EG260C Review

The Takamine EG260C electro acoustic features a cutaway NEX body shape with a spruce top, mahogany back and sides with an ivory binding, and a Takamine TP-4 preamp.

Features:	8
Sound:	8
Action:	9
Reliability:	8.5
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	8.3
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	1

overall: 9.2

Featured review by: Burpbelly, on december 11, 2007

Price paid: $ 329.4

Purchased from: Rhythm House

Features: Stragely this guitar doesn't appear on the Takamine website. The body of the 260C is described as a NEX style. This is (apparently) a Takamine unique shape, but it just looks like a smaller version of a jumbo with a cutaway. This body style was one of the main reasons I bought this guitar. It sits very nicely and is very comfortable. When I was trying out some other guitars (Ovations, Fenders and a couple of Epiphones) I found that they were a bit too big for me to play comfortable, but I felt at home with the Takamine almost straight away. I like the cutaway, rather than having a classic sort of acoustic shape, as it allows for a bit of acoustic Hendrix. The body is made of a spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and sounds brilliant (more on that later). The neck is quite thick and takes a little while to get used to, but I'm very much used to it and it is now very comfortable. The bridge is wooden with the strings being held in place with pegs, rather than an electric style bridge as you find on some acoustics. The control has bass middle and treble, as well as volume and this works very well. Sealed unbranded tuners keep it in tune very well. The jack is located in the strap button at the bottom, which I've always liked as a design feature. // 9

Sound: I have become more and more interested in acoustic music, mainly thanks to John Butler Trio. Well the sound of the acoustics over electrics, and I play a wide range of styles on this Takamine. When I do plug it in I use a Crate PB150 going through a cheap cabinet, and it sounds good. Acoustically this guitar sounds fantastic. It's slightly less bassy than a full sized dreadnought, but is still nice and full and sounds great. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish was superb throughout, no chips or blemishes as far as I can tell. It was set up from the store I bought it from, so I don't know what the factory set up was like. It's pretty much flawless as far as the action fit and finish is concerned, so I'll give it a 10. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've played this guitar Live twice (without a backup), and I've busked a bit with it, and it has stood up superbly. I have never had a guitar with more sturdy strap buttons, but then again the shop I got it from put the strap button on the heel and deliberately put one on that was a bit bigger (because I asked them to). But to be honest I don't often play this with a strap. I've had this guitar for nearly two years now and there is just one small mark on it near the bottom where I scraped it on a desk getting up after a practice, and a few small scratches on the back, from my belt. Other than that with a bit of clean it would look like new. // 9

Impression: As far as style goes an acoustic will play all acoustic music, and this one is no exception. This is my first acoustic, and (if I learn to control my spending) it will probably be the only acoustic, it is that good. I've played several other acoustics, including a couple of Epi's, some Fenders, a couple of Ovations and Crafters and it beat all of the ones that I played hands down. My dad has a old Kent acoustic and a Crafter FX550 and it beats those two hands down as well. My favorite feature of this guitar is the body, because of the size I find it much more comfortable than a regular sized acoustics, and because I don't like bowlbacked acoustics, this one was an obvious choice. As far for the classic "if it were stolen," well I'd probably get another one of these, or maybe save up for maybe a Martin. It's a very, very good guitar, and I would encourage people to try one if you find one. // 9

overall: 7.4

Reviewed by: Veniversum, on july 23, 2009

Price paid: £ 180

Purchased from: Ebay (new) from fairdealmusic

Features: I bought this guitar to learn with about a year ago. The Takamine EG260C is a Folk-sized guitar which features: a solid spruce top with a cutaway, Nato (a cheaper substitute for mahogany)back and sides, rosewood fingerboard (20 frets), and an on-board TP4 preamp (controls for Bass, Mid, Treble, and Gain)with the jack located in the strap button. The neck is a lot thicker than usual, and if you're a beginner with smaller hands I'd recommend looking at other options. There are no included accessories. // 7

Sound: For it's size, the guitar is surprisingly loud when unplugged, and has a rich bassy sort of sound. Obviously the sound varies a bit depending on the strings you use. I play plugged in through a PA system at my church and the guitar sounds phenomenal for the price you pay. The controls are pretty responsive and you can get a good variety of sounds by playing with the bass, mid and treble controls. I mainly play relaxed Acoustic covers. I don't really stick to one genre of music but the guitar is pretty flexible, especially when plugged in. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: The set up for this guitar was more or less perfect out of the factory, and I didn't have to make any adjustments to the action. No flaws that I could pick out and there haven't been any problems over the past year. It's only got one strap button though and you'll need a shoelace or a Martin neck strap button (roughly 6-8 pounds) to play standing up. For the price, the build quality is pretty decent. // 8

Reliability & Durability: As I'm still relatively new to guitar I haven't had the opportunity to gig much but it's held up well at various jam sessions and on the few occasions I've played at church. The strap button (singular) is pretty solid but I don't flail about much when I'm playing so again it's hard for me to say. // 8

Impression: If you're a beginner with a limited budget this guitar represents very good value for money, with a decent Acoustic sound and a very good plugged in sound. Like I said before if you have relatively small hands I would recommend looking at other options as it will literally be a pain to learn certain aspects (e.g. barre chords). The sound compares well to a lot of other guitars in the price range (I've tried Yamaha, Crafter, and Tanglewood). If the guitar were stolen I would be pretty gutted but would probably consider upgrading to something with a more comfortable neck for my hands. // 7

Comments

[schinkowski]

It actually is on Takamine's website in the FXC category. I have no idea what the difference between the NEX and the FXC body shape is, though.
I'm going to buy one of the NEX or FXC range as soon as I figure out what the difference between them is. Finding a dealer that still has them at a good price is also quite hard, now that they have sold their soul to the Fender devil.