Takamine

New 2025 Takamine G-series guitars!

For 2025 Takamine have released a bunch of very interesting models for their made-in-China G-series guitars. I went down to Davis Guitar, my local Takamine dealer, and tried out some of them. Here are my first impressions:

GN73CE SB

The things that immediately jump out to you about this NEX model are the block inlays (previously only available on the Toby Keith Signature model) and the satin black (SB) finish. This is not quite the same as the satin finish found on the pro series 3 and the old natural series: it has more texture to it, being paint rather than a clear finish. The guitar also has a very unusually-shaped pickguard, and matt-finished, gunmetal grey mini tuners. The wood combination is solid spruce over laminate maple back and sides.
Likes: Killer looks, and the low action from the factory! Takamine seem to be paying more attention to the factory setup on the G-series this year, and are making an effort to use a lower set of saddles on the non-Dreadnought guitars. The sound is exactly what you would expect from Spruce/Maple – bright and articulate with a focused low end and well-controlled overtones. A perfect band guitar that would also work fine on its own.
Dislikes: The tuners were hard to turn and the small size made them difficult for me to get a grip on. They do look cool, but could prove to be frustrating at the gig.
This guitar is also available in a VERY handsome all-white version, the GN37CE PW. That model has a different set of tuners, which are full-sized and look like they may be easier to use.

GF49CE CB

Ok, I love FXC-sized guitars! One of my all-time favourites from Takamine is the EF261SAN. There is something about the small body that works really well when amplified – these guitars sound massive plugged in, similar to the New-Yorkers, but without the parlor guitar looks. This model has screaming red binding everywhere and a rocking Cosmic Black SPARKLE finish! The sparkle is quite well-controlled and does not come across as gaudy or blingy, although I’m sure it would look awesome under stage lights.
Likes: The small body, the black mini-tuners that compliment both the look and size of the guitar, the plugged in sound.
Dislikes: This is an all-laminate guitar: Spruce top, Sapele back and sides – no solid wood at all, and the acoustic sound reflects that: it has very little depth to it, and this probably will not improve with time, unlike a guitar with a solid top. So this guitar is probably best for those who will play it plugged in most of the time. An ideal stage guitar for the front-man in a pop or rock band. The Laurel fingerboard also looks rather low-rent compared to the rosewood on the other models.

GY21E SM

Another model with absolutely classic looks, this one has the Satin Molasses (SM) color over a solid Spruce top with laminate Sapele back and sides. In person this finish is a really dark brown, and I suspect the grain would only be visible under strong lighting. Still, it stands out like nobody’s business, especially with the cream purfling on the body and the simple black and white rosette.
Likes: Solid headstock – I personally do not like slotted headstocks on steel-string guitars, and I’m glad that Takamine went with a standard headstock and full-sized tuners on this model. They are also using the more streamlined shape usually reserved for the Japanese-made models.
Dislikes: Nothing really on this model! Everything works together so well as a package, and the guitar sounds great, both acoustically and plugged in. The action is really low from the factory, which might be a factor for you if you are a hard-hitter.
I also played the Dreadnought guitar with this colour and wood combination, the GD21CE SM.

One final notable mention is the relatively new TP-3G preamp:

This preamp has been around for a couple of years now, and these 2025 models are all equipped with it. It is obviously the G-series version of the pro-series CT4-BII preamp, which I love for its simplicity and clarity. Same here – there is no doubting what your EQ settings are, and the chromatic tuner is responsive and very easy to read, with two red arrows that change to green when you are in tune. Also, this preamp gets a a proper pull-out battery tray, rather than the small and very easy to lose battery compartment cover. Small but important details!

To sum up, I really like these new 2025 models. They sound good, and the fit and finish is excellent – I did not find a single sharp fret end, misaligned tuner or badly cut nut in all of the guitars I tried. I would have no hesitation recommending any of these guitars to a beginner or intermediate player, or to any player for that matter. I must confess, the plugged in sound of these models is getting rather close to the Japanese guitars! The Palathetic pickup still has an edge: it has better string to string balance and a more robust sound, especially in the low midrange, but we are talking marginal gains here. Well done Takamine, may these guitars bring many more new players to the brand.

D’Addario Silk & Steel strings review

A couple of years ago I transitioned my beloved Takamine CP7MO-TT from light to custom light strings, mostly to make it easier to play as it aged. One side effect of the lighter gauge strings on this guitar has been a slight brightening of the tone and a loss of some bass. Acoustically, this has not been an issue for me, as OMs are supposed to have a chime and shimmer. Plugged in on the other hand… you see, I have never loved the sound of this guitar plugged in – there is something about the wood/pickup/preamp combination on this guitar that gives it a really bright sound, verging on harsh. I find myself constantly cutting the treble on my preamp or amp, and have been tempted to extract the line driver preamp in order to do the same. This however, is easier said than done, as there is not enough slack in the internal cabling connecting the battery to the preamp to fully remove the preamp without undoing some of the metal cable clips inside the guitar. Perhaps one day, but for now enter D’Addario Silk & Steel strings:

According to D’Addario these are “uniquely designed to be (their) warmest, mellowest acoustic guitar string” and feature silver plated copper windings over a combination silk and steel core. Having started out on classical guitar, these struck me as basically a hybrid between steel and nylon strings, so I thought I would give them a go. A couple of days later I had some in hand:

My initial impression of these strings was that they feel very much like classical guitar strings, with the obvious exception of the plain steel 1st and 2nd strings. The wound strings both look and feel very much like nylon strings, of which I have changed hundreds of sets in the course of restringing my father’s guitars. They are very flexible and the windings have a completely different texture to that of typical steel guitar strings. They are available in only one gauge, light, in both six and twelve string sets. No coated version of these strings is available at time of writing.

Installation of the strings was straightforward and actually a little easier than I was accustomed to, due to the lower tension of the strings themselves. Tuning them up for the first time I had to be careful to check my pitch constantly to avoid over-tensioning the strings: reviews I had read online had indicated that these strings are prone to breakage if tuned higher than standard, especially that .011 high E string. I found that they did need more finesse as they approached target pitch, tending to go flat much in the same way as classical guitar strings do. I have found that in use these do not hold their tuning as well as normal steel strings, tending to go flat between sessions when the guitar is put away. They are however, quite stable when the guitar is actually being played.

And what about the sound? Here’s a before and after video that shows the change in tone, recorded both direct and with a microphone:


I was actually quite surprised: although these strings feel like classical guitar strings, they sound very much like steel strings! Especially when strumming with a pick, they have almost as much top end as the set they replaced. Granted, we are comparing brand new uncoated strings to three-month old coated strings, but still, the difference is much less, in my opinion, than D’Addario’s marketing copy would make it out to be. To summarise:

Likes:

  • Lower tension makes guitar easier to play, especially when it comes to barre and complex chords. One problem solved!
  • Sound is, in my opinion, almost as bright as the phosphor bronze set the replaced.
  • Lower tension has actually made the action on the guitar come down slightly!
  • Strings work well with the guitar’s pickup/preamp system – output is balanced across the six strings, without any significant loss of level.
  • The silver color of the windings makes them immediately distinguishable from a normal phosphor bronze set.

Dislikes:

  • The low A, and especially the low E string, have a somewhat ‘rubbery’ sound to them – I know that word describes a texture and not a tonality, but I don’t have a better adjective for this. It’s almost as though the hybrid nylon/steel construction has a disproportionately greater effect on the tone of these two strings than on the others. Other words that could be possibly be used are ‘thwacky’ or ‘boingy’…
  • The strings seem rather ‘dirty’ – wiping with a clean cloth produced many black streaks, even when the strings were brand new. Perhaps this is leftover from the manufacturing process?

At time of writing the strings have been on the guitar for ten days or so and are performing well. The guitar is much easier to play than with a normal (12-53) set of light gauge phosphor bronze strings, and the sound is eminently suited to fingerstyle playing. I have found that using a pick one gauge lighter than usual (in my case, 0.53mm instead of 0.67mm) to be helpful in preventing over-strumming of the strings.

In conclusion, I would say definitely give these a try if you have a guitar that seems hard to play, overly bright sounding, or just for a change of scene. They are reasonably priced for what they are, and seem to be made with D’Addario’s usual care and attention to detail.

Click here to buy these strings on Amazon (affiliate link, supports my work).

Light vs. Custom Light strings on my Takamine CP7MO TT

Takamine CP7MO TT bridge

I’ve owned this lovely guitar since February 2017 – seems like only a few months ago that I bought it. I guess the past two years have been a bit of a black hole for many of us. I was really excited to get this instrument – it’s one of the relatively few Takamine models with the 45mm (1-3/4″) nut that is relatively affordable, priced at around US$2,000 at time of writing. Since the bluegrass series was discontinued, these wider-nut guitars have been largely restricted to the very top of the pro series and limited edition guitars such as the EF75M TT, EF7M-LS etc. I like to play a combination of strumming and fingerstyle, so this combination of features: OM body style, thermal spruce top with ovangkol back and sides (a variation on rosewood), and 45mm nut is ideal.

Having said that, this guitar has always felt a bit “hard to play” with the stock light (12-53) strings. I’m not sure if this is a function of the way the guitar was set up from the factory but whenever I switch to this instrument from one of my other Taks the strings feel comparatively hard to press down, especially the two unwound strings, especially when playing barre chords. So this has always prevented me from fully enjoying the instrument. It’s not a big deal, maybe the difference between 90% and 100% satisfaction.

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