New Taylor 'Gold Label' thoughts...

[edwardofhuncote]

Oddly, I've never owned a Taylor guitar... but since taking on this repair and setup gig, I'm seriously thinking about it. I've always appreciated them, I will say that. Fret Mill Music was one of the first dealers for Bob Taylor waaaaay on back too, like when Ken first opened up in '79, in addition to carrying Martin and Gibson he brought in these guys literally nobody around here knew about. He probably sells more Taylor guitars there now than Martins.  Occasionally I get to work on one. A few weeks ago, I worked on a 4-digit serial number 510-model from the old Lemon Grove shop, actually signed by R. Taylor in blue pen, that was the very first Taylor sold in Roanoke. The guy bought it new. That was a seriously sweet axe. Each one I've worked on has impressed me somehow.

So anyway, if you follow these things at all, you probably already know, but Taylor just introduced a new completely redesigned model line this year, the Super Auditorium, Gold Label series. 

https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/shapes/super-auditorium

We got our first set of them in last week, and they do not disappoint... definitely live up to the hype. Sorry, but the YouTube videos are superb collection of un-watchable geek-fests... go look if you want to. I gave up and waited until we hung a couple up for sale and put a pick to the strings myself. (the first one was gone in two days) So these guitars are bigger than their Grand Auditorium at each bout, come with an even more adjustable neck joint. (neck reset no longer needed) The bracing is fanned variant of their V-Class. It's just fascinating inside. Oh yeah, and hot-hide-glue construction. (What?!) Headstock is redesigned. Pickguard redesigned. Newer bridge type. Turned and polished bone bridge pins. Ivoroid appointments. Very classy inlay. This is a Taylor guitar built to catch the ears and eyes of folks who like vintage touches but modern sensibilities.

They do indeed sound completely different from anything else Taylor has put out. I wanted to like those Grand Pacific guitars when they came out, and I tried every single one. Blah... blah-blah, triple-blah. They did nothing for me sonically. Beautiful guitar, but tubby and unusable tone. Different, yes. Not for me. These Super Auditorium guitars... totally different response. Very focused. I'd love to put one behind a mic to see how it cut. The Guatemalan rosewood model I spent the most time with is a bit mid-scooped, and is a killer rhythm guitar. That isn't to sell it short up the neck though... a better player than me would've showcased its abilities better. The fit and finish is what you expect of any 800-series Taylor... top of the line, flawless. The setup right out of the box, according to Mickey (our in-house Taylor tech) was right on. He tuned them up and made price tags. If I had a gripe -and this is purely me- I absolutely will not buy an acoustic guitar with onboard electronics. They're nice electronics. I don't want 'em, don't need 'em and I think they detract from the allure of a beautiful acoustic machine. But I will freely admit that I'm completely nuts in this regard, and fine with being in the minority.

So anyway, if you get a chance, go play one. Especially an 814 koa model.

[edwardofhuncote]

This one is pretty decent-

https://youtu.be/psOb5y6Vzkc?si=rGWtvLWsiRUqTak-

[cozmik_cowboy]

Someone on the late, lamented Acoustic Talk forum said that every maker has a "house sound", and that with Martin's house sound you hear the wood, while with Taylor's you hear the strings.  That made sense to me (and, I think, can be extrapolated to cover "traditional" and "modern" tones in general). 
I prefer the wood.

That said, I've never played a Taylor that I thought was bad; they do make fine instruments (I think they do lower-line models & 12-strings better than Martin) - besides which Bob is a prophet on keeping ebony in use and such like, and a savvy enough businessman to make most of the picking world change their definition of "the Big Three" from M-G-G to M-G-T.



But, I have only played Bob's original designs; nothing since the new guy took over that end of things.  Maybe I should make time to get to a dealer and see if I like the newer ones better.


Peter (who would actually prefer a little grain pattern on his ebony 'board)

[lbpesq]

I have an 810 I bought about 30 years ago at Rudy’s on 48th Street in NYC.  I spent the weekend playing just about every D-28 and D-35 on 48th Street.  I had just about decided on a D-35 at Rudy’s when I asked the salesman if there was any other guitar he would recommend.  I told him I didn’t want a Gibson or a Guild.  He asked if I had ever played a Taylor.  I’d heard of them, but never played one.   All I knew about them was that they had a bolt-on neck.  He smiled, took an 810 down off the wall and handed it to me.   20 minutes later I bought it, even though it was a little more than the Martin.   


A few years later I was having a semi-trashed  ‘53 D-28 restored by luthier John F. Mello. He told me that he used to carry Taylors, but the company had revoked his dealer status because he was regularly shaving the braces of the Taylors he sold.   After some more discussion, I had him shave the braces of my 810.  I was surprised by how much if opened up the sound of the guitar.  It went from really good to outstanding!

To me, I have heard lots of other guitars that sounded as good as a Martin from the audience perspective.  But Martins stand out when it comes to how it sounds to the player.  They seem to project to the back and sides better than most other guitars I’ve played.   That is until I got my Beardsell with the side ports.   Other than the Beardsell, which is the best sounding guitar with light strings I’ve ever played, the Taylor is by far the easist playing acoustic I’ve ever had in my hands.

Bill, tgo

[David Houck]

This one is pretty decent-

https://youtu.be/psOb5y6Vzkc?si=rGWtvLWsiRUqTak-

Nice!

[gtrguy]

I like Taylor acoustic guitars. Maybe not quite as deep sounding as a Gibson, but they make up for it in being more articulate. I also think they are more consistent from instrument to instrument and you are less likely to get a plain Jane sounding one like some newer Martins..