Taylor 112CE - anyone got one? Or Alternatives?

fretmeister

After a weekend of playing a crappy 1/2 sized nylon string I have realised I pretty much stopped writing new tunes when I don't have an acoustic. When I was writing 3-4 tunes a week it was always acoustic first and then transfer to electric.

So I'm looking for something. The Taylor 112CE looks like a good candidate, so I'm asking if anyone has tried one?

Recommendations for alternatives are welcome too - but, it absolutely has to be 24.75 scale at most, and nothing bigger than the 112CE. Ideally £800 or under.

Happy to look at used as well.

I will be tuning to D standard if that makes any difference, and I like light strings. Often that means using the stock ones but tuning down - that's usually fine.

Plectrum and fingers will be used equally.

ta

thermionic

You should try a GS Mini or two. The small size makes them extremely pick up and playable, with very little compromise on tone (imho at least).

Tannin

The 1 Series Taylors are well made and reliable, but very dear, If you can't find a better guitar at the same price point as a 1 Series Taylor, you are not looking. Simple as that. 

I'm not going to recommend specific alternatives as the UK and AU markets are quite different. Here you would look at SRS Matons and 2 Series Cole Clarks. In the UK you will pay overs for either of those so the likes of Furch and Dowina.

All that said, you want short scale, and not many makers make short scale guitars, so you might be stuck with Taylor after all. That;'s not the end of the world. There are much worse things than a Taylor.

fretmeister

thermionic said:

You should try a GS Mini or two. The small size makes them extremely pick up and playable, with very little compromise on tone (imho at least).

Tried one in a shop. Felt too small!

fretmeister

Tannin said:

The 1 Series Taylors are well made and reliable, but very dear, If you can't find a better guitar at the same price point as a 1 Series Taylor, you are not looking. Simple as that. 

Well, I have no idea what alternatives exist or what to look for. I know nothing about good or bad brands. But thanks anyway.

TTony

Take a look at Richards Guitars and watch some of his demos (FF past the chat if you can).

Shadow

I'm not what their exact dimensions are compared to the Taylor, but if you can stretch to 24.9 scale length the Eastman E1 and E2 OM are worth a look.

sev112

I have  114ce sitting on the wall.  It really is a good guitar for playing, and sounds nice too, all as a number of people have said.

unfortunately I bought a beautiful Dowina so it doesn’t get touched, 

stickyfiddle

Do they still make the Big Baby? That was a great little thing. When I had a 214 I remember feeling like the 100 series was a bit poo bless because it was too close to the 200s in price but the Big Baby was pretty close in sound. 

I honestly don’t know the modern Taylor specs to advise beyond that though. 

strtdv

I'd be getting a used Furch or Dowina for 114 money. Pretty much unbeatable at the price point, and both are relative bargains on the used market as they don't have Taylor/Martin/Gibson on the headstock.

blobb

I've got one, 112ce-s. Thing with guitars and especially acoustics, you have to have an instrument in your mind that you are trying to find. It doesn't really matter what brand or how much it costs, relatively speaking. The thing that attracted me to it, after trying loads of different guitars over a couple of years, was the compact body and the sharp fingerpick style, it feels great in my hand and inspires me to be creative and allows me to go where I need to go when playing. There is a 'Taylor' house sound that I like. I didn't like the Martin house sound for example. At the end of the day you need to forget about who made it and how much it costs. You need to play it and you need to know exactly what you are looking for. It might be what you want, it might not. I wouldn't buy one just on the name or specifications alone. There are almost certainly 'better' guitars out there for the same money, and worse, but you need to look past that. It is reasonably well made, if a little mass produced but for the way I play and what I wanted to do with it I searched for a long time and never found anything that matched what I had in my head.

So from my perspective - great guitar.

I mainly DADGAD it with Newtone light tension DADGAD strings. (Other folk tunings are available).

fretmeister

strtdv said:

I'd be getting a used Furch or Dowina for 114 money. Pretty much unbeatable at the price point, and both are relative bargains on the used market as they don't have Taylor/Martin/Gibson on the headstock.

Neither appear to be available as 24.75 scale.

Paul_C

Yamaha APXs are comfy to play, sound good plugged in, have a 24.9" scale length and are way less than £800.

strtdv

Furch have made some shorter scale 24.6" scale guitars, might be harder to find but they do exist

elkay

If you can stretch your budget a tiny bit, the new Taylor 212ce is well worth considering, at a mere £170 more than the 112ce, and half the price of the 312ce.

fretmeister

Paul_C said:

Yamaha APXs are comfy to play, sound good plugged in, have a 24.9" scale length and are way less than £800.

I had one many years ago. I think I sold it because I found the bridge string spacing to be too tight. It’s only 10mm. It’s narrower than a Les Paul.

Unfortunately the more expensive APX models do have wider spacing, but then also go much longer in scale.

Littlejonny

There’s more to a guitar (especially acoustic) than the specs. One brand’s laminate guitar can trump another’s all solid.

It also depends on the way you play. Flesh or fingernails? Do you flatpick at an angle so you’re displacing the string into the soundboard, or do you pick at right angle to the string? Are you a clean or messy player? Heavy strummer or gentle and dynamic?

People like to crap on Taylors because they appear expensive for the specs. In the right hands though, they can sound amazing. 

I just think you’ve gotta go and play a bunch.

Tannin

They don't appear expensive for what they are, they are expensive for what they are. Very. This is why it is generally pretty easy to find other guitars at a similar price point which outperform them comfortably.  Once you get into Taylor's mid-range, they are much more competitive. 

fretmeister

I'm going to have to wait until I have a grand saved up and then head to a shop that has a lot of stock of lots of makes.

Is there a good shop like that?

Littlejonny

fretmeister said:

I'm going to have to wait until I have a grand saved up and then head to a shop that has a lot of stock of lots of makes.

Is there a good shop like that?

Richard’s Guitars is worth a visit. I’m guessing Andertons would be very good but I’ve never been.

Littlejonny

Tannin said:

They don't appear expensive for what they are, they are expensive for what they are. Very. This is why it is generally pretty easy to find other guitars at a similar price point which outperform them comfortably.  Once you get into Taylor's mid-range, they are much more competitive. 

I’m curious as to how you would define outperforming a Taylor? If you like the Taylor sound, then what beats it, and why?