On 2005-03-18, Nick Mount gave this Takamine Acoustic Guitar a 5


Purchase: Bought in Wagga Wagga (!), Australia at a small music shop on the main street with an amazing array of quality guitars. Paid about £900 GBP.
Pros: I've always loved Takamines. I love their ability to cut through a mix and their versatility on stage in a range of musical styles. So, as I was on the lookout for a new guitar for folk and country, a Limited Edition Takamine in the shop window caught my eye and I popped in to give it a try. Pleased to have found such a gem, I came out with it, and headed straight to a folk gig where it performed wonderfully. Visually the guitar is a lot more understated that other recent Takamine Limited Edition models. A leaping abalone doplhin on the 12th fret is accompanied by an intricate dolphin rosette in abalone and exotic woods. However, I like this about it and find some of Takamine's recent limited editions a little too flash. The LTD-2001 has a solid rosewood back, rosewood sides and a solid spruce top. The fretboard is ebony, mounted on a mahogany neck. Altogether it is very well put together, was nicely set up from the start and has continued to be so despite a great deal of long haul flying. I use light or custom light strings as a rule and the LTD-2001 still manages to project well with a decent amount of depth and warmth to the sound. I particularly like the sparkly top end which is great for playing in unusual tunings. It is very well suited to strumming but also performs admirably as a picker's guitar. An all rounder. The electronics are Takamine's basic Graph X unit. These are adequate and I've yet to cause a soundman any real problems when using my LTD-2001. Clarity of sound is the order of the day with mudiness avoided, but there is a tendency for the electronics to transmit too much treble.
Cons: There is little that I dislike about the LTD-2001. It can be hard work when playing with intricate fingering above the 12th - but there are few acoustics that aren't. I would have liked to see the pegs replaced by a straight-through stringing system as used on other high-end Takamines - espeially for live work. I also think that an upgrade to a higher level of preamp (personally I fancy upgrading to the CoolTube system) would have improved Takamine's offering.
Quality: The construction was excellent out of the box and continues to be so three years on. Despite in excess of 30,000 air miles, the LTD-2001 is as beautiful now as the day it was bought. Machine heads are Takamine's own branded and I was a little sceptical of their ability to last. However, they are still going strong, are smooth and reliable, and have impressed me.

Summary: In summary - I'm extremely happy with this guitar. It is more versatile than almost any other guitar I've owned and a fantastic workhorse. I suspect this guitar will be in my possession until arthritis sets in in old age. Then I'll be passing it on to my kids!