!±8± Taylor Guitars DN4 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
| Price : $1,349.00Post Date : Sep 23, 2011 10:46:14 | Usually ships in 24 hours
The heralded Dreadnought is the most traditional of all acoustics. By definition, it's a battleship of a guitar and the Taylor DN4 pays tribute to that legacy--and then some. The look and tone of this ovangkol and Sitka spruce acoustic guitar combination rival almost any other in the high-end guitar world. Yet Taylor's ability to affordably source this beautiful, rosewood-like tonewood keeps it decidedly within reach.
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Taylor's Dreadnought
The original Dreadnought acoustic guitar appeared early in the 20th Century, and its no-frills, no-nonsense shape made it a logical namesake of the huge battleships of that day. Most subsequent Dreadnoughts, including Taylor's, have been derivative of that early design. In 1997, however, Bob Taylor re-designed the Taylor Dreadnought by softening the curves at the top and bottom and generally refining its overall shape. In 2003, gloss-finish Dreadnoughts also underwent bracing refinements that substantially increased their overall volume and bass response, without sacrificing Taylor's signature balance and clarity. Dreadnought six-strings shine as "plectrum" or "rhythm" guitars because they respond well to flatpicking or light-to-heavy strumming.
 Features ebony wood fretboard and bridge. |
Made from Sitka and Ovangkol
The top is made from Sitka Spruce, a dense, straight-grained wood that has the highest strength and elasticity-to-weight ratio among available tonewoods. It's these attributes that make Sitka Spruce an ideal material not only for soundboards, but also for internal bracing. The Sitka top will produce a tone slightly brighter tone than Engelmann Spruce.
The back and sides of the DN4 are made from ovangkol, an attractive hardwood indigenous to tropical West Africa. Usually, its coloration runs from yellow-brown to a mottled olive-brown to dark brown, and it features stripes that run from gray to almost black. When it has significant purple coloration, however, ovangkols variegation and grain pattern closely resemble East Indian rosewood. It also shares some tonal characteristics with rosewood, but boasts the livelier "sparkle" found in such medium-density hardwoods as mahogany, walnut, and koa.
 Solid sitka spruce top is joined with ovangkol sides and back for a tone similar to rosewood, but with the livelier sparkle of mahogany. |
Construction
Taylor takes pride in using the finest quality woods for their guitars, like ebony for every fretboard they make. The tone woods for the DN4 were quartersawn and carefully book-matched before being sorted, dried, and prepared by Bob Taylor and his experienced team of luthiers. The DN4s pearl inlay and binding work was also done by hand, providing care and "touch" that no machine can give. Taylor believes that precision matters, which is why they rely on laser cutters and computer-aided milling machines to consistently hit minute tolerances that were impossible a decade ago.
Balance and Bracing
A balanced tone is critical to a quality recorded sound. Guitars that are too heavily weighted towards a particular end of the tonal spectrum (too "bassy," for example) tend to be tougher to record. While the Dreadnought shape has more volume or bass than other shapes, the overall balance on the DN4 is not compromised.
Most Dreadnought players prefer a flatpicking, heavy-strumming guitar, able to put out some serious volume and beefy bass frequencies. Dreads have more bracing mass, so they shine as "plectrum" or "rhythm" guitars. Revoicing in 2003 (500 Series and up) created a completely new Taylor Dreadnought: one that is louder, with deeper bass frequencies, yet manages to maintain the clarity and balance of the trademark Taylor tone.
 Features small pearl inlays. |
Straight Necks Matter
Don't all guitars have straight necks? The answer is usually yes, but the real question is will they stay that way? Since its inception, the acoustic guitar had a major design flaw. The fretboard lacked sufficient support to remain truly straight because of top movement caused by changes in humidity. All guitars experience this phenomenon--often resulting in a slight bump at the 14th fret--but not all guitars respond to it in the same way.
Introduced in 1999 and a standard feature since 2001, the patented New Technology (NT) neck was designed by Bob Taylor and his team to accomplish the primary goal of building a straighter, more stable guitar neck. While some necks may bend in the face of humidity and other factors, the NT Neck stays stable and straight.
Adjustability is another major NT advantage. Since the NT Neck angle is created by spacers and requires no glue, adjustment simply requires a repairperson with a new set of spacers and about five spare minutes. Altering the neck angle of a traditional neck assembly could require invasive surgery to remove wood and relocate the bridge.
The bottom line: The NT Neck on the DN4 means a stable, easy-to-adjust neck that stands up to the pressures all acoustic guitars face.
Tuners Precise, gleaming tuners add appealing form to an important function, while the type of strings used can alter the feel and the tone of your guitar. Taylor pays careful attention to both, using tuners and strings that are optimized for the DN4 guitar. Together, they are among the keys to an easy-playing, incredible-sounding Taylor.
