Takamine GC2CE Review & Prices

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Takamine GC2CE Review
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  • From Takamine's 2022 G series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.6"'' scale
  • Flat Fretboard Radius
  • Spruce top
  • Sapele back
  • Sapele sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Laurel fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: TP-4T (Preamp/Active)
  • Fixed bridge
  • Acoustic Asymmetrical C Set neck
  • 19 Medium frets
  • Takamine Chrome tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 70
Sound 79
Build quality 67
Value for money 82
Overall Score 72
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Takamine GC2CE
  • 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

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $430, which means that the Takamine GC2CE is around 27% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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Your feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Takamine GC2CE meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Takamine GC2CE
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Soft Strings
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Takamine GC2CE's construction is balanced for most hand sizes.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Takamine GC2CE's 25.6" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Takamine GC2CE Scale Length Comparison
Takamine GC2CE's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

It's very similar to a typical long 25.5" guitar scale, but with an extra inch probably to compensate the saddle position in acoustic guitars. It should be pretty much the same as a 25.5" scale guitar.

It will allow you to strum hard without hearing so much fret buzz, even with lower tunings.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Takamine GC2CE Neck Profile
Takamine GC2CE's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a Asymmetrical type neck. The shape is Asymmetrical. Even though it looks like a poorly-made job, it's, in fact, the shape that most naturally adapts to the arc that your hand makes 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 shape of your hand.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Takamine GC2CE has a Flat fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Takamine GC2CE Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Takamine GC2CE's fretboard radius compared to others

This is common mostly in classical guitars since the strings are soft and have lower tension, so there's no need for a radius. Also, it's perfect for fingerstyle and more technical play.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Takamine GC2CE has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

Takamine GC2CE
This model
25.6'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
2'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius
25.591'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.047'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius
25.984'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
14.96'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
23.622'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Takamine GC2CE Nut Width
Takamine GC2CE Nut Width

The Takamine GC2CE has a nut width of 50.8mm (2''). This is considered a wide width for a 6-string guitar. It gives your fingers the extra space you need to play without muting accidentally, but this also makes bar chords harder to perform, especially if you have small hands.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Takamine GC2CE Fret Size Comparison
Takamine GC2CE's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Takamine GC2CE's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 75
Solo Playability 60
Playability 70

Tone Analysis

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce Top
Sapele wood pattern used for guitar building
Sapele Back, Sides
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Neck
Laurel wood pattern used for guitar building
Laurel Fretboard

Spruce Top: This wood 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.

Sapele Back and Sides: It's similar to Mahogany in both color and tone. It can produce warm tones, and it's known for its beautiful figured grain patterns.

Mahogany Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Laurel Fretboard: There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Takamine. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Sound Score

Sustain 70
Versatility 75
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 79

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Takamine GC2CE is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Fixed: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Takamine GC2CE has a Synthetic Bone nut. One of the best nuts you can have is a Bone nut thanks to their rich tonality and resistance. The problem is that they're a natural material, so different bone nuts will have inconsistent tonal properties. In other words, one bone nut might not sound as well as the other even when they're made from the same piece. Synthetic bone helps with this by giving you a high-quality, consistent nut that resembles the tone produced by bone.

More with the same nut material:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 61
Features 85
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 67

All Specs

Takamine GC2CE
General
Brand: Takamine
Year: 2022
Configuration:
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: G
Colors: Black
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Spruce
Bridge: Fixed
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Takamine Chrome
Fretboard: Laurel
Neck Material: Mahogany
Decoration:
Scale Size: 25.6"
Shape: Acoustic Asymmetrical C
Frets: 19 Medium
Fretboard Radius: Flat
Nut: Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 50.8mm (2'')
Electronics
Switch: 0 Way
Knobs:
Volume Controls: 0
Tone Controls: 0
Bridge Pickup: TP-4T (Preamp / Active)

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