cwk2:
For the box fans out there, when in the mood for something a little different check out one of the EF75J model Taks. An OM model with vintage Brazilian back and sides, 1 3/4 neck of one piece, no add on heel and dove tail construction, not the normal 4 dowel method. The regular palenthetic pickup and an inline preamp set flat (no controls on the guitar) with an end pin jack. All wood binding and Gotoh Waverly style keys … It is a completely amazing guitar (like TOTALLY man, as they would say). I just played a second one that will live in North Carolina with Debanjo, and it matches the first.
   

Cliff:
These ARE very nice boxes!!  QUITE comfortable, and great playability.
Not overtly "loud", but it's got a great, sweet tone to it.  I didn't hear it plugged in, but the acoustic sound is REAL nice!
 

StephenT:
Dave, this guitar is amazing.  1st of all you get an all Brazilian Rosewood Back and Sides. If it says Martin, you just spent a minimum 10 grand! This one can be had for 1/4 of that amount.  Now I have only had it and played it for maybe 5-6 hours so it hasn't had a chance to open up but already it is in my top 5....maybe top 3.  It has a beautiful full even tone across the spectrum and is moderately loud. Not as loud as an Adamas or D-28 but certainly louder than you would expect from an OM sized guitar.  Of course, if you strum it hard it gets pretty damn loud yet when you fingerpick it, it has a certain delicacy that is soothing to hear...and through all of this it maintains an even tone with all the strings...none louder or softer...just very even and smooth.

This guitar would be worth it at easily twice the price and it is also incredibly beautiful. It has one of the best looking fingerboard bindings I have ever seen on an acoustic. The wood top had a terrific grain pattern and the bling is subtle yet eye-catching.

Overall impressions with the limited time I have played it...THIS IS A WINNER! and with less than 100 being made (mine is #74) I would put this right up there with the Adamas #47 RI (and for far less) as a must have.  Whether you are strumming cowboy chords, playing rhythm, ripping leads, or finger picking this guitar is hard to fault. It does it all good.
 

Debanjo:
Mine is #21 and I love it. It sounds bigger than a regular OM.
 

Tupperware: 
I got mine today serial #72. The guitar is everything Bill and Stephen said it was. Very nicely made, high quality all around. Really a bargain at what they are selling for. Definitely worth every penny. Sound is very pleasing, quite warm and woody just the way I like it. The setup is perfect and overall I'm very pleased. The neck is a beefy C shape. Not what I'm used to, but easy to adapt to. The guitar plays wonderfully. Have not plugged in, but I'm sure that's really nice as well. Acoustically it rings like a bell, even with the EXPs (which I never care for). Stephen commented that it was not overly loud. I find it just as load as the Martin OM or Norman Blake. No match for a dread or a textured Adamas, but it's a different animal.

Anyone looking to step up to a premium guitar that's going to be highly collectable (I think only 80 are made) I would seriously recommend this one. If it said Taylor or Martin on it it would cost a grand more. The Brazilian rosewood thing isn't all that important to me vs. east indian r/w, but if brazillian is what want you won't find it in a guitar for twice the price.  Thanks Bill and Stephen for a great recommendation. I'm really happy with this.
 

StephenT:
You know, I have never been one to take the time to worry about bracings, nut widths, neck shapes, etc. I just play it and decide if it feels good, sounds good, looks good, and talks to me. If I get 3 outta 4, then it is usually a winner. The Tak is a 4 outta 4. 
  
This being a limited run of 80 or so with very rare and aged Brazilian Rosewood, I would imagine that Tak has their best craftsmen on it. These are not run of the mill guitars and I am sure they have been crafted to reflect that. Mine seems perfect in just about every way I could think to check it out.   Mine looks pretty much identical to the one in the video with the exception that my maple binding on the neck in heavily figured like the body binding. The video seems to have figuring on the body binding but the neck binding looks plain. The binding is absolutely beautiful to look at....stunning!
 
Oh yeah....with another 5-6 hours on it, I believe it already sounds better than when I first played it. I can only imagine the sound in 6 months, 6 years, etc!  This one will NOT be going anywhere.
 

Colt357:
Awesome looks!!!  The Brazilian Rosewood on #82 is very dark. You have to hold it to the light just right to see the grain. Would have liked a little more light grain. Was surprised to see the headstock overlay is B/R...thought it would be ebony. The maple around the body is well figured ,light and dark, but that around the neck, while still well figured, is lighter. The Abalone purfling is simply spectacular. I thought my Ovation was nicely done with Abalone (and it is), but nothing like this EF75J!
 
Sound/tone... AWESOME!!!! Rings like a bell on the high side and rumbles like a train on the low end!!!  We plugged it in at the music store (I don't have an acoustic amp) ...HOLY SMOKES!!!  WOW!!!...I could keep on going but you get the idea. You would think this guitar had been played for 20 years; like Stephen had said, I can't wait to hear what the years do to it.
 
Playability...very comfortable, I'm very pleased. My fingers are rather short and fat, and I was concerned about the wider neck, but I like it.
 

Tupperware:
I must say, the EF75 keeps climbing it's way up my list of favorite guitars. Plays like a dream and the body size just feels so perfect. And like I said the sound is everything you could ask for. Seriously, if you are at all sitting on the fence about investing in a premium guitar you really need to consider the EF75.  Dave
 

cwk2:
I have been playing the dread EF340S BG, the bluegrass mahogany dread and it's great, a little different sound than the 75. I keep coming back to the 75 for what Dave just said, it's comfortable. The dread seems to stretch my right shoulder after playing it a while, and while I like the boom, the 75 always seems a bit more balanced in tone. Tak really hit a hole in one on this guitar.  
 

ProfessorBB:
No. 67 arrived today in its custom tan case direct from the factory!  
 
The fit and finish of the guitar is outstanding, and the attention to detail in the abalone inlays is extraordinary. For instance, there is even a small round inlay on the head of the string end pins. If you appreciate the quality of a Lexus (I do), then you will appreciate the quality of this guitar. The Japanese can be perfectionists when it comes to quality control, and this guitar demonstrates this in spades.   Contrary to the darker finish of the Brazilian Rosewood on Colt’s No. 82, the finish on this one is a little lighter. I would call it medium dark.   The binding is also exquisite.  
 

Colt357: 
This guitar just makes me smile!
 
I smile when I look at it; it is one of, if not the most, elegant looking guitars I have ever seen. Not gaudy, not over the top, just balanced elegance.  I smile when I play it; once again, just true balanced tone. The sound is sooo smooooth! I've never played a nicer sounding guitar, period. To my ear this puts out pure cream.
 
I smile when I think of the concerns I had over the width at the nut and whether the volume would be a large compromise to a dread due to the OM body size. All unfounded. I said before it was comfortable to play, and I think few would disagree after spending some time on it. The volume, although less than my Ovation, is more than offset by the truly balanced full sound. Like others have said, this guitar puts out a sound out of proportion to its' size.
 
And I smile when I think back to when I felt a Takamine could not compete with my desire to buy a Martin. This guitar just kicked Martin of that high pedestal I had it on. No, I'm not running down Martin guitars. I still feel they are very good instruments, but this Takamine is as good as any Martin made, in my book.
 
And I smile at the fact that I would not have one of these beautiful guitars if I did not spend time here at the OFC . Bill, Stephen, Dave, thank you for putting in the time to get the word out and make a believer out of a sceptic. You all read my concerns and if not for your insistence in all that this guitar is, I probably would not have pursued this to the end. Of course 2 minutes with it at the music store proved every point you made.
 
For any of you sitting on the fence like I was, I seriously urge you to make the jump. Time is running out fast. You will not regret it.  Bill said it all when he stated that Takamine "hit a hole in one" with this guitar.  And I still think this is s "Sleeper Guitar". Soon they will all be gone (100 or less to be made) and when it's all over and done, guys are going to be cryin' "How come I never heard about these?"  
 

ProfessorBB: 
O.k., spent some time with the new Tak this weekend. First, I put new batteries and strings on the other models for the comparo just to keep things even. Included besides the Tak were the Adamas 1581, Ovation Ad-II, Ovation 1651 Legend Ltd, Ovation Book Elite, and the Ovation EA-68 Viper. I then played each for about an hour with and without various effects on the Zoom, and I even made some loops with one guitar and dubbed some melody and lead lines with another. Here’s my personal take . . .
 
COMFORT: The first thing that struck me about the Tak was the comfort. It is nice and light, and the smaller OM size just feels really good to hold. It fits my body size and type (5'9", 180 lbs, relatively athletic for an old guy). I thought the neck felt short, but measurements revealed that it is a pinch longer than almost everything else in my studio. I also felt like the wider neck (1-7/8") kept me from inadvertently fuzzing out an adjacent open string on some chords, thereby resulting in very clean chord structure. I have stayed away from wider necks all my life because of my small hands, but this guitar now makes me think that this may be baggage from my learning days as a pre-teen.  
 
TONE: The tone is light and crisp. Some folks might refer to this as a “woody” tone, but I haven’t played enough all wood guitars to know.  Plugged in, it compares very well with the Ovations.   The resonance and sustain are excellent.  
 
APPEARANCE: The Tak is simply breathtaking.  The spruce top is more blonde than golden, but the Brazilian Rosewood back and sides are incomparable. The neck is darker on mine than others appearing in this posting, and the finish is more of a semi-gloss than the satin sheen seen on some Ovations. The tuners look very fancy and allow very minute adjustments, noticeably more so than on the others.
 
OVERALL: I will gig with this guitar. I have an art gallery show next month where I am playing three hours of background solo instrumental stuff and will very likely use this guitar with the Zoom, loop machine, and the Trace.  
 
VERDICT: The Tak is a sensational guitar and I am glad I jumped on this when I could. I would not sell it back to the factory for what I paid. Thanks to cwk2 for bringing it to our attention, and to StephenT for validating the news with his review. It isn’t a do-all guitar and won‘t take the place of others, … but the Tak is most definitely on the A team.  
 

cwk2: 
My #71 is pretty dark too. That grain is really nice! Another thing I like is the way the back stripe has that wave going through it and the oval dots are cool.
I talked to Debanjo today and his comment is that his, #21, is the most addicting guitar he's ever played. He's been gigging with in around Asheville and running it through an old Shobud volume pedal. He said he can't see himself ever playing a smaller neck again.  
 

ProfessorBB: 
I've been using mine almost exclusively for the past three weeks. Most of the comments on these forums have been about the EF75J's great sound, but what amazes me is the comfort and ease of playing. One of the songs we're doing this week requires a lot of strumming with seconds and suspended chords, but the last eight measures are all adagio picking, which is more my style. Folks are coming up to me, complimenting me about the sound, and asking questions about the guitar. The Tak EF75 really allows players to elevate their playing quality a notch or two. I am really pleased with it.