[b-nads]

It’s been a long time since I got to write those wonderful letters ;-).

After my Larrivee got destroyed by a drunk idiot in a bar gig I started looking for something more suitable to gigging - good pick-up, tough, reliable. I considered either a good Seagull or a Takamine, which led me to a Japanese Takamine EAN16C. I picked it up yesterday - the action was high but the guitar is immaculate. I got out the sand paper and Allen key and got to work. The set-up is now very close to that of my D-28, which is one of the best set-up acoustics I’ve ever played (was done by Pellerin, if the og owner can be believed). The guitar has rosewood back and sides, with a spruce top - all solid wood from what I gather. It is an older model - 2002 - so it doesn’t have the Cool Tube preamp, although from what I’ve read it’s an easy swap-in. The pickup is very clear, however, and gives an honest projection of the guitar’s tone, which, although it has similar tone woods to my fore-mentioned D28, is on the bright side. I bought it to play live, so as long as it has a good set-up and the pickup works well I’m fine. I may still try an Artist series Seagull - I caught a duo playing the Old Triangle in Halifax last weekend and the guitar player was using the sunburst OM Artist and I was very impressed by its tone - and he was a solid strummer too. We’ll see - so far I’m happy with the Tak.

 

[Kerry Brown]

OMG I hate to hear that story about a Larrivee. I take my L-42 out sometimes because I just love playing it live but I’m so paranoid it’s not funny. It sounds like you found a great gigging acoustic. Congrats,

 

[mawmow]

Your Larrivée story is painful to me !
Takamine are apparently preferred for stage and gig because they are stronger than other brands. ;-)

 

[b-nads]

I worked on the campus security when I was in university in Nova Scotia, and that was in the middle of Great Big Sea’s rise. I was fortunate enough to work the stage for a couple of their concerts, and saw the beatings their Taks took - being thrown around for restringing across the full length of the stage - they’re tough.

 

[zdogma]

My first "good" guitar was a Tak, I drove all over Ontario, Quebec, East Coast with that thing in the trunk of my Civic, 2 years of touring around, summer and winter and no issues at all. It was stolen from the storage unit at my apartment and I replaced it with a Martin, but it was a great tool.

 

[High/Deaf]

I would also say Tak's built-in tuner is one of the best I've used. Can be turned with or without muting the strings.

Even the standard, non-tube preamp works fine. I find that when you plug an acoustic into most run-of-the-mill PAs, a lot of the subtleties are lost and Taks sound damn good for the money. Plus, they're durable and replaceable. Good score!

 

[keto]

Whoa, I missed the Larivee drunk story, is it on here somewhere?

 

[b-nads]

I played a pub in Eastern Ontario. After 2nd set I was sitting the bar with a friend having a beer. 3 young guys came in who were having some pre-pub pints - good for them - but one of them decided it was open mic night. He went up, grabbed my guitar and started playing and singing. When he saw me coming at him he tried to get up and walk away...and fell face first on top of my guitar. I picked him up and he was saying he had “f’d up” my guitar. I looked at it and it seemed ok so I politely told him that couldn’t be the case because I wasn’t standing on his throat. Turns out he had done just that. Next day in the light I found two stress fractures running the full length of the spruce top. It still plays, but it is tough for tuning, and the action has to be kept high, so gigging with it is miserable.

 

[Steadfastly]

I played a pub in Eastern Ontario. After 2nd set I was sitting the bar with a friend having a beer. 3 young guys came in who were having some pre-pub pints - good for them - but one of them decided it was open mic night. He went up, grabbed my guitar and started playing and singing. When he saw me coming at him he tried to get up and walk away...and fell face first on top of my guitar. I picked him up and he was saying he had “f’d up” my guitar. I looked at it and it seemed ok so I politely told him that couldn’t be the case because I wasn’t standing on his throat. Turns out he had done just that. Next day in the light I found two stress fractures running the full length of the spruce top. It still plays, but it is tough for tuning, and the action has to be kept high, so gigging with it is miserable.

It sounds like it could be repaired or am I wrong?

 

[b-nads]

Re-topped, maybe. It’s not a wood split - it's actual stress fractures.

 

[marcos]

Our signer in our country trio has an old 96 Tak that he has played thousands of shows with. Its starting to look like Willy Nelsons guitar. LOL. One of the best sounding acoustics out there for sure. Congrats on your new find Brent.

 

[Swervin55]

I have the TAN 16C and its always been a stellar stage guitar. It's pretty hard to beat Tak electronics for stage (arguably of course). Congrats. I don't think you'll regret it.