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 See the video review of the Takamine LTD 2009
Takamine has been building guitars for more than 40 years, and during this time, the Japanese company has earned a reputation for affordability, innovation, and stage-worthy electronics. A pioneer in acoustic-guitar amplification, Takamine developed its own bridge-mounted pickup system in the late '70s and has continued to improve its electronics packages with new preamp designs. In 1987 Takamine began building an annual run of limited-edition instruments that are set apart from its standard line, either through design innovations or aesthetics. Acoustic Guitar recently had the chance to check out the latest in this series, the Takamine LTD 2009.
Vintage Looks
If you want to catch someone's eye, wear your best suit and sing pretty. The LTD 2009 takes this advice. It has a sunburst finish, ornate flowering pickguard, and broken-diamond fret inlays and is clearly inspired by older Gibson flattops. Based on Takamine's mini-jumbo NEX body, the LTD 2009 has a solid spruce top, solid mahogany back, and laminated mahogany sides. The spruce top has a very tight, fine grain, and the mahogany back and sides have attractive horizontal stripes. With the exception of a few spots of oversprayed finish that were visible inside the guitar's body (perhaps the soundhole wasn't completely covered during the finishing process), the LTD 2009 is meticulously crafted all around. I particularly liked the use of the flower motif on the pickguard and at the bottom of the lower bout—this gives the guitar a vintage elegance without looking too ornate.
The vintage visual appeal of the LTD 2009 is offset by the inclusion of a sophisticated preamp that's built into the side of the upper bout. Using a 12AU7 vacuum tube, the Takamine Cool Tube preamp is a unique piece of gear that adds "tube warmth" to the guitar's amplified sound.
Sparkling Tones and Smooth Action
The LTD 2009 is as easy on the fingers as it is on the eyes. The guitar's neck has a slim profile, yet it is rounded enough to make the fretting hand feel comfortable. Our review guitar was set up with light-gauge strings and medium-to-low action, which I found very inviting all over the neck. The neck's width of 111/16 inches at the nut, combined with the relatively narrow string spacing at the saddle (21/8-inches), will appeal more to strummers and flatpickers than dedicated fingerstylists, but there are exceptions to this.
Played acoustically with a flatpick, the Takamine's tone was crisp and sweet. The guitar's sound also has a natural compression, which will be an asset for strong strummers, because it keeps the sound under control rather than spiking in undesired ways. The overall character of the guitar isn't about maximum volume, but it has a lot of high-end sparkle, which will help it stand out among instruments with a bassier focus.
The tight tonal spectrum of the guitar kept bass notes from sounding overly boomy as I played some fingerstyle blues. Trying a couple of Merle Travis tunes that included thumb-fretted bass notes made me appreciate the narrow neck even when playing fingerstyle. The polyphonic nature of the music also showcased the guitar's great clarity and separation of bass and treble. At times I would have liked to hear a little more low end, but in a performance situation that is best taken care of by electronics anyway.
Plugged-In Ecstasy
As with most Takamine acoustic-electrics, the LTD 2009 includes the company's proprietary Palathetic pickup. Mounted to the bridge plate inside the guitar's top, this system is a bit different from a typical undersaddle pickup and uses six individual piezo transducers that connect with the guitar's saddle by way of a set of "pistons" that reach through the bridge and into the actual pickup. This allows for great string separation and a high feedback threshold.
But the real attraction of the system is the Cool Tube preamp. Mounted in the upper bout of the guitar, the unit, which is powered by four AA batteries, includes a 12AU7 vacuum tube that provides the warmth associated with tube-driven circuitry. The Cool Tube also features a set of sliders for volume, three-band EQ with semi-parametric mids, and a chromatic tuner. A separate knob dials in the amount of tube sound you want to add to the pickup, and an auxiliary input channel with volume control allows you to add a second pickup (such as Takamine's Tri-Ax magnetic pickup).
I checked out the amplified sound of the LTD 2009 by playing it through a Fishman Loudbox 100 amp. With the Cool Tube control set to zero, the guitar sounded a little stark and sterile, but adding some tube sound produced a very natural, woody transparency that was neither distorted nor muddy. The sound became even lusher as I brought the mix to 100 percent Cool Tube. The preamp's EQ allows control over low, mid, and high frequencies, and it was quite effective, but occasionally I wasn't able to dial in as much bass as I wanted. Due to its semi-parametric design, the mid control has a separate dial for boosting or minimizing frequencies between 200 Hz and 8.5 kHz, which allows the player to precisely choose the frequencies that are to be adjusted. This control was more effective on the lower end of the spectrum. The onboard tuner was convenient and accurate.
The Wrap
With its flashy looks and solid performance, the Takamine LTD 2009 is a great choice for acoustic players who do much of their playing plugged-in and who want a vintage-style guitar with contemporary playability. The Cool Tube electronics allow for excellent control over an amplified sound that's already much warmer than many stock pickup systems.
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