MusicRadar

The TAN76's high's sound a little wispy, but are still pleasant.

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• Review

Consider this scenario: you've been playing acoustic for a few years, your technique's coming on a treat, you've progressed from just noodling around at home to gigging and have also started buying gear.

The trouble is that the trusty budget box you started out on no longer cuts the mustard, and you're ready to splash out on a much better-quality guitar - almost certainly an electro - and are budgeting around £1000, or even a bit more.

The most obvious candidates might be, say, a dreadnought or grand auditorium, but at the same time you're rather drawn to the idea of a mid-size instrument. You'd be right to be so. OMs and 000s - so-called 'folks' - can be excellent all-rounders.

"Coachlined cream body binding is given multi-ply dark/white fibre purflings front and back, augmented by a similar back centre strip."

They're more comfortable to handle, without necessarily sacrificing much in the way of unplugged performance, and are often easier to gig, tending to be less prone to feedback.

A quick trawl through manufacturers' catalogues will reveal that the majority of such electros are cutaways, but for you that's not a requirement. You don't need the extra access for, say, slide work, and don't visit the dusty end of the fretboard much, anyway - who does?

There's also the inkling that a cutaway may adversely affect acoustic sound quality, which it can. What are the non-cut options, then? Well, the choice isn't exactly huge, but this model - from a major, well-respected name - could be just the ticket.

It offers an adaptable CTP-2 CoolTube system, with three- band mid-sweepable EQ. It has an aux input, so you can add a secondary sound source - for example, a magnetic soundhole pickup. It also includes a system-muting auto-chromatic tuner, which, usefully, can also be recalibrated.

Timber-wise, the Takamine has laminated sides, with a gloss body and satin neck.

Although having shallow 107mm-deep rims, this Supernatural OM's body lines are otherwise pretty similar to the Breedlove Atlas Retro OM/ERe's, and the guitar shares a simple elegance of trim.

Coachlined cream body binding is given multi-ply dark/white fibre purflings front and back, augmented by a similar back centre strip, while the spruce top carries an abalone rosette and the brand's hallmark rear-strung bridge with split saddles. The way the string path is recessed behind the saddles ensures a good break angle.

Topped by gold, amber-buttoned tuners, the TAN76's 644mm-scale one-piece (plus heel) mahogany neck is familiar Takamine territory: relatively slender with an evenly rounded, medium- depth 'C' profile, which together offer excellent mainstream playability and comfort.

Typically for a guitar of this style, the bridge string spacing is a tad tight, at 53mm, but it doesn't feel unduly cramped for fingerstyle.