Look Familiar??

[JoeB63]

http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/t5/premiere/details.aspx

Looks pretty nice to me.

[sylvanshine]

Ouch! That shape is too close IMO.

[guitarzan]

I've used that 4th one (sunburst all the way to the right) in the photos on a couple of gigs here in Southern California. They're not quite as close to Atom/Crowdster as these pics imply. They are, however, really great guitars.

[fractal]

Remember that the Atom/Crowdster is based on a Larrivee shape. I think everything good gets rehashed and redesigned anyway.

I'd actually like to try one of these. Maybe we can talk Tom into putting an M or something in a Crowdster and putting a bunch of switches and knobs in it... :)

-Garrett

[tom]

i think the t5 is taylor's grand aud shape. i don't get having a single output(mono) for electric and acoustic, but maybe i'm too old.

[morty]

I love my Tylor acc. and I dont think they want to copy anything! its a different construction and pickupsystem. Have anybody on this forum compared this two lovly guitars? crowdster and the T5?

[tom]

i have played both and i have to say they are not remotely the same beast. the t5 is a hybrid, and for me, i'd say that the electric sound is better than the acoustic sound. you do have to figure how to process the signal into two amps unless you like the sound of an acoustic plugged into a guitar amp, or an electric into the PA. this may be the perfect place for the pod xtl. again, to me, the crowdster acoustic sound was more real. i think the t5 will fit in a new market for people looking for a "new" sound, i don't think it will replace anyone's favorite acoustic.

[LonestarGtr]

I agree with Tom wholeheartedly about these two guitars. I got the chance to play a T5 at my house through a few different amps and to be honest, I didn't really get it. I don't really care for the sound of an acoustic through a guitar amp and the electric pickup sounds pretty average at best. If I'm playing a hybrid guitar, I like having the acoustic running to a d.i. and the electric side going to an amp and I have guitars with Fishman and Baggs bridges that do this and sound better than the T5. It'd probably be really cool for new sounds or Goo Goo Dolls stuff, but I'm not really sure what the market is for it. That being said and I mean no disrespect to my friends at Taylor, but I've still not been able to get a decent sound out of any of the expression system electronics. I've tried a few times with a few different prototypes and they just don't do the guitars justice. I hear a lot of hollow, tin-canny, comb-filtered frequencies and it starts not sounding like an acoustic but more like a dobro or something. I see where they're trying to go with it, but I'm not sure they've nailed it yet.

Now, the Crowdster... I let our sound engineer judge. He said the Crowdster was the best sounding live acoustic he's ever mixed and he's worked with a lot of different artists. He was amazed that such a fat, full sound could come out of a thinline acoustic. I put it up against every acoustic I have and some that I borrowed and it was the most even, true sounding acoustic through the p.a. And I'm not just sucking up to Tom. He heard it on our tour last fall, so he'd be able to tell you how it sounded out front, despite the fact that I was playing it.

peace!
Mike

[getgo]

Mike, I have to agree with you. I tried and tried (did I mentioned I tried real hard?) to get the expression system to work. I think it is a wonderful idea that just needs refinement. After meeting David Crowder last spring after a show and begging him to let me know what he was playing (His two Crowdys) I immediately searched and bought the first one I could find. I will never NEVER NEVER use a traditional acoustic with a band again. I don't know exactly how Tom and Baggs did it but the Crowdster nails it! I love my Taylor acoustics and I may even drag 'em out to a coffee shop ( I used my Crowdy last time) but with drums and bass/full band, Gimme my Crowdy! Everybody loves the thing too! Sound folk really love them! I run mine through a Pendulum SPS-1 like Crowder and let me tell you, what a combination! there has been a little banter over on the AGF about the T-5 and Crowdster and one fella got to A/B the two and said that the Crowdster beats the T-5 acoustic tone hands down.

[getgo]

Maybe we can talk Tom into putting an M or something in a Crowdster and putting a bunch of switches and knobs in it... :)

-Garrett

Uh Oh......................I can see the wheels-a-spinnin' in Tom's head right now. :D

[LonestarGtr]

Getgo,

I still love my Taylor 614CE, too, but I even replaced the fishman blender with the Baggs IMix system after hearing the Crowdy and it made a huge difference to the acoustic sound. But the Taylor still got a little "wild" in certain frequencies in live applications just because hot frequencies would want to feedback. I usually run my Crowdster through an ART tube preamp/d.i. I use it primarily as a d.i., but if I need it to be a little warmer or to smooth it out a little, I'll set it on the "valve" preset... sounds great to me.

Mike

[getgo]

Mike, I'm getting ready to put the imix in two of my taylors too. Did you notice the feedback with a band or was this in a "solo" atmosphere?

[LonestarGtr]

The feedback was definitely with full band and the stage volume was pretty healthy. Plus, in a lot of the venues, I was seated about 10 feet away from the p.a. stacks, so there were some inherent difficulties. The imix sounded the best until I got the Crowdster. I don't like to use the rubber feedback buster soundhole covers because I think it kills the tone and sustain. If you're using it in a solo environment, I think you can tweak any small hot spots out.

Mike

[getgo]

Cool, I just want to use the Taylors at coffee house solo gigs. Thanks Mike!