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Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged

Taylor 412ce-R

VS

Playability

73

Sound

80

Build

82

Value

63

Score

78

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Playability

77

Sound

86

Build

85

Value

73

Score

83

FIND IT ON:

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Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged vs Taylor 412ce-R

Price History Comparison

Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Prices

• New from $5,699 >>
• New from $7,799 >>

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Taylor 412ce-R is probably the better product overall with its final score of 83 compared to the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's 78 score, although not by a lot.

The Taylor 412ce-R wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged in every aspect.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Taylor 412ce-R.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Taylor 412ce-R is the better choice.

The Taylor 412ce-R meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Sound Quality Comparison

The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .

Woods Used in Both

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.

Woods Used in the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged

This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.

Woods Used in the Taylor 412ce-R

Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.

Winner: Tie.

Electronics

The Taylor 412ce-R comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.

Winner:Taylor 412ce-R.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged compares to the Taylor 412ce-R.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in United States.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.

On the other hand, the Taylor 412ce-R comes with a Black Tusq XL nut. TUSQ nuts are usually the highest quality you can get. Black TUSQs are made from a special slippery material that helps the strings get back to its original position (one of the keys to tune stability).

Winner: Tie.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's are Gotoh with Keystone Buttons while the Taylor 412ce-R's are Taylor Nickel

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Final Build Quality Scores

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Taylor 412ce-R has the wider nut with 44.5mm (1.75'') vs 43.8mm (1.725''). This is a 0.7mm (0.025'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Taylor 412ce-R, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

The Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has the longest scale: 25.5". The Taylor 412ce-R is only 24.9" long. This is a 0.6'' (15.2mm) scale length difference.

This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.

This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.

Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

In this case, both have different neck shapes:

The Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has a U type of neck. This is also referred to as ''baseball neck'' because of its shape. It's usually thick, which is why some people with big hands like it. However, they can also be thin, similar to a C shape, but with more shoulders for a better grip.

The Taylor 412ce-R, on the other hand, has a C neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Taylor 412ce-R's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Taylor 412ce-R.

Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged favors large hands more than the Taylor 412ce-R.

Gibson Custom 1957 SJ-200 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged:

Taylor 412ce-R:

Fret Size

Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.

Final Playability Scores