Takamine G-Series

...the acoustic guitar - a Takamine G-Series, to be more precise.

I've been playing on and off since I was about eight years old (more "off" than "on" trust me). When I first started, I could pick up even the most beautiful, perfectly built guitar and my solos would sound like...Tomcats fighting over the lady feline. Howling, off-key, grinding crap that annoyed my mother and drove half of my four siblings delightfully ...
...I ended up with my Takamine – the best guitar I’ve ever had the privilege of playing.

**THE LOWDOWN**

I am the proud owner of a Takamine G-240 acoustic guitar. It features a solid top, rosewood fret board, rounded body (without the sharp cutaway that just does not appeal to me personally), solid pick guard, basic rosette, chrome tuning keys, solid and classy-looking machine head assembly, and a basic bridge ... more

If you've ever read my profile page with a serious interest (i.e. not just skimming over it in order to find out if I'm the nymphomaniac most of you suspect me to be), you'll probably notice a very small blurb that indicates I am a guitarist. Yes, I play the acoustic guitar - a Takamine G-Series, to be more precise.

I've been playing on and off since I was about eight years old (more "off" than "on" trust me). When I first started, I could pick up even the most beautiful, perfectly built guitar and my solos would sound like...Tomcats fighting over the lady feline. Howling, off-key, grinding crap that annoyed my mother and drove half of my four siblings delightfully mad! Oh yes, Sarah did suck royally!!!

Well, eventually I outgrew the student guitar that I had been attempting to play for several years. Sometime during my nineteenth year on earth (last year), I decided that it was time to get a full-sized model and play my little heart out! I’d found a determination to succeed at this hobby of mine, even if it meant my fingertips bled, my parents invested in earplugs, and every dog in the house howled the second I picked up my guitar case!

With this determination clearly outlined on my face, I walked into Williams Music – a tiny hole in the wall located approximately five minutes from my old workplace. The couple who owns and operates this music store had been highly recommended by a friend of the family – a man who makes playing the entire “C” scale sound like something he does in his sleep! (Really, he’s quite the brilliant guitarist – it’s no surprise that he plays in clubs and bars on occasion!)

The woman – co-owner of the store – smiled when I walked in the door. It was not long before we were checking out the side wall of the tiny store: Racks upon racks of every guitar imaginable were lovingly displayed on floor stands, wall racks, and in cases. They proudly sported electric models, classical guitars, acoustics, basses, mandolins, and almost all the other common stringed instruments. Truly, despite being a very tiny store, the selection was enormous!

I explained that I was looking for my first full-sized acoustic guitar – not a classical guitar, as I don’t enjoy that type of playing, but a plain old acoustic. “I don’t have eight hundred dollars,” I said with a grin, “but I DO have a few hundred that I’m more than happy to give for a nice guitar.”
”Well, what do you mean by nice, exactly?” the saleswoman queried with a smile.
”It has to sound very, very good. I want rich, full tones…a clear sound to it…it has to sound like a guitar that a first-class luthier built.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up with my Takamine – the best guitar I’ve ever had the privilege of playing.

**THE LOWDOWN**

I am the proud owner of a Takamine G-240 acoustic guitar. It features a solid top, rosewood fret board, rounded body (without the sharp cutaway that just does not appeal to me personally), solid pick guard, basic rosette, chrome tuning keys, solid and classy-looking machine head assembly, and a basic bridge assembly. When a string is plucked, you hear the tone reverberate throughout the guitar: A rich, mellow sound that brings a smile to the listener’s face.

The tuning keys are chromed-out to give it a sleek look. They are also a “closed” design to keep dirt and dust out of the gears. This would normally be a pain in the butt, but I find it very helpful because it’s that much less work for me when it comes to cleaning and polishing the guitar.

My G-Series features a long neck, with a basic, plain-looking head and a nut that has broken once thanks to my re-stringing attempts. However, a bit of wood glue and a special luthier’s clamp only brought me a charge of five bucks from the owner of the store – who also happens to be a luthier, sound engineer, salesman, and avid player.

The hardwood top is of a light color, with a clear shellac finish to preserve the natural beauty of the wood. I dare say that it is pine, but I have never been good at identifying different trees! Whatever the case, the natural darker lines running parallel to the neck of the guitar give it a very unique look: You won’t find two G-Series guitars that look exactly alike.

Bridges and saddles are generally not my favorite guitar parts, as they remind me of the re-stringing process – a living nightmare for me, as I tend to break a LOT of High E strings! (Egads, will I ever learn?) The G-Series’ bridge is basic, made with a darker wood and white plastic saddle to offset its appearance. Truly, it is artistic. However, the only gripe that I have about it is – you guessed it – THE EFFING BRIDGE PINS! Bridge pins are certainly more stylish and convenient, but re-stringing the guitar is a ROYAL pain in the butt! There are no special tools required to remove the bridge pins, of course, but it makes the job a lot easier! I would rather have the regular old bridge in which holes are drilled through for the ball end of the string. Wouldn’t that be easier? Yes, it would – but it wouldn’t look as nice!

Takamine’s G-Series is not the largest guitar on the market, but it is up there with the big boys. It has a full body, which gives it a round, resonant tone. This is a great guitar for people who are larger than eight year-old children – anyone below that requirement would probably find it a bit bulky or awkward.

It came with a button on the bottom for the strap to attach to, but I had to pay a couple of dollars to have the hole drilled at the meeting point for the neck and the body. A basic nylon strap – all black – goes well with the décor of this instrument, and is very affordable.

When I purchased the guitar, I got a free carrying case to go with it. It would have cost about thirty dollars otherwise – simply because it is reinforced black cardboard with steel latches and a plastic handle. I plan on upgrading to a hard plastic case to prevent damage done to the guitar by accidental drops – or, worse yet, a clumsy sibling stepping on the case whilst it is laid out on the living room floor!
Be warned, however, that the average classical guitar case will prove to be too small for this model. You will have to get the larger case, which is why it will cost you a bit. If you’re not interested in the cardboard case, you can buy a molded plastic model (which can cost upwards of a hundred dollars – because some of them have key locks and other features), or a simple gig bag (a basic ripstop nylon bag shaped like the guitar, with carrying straps to fit it across your back). Best yet, a simple storage rack can cost something like ten dollars. You simply screw the yoke-shaped bracket into a wall stud and hang your guitar by the neck. The bracket is padded so that you do not damage your guitar, and generally the screws and directions for assembly are included with the package.

Some of my favorite accessories for the guitar are:

The digital tuner – a basic tuner that works for either basses or guitars. It cost less than twenty dollars, and allows me to tune all six strings without pushing any buttons or re-configuring the settings. It also tunes seven-string models produced by the likes of Ibanez.

The capo. I hate “classic” capos – they’re a pain in the butt to wind around the neck and all of that mess. So, I paid six bucks for a trigger capo. It is a red piece of metal, with rubberized protective sleeves over the parts that make contact with the guitar. By squeezing the trigger, I open the jaws of the capo. I then slide it onto the fingerboard (near the correct fret for that particular song) and release the trigger. Nothing could be simpler!

The picks. I have several various picks. You know, the regular wedge-shaped models of various colors and thicknesses? I pay something like five cents apiece for them, so it would make an interesting hobby if I happened to be a collector.

A basic pitch pipe. This is helpful if the batteries in your digital tuner happen to die on you whilst you are out and about. Besides which, sometimes it’s easier for me to tune with the pitch pipe than it is with the tuner. It all depends on my mood.

Strings, strings, and more strings! I have bought something like three dozen sets of strings in the past year and a half of Takamine ownership. Currently my favorites are D’Addario bronze-wound – anything within the light or medium ranges sounds beautiful with this guitar. They are not the most expensive strings on the market, but they are certainly some of the best sounding. They are also very hard to break – even for a dunce like myself! All in all, they’re great strings. However, as an alternative I enjoy Ernie Ball acoustic guitar strings – they are “slicker” than the D’Addarios, and give the guitar a lighter, more playful sound. Again, it all depends on my mood.

So, even with all of the accessories bought over the past year or so as well as a few adjustments that I had to have made (I asked the shop owner to lower the action to take a bit of feedback out of the guitar’s sound – it cost me ten dollars for his time), I have spent a total of:

Less than six hundred dollars.

This is pretty good, considering that I have gotten more pleasure out of this guitar than any of the others I have ever picked up, played, bought, or otherwise experimented with. I enjoy lots of different guitars, but the G-Series is more…personal for me. It’s certainly not a custom-made guitar, but it is suited perfectly for my own needs.

For more information about this or other guitars, please visit http://www.takamine.com

 

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