Takamine P6NC Review & Prices

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Takamine P6NC Review
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  • From Takamine's 2013 Pro Series 6 series
  • Made in Japan
  • 6 strings
  • 25.4"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Spruce top
  • Solid Flame Maple back
  • Maple sides
  • Maple neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: CTP-3 CoolTube (Preamp/Active)
  • Fixed bridge
  • Acoustic Asymmetrical C Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Takamine Gold tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 77
Sound 85
Build quality 87
Value for money 73
Overall Score 83
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Takamine P6NC
  • Made in Japan
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $2300, which means that the Takamine P6NC costs around 9% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Japan.

Videos

Takamine P6NC Pro Series Acoustic-electric Guitar Demo - Sweetwater Sound
Takamine™ Pro Series P6NC Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Takamine Pro series P6NC-BSB
Takamine P6NC
Takamine P6NC Pro Series 6 Acoustic-Electric Guitar Demo
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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 P6NC 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 P6NC
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • 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 P6NC's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

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 P6NC's 25.4" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Takamine P6NC Scale Length Comparison
Takamine P6NC's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is considered a long scale, but slightly shorter than what's commonly found in acoustic guitars.

Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, strings will feel stiff and more difficult to bend, but the tone will feel brighter. It will also be less likely to produce fret buzzing and rattling when strumming hard.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Takamine P6NC Neck Profile
Takamine P6NC'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 P6NC has a 12" fingerboard radius.

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

Takamine P6NC Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Takamine P6NC's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Takamine P6NC has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

Takamine P6NC
This model
25.4'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.673'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.4'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.673'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.4'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.77'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.4'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.673'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.4'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.681'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Takamine P6NC Nut Width
Takamine P6NC Nut Width

The Takamine P6NC has a nut width of 42.5mm (1.673''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

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 P6NC Fret Size Comparison
Takamine P6NC'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 P6NC'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 85
Solo Playability 70
Playability 77

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
Flame Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Flame Maple Back
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple Sides, Neck
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony 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.

Flame Maple Back: This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.

Maple Sides and Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.

Ebony Fretboard: This is one of the most expensive woods there is, which is why it's mostly used for fretboards. It is dense, heavy, highly resistant and comes in a really dark color that gives any guitar a classy touch. Tone wise, it helps the high side of the spectrum and provides good sustain.

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 85
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 85

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 P6NC is made in Japan. You should expect a high-quality guitar with excellent quality control. It can be compared to guitars made in the US, which is why they're also expensive.

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 P6NC has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

More with the same nut material:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 81
Features 85
Quality Control 95
Build Quality 87

All Specs

Takamine P6NC
General
Brand: Takamine
Year: 2013
Configuration:
Strings: 6
Made in: Japan
Series: Pro Series 6
Colors: Sunburst
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Spruce
Bridge: Fixed
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Takamine Gold
Fretboard: Ebony
Neck Material: Maple
Decoration: Mother-of-pearl Snowflake
Scale Size: 25.4"
Shape: Acoustic Asymmetrical C
Frets: 20 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 42.5mm (1.673'')
Electronics
Switch: 0 Way
Knobs:
Volume Controls: 0
Tone Controls: 0
Bridge Pickup: CTP-3 CoolTube (Preamp / Active)

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