Takamine GN93CE-NAT – Lush Sound Full Of Warmth

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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You know how Taylor guitars are praised for that renowned sound, clarity, smoothness and how people call them a perfect match for country music? Well, we believe that a similar level of appreciation should be directed towards this Takamine guitar, especially since it costs two time less money than those Taylors.

So, meet the GN93CE-NAT, a top-quality instrument with classy looks to match the classy sound. We took the dude out for a test run, our findings patiently await below.

Body & Neck

The guitar comes with a spruce top and rosewood sides, spiced up with a three-piece rosewood and quilt maple back. This is certainly a peculiar combination of a variety of tonewoods, and the resulting outcome is a sound worthy of champions. Apparently, mixing the heaviness of maple and rosewood with a classic spruce top turned out to be the winning combo, and seeing that it's also an affordable mixture, we can only give kudos to the manufacturer.

As for the neck, the instrument utilizes a mahogany piece with a 12-inch radius bound rosewood fingerboard with 21 frets and dot inlays. The sturdiness of mahogany has been combined with top-level craftsmanship, resulting with a neck that is both sturdy, not prone to bending and easy to play at the same time.

Hardware

In the electronic section, we are looking at the company's own TK-40D preamp system that boasts a exceptional level of tonal control thanks to an onboard 3-band EQ with gain controls, a mid-contour switch, a notch filer and an EQ bypass. Sweetening the deal even further, a standard built-in tuner has also been included in the mix.

So right from the get-go, we have to say that we have not seem many guitars with such sophisticated electronics, especially at this price.

In the rest of the mix, we are looking at a set of standard die-cast tuners, neck and headstock binding, a dark wood rosette, synthetic bone nut, split bridge saddle, a rosewood head cap, and a sexy gloss finish.

Sound

As expected, this guitar really shines when you plug it in, but also offers a top-level sound when unplugged. We are looking at a sound that is crisp, loud, clear and organic. Thanks to that clarity, this instrument is ideal for mixing it up with a variety of guitar effects. The body is also quite resonant, which will especially come in handy for all you percussive guitar players out there.

Focusing on that plugged-in regime again, we especially like how the electronics keep the sound very natural despite being packed with a variety of controls. Seeing that this instrument is as versatile as they get, we are left with no choice but to give it a major thumbs up.

Value/Conclusion

To sum it up as briefly as possible – top level for money, great guitar. The Takamine instruments don't get enough recognition in our book, and this is one of the models that not only deserves your full attention, but a spot among the top-sellers. If you're a country player, get it now; if not, get it now nevertheless because it still rocks. Highly recommended!

For more info about Takamine GN93CE-NAT, click here.
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