

When I first bought the guitar, the G string did not want to stay in tune, and brought the higher strings out of tune as well. I called Taylor about the issue and they said that it had to do with how Elixir was making the 11s. However, Elixir had fixed the problem by adding wraps at the ballend. Taylor sent me a new set of strings 2 days later and I've had no problems staying in tune since then (minus A/C issue). Taylor was very friendly and responded with the utmost speed.

Been playing for 11 years, in church bands for 8. I own a Taylor 410CE and a PRS McCarty. Line 6 Flextone III amp. I'm confident enough in this guitar (with these other two) that I'm selling off 4 other guitars. I would absolutely buy another one should this one be stolen. The feel, tone, and appearance of this guitar are just beyond words. Don't go check one out unless you're ready to walk home with it!

2005 Made in California, USA
Solid spruce top standard
Volume, treble, and bass controls
Active electronics
One piece sapelle body
gloss finish
slim-line grand auditorium body style
acoustic bridge, bone nut
Taylor Grover-style tuners
24 5/8" scale mahogany neck, ebony fret board with micro-dot markers
Taylor hard-shell aligator-type leather case

Great for folk, classic rock, country or blues
Use with Fender Deluxe reverb, and Yamaha PA
Very quiet on every setting except high volume and treble.
Rich, full acoustic sound, bright single coil sound, smokey humbuckers
Sounds like a Taylor acoustic, Fender Tele/Strat, Gibson ES335
No dislikes

Factory set up is excellent
Pickups cannot be adjusted, don't need to be
Flawless bookmatched top, wave compensated bridge
No flaws visible

The guitar will withstand live playing, however no pick-guard.
Hardware seems durable
Finish is thin, may wear off with lots of playing
Two bottom strap buttons for standing it up
Yes,I would depend on it.
I never gig without a back-up

The customer support has always been prompt, helpful and friendly.
This guitar has never been repaired, but it was examined at a Taylor Clinic at the local music store.
It comes with a non-transferable lifetime warranty.

I have been playing for 35 plus years. I currently own 4 Strats, a Tele, a Statosonic, Les Paul Deluxe Gold top, Rickenbacker 370-12, Fender P Bass, and Taylor 414CE.
The T5 lacks nothing, but should include a strap at this price.
If lost or stolen, I would buy another if available.
Ilove the looks, the sounds, and the workmanship; the honey burst is gorgeous!
I compared it with a Line 6 Variax.

There is no pickup under the bridge saddle. The acoustic tone is picked up by 2 sensors.
There is 1 magnetic pickup visable in the bridge position, and another magnetic pickup hidden under the top for neck position tones.
5-way pickup selector
Spruce top

Sound is what's really important, isn't it? This thing sounded absolutely TERRIBLE!!!!!!! The acoustic tone was horrible. The electric tones even worse. There were no usable tones at all in this thing. And there was some howling, (feedback) at low volumes due to it's hollow comstruction. I have to ask myself, what was Taylors intent here? A Gibson Chet Atkins SST acoustic tone sounds so much better. Why didn't Taylor expand upon that concept? I also noticed some "hiss" coming from my amp. The electronics are not as quiet as they should be. The electric guitar tones from the magnetic pickups sound weak and lifeless. I thought this was going to be the holy grail of electric/acoustic hybrids. It's not what I thought it would be. I'm not surprised there are so many up for sale on Ebay already!!

The overall build quality was superb. Fantastic cherry sunburst finish. However, there is a huge control cover on the back of the guitar which takes away some of the beauty. It looks like a giant guitar pick!! Setup was good. No issues with anything like that.

Just got it. No support needed yet.

I own over 50 guitars. And I have owned over 200 guitars in the past 10 years. I am a pro guitar tech/collector/player. The guitars I compared this to were a Gibson Chet Atkins SST, and a Hamer Duotone custom.

This guitar was made on March 17, 2005 (St Patrick's Day!) by Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, CA. Mine is a T5-C1 model, which is the Custom variety with a Maple top. The hollow body was carved from a solid block of sapele (like mahogany), and the short-scale neck is tropical American mahogany. It has an ebony fretboard with 21 frets. The electronics consist of 2 stacked low-impedance humbuckers, as well as a dynamic body sensor. They are controlled with a 5-way switch, and there are active tone and volume controls. The body is Taylor's Grand Auditorium shape with a soft cutaway, and the bridge is a traditional ebony acoustic bridge with ebony pins and a TUSQ saddle. It has gold Taylor tuners and artist inlays. The top is highly flamed maple with a tobacco sunburst. Included was a hardshell case with crushed velour lining and crocodile skin style covering.

I play acoustic Irish music, blending lots of strummed folk songs with some contemporary punk and rock material. Since I play primarily acoustic, I needed a guitar that would sound like a real acoustic. For me the T5 fits the bill superbly. I was able to use convincing acoustic tones that well suited the songs that I play. Since the T5 was replacing my beloved Taylor 814-CE on stage, it needed to be excellent, and it has done so. I have had it since it came out on May 1, and used it in two live shows, and the sound has been fantastic. That said, I know that I like the sound, but there may be some acoustic traditionalists that will find fault. I however, cannot. I have not yet played the T5 as a traditional electric, so I cannot comment to that aspect of the sound.

The action was incredible. I hadn't played electric for awhile, and the T5 has a well setup electric neck, so it took a few songs to re-adjust to the feel. Once I did, it was heaven. I played a 4 hour show with almost no hand or finger fatigue, something I never could do with my acoustic, no matter how good the setup. The electronics were well designed and performed great. The guitar is quite literally a work of art. The sunburst maple glows warmly, and the inlays sparkle in the stage lights. The only flaw was found on the inner edge of the f-hole binding. The guitar is fully bound in white plastic, and looks phenomenal, but there were two dark smudges on the binding's edge, which only I could see while playing it. They were easily removed with a dry q-tip, but for this price, I should not have had to bother.

Having played with it twice, I do feel that I can rely on this instrument. It is built like a rock (albeit a gorgeous rock). It straps on securely, and while I NEVER play without a backup, I would probably feel comfortable doing so.

Taylor provides a limited lifetime warranty, and I have dealt with them in the past. The fact that all the guitars I own are Taylors should speak volumes, so, 'nuff said.

This is, in every sense of the word, a world-class high end guitar. If you desire the best, you can not go wrong with the Taylor T5. This instrument a climbed to the top of my personl heirarchy, and should remain there for a LONG time!

Just made in 2005 in USA. The body is computer carved from sapele with a slightly arched spruce top. The top is multibound and the fancy F-holes are single bound. There is also a single bound line that surrounds the visible lipstick humbucking close to the bridge. There is a body sensor and also a pickup somewhere in the neck joint.
There is a 5 way switch on the rim and low profile volume, bass and treble knobs on the upper bout of the top. The acoustic style bridge and fingerboard are high quality ebony which is so smooth. The neck and headstock are single bound. The position markers and very small pearl dots are on the ebony since my guitar is a standard model. I think the neck is mahogany as most Taylors are. The tuners are Taylor. The scale is shorter at 24 3/4", maybe 24 7/8". The shape of the neck is slim, wider in width and very comfortable. It's very easy to fingerpick on the guitar. It came with a very deluxe plastic alligator case which I really like. A warranty card was also included. My guitar is entirely black and the finish is top notch. There are no flaws or runs as you might expect with a black finish. It is perfect.

I'm actually new to the electric acoustic world. I am basically a jazz pop player. My preference is a nice archtop jazz guitar. Unfortunately, I have to play at high volumes and directly into a mixer with no amp or effects at all. I've owned a good Godin A6 but I sold it to a friend who wanted it. This guitar suits my style and the venue that I am playing in. I wanted a guitar that was more versatile than the Gibson ES137 that I presently use. I have owned one Taylor and I always like the workmanship and the easy playing features. The sound of this guitar is different for me and I am experimenting with it's tones. The 5 way switch gives you different pallettes of tones that are new to my ears. The first setting is a combination of neck and body sensor. The second is the neck humbucking. The middle setting is for Strat Tele tones. I don't use this setting yet cause I prefer a mellow jazz tone. I may use it soon as I can fit into the music that I play. The 3rd and 4th position are the humbuckings in parallel and series. I use all the settings except the middle setting. The settings that I like give me a full tone with a very good balance from the bass and treble strings. I have plugged into my jazz amp which is an Evans 150RMS. I also have plugged into a Peavey mixer with EV speakers and I really like the fullness of the sound I hear. I still can get the acoustic tone but the bottom end is very full. The 5 way setting on the guitar are preset between the acoustic and electric pickups. Actually, only the first 2 settings have the acoustic sound. I don't know if a mix knob would do much of an improvement. This guitar is such a new animal it causes you to play differently. There are many things I would not play on my Gibson 137 that sound very good on this guitar. This guitar has enough volume to be played unplugged and around the house. This guitar opens new doors which is good. Check out the Taylor website for a more accurate info.

This guitar had electric Elixer 11-49 strings on it. I actually use these strings but I changed them to Elixer 10-49 just to experiment. The medium gauge actually sounds better cause the first 2 strings have a better tone. I tighten the neck just a little bit cause I like very low action. I even shaved the bottom of the saddle a tiny bit. One caution here is, don't take too muchoff the bottom cause it brings the strings closer to the pickup. The pickup is not adjustable so your strings could touch the pickup. I have my action prefect for me. It is low but it does not buzz or rattle. The black finish is flawless and the without problems. I can barely see the lines in the spruce top. The guitar is light and balanced, very playable and has an excellent sound through a PA. My guitar is a standard model and I really like the classy black finish. The ebony wood on it is so smooth it feels like stone. I expect this from Taylor guitars and I am not disappointed. The F-holes are a nice visual eye candy. It has a battery that is very easy to change after 40 hours of playing time. A small red light on the side indicates it's power level. One thing I did not mention is that when switching between settings the volume does not change and is super quiet. The alligator case is top notch.

There are three strap buttons, two on the bottom end. The guitar is solid but care has to be taken since it is a hollow thin line guitar. Keep it on a stand and don't drop anything on the spruce top. I am using this guitar without a backup. I only carry and use 1 guitar on my gigs.

I have not dealt with the factory yet.

I am 60 years old and have been playing steadily for 45 years. My other guitar is a Gibson ES137 and also a Wendler Electrocoustic. What I like most about this Taylor T5 guitar is it's easy playability and excellent workmanship. It has many sounds that my other guitars do not have. I am using it as my only guitar and it is providing me with the sounds I need. It will never sound like a L5 jazz guitar but it is so much more than that. It is very light and balanced and it gives me really nice acoustic rhythm sounds. The lead tones are different for me but I am using it and getting accustomed to it's versatility. I bought this from Guitar Center and they were very helpful. I play in a stage show on the Vegas Strip and plug this guitar directly into a Mackie mixer running into JBL EON's. We don't sound check, I just plug in and play. Not a problem. When you try this guitar let your ears be the judge.

Made on 30th March 2005 in the USA and delivered to my home in North East England on 30th April 2005.I wanted a T5 so badly I did not want to compromise so this one is a Custom with a sensational Koa top. The Custom comes with gold hardware and artist inlays.The guitar has a 5-way selector switch for a wide variety of tones. 3 knobs on the top cover volume and passive bass and treble.There are 3 pickups. The first is a visible bridge humbucker, the second a further humbucker buried in the neck joint and the third a body sensor.The body is thinline and the top has 2 stylised f-holes.

This guitar was delivered at 8am and it is now 12noon so all my comments are based on 4 hours of pure enjoyment.
I am 56 and retired. I play at home for my own pleasure and occasionally gig with friends. I like a wide spectrum of music from classic rock to country. I particularly like blues music. I have a Mesa Boogie Maverick 2x12 guitar amp and a Fender Passport PA which I use for acoustic guitar. My other guitars are a Taylor 314CE and a Tom Anderson Hollow T-Contour. In recent years I have also had a Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson ES335 and a Gibson J200 acoustic.
I bought the T5 on the strength of the reviews (Best at NAMM etc.). I was so excited by the concept I never even played it until it arrived at my home.All I can say is that everything you are likely to read about the T5 to date is true. The acoustic and electric worlds have really merged.I have much more exploration to do but true acoustic tones are wonderful on positions 1 and 2 through either amp and position 3 through the Boogie can give wonderful blues or crunch tones.
Very rarely does somebody write a bad review about a recent purchase so I appreciate that most people will read these reviews with a degree of scepticism. All I would say is try this guitar. It is absolutely the most versatile, well constructed and beautiful instrument I am ever likely to own.

The set up on the guitar on delivery was A1. The action is quick and low and the intonation is spot-on.Everything is flawless and the top is absolutely stunning.The scale length of the guitar is short so it is incredibly comfortable to play The hard case is black in an alligator skin pattern and compliments the guitar wonderfully. Chic but practical.

4 hours is not enough time to comment really. However, I have had my Taylor 314CE for 3 years and I have not had a hint of a problem. I have no reason to doubt that such a quality instrument from one of the most reputable guitar makers in the world will stand the test of time.

As I live in the UK the Taylor warranty does not apply. I have to rely on the UK dealer should I get a problem. This is the first time I have used this dealer but they shifted heaven and earth to get me one of the first T5's in the UK.
I have not had occasion to contact Taylor but there are some super information downloads on their website and I am sure they will advise if I need to contact them.

I wanted this guitar so badly and even after such a short period of time I am ecstatic.
If you can afford it buy one- you will not be disappointed.