GEAR REVIEW
TAKAMINE CRN-TS1 ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC GUITAR | Bruce Adolph
at the 12 th fret on a large body acoustic the
KEY FEATURES
bridge is moved further from the soundhole.
• Neck Joins Body 12th Fret The scale length is the same, so this means
• Thermal Solid Spruce Top that the bridge is moved down lower on the top
of the guitar. What does this mean? Now there
• Slotted Peg Head
is a bigger column of air, driven by a larger
• Sloped Shoulder Body Shape
soundboard and an efficiently located bridge.
And what that delivers is a significant effect on
the sound of the guitar, because the bridge sits
on a more flexible area of the soundboard and
Before we cover the merits of this impressive
can move more freely.
instrument a little history is in order.
The result, is a louder and warmer tone with
Back in the 1930’s and before, pretty much all more sustain and a less compressed kind of
acoustic guitar necks joined the body at the sound. I like to think of this as a bit of a looser
12 fret. Most guitars were a smaller Parlor size feel. Another benefit is it makes it easier to bend
too and were for more personal enjoyment. strings. If you are a fingerstyle player it feels
When the music changed during that decade particularly good as well. There is less tension
it gave way to dance hall performances and going on, so it’s a bit of an easier feel on your
the guitars needed to be larger and have more fingers compared to the 14-fret counterparts.
th
volume. With the larger body came the neck
joining the body at the 14 th fret and the
modern-era
Dreadnought
guitar
Does the neck joining at the 12 th fret hamper
your playing? Good question. For some it
might. It depends on what and how you play. I
shape became the norm.
can reach the octave D chord way up high and
Recently there has been a return play single notes on the 14 th to the 16 th frets but
to some smaller body Parlor I have long fingers. Not everyone will be able to
guitars and they do feel intimate do that with ease. A lot of guitarist I know never
with the neck joining at the venture even past the 12 th fret on their acoustic
12 th fret again. What you lose guitars so it is a mute-point. If you are leading
sometimes is the bigness of the or playing worship music on your acoustic I
can see how you may never really think about
dreadnought body.
playing that high on the fretboard.
Credit
the
luthiers
at
Takamine guitars with What are some of the gained merits from the
coming up with their shorter fretboard? The comfort of the reach
version of the best for your left arm to play the chords you play
of both worlds. They virtually all the time. Everything feels closer. The
took a full size sloped open jangly chords sound huge and resonate
shoulder and until next Tuesday and your standard first
joined the neck to the position chords are deep, rich and full. Walk
fret. downs are clear and powerful blending in with
body
body at the 12
th
When you join the body
102
January 2020
your chordal changes.
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