Show Full Spec Comparison
| Takamine GLD12E | Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Takamine | Taylor |
| Year: | 2022 | 2015 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | Mexico |
| Series: | G11 | Big Baby |
| Colors: | Natural | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Spruce | Solid Sitka Spruce |
| Sides Material: | Okoume | Walnut |
| Back Material: | Okoume | Walnut |
| Bridge: | Fixed | West African Crelicam Ebony |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Takamine | Die-Cast Chrome |
| Fretboard: | Jatoba | West African Crelicam Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Hard Rock Maple |
| Decoration: | Dots | 4mm Dot Italian Acrylic |
| Scale Size: | 24.8" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | Acoustic Asymmetrical C | Acoustic Taylor Standard |
| Frets: | 20 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 12" | 15" |
| Nut: | Synthetic Bone | NuBone |
| Nut Width: | 42.8mm (1.685'') | 42.9mm (1.688'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | TP-3G (Preamp / Active) | ES-B Electronics (Preamp / Active) |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Reasons to Get
Takamine GLD12E over Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
Reasons to Get
Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe over Takamine GLD12E
Other Key Differences
Takamine GLD12E vs Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
Shared Features
Takamine GLD12E vs Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe favors large hands more than the Takamine GLD12E. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Takamine GLD12E:
Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe:
Beginner Friendliness
Both meet 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. 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. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Takamine GLD12E- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
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
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 Takamine GLD12E
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.
Jatoba is a hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end. Find out more about Jatoba.
Okoume is an affordable wood and one of the first to replace Mahogany when the prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.
Woods Used in the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
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.
It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.
Winner: Tie.
Electronics
Both come with electronics that allow you connect them to an amplifier or interface for recording.
Winner:Tie.
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 Takamine GLD12E compares to the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Takamine GLD12E is built in China while the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe is made in Mexico.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
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 Takamine GLD12E has a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
On the other hand, the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe comes with a NuBone nut. It's made by the same company that makes TUSQ nuts. It's slightly softer but hard enough to give you a brighter sound when playing open strings. It's also self-lubricating, so it's good for tuning 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 Takamine GLD12E's are Takamine while the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe's are Die-Cast Chrome
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Takamine GLD12E
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Electronics
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe
- Expensive Wood
- NuBone Nut
- Electronics
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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 Big Baby Taylor BBTe has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42.8mm (1.685''). This is a 0.1mm (0.0029999999999999'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe, 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 Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe has the longest scale: 25.5". The Takamine GLD12E is only 24.8" long. This is a 0.7'' (17.8mm) 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 Takamine GLD12E has a Asymmetrical type of neck. Even though this neck shape looks like a poorly-made job, it's, in fact, the neck that most naturally adapts to the arc of your hand when grabbing a guitar neck. You'll notice that the lower part of your palm makes a more pronounced, deeper curve while the upper part makes a more subtle arch. This is the shape that adapts the best to that natural arch your hand makes while playing.
The Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe, 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 Takamine GLD12E's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Taylor Big Baby Taylor BBTe'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 Big Baby Taylor BBTe.
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''.
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.
