Takamine Guitars News (November 2023)

Buyer’s Guide: Top Ten Takamine Guitars Under $500

The holiday season is approaching quickly, and if you’re like many Americans, you’re on a tight budget for this year’s gift-giving plans (even if the recipient is yourself). Therefore, here are some ideas on how to get a new guitar that fulfills the holiday dreams of the favorite musician in your life without spending a ton of dough. All of the suggested guitars in this list retail for under $500. We’ve also added some upgrade options in case a bigger gift is more appropriate for a more advanced player.

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Video: GB30CE Bass Demo by Mike Leon

Respected bass player Mike Leon (Soulfly) does this soulful demo of the Takamine GB30CE bass. The GB30CE is a stage-worthy acoustic/electric bass guitar that features solid spruce top construction, a soft Venetian-style cutaway and a superior-sounding Takamine TK-40B preamp system with built-in tuner, three-band EQ and gain controls, mid-shift control, bass-boost switch and EQ bypass switch for the ultimate in versatility and sound quality.

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Toby Keith Stands and Delivers

Takamine’s history with the great Toby Keith dates back a full 30 years and beyond, dating back to his Oklahoma club days. When his song “Should Have Been a Cowboy” put Toby on the road, Toby began his Nashville years with an EF341SC which would remain his go-to for the next 12 years until he picked up a sunburst jumbo cutaway that would eventually serve as the basis for his EF250TK Signature Series model.

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Dealer Spotlight: PlayMusic123

20 years ago, PlayMusic123 opened their shop with a simple plan; offer the best selection of the best gear with the best service at the lowest prices… a winning formula for retail success! This dealer also provides a dazzling array of Takamine instruments, ranging from higher-end Pro Series and Thermal Top Series guitars to a vast selection of G Series instruments that offer the value you need to stay within your budget, but providing the sound and stage-ready playability you require.

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Congrats to Thomas Swahn Jr, FT340 BS Sweeps Winner!

Thousands of Takamine fans across the USA entered for a chance to win our latest sweepstakes prize, but only one was lucky enough to get randomly selected as the winner. That person is Thomas W. Swahn, Jr. of Chelsea, VT, who just got his Takamine Limited Edition Series FT340 BS. Truly a special guitar, the FT340 BS is a dreadnought with a solid spruce top that's highlighted by its rare and beautiful burled sapele back and sides, with satin natural finish on the back of the mahogany neck for comfort, and is limited to just 300 pieces worldwide.

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Guitar of the Month: EF450C TT

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in the case of the Takamine EF450C TT, it’s more likely in the hands of a really good guitar player. One of the most ornately-designed instruments in Takamine’s offerings, this outstanding handcrafted NEX model incorporates Grass Flower inlays made from hundreds of pieces of abalone and pearl. With its solid thermal spruce top, beautiful flamed maple back and sides, and TLD-2 Line Driver preamp, the EF450C TT delivers a bold and articulate voice that serves to highlight the performance of some of the world’s best guitar players.

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Jacob Johnson Checks In with ‘The Sketchiest Motel in Fayetteville’

Most people wouldn’t write a song about the worst travel destination they’d ever experienced, but most people aren’t virtuoso guitarist and terrific singer-songwriter Jacob Johnson. In fact, for Jacob, it was the perfect excuse to unleash 5-1/2 minutes of pure six-string wizardry, which — if you know anything about Jacob Johnson — you knew was coming.

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Spotlight: Takamine TT Series

“TT” stands for “Thermal Top”, a technology in which the spruce wood for the guitar tops are baked in a vacuum environment before being put to use in the guitar’s construction. The result is the highly-desirable tone that a musician expects from a much older instrument in a brand new guitar that offers all the reliability and stage-worthiness that professional performers expect from Takamine. We currently offer eight different TT Series models, and one of which is probably the dream guitar you’ve always wanted.

Choose Yours

Get More Free Music Training from Musicians Institute Online!

If you’ve just bought any Takamine guitar (or are planning to soon), you just got a lot more than you realized. Takamine USA is proud to have partnered with the world-renowned leader in contemporary music education, Musicians Institute, on a special offer for people who purchase our instruments: three free months of access to a wide selection of MI Online’s courses.

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Takamine Guitars, Cases, Apparel, and Accessories at ShopESP

Takamine is distributed in the USA by ESP Guitars. While we encourage you to get your next guitar from an authorized Takamine dealer, if you’ve looked for a specific Takamine online or your local music store and haven’t found the model you want, we offer a “BUY NOW” button on many of the product detail pages at esptakamine.com, allowing you to get your next guitar, case, or some cool Takamine merchandise that will be shipped to you straight from us.

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