Takamine EG523SC12 12-String Jumbo Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Big sound, two ways! The jumbo body, with its solid spruce top and flamed maple back and sides, projects a loud, full sound. Add that to the lush, chorus-like sound you get from 12 strings and you've got a lot of guitar, and a lot of tone.

TK-4N Preamp
The Takamine TK-4N preamplifier found on G-Series guitars features volume control, bass, middle and treble frequency slider controls, EQ bypass, a Notch Filter and a Mid Contour Switch. These last three features are described in greater detail below:

EQ Bypass: This push button enables the user to engage or defeat the EQ section. When the switch is in the depressed position, the EQ is active. Return the switch to the "up" position and the EQ circuit is bypassed. The bypass of the EQ circuit is desirable in some studio or live environments where external EQ is preferable. The user can also use this defeat switch to quickly check the results of the EQ adjustments relative to the original sound.

Notch Filter: A Notch Filter is a very special kind of EQ, an extremely narrow and deep cut of an audio frequency band. The TK-4N has a "tunable" notch filter which empowers the user to select the specific frequency band that will be affected by the notch. With this tunable notch filter the user can "surgically" remove troublesome feedback frequencies that occur due to the natural resonances of the guitar and interaction with the environment.

The notch control provides control of the center frequency of the notch effect. When the monitor or stage levels are too high, and the user hears the guitar starting to feed back, the player can engage the notch circuitry by pushing the "In/Out" button under the "Notch Filter" knob, and simply tune the filter (actually changing the center frequency of the notch) by slowly rotating the notch control until the feedback is eliminated.

Mid Contour: By pushing (activating) the Mid Contour button, the user is selecting a pre-shape EQ that emphasizes the frequencies normally found to be "desirable" in an acoustic guitar (400 Hz). With the Mid Contour button in the 400 Hz position (button depressed), the mid EQ is effectively controlling "nasal" tone qualities while in the 800 Hz position (button out), the mid control can add punch in upper mids or help "round off" the attack present in this frequency spectrum. The user should experiment with the button and the "Middle" control to determine their sound preference.

Tuner: The tuner in the TK4N-T is fully chromatic and automatic. Press the tuner switch to activate it. The note is displayed by the lower row of LEDs with the "#" sign to indicate accidentals. The upper row of three LEDs indicates if the string is in tune with the large green LED in the center being "in tune". The unit does not turn off automatically so the center LED will blink as a reminder if the tuner is left on.

Technical Info

Body Shape: Jumbo C/A

Rosette: Abalone

Top: Solid Spruce

Inlays: Block MOP and Abalone

Back: Flamed Maple

Sides: Flamed Maple

Fingerboard: Rosewood

Electronics: TK4NT

Tuners: Chrome