Takamine GN93CE NEX Acoustic-electric Guitar - Natural Reviews

After setup, One of the nicest playing (and sounding) acoustics electrics I've ever owned. ESPECIALLY for the MONEY SPENT.

27 August 2023

I purchased the Takamine GN93CE NEX A/E-Natural for my daughter because it's all solid tone wood and the size of the guitar is perfect for women. The price is right as well

You can't go wrong with the extensive inventory, competitive prices, and amazing customer service available at Sweetwater.

Don Winant
Spokane, WA USA

The Takamine GN93CE is, in my opinion, one of the best values available. The fit & finish, embellishments, electronics, & attention to detail is only the beginning.

Ok, so it looks great, but, how about the sound & playability? High marks concerning that as well. If this one ever wore out, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.

First off, I have to give a huge shout out to my sales engineer Nate McClure! You have never steered me wrong. He even remember my birthday and called me to wish me a happy birthday! When's the last time a salesman did that for you? You deserve a raise and a promotion my friend!

Now my guitar. I purchased a Takamine GN93CE -NAT. It was a demo and all of the scratches on the back looked much worse in Sweetwaters photos than in person. I used a little scratch cover and now they are barely noticeable. This guitar is STUNNING! It is my my second love right after my wife!

In tune out of the box. Thank you Sweetwater team for your 55 point inspection and making her pretty for me. Love you all!

I could not be happier!

I've had a Takamine GN93CE for about 10 yrs now. I play out several ties a month. It has served me well and now that it has worn totally out I am giving it to my Nephew and getting another one. It is a workhorse and has never let me down. I have a Gibson a Martin an Ovation but none of them give me what I need when I play live. I highly recommend. Sure you can by way more expensive Taks but for my money the GN93 does what it's supposed to do and does it well.
Plus when people throw things at me it makes a good shield.

I've been playing guitar in the last 35 years (gigging and recording). I touched, tested, played, and handled a few acoustic/nylon guitars in my life (from $80 - $3000) - whether practicing, writing, rehearsing, and recording, BUT I had never "owned" one at this price. It's weird; I know. Lol.

Recently (well, since 1995), I've been wanting to own a good acoustic guitar from Takamine. So I researched and I bought GN93CE NEX. I also considered other brands and "price," but I noticed they don't really have all the right packages (i.e., no "glitz and glams"). What came to me, my GN93CE NEX has all the package: Light weight, smaller body, color, quality, preamp electric EQ, sound, tones, playable, comfortable, smaller neck, bounding details around the neck and head, sides on dark walnut and maple wood, and more. It's everything I want on an acoustic guitar.

I can't believe how beautiful she is, guys (and gals). I should had gotten it earlier. No brainer. If I lose my GN93CE NEX now, I'll definite buy it again.

Wasn't impressed with the playability at first but after a
Professional setup she plays like hot butter. Seriously, you not touch nothing this nice in this price range. Love this guitar!

I bought my GN93CE 7 Years ago to replace my Ean15ce. The Ean15ce sounded great but the dreadnought size was becoming uncomfortable to play and the soft cedar top got dinged real easy so I retired it to playing at home and recording. I couldn't be happier with the Gn93ce. While it's not QUITE as warm as the Ean15ce, it still sounds great straight to the Bose s1 pro. I was so happy with it I recently purchased a P7nc which is almost identical except it's Takamine's top of line pro series with all solid wood and the cool tube preamp. Sure, it sounds better than the Gn93ce but it was almost 3 times the price. It certainly didn't sound 3 times better! I'll still probably use my GN93CE as my everyday gigger and save my P7nc for special gigs...in it's humidified case. I live in new Mexico where it's 30% humidity in the winter. I've never humidified the Gn93ce and never felt the need to. Great guitar!

I usually don't do reviews, but this guitar is excellent for the price. It's the last acoustic I will ever need, unless I have to replace it. And the service I received from Sweetwater was outstanding, Why would you purchase a guitar from anywhere else? Thanks Sweetwater!!!!

I had a 2018 Taylor 412-CE 12-fret Summer NAMM special that was the most beautiful sounding guitar I have ever owned. Unfortunately when COVID hit I had to sell it to help make ends meet. I was heartbroken. Since then I have searched and searched for a guitar to replace it, although not as expensive. I tried Gibson - I bought a G45 and a J45 - and could not get the sound. Returned the J45 after a bit but kept the G45 because I wanted a Gibson. I played lots of others but could not find that sound and feel. When I went in to Sweetwater a couple weeks ago it was to play some Guilds I had been looking at online, but none of those compared. I saw this Takamine GN93CE Nex hanging there and tried it; that was all she wrote! The sound and the feel were exactly what I was looking for at less than half the price of the Taylor I had. The beautiful 3-piece back is just a pleasure to look at at, and the on-board electronics are phenomenal. And Sweetwater gave me a great deal on the display model, too. Walked out of Sweetwater a happy man that day, and I haven't put it down since.

After playing a friend's Takamine with an NEX style body, I really wanted one of these. I lucked out and found one used but in like new condition--I'm still scratching my head as to why this person got rid of a basically new guitar that quickly. Only thing I can think of is they didn't realize they needed to remove the shims at the bridge to adjust it. It's now my go-to guitar for open mics and performing, would definitely buy another one if anything ever happened to it. The electronics in it are awesome, I get a lot of comments about how good it sounds from other musicians. One of my best purchases ever. I had looked at a much more expensive Taylor prior to buying this and it sounds every bit as good if not better and is more comfortable to play. Plus just before that, I was at an open mic where someone was going to play using the same model number of Taylor as I was considering and the electronics in it failed. That helped me make my mind up! Why spend twice the money if I didn't need to. The NEX body style is definitely my preferred too, the size is much more comfortable than a standard dreadnought acoustic.

I was looking for a gigging guitar that sounded great plugged in and this guitar fits the bill. Awesome preamp and great tuner. Delvin was a great help in choosing the right guitar. I played a show the day it arrived and was very pleased. The finish is top notch and the tuners are very smooth. I couldn't be happier.

When I unboxed the Takamine, I was amazed at the quality of the finish on the guitar. The beauty of the symmetry, attention to detail, and quality of the build is very satisfying. I had lighter strings installed and lowered to 5/64's at fret twelve. The setup was done perfect. The guitar plays like a dream. The sound is bright, clear and rings out. Thank you to Jacob Stutzman for getting my order done correctly. The people at Sweetwater are the best. I ordered on Monday and received it on Saturday morning, my birthday. That made my day. A very good guitar for the price. I recommend Takamine guitar and Sweetwater for their excellency and professionalism.

The workmanship of the guitar is great. The finishes are beautiful. The action of the guitar was near perfect out of the box. The TK-40D is a good preamp and the tuner is a definite plus. The guitar sound great even with eq off. I was leery of purchasing a guitar without playing it first, but Ben Stokes and the guys at Sweetwater made it a great experience. Thanks.

I purchased one of these two years ago. Just now getting to the review. I couldn't be more pleased with this Takamine. I use it for gigs, and have gotten some nice compliments on the sound, as well as the look. It has a very nice feel to it, easy to play, and sounds great. I told Anthony Longano what I thought I was looking for, and he steered me to this one. It was my second guitar from him, and he came through bigtime as usual! Thanks!

This guitar sounds beautiful!! It sounds great unplugged and plugged in just sounds even better!

At first I thought this would've knocked it down a star but now I think it's a great feature. So when I first got it the action was pretty high, higher than I would've liked. But underneath the saddles there are shims that you can remove to lower the action extremely easily, I'm assuming this will be the case with all these guitars and not just mine.

After removing the shims this guitar is just effing perfect, low action no buzz, gorgeous and LOUD!

This guitar has exceeded all my expectations. I researched til I thought my head would explode,I was back and forth with Taylor,epiphone,Yamaha and this takamine. I believe for the money you just can"t go wrong with this guitar. Great sound unplugged,but when plugged in amp that"s where I believe it stands out. Plus buying through sweetwater was an extra bonus. It arrived promptly,excellent packaging. My experience with sweetwater was flawless! Absolutely No Regrets!

great sound!

When I made the choice to get the Takamine GN93CE I expected a mid range Chinese made guitar. I was wrong. Starting with cosmetics, fit and finish is beautiful. The binding isn't some cheap plastic, it's maple all the way around. The wood on the inside is dark and grainy just like the outside, so no laminate here. (Except for the lighter strip on the back) The neck feels great in the hand, plenty of room between the strings yet not a clunky base ball bat. also the finish isn't sticky like some cheaper acoustics out there. It has a bit low volume for finger picking but when strumming it rings out loud! intonation is right on, and the tuners are very precise, and the nut doesn't cause the strings to stick and pop when adjusting. Every time I see it on my wall I want to grab it and play! I would get it again with no hesitation. Now I just need a case!

I purchased this guitar after extensive research. It seemed to fit what I was looking for. After I received it I was not disappointed one bit. The sound and the quality of the instrument is amazing! So easy to play and the sound is full and clear. I would like to say that what gives it a 5 star rating also is the quality of customer service and attention to detail that the whole staff gave me during the purchase. My sales engineer was Kyle Minnick. This guy was not only knowledgeable but was a stickler for making sure he got everything right in order to make my buying experience enjoyable! The guitar deserves high rating but I am a firm believer that your product and your company is only as good as the people that run it. I will be making future purchases and I will buy from Sweetwater and I will buy from Kyle Minnick. Thank you and your staff again for a quality product and customer service that is second to none!!

Sincerely,
G Baker.

I was looking for another acoustic guitar. I wanted a cutaway to allow access to the higher frets. I found this Takamine while exploring Sweetwater. I have never played one, so I asked a couple of guitar players about Takamine guitars. I was informed that it is a great guitar. They were spot on! The beauty of the guitar is astounding. When it first arrived I was blown away by the playability. It also sounds very nice and has great tone. I plugged it into my amp was pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds through the amp as well. This guitar is a terrific value. I love it!

This a great guitar. I had it professionally set up once I received it and it sounds great easy to play.Im 65 years old and have been playing professionally most of my life.I bought this so I could retire my 18 year old Taylor. This guitar set up properly sounds as sweet as my Taylor.

I grew up in a Music Store, playing many brands of guitar. I always loved the Takamines for playability, bright tones, and looks. So recently when I decided to buy an electric/acoustic, I landed on this one. Wow. What a great guitar. It plays with ease, delivers a vibrant tone, and was actually in tune when I took it out of the package. This is truly an excellent guitar that will become one of your stage favorites.

I bought this guitar not knowing if I would like it especially since I am a Taylor fan. This Takamine really earned my respect. It is a beautiful guitar, but looks mean nothing without a quality sound and great play-ability. The Tone sounds great and it carries a great pitch throughout a room. When you plug it in it sounds even better. This guitar is way under priced. I like the sound of this guitar over the Taylor 210, 214ce, and 314ce and it plays smoother as well. I chose this guitar over a 2500 dollar Taylor 414 and not just because of price, but it played and sounded just as good. I highly recommend this guitar.

I had been looking for an acoustic-electric(with cut away) for some time. I had my eye on a Taylor, but the price was prohibitive for me.
I was looking at Takamine and started researching the GN93CE. I loved the look of the guitar front and back. After thinking about for some time, I decided to buy this guitar from Sweetwater(I had never bought a guitar online and was a bit hesitant).
I placed my order and with in the hour, I got a call from a service rep. I was blown away by the customer service.
When my guitar arrived, it was packed really well, I took it out and tuned it up and it sounded great!
I work with a lot of guitar players(how lucky am I?) and I brought my Tak into work for them to try. Everyone was very impressed. The loved the sound and the look. My office is a bit cold and the guitar did great staying in tune.
I love the electronics(easy to use).
I highly recommend this guitar. And as my co-workers will tell you, I am now a big fan of Sweetwater!

I absolutely love my new Takamine! The finish is absolutely gorgeous and I love the overall shape of the guitar body! The action is also a big improvement compared to my previous guitar. I haven't plugged my guitar in much yet, but I really love the acoustic sound.

I would rate the Sweetwater service at 5 stars! The staff is amazing, and our sales associate worked with us on price on everything!

Thank you Matt! I love the Takemine GN93CE Guitar! Excellent Quality & Service! I Would Definitely Buy Again!

I was looking to get the next level Taylor as I needed the cutaway for the Gypsy Jazz music I've been learning but found the cost too prohibitive. I found this guitar on the Sweetwater site and bought it without ever trying it. I've never had a Takamine before so I was a little nervous but for the price I thought why not try it out. I was presently surprised as this is a really fun geat sounding guitar. I am finding that the electronics are stupendous and require no extra EQ as I run this flat and it sounds great. The neck is very comfortable and easy to play on. The frets are smooth and gresat action. The craftsmanship is top notch. The backside woodwork is beautiful. This guitar is easily in the $1200 class for less than $600. I am looking forward to recording with this guitar and I suspect that I shall not be disappointed. I would like to thank my guitar tech at Sweetwater who set this up that they did an excellent job.

This is my go-to performance guitar, and it has never let me down. Frets are great, sweetwater action is stellar, and the looks are amazing. The stripe on the back is just beautiful. For a chinese made guitar, it is amazing. It sounds great as is, but when you plug it in, the TK-40D shines. I love it.

a well made guitar, with an ease to play...fast low fret action action..great intonation ..no fret buzz whatsoever..for those who shred, a can do with this guitar..a rocker's dream..

This guitar was my second choice, I first tried the PRS Acoustic. That is all I will say about that.. I returned that one. and got this guitar and the sound is much like a taylor very clean sound. I feel the heavy .12 strings are far too heavy for this guitar, the neck does not seem to like the pressure of the .12 gauge string. I put extra light gauge strings on it and tuned the guitar down to D instead of E and I am amazed by the sound I get. the guitar sounds like it is twice the size it is and when you plug it in OMG this guitar kicks the big A. I have a takamine concert ver. the same one the Eagles use in concert. I like this guitar more.

This guitar has been everything I had hoped. It is more beautiful in hand than in the pictures and the sound is on par with the look. I hadn't found much information on this guitar prior to purchase in the way of videos or reviews, so I was a little apprehensive. I'm glad I went for it! Great quality for the price.

I ran into this guitar at a locally owned store in Buffalo NY, called Music City, one day after work. Picked it up and was really taken back with the guitar's set up. So low and so easy to play. No other guitar at any store regardless of brand and price was ever set up this good. I asked the owner if he had it set up. "No, came out of the box like this". I strumed and finger picked and gave pleasure to my ears. I could not put it down until my wallet snuck out and I made it mine before anyone else found out. I like it as much as my Taylor dn3, perhaps more. Worth hundreds more than asking price.

This guitar sounds warm and rich. It project beautifully unplugged and sounds even better amped up.

I bought this to replace my Taylor 410, which I am going to sell, I just haven't got on with that sound. I was a little apprehensive about the buying of a guitar without playing it, however, this is a very comfortable and easy guitar, and the sound shines out with a very balanced tone, and enough of the required frequencies to hear the subtle nuances of your playing.
The looks are fantastic, and the quality of construction is high, I don't like the fact that its made in china, but I'll live with that, as, I have a Takamine EAN10-12 which I love, (its made in Japan) I trust Takamine enough to have bought this blind! The pickup sound isn't as natural as my EAN10-12, it could be the pick-up, whether its different in a MIJ model, or it could be that the original Graph-ex pre amp is better, but I have a choice of alternative pre-amps to deal with that.
All in all, a lovely clear open sound, easy to play, and light to hold, I'm looking forward to breaking this guitar in, which means playing it as much as possible, after all, an instrument that inspires you to pick it up, is the best instrument.

I bought this guitar sight unseen with out ever playing it (a first for me). I have a Tak EAN15c (the one Glen Frye endorses and Nancy Wilson play in their live videos) and am totally sold on the Palethetic pickup system (just listen to the "Hell Freezes over" DVD, they all play Taks with that pickup). I love the sound of that guitar and I've always been a dread guy but as a get older the big boxes really aggravate my back and sports hernia when I play out multiple nights in a week. I borrowed a friends Taylor 414 GA and while I think Taylors are great, I think they are way overpriced and can get much more bang for your buck with Taks and the pickup system is superior the Expression. I was trying to find something in the Naturals or Pro Line because I had read the G series wasn't as good but the natural series is discontinued and I didn't like the looks of the PRO NEX body style models. I had read good good reviews on this and decided to pull the trigger and order one after only listening tothe Brad Davis YouTube vid. I had fully planned on having to take this is for a setup (I mean it IS only a $550 guitar) but the intonation was surprisingly spot on when I got it and the action was great. I was pleasantly surprised with the unplugged sound. Very clear, but still enough punch for a dread guy like me. Plugged in it doesn't matter, you can make it sound as bassy as a dread it you want. The preamp isn't quite as fancy as the CT2B that comes with the Natural & Pro series but run through a Baggs PADI it sounds just as good. It's the palethetic pickup that make Taks the best sounding amplified acoustics out there (IMHO). The onboard tuner, though not as accurate as the one in my TC Helicon pedal, is way more accurate and not as finicky as those cheap clip-ons that are all the rage.
I don't know if it's because it's the high end of the G series or whether all the G series Taks are this nice but for $550 this is one nice guitar and probably will be my main stage/gigging guitar. I take off 1/2 star because the spruce top doesn't have as tight a pattern as the higher end guitars (and I rarely give ANYTHING 5 stars). You would be hard pressed to find a better guitar even in the $1000 price range, and the rosewood/quilted maple back is just stunning!

Sounds and looks great. The acustic sound without amplification is clean and crisp. The dynamic on the neck is really nice. Difficult to beat for the price. The finish and construction are notable. Fulfilled my expectations and more.

This is a beautiful guitar in both looks and sound. The feel of the neck and fret board is fantastic and the pickup are very nice. The tuner OK but is not perfect, helps get it close enough. A tuner in the pedal chain is what I usually use. This is a very nice step up from the older G series I have. A great sound, feel and look at a great price!

This guitar plays and sounds better than guitars costing thousands of dollars more. The acoustic unplugged tone is bright, with moderate sustain and when plugged in, can be tuned to whatever sound you prefer. The NEX-style body is the most comfortable body I have ever played and the neck is very fast. Action was perfect and the Takamine neck design is extremely easy to play, especially if you have small to medium hands. If you play acoustically most of the time and need a loud guitar with a lot of sustain and bass, this probably won't be the guitar for you. If you like a brighter sound, with moderate sustain and volume, go for it. If you plug in most of the time, you can't go wrong with guitar and can save yourself thousands of dollars...it's THAT good.

This guitar has a tone much richer and sweeter than many of the higher end acoustic brands I've tried. Very pleased with the purchase, and great service from Derek and the Sweetwater team.

So I received my guitar very quickly, packaging was great ! The guitar is gorgeous !! I was disappointed in how high the action was . I contemplated returning it for a few days and decided to take it to a local guitar shop. I have used before. I had them do a full set up and change the strings from 12/53 to 11/52's. The action is much better and plays like a dream. The guitar has great tone and sounds great plugged in. Plan on getting a professional set up done when you get the guitar.

For the record, Sweetwater still gets 5 Stars, but unfortunately I only give this guitar a 2. I returned this guitar yesterday after 3 weeks. Here's why...

I love the look, feel, price and overall sound of the guitar. The problem I have is with what's called "sympathetic resonance". When playing certain notes, the strings had an annoying RINGING above the nut. I should mention my $300 Takamine GD10 model does this too! The solution I found was to place a small piece of foam under the strings above the nut. I was hoping to avoid this, but was prepared to live with it. Then, while practicing some single note scales & runs, I kept getting a strange sound every time I played a middle range G or G# on the 3rd & 4th strings. Almost a dead sound....as if another frequency was vibrating on the guitar and almost cancelling out the intended note! That was a true sign that this guitar isn't for me....and I really wanted it to be!

If you are a player who mainly plays open chords and a few barre chords, you may never notice what I'm talking about. If you get into playing clean single note runs, you could run into the same issues. Maybe it was just this guitar and maybe not every guitar in this model would do it?? But it's the 2nd Takamine I've owned with similar resonance issues (and my friend just bought a Takamine Pro Jumbo P1JC on Craigslist...and is finding the same problems). Is it a Takamine thing??? I don't know? I've decided to move on to a Taylor.

One last thing....the fret wires were sticking out too far and needed filing. They were actually a little sharp against my hand running up and down the neck. If I decided to keep the guitar, I was going to take it to a luthier to file them down.

It's a shame. The guitar is beautiful. I hope you find this information helpful