Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX vs Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
Reasons to Get
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX over Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
Reasons to Get
Yamaha LL16-12 ARE over Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX
Other Key Differences
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX vs Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
Shared Features
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX vs Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
Common Strengths
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that both instruments scored 80 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.
The Yamaha LL16-12 ARE wins when it comes to playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX has the upper hand when it comes to sound, build quality.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE is the better choice.
The Yamaha LL16-12 ARE meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX 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.
New Player Friendliness
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Yamaha LL16-12 ARE- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
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.
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX Overview
- From Taylor's 2019 200 series
- Made in Mexico
- 12 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 15" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Lutz Spruce top
- Solid Maple back
- Solid Maple sides
- Hard Rock Maple neck
- West African Crelicam Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Expression System 2 Electronics (Preamp/Active)
- West African Crelicam Ebony bridge
- Acoustic Taylor Standard Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Satin Black tuners
- Compare Specs >
Yamaha LL16-12 ARE Overview
- From Yamaha's 2014 L series
- Made in China
- 12 strings
- 25"'' scale
- 15.75" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Engelmann Spruce with A.R.E. top
- Solid Rosewood back
- Solid Rosewood sides
- Mahogany + Rosewood (5-Ply) neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Passive System + SRT Piezo Pickup (Preamp/Passive)
- Ebony bridge
- Acoustic C Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Die-Cast Gold (TM29G) tuners
- Weight between 5.3lbs (2.4kgs) and 5.4lbs (2.4kgs)
- Compare Specs >
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
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.
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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX
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.
Woods Used in the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
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.
Winner: Yamaha LL16-12 ARE.
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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX compares to the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX is built in Mexico while the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE is made in China.
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.
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.
Winner: Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX
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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE comes with a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
Winner: Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX.
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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX's are Satin Black while the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE's are Die-Cast Gold (TM29G)
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Electronics
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Yamaha LL16-12 ARE
- Expensive Wood
- Electronics
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- 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 250ce-BLK DLX has the wider nut with 47.6mm (1.875'') vs 46mm (1.811''). This is a 1.6mm (0.064'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX, 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 250ce-BLK DLX has the longest scale: 25.5". The Yamaha LL16-12 ARE is only 25" long. This is a 0.5'' (12.7mm) 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.
Both the Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX and the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE have a C-shaped 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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE'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 Yamaha LL16-12 ARE.
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 Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX favors large hands more than the Yamaha LL16-12 ARE. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Taylor 250ce-BLK DLX:
Yamaha LL16-12 ARE:
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.
