Takamine GN51CE NEX Acoustic-Electric Guitar - Natural Reviews

Just got this last week another interments to stand in the corner. I forgot to get stands for them so yesterday got 3 ordered. Chris must be one heck of a great employee to have. My new Acoustic /Electric Guitar arrived tuned and in great shape. The sound is right on and for a back up guitar, it is all most moving to the front of the line! The case got here also and I did notice that the fight over who can play it first was only settled by a single bag of candy that fell out of the box and into the hands of one keyboardist and into the hands of another. Michael got to it first and will let us move it for him maybe. If you get one, get it from Sweetwater and it looks and plays great. John McCall

Sounds awesome I"m happy with my purchase

Simply put, this guitar truly sounds, looks, and feels amazing regardless of the price point. The only maintenance I did after receiving this was tighten the truss rod to straighten the neck just a bit and get the action to my preferred action (5/64'' at the 12th fret on the low E). At arrival it was just a hair shy of 7/64" which is right about most manufactures' specs. I appreciate the attention to detail in the 55 point inspection by Sweetwater as it greatly reduces the potential amount of work required to get your guitar to your liking. There was absolutely no fret buzz or intonation issues across the fretboard before, or after, adjustments.

The rosewood back and sides are laminate but certainly retain the tonal and visual characteristics for which rosewood is so renowned. The solid spruce top/rosewood combination in tandem with the NEX body shape (essentially a scaled down jumbo shape) is louder than expected played unplugged but the tone is warm, yet very crisp. The under-saddle pickup sounds clear and the preamp is extremely useful.

The abalone rosette is beautiful and the binding is simple, framing the body and fretboard very nicely.

From headstock to endpin this is an amazing guitar!

Outstanding guitar! Really well balanced sound that just sings. Excellent construction and simple but beautiful appointments. What's especially good IMO is that the headstock is designed in such a way where the strings aren't crimped after they pass the nut and meet the tuning posts. That sets the strings up more in line with the nut and I have found that guitars that are set up that way stay in tune better. I found out from the manufacturer that the tops are (with very rare exceptions depending on supplies) made from solid Sitka Spruce, book-matched, and the bracing is X scalloped. I shopped around and looked at many cutaway acoustic-electrics in this price range and none could come close to this guitar as far as features and bottom line bang-for-the-buck. The only other one that I would consider as good was a newly released Yamaha but it's more expensive so this Takamine is my new baby! It's fantastic!!

I have been playing acoustics for over 40 years my first guitar was an Apollo (made by Fender), it was a solid body electric. My first acoustic was an Alvarez Regent very nice guitar, through the years I have, and have played many different makes and brands, but I have to say this Tak is up there with the high end brands. I was treated professionally and with the utmost respect, I received this guitar by mail order and received it when they said it would delivered, this guitar was set up and ready to play straight out of the box, The intonation and action was spot on and amazingly it was in tune, the rich highs and lows are what I was looking for, the box wasn't even damaged I love this guitar already thank SWEET WATER for the help you gave me and the most professional service I have ever received. I am a new life long member as of today.

I went back and forth on this guitar for weeks, annoyed the heck out of my sweetwater rep with questions, ultimately decided I wanted the GN71, and then got nothing at all because life and finances struck and I had to reprioritize. I did end up with a cool little Seagull to hold me over (fun guitar, would recommend), but I've still been dying for a cutaway with some electronics and for personal reasons Takamines have been high on my list. Flash forward to Christmas, and one of these just happened to be waiting under the tree for me. Happy to say that, so far, it's what I had hoped it would be. Needed a little bit of work out of the box, but thanks to some very helpful videos from Takamine's youtube channel, even an amateur like me was able to get this thing setup and in playing shape on my own. Nice and easy to play, has a slightly warmer tone than my Seagull, and I really appreciate the slightly smaller NEX body. Makes playing while sitting at my desk a little more comfortable which is part of what attracted me to these models in the first place. All in all, happy camper. I did knock half a star off because I'd like to repalce some of the cheaper plastic parts (bridge pins, nut, etc.) but finding OEM parts from Takamine or getting any kind of support from them has proven a little tough so far. Not a big issue though.

Lastly, as seems customary in these reviews, I'd genuinely really like to thank my sales guy Justin. It was a couple of months ago now, but he really went out of his way to answer my questions (all 9 million of them) and got no reward for it in the end. He did a great job and is the reason wanted to buy from, and will continue to buy from, Sweetwater. As an ATT customer (IYKYK), this kind of customer service is very much appreciated.

After installing my Grover 102 tuners, I find that the characteristics between the stock tuners and the Grovers is closer than i originally thought. The stock tuners look very good, but have a much lighter touch. they do tend to go from sharp to flat before you hit tuned but stay in tune when done. The Grovers are very smooth and definitely more accurate.
However a buyer would be fine with the stock tuners. I raised my rating a star, the 2 issues i wont be changing position on are the difficulty replacing the proprietary pickup/saddle assembly and lack of Takamine parts/service for G models.

The good points: The guitar is beautiful with purfling, abalone and trim normally seen on higher end guitars. It feels good in the lap and standing, the neck is fast and comfy and the action can be brought down to superfast. It is smaller than a dreadnaught thus projection is less. Plugged in the preamp is adequate that’s through an electric amp.

The Bad points: Takamine put very low quality hardware on it. The tuners are difficult to tune and keep in tune, and all the “synthetic bone” as they call it is a pea green ugly color. The bridge pins are plastic. I replaced or am replacing the tuners, nut, bridge pins and the proprietary saddle/pickup combination. The proprietary pickup works but you can’t change the plastic, you must fabricate a one with a new piezo pickup. I got tremendous help from Graph Tech on that.

Final thoughts: If you like working on guitars it is worth it. Expect to put $120 in new hardware in it. My opinion is it’s worth the upgrades. If you want an out of box ready to go guitar, look at Ovation Celebrity or Epiphones. Both need very little prep work.

I tried to get support from Takamine and got none. I found out that parts and support are only available to the higher end guitars. That and the proprietary saddle/pickup were disappointing. I have the experience to upgrade it and expect years of enjoyment when completed.

Thanks to Jonathan C my Sweetwater rep who I tend to bother a lot like a son. I would never consider shopping anywhere else.