Taylor or Martin?

Fuengi

Which is better?

Opinions only please! 

Jason

Both / Neither. I find them very different but can't fault either. Personal preference is Martin either a HD28 or a D35, you just need to play them, they feel very different

jellyroll

Neither. For the sort of money you need to spend to get a good one, you’re into Collings, Lowden, Bourgois or other high end maker territory. Their less expensive stuff is in my opinion distinctly uninspiring and at least matched by Larrivee, Godin family, Maton, etc which tend to sell for far cheaper prices. 

ICBM

Martin if you want a more traditional tone and playability.

Taylor if you want modern tone and playability.

Larrivee if you want something of both.

Gibson if you want the best . If you can find it among all the less than great ones...

I've never played any of the more expensive brands that I've actually liked, no matter how well-made.

earwighoney

Larson Bros for vintage. 

Guild for modern. 

KKJale

Fuengi said:

Opinions only please! 

Out of those two... Martin. 

Finding a truly great Martin is bloody hard work, finding a truly great Taylor is impossible.

sweepy

I’ll have to say neither as they are both pretty uninspiring compared to what’s available

Fuengi

Ignoring the waffle I'm counting that as two votes for Martin and four spoiled ballots. 

stickyfiddle

They're both great, but not the same. Taylors, to me, are a bit more modern and "hifi" for the want of a better word, but if you want a dreadnought that sounds like every classic record you've ever heard you need a Martin.

For the lower end stuff I prefer Taylor, but once you get over 1.5k or so Martin takes over

Lebarque

Martin

TheBigDipper

Fruitless question. Please define "better". Do you mean which brand should you buy? Even more fruitless. 

Edit: If you just want to know what people think personally, then I'll be less peevish (sorry) and tell you. I've never played a Taylor I loved. They're OK but don't inspire me. I've played lovely Martins ( I own a lovely 0-16NY)  and many not so nice. My mate has a D-something and I prefer my L'Arrivee. 

BRISTOL86

Better for what?

Fuengi

I'm not buying either, just interested in general consensus. 

3-0 Martin.

richardhomer

For Dreadnoughts it’s pretty clear cut; Martin.

For smaller styles, it’s less straight-forward. Taylor are in the process of revoicing their range and the newer versions sound less Taylor-like than they did in the past - they’re now warmer and less ‘brittle’. They still don’t sound like a Martin - but the difference is less marked.

Taylor’s build/consistency is exceptional - very much the PRS of acoustic guitars - which leaves them open to accusations of ‘sterility’, etc.

As with anything American these days, prices are horrific these days - I’d try to buy used if at all possible - and play as many as you can before making a decision.

ToneControl

Those are 2 large-scale-factory-made brands, yet for the same money you can buy much better hand-made "boutique" instruments:  Lowden, Avalon, Bourgeois. Goodall, etc

There are other factory brands that are as good, for less cash:  not leaving the USA/Canada you can have Larrivee

I've tried quite a few Taylors and Martins, 
At the Martin flagship store I could not find a Martin under £10k that matched  £4 - 5k hand-made guitars
I tried a lot of £2k-£3k Martins, and they are nothing special, whereas Avalons and Lowdens at that price are very special

Taylors: I bought a 314ce new, sold it a loss a year later, it was not as good as the Larrivees I owned at the time
The pricier Taylors played better (I haven't tried the newer upmarket models the new head guy has brought in), but they are not a match for the Lowdens and Avalons at the same price.
I used to think perhaps they were great for people who play live a lot, but my luthier showed me a box he had full of failed Taylor expression pickups that he'd had to remove from many guitars - so perhaps not so reliable for that.

BigLicks67

I've owned both and can categorically state that Martin guitars are better than Taylor guitars. Additionally, both my Martin's are easier to play than my old Taylor 414ce. Is that unequivocal enough : >

axisus

I have a Taylor 814CE and it is a lovely guitar. I went and tried a LOT of guitars at the time, and ended up with the Taylor. I went through about 20 guitars within my budget, then I tried this one Taylor that was over budget as I remembered that I'd seen one advertised secondhand locally a day or two before. It was better than everything I'd tried thus far (well, it was more expensive!) so I went home and bought the secondhand one.

Fuengi

4-1 Martin.

Others 12.

Kinda what I thought!

preston61

I have been playing through the guitar stores in Cardiff, looking at this very thing.

One store has some of the nicest guitar store folk I've met in this country and stock a lot of the Taylor line. I've played everything from the GS Mini to the 510e and it's only when I got to the 510e and 522 that I really started to enjoy what I was hearing. The 210 deluxe was surprisingly good for it's price point but it lacked any depth to its tonal palette. What was enjoyable about all the Taylors is that the necks on every single one of them was very easy to play.

The other store, which shall remain nameless, is one that I hate going in too, some of the most up their own arse store assistants I've come across who it feels like their job description must include making as many customers as possible feel like they are wasting their valuable time. They do however have more Martin guitars than the other store and so I have gone in tried a lot of those. I have come to realise that I really like them a lot!! I first played a DRS2 because I have always played dreads, and was very pleasantly surprised that a non-all wood guitar could sound so good, certainly a winner for the price. I then picked up the guitar that I am in love with and am trying to think who I can bump off in my extended family to be able to afford it. The Martin 000-15e Special. I was amazed about how good this sounded unplugged, its all wood, and was super easy to play and I found myself creating new things on the spot!! I tried a few of the more expensive guitars and they didn't sound quite as good, but they were still more enjoyable than the Taylors on a whole both from a sound and comfort point of view.

So I vote Martin, from my short, recent, experience

crunchman

Martin.  No brainer.

Having said that some Martins are better than others.  If you can find a good one they are brilliant.  I'd take a good Martin dreadnought over most of the "boutique" brands as well.  For all the hype about them I've never liked Collings.  I'd take a good Martin HD28V over any Collings I've ever played.

If you want a traditional Martin style guitar at a lower price point then Furch/Stonebridge are brilliant.  If you don't mind non-traditional construction then some of the cheaper Martins made with HPL back and sides, and the Stratobond neck are actually very good.

thermionic

Now that Cardiff only has two decent guitar shops, I'm trying to work out which one is which!

I've always wanted a Martin, but I have a Taylor which probably sounds more atypical than other models - a 310 dread. It'll be a while before I can trade up to a HD-28 though, so contemplating a Larrivee or maybe a J45 as a stop-gap.