Guitar Guide

8/8/2019 Guitar Guide

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T Jason MrazSgnatur Nylon

T 12-FrtRoswood GC

Customz Your SoldBodyCoos your color, pckups,

pckguard & mor

T 2010GutarGud


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Wed like tohear from you

Send your e-mails to:[email protected]

Hammer OffThank you or making your new

Factory Service Center available orthe repair o all brands o guitars. Theannouncement which appeared inWood&SteelVol. 61 (Taylor Notes)eatured a photo o your technicianworking on a ine Taylor instrument.Im concerned, though, that theluthiers hammer appears to be rest-ing upon the top o this guitar. Surelythe tool belongs on the workbench

in keeping with sound repair shopstandards. I respectully suggest thathere is not the place to hammer-on.

Kenneth Wepman

Stdio Cit, CA

[Good one, Kenneth, but not to

worry: The hammer is resting onour protective ret buck, a tool wedesigned to absorb impact when

rets are replaced in the ingerboardextension over the guitar body. Ed.]

Tune HoundI just about ell o my stump

when I read the latest Wood&Steel.I have been a singer-songwriterand recording artist since the early1970s. As a solo perormer I begancreating unique guitar tunings backin the late 60s and up until this date.My irst two albums or Kama Sutracontained all original material, and

not one song was written in stan-dard tunings. I mixed and matchedstrings and had tunings that were allover the placevery cool sounds. Iactually had to create stick-on chordpictures so I could remember the in-gering to over 2,000 original songs.My riend John Fahey used to buy medrinks trying to over-serve me andgain access to my secret tunings.

I can NOT WAIT to play and pur-chase the baritone 8-string and the

9-string. I am panting like a hounddog that has been climbing hills andvalleys all day. When, where and howdo I get my hands on these instru-ments? I will drive to youunless ocourse, you wanna drive here and wecan jam.

Chet Nichols

Playground Parlor

I bought one o the 35 parlor gui-tars last week in Augusta, Georgiaand played it out last night at a localclub, The Playground. Just wantedyou to know it was a big hit bigsound rom a little box. It might bethe coolest guitar in my collection.

Pete Boick

Driving Miss WinnyI just wanted to tell a short story

o how a 72-year-old student o mine

got a new Taylor guitar. Im a teacherin the Nashville, Tennessee area, andIve had a nice lady named Winnytaking guitar lessons with me or awhile. Ive always used my Taylor814ce during the lesson, and oneday she said she wanted one, atershe played mine. I wondered i shewas serious, because I work in asmall retail shop where we sell onlybeginner guitars and work a largeamount o lessons. I told her that

we would take a ield trip to GruhnGuitars here in Nashville, so o wewent. I drove her big ole Buick. Wetried out 4-5 dierent models andended up getting the Taylor 516cewith a cedar top and mahoganysides. It was the best sounding guitarwe tried that day, and we had a greatexperience. They gave us a greatprice and set it up perectly!

Lance Allen

TwilaSpeakGood morning. First o all, let

me introduce mysel. I am BobTaylors mother, residing in Spokane,Washington. Yesterday we receivedour Wood&Steelmagazine, whichwe have or many years now. Wenaturally go through it over and oversometimes, enjoying the articlesand pictures, etc., but I have one

complaint. The picture o Bob in theBobSpeak column is the worstI have ever seen. Ha! Is there anychance that you could ind anotherone to replace it? I would be sograteul to you i you would, and Iwould continue being one o the big-

gest ans o Taylor Guitars. Who buta mother would ever make a requestlike that? Have a great day.

Twila Talor

[You betcha, Mrs. Taylor. We hadplanned to shoot new photos o Bob

and Kurt or 2010 anyway, but hadwe known how you elt, we wouldhave changed Bobs sooner! Were

running the new one past you beorewe go to print. Ed.]

Passion ForwardAter the recent W&S issue

highlighting 10 years o the NT neckdesign, I realized that my Taylor isnow about 10 years old. You see, Ipassed up a guitar equipped withthe NT because I simply could waitno longer to enjoy the workmanship,innovation and sheer cloud nineenjoyment o a Taylor! I purchaseda K14c just as the new design was

about to roll out and have no regrets.The guitar has never approachedneeding any adjustment whatsoeveruntil recently when I adjusted thetruss rod to lower the action. Oneother thing: I am absolutely stunnedby the pace o innovation at Taylor.Never have I seen such prooundbreakthroughs with essentially thesame raw materials. I believe it ispassion o the highest order that canonly make such incredible advances

happen, and Taylor has harnessedthat passion. I cant wait to plumb thedepths o the new 8-string baritoneat an upcoming Road Show. A heartycongratulations, Taylor, on 35 yearso passionate excellence. Heres toanother 35!

Scott Lehrer

Big Rock, IL

No Tweaking RequiredI was in Bualo, New York and

on impulse stopped at a music shop.I was marveling at the Taylor guitarsand told the salesman, I I playone o those Ill buy one, and I cantaord it, so he started showing meother guitars and nothing soundedgood. I asked i they had a 214ce.They had two, and I bought one. Iwatched the [accompanying] DVD.I have quite a pedal board I use to

color my budget acoustics. The DVDtalked about plugging straight intothe amp, so I got a long cord andplugged directly in. It sounded an-tastic. I am a sel-taught repairmanand would always tweak any acousticI previously bought new saddle,

nut, bridge pins, neck adjustment but I let my new Taylor alone. Theset-up was perect, and it plays likean electric. You olks make a greatproduct, and my only wish is that Ihad bought one sooner.

Francis LaChappelle

Hitting 21I had to write. I just got a beauti-

ul Taylor SolidBody Standard, which

makes 21 Taylor guitars I currentlyown. What a antastic instrument:clear, loud, accurate, great sustain,high gain pickups, great electron-icsthis could easily become myavorite electric, and I own a ew thatcost three times as much. Kudos toBob and the crew or another greatguitar. In todays market, there is noother guitar that gives me what aTaylor does. Tone, quality, looks....Thats why I own 21 Taylors.

Ron Cabrera

Canadian AmbassadorsJust a quick note to say a great

big thanks ater having the oppor-tunity to enjoy the Taylor RoadShow experience at Lauzon Music[in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada] onOctober 1. What a great night even my wie was impressed, andshe is not even a guitar crazy like me.(I am working on it.)

We were thoroughly blown awayater listening to Marc Seal work hismagic. What a talent and a down-to-earth guitar guy a great ambassa-dor and a perect match to promotethe results o your vision. I deinitelylet the evening more inspired aboutimproving my own play. Isnt thatwhat its all about?

Speaking o great ambassadors,the hosts o the evening, Ken andDave Lauzon and the rest o thegang at Lauzon are a antastic bunch.

No matter your level o ability, you arenever made to eel judged. The onlything they oer is sincere encourage-ment to give it a try. I you are aprivate perormer or a little shy theywill set you up in one o their soundrooms to get properly acquaintedon your own terms. No pressure, norestrictions and no obligation. I youenjoy making music or you want to

learn, you are automatically made toeel like part o their amily. The beststore in the city, period. Thank youto all those involved or bringing ussuch a great evening.

Dan Borgealt (and Melanie)

We Feel Your Pain

My name is Pete Bellotte, respon-sible or the Donna Summer hitsHot Stu and I Feel Love. I havea Taylor 20th Anniversary, and theother day a 5 x 4 painting ell roma great height straight through theside o the guitar. Despite the impact,the guitar remained on its hook, andwhen I took it down it was still in

tune and STILL sounded great. It will,o course, be repaired very soon!

Pete Bellotte

An Extra Sense ofAccomplishment

I recently purchased yourNS74ce. Ater an exhaustive searchor the right nylon instrument andhaving already been a Taylor owner(614ce), I must tell you I have never

played a iner guitar! The NS74cehas opened new doors or me simplybecause this instrument ar exceedsnormal boundaries o tonality, mastercratsmanship and just plain playabil-ity. I have toured the world playingguitar and perormed with severalnational and international artists, andeven as an accomplished guitarist,the Taylor allows me to sound bet-ter than ever! I couldnt be morepleased. Thank you!

John Cook

Ft. Mers Beach, FL

Letters

2 www.taylorguitars.com

ANNiveRSARY

Fall Lmtds

Taylor SwftsSgnatur Baby

8-StrngBarton

Artst s.Arln:

Da CarrollsBg Braks

35LiMiTeDST Armrst,Parlor, 9-Strng,12-Frt & Mor

Th


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6 Jason MrazThe acoustic-grooving Grammy

nominee visits the Taylor

actory to talk about the

inspiration behind his new

signature nylon-string model.

On the Cover

14 BT Talks Shop Bob Taylor ans the creative sparks rom 2009 and explains why Taylors

unique blend o vision and passion will continue to inspire in 2010.

14 36

Volume 62Winter 2010

Departments

Featres

2 Letters

4 Kurts Corner

5 BobSpeak

5 Editors Note

10 Ask Bob

12 Soundings

60 TaylorWare

3

Find us on Facebook. Add us on MySpace. Subscribe on YouTube. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/taylorguitarspr

16 The 2010 Guitar Guide We ring in the new year with a resh tour o our 2010 line. Theres a lot to

love here.

18 Finding Your Fit: Woods and Shapes You might know what you like, but is it the right match or the sound you

want? We break down the elements o tone to help you understand what

makes a guitar right or you.

20 The Acoustic Line From the Koa Series to the Baby Taylor, we prole our many favors o

acoustic tone.

36 Specialty Models A sweet-voiced 12-Fret and a pair o rich Baritones promise to take you

somewhere new.

38 The Electric Line This year, SolidBody customization leads the way. Well walk you

through the new color and pickup options, including our new vintage

alnico humbucker.

48 Build to Order I youve been dreaming o a custom Taylor, our Build to Order program

gives you a broad array o choices and an impressive turnaround time.

50 Acoustic Electronics Whether or stage or studio, the Taylor Expression System captures all

the natural tonal richness you love about a Taylor and helps you share it

with the world.

52 Customer Service We take service as seriously as we take guitar-making. From helping

you nd a guitar to helping you care or it, were all about giving you thesupport you need.

54 The Specs Heres a closer look at the details that dene each guitar we make.

Cover Featre


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Contribtors

Bob Borbonus / Jonathan Forstot / David Hosler / David Kaye / Kurt Listug

Shawn Persinger / Shane Roeschlein / Bob Taylor / Corey Witt / Glen Wol

Chalise Zolezzi

Technical Advisors

Ed Granero / David Hosler / Gerry Kowalski / Andy Lund / Rob Magargal

Mike Mosley / Brian Swerdeger / Bob Taylor / Chris Wellons / Glen Wol

Contribting Photographers

Rita Funk-Homan / David Kaye / Steve Parr

Circlation

Katrina Horstman

2010 Taylor Guitars. 300 SERIES, 400 SERI ES, 500 SERIES, 600 SERIES, 700 SERIES, 800 SERIES,900 SERIES, Baby Taylor, Big Baby, Bridge Design, Doyle Dykes Signature Model, Dynamic Body Sensor,Expression System, GALLERY Series, K4, Liberty Tree, Peghead Design, Pickguard Design, PRESENTATIONSeries, Quality Taylor Guitars, Guitars and Cases & Design, T5, T5 (Stylized), Taylor, Taylor (Stylized), Taylor

ES, Taylor Expression System, TAYLOR GUITARS Taylor Guitars K4, Taylor K4, TAYLOR QUALITY GUITARSand Design, TAYLORWARE, and WOOD&STEEL are registered trademarks o the company. BalancedBreakout, Dynamic String Sensor, ES Blue, Grand Symphony, GS, GS SERIES, T5 Thinline Fiveway, TaylorAcoustic Electronics, ES-T, Thinline (T5) Fiveway, T3, T3/B, and T-Lock are trademarks o the company.Patents pending.

Ill start the new year with aconession: I really enjoyed the chal-lenges and problem-solving o lastyear. While we didnt start the yearanticipating that the economic issueswould be as dire as they were, weshited gears and changed our gameplan to adapt, and we came out ontop! It elt great to meet the chal-lenges head-on and win.

While other guitar companiesretreated rom higher-end guitars and

ocused on going down-market topaciy dealers, asking or lower pricepoints (and in the process abandon-ing the high-end customer), we tookour message on the road and sold awhole order o magnitude more high-end guitars than ever beore.

Taylor increased its marketshare last year and was the top-selling acoustic guitar brand interms o retail revenue generated.Interestingly, Taylor guitars gener-ated higher retail revenue at U.S.

cash registers in 2009 than we didin 2008. This is despite the acousticguitar market being down rom theprior year.

Early in the year we had to lowerour production, as we were buildingtoo much inventory. We had to cutback and reduce the work hours othe majority o our employees. Weretained nearly everyone and paid

their beneits, and we were able totake advantage o a work-sharingprogram, which paid people unem-ployment or the hours not worked.This lasted or several months whilewe sold down our inventory, andweve been back at ull productionsince early November. Were nowvery lean on inventory, and have hadto increase our projections or 2010several times. This was a painul pro-cess to go through, but were now

in great shape and well positionedor 2010. Moreover, weve put bet-ter controls and planning in place

to keep sales and production in bal-ance.

Working with others on a team tosolve problems can be very reward-ing and un. It can also be not verymuch un at all when you dont havethe right group chemistry. Ive expe-rienced it both ways. In act, one othe biggest disappointments o mycareer was in assembling a group o

talented people that were dysunc-tional as a team. This completely tookthe un out o doing business. Lieis too short to not have un or enjoyyour work. When you have a groupo people who like and respect eachother, have un working together,are talented and can each handle alarge area o responsibility, it can bereally enjoyable. Thats how I woulddescribe the great group o execu-tives we have now at Taylor,

and is the biggest reason why Imreally enjoying business, even whenit involves managing through a tough

year and a tough economy.Heres wishing you a successul

and prosperous 2010!

Sizing Up a Down Market

Pblisher / Taylor-Listug, Inc.

Prodced b the Talor Gitars Marketing DepartmentVice President o Sales & Marketing / Brian Swerdeger

Director o Brand Marketing / Jonathan Forstot

Editor / Jim Kirlin

Senior Art Director / Cory Sheehan

Art Director / Rita Funk-Homan

Graphic Designer / Angie Stamos-Guerra

Photographer / Tim Whitehouse

Printing & Distribtion

Woods Lithographics - Phoenix

Volume 62Winter 2010

Kurts Corner

2010 Taylor Factory Tours & Vacation DatesI you plan to tour the Taylor Guitars actory in 2010, please note that weve

added Fridays back to our tour schedule. A ree, guided tour is given every Mon-

day through Friday at 1 p.m. (excluding holidays). No advance reservations are

necessary. Simply check-in at our reception desk in the lobby o our main build-

ing by 1 p.m. We ask that large groups (more than 10) and school-supervised

groups schedule special tours in advance by calling (619) 258-1207 and asking

or the Factory Tour Manager. We kindly request at least two weeks notice or allgroup tours.

While not physically demanding, the tour does include a air amount o walk-

ing. Due to the technical nature, the tour may not be suitable or small children.

The tour lasts approximately one hour and 15 minutes and departs rom the main

building at 1980 Gillespie Way in El Cajon, Caliornia.

Please take note o the weekday exceptions below. For more inormation, includ-

ing directions to the actory, please visit taylorguitars.com/contact/actorytour.

We look orward to seeing you!

Holida closres:

Monda, Febrar 15

(Presidents Day)

Monda, Ma 31

(Memorial Day)

Monda-Frida, Jl 5-9

(Independence Day / company vacation)


Kurt Listug, CEO

While other guitar companiesfocused on going down-market,we took our message on the roadand sold more high-end guitarsthan ever before.


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Photo SynthesisAs youve probably noticed, our winter Guitar Guide issue is a

little dierent rom our other issues. Over the years, as Taylor hasevolved, so have these pages. In the old days, as some o you willrecall, Wood&Steels newsprint paper made it diicult to convey thebeauty and details o our guitars. But we managed just ine, in partbecause what was important to Bob and Kurt was to connect withTaylor owners in a personal, down-to-earth way. O course, therewas a certain irony to the act that we printed pictures o our beauti-ul high-end guitars on newsprint, yet created a glossy insert to sellT-shirts and guitar accessories.

The Taylor catalog, by contrast, provided the sexier print vehicleor showcasing the glorious details o our instruments and reiningthe Taylor brand. We worked with a design agency to produce those

catalogs, and were proud o the way they captured not just the pre-mium quality o our instruments, but also the passion and personalityo the brand. Yet, or all o the eort and expense that went into thecatalogs, their shel lie was becoming shorter and shorter, especiallyor a company like ours, whose product development eorts wereoutpacing our print cycle. Our website certainly added a better com-munication channel to update you on our latest news and develop-ments, but or a company whose products are predicated on havinga tangible experience, we elt strongly that a print publication wasimportant, too.

Ever since Wood&Steelmade the transition to higher qualitypaper with our summer 2008 issue, weve taken ull advantage o ourupgraded canvas, starting with special eatures on guitar shapes

and woods, and a year ago creating our irst expanded-ormat GuitarGuide. It was meant to serve some o the unction o a catalog, aswe presented our line in its entirety, complete with the specs detailsthat many olks crave. Yet, as a quarterly, we were also able to updateour catalog throughout the year, which proved especially beneicialin 2009, given the number o new guitar models that came to lie.

This year, were pleased to bring you our second annual GuitarGuide issue. We really wanted to take the photography to anotherlevel, and we hope you enjoy it. Nearly every photo in this issuewas shot by our lean, mean in-house team (with the exception oSoundings), including the shots o Jason Mraz. Some guitar photoswere taken in our on-site studio, while others were shot in real-lie

settings to capture the experience o what makes playing a Taylor sorewarding. It was a lot o work, but sometimes its the challenge thatmakes it un. One things or sure: Shooting guitars is a lot coolerthan shooting medical supply equipment.

Look or more editorial coverage next issue. In the meantime, wehope your year is o to a happy, music-illed start.

Jim Kirlin

Correction: In last issues Editors Note, I made reerence to theepic 1974 Rumble in the Jungle ight between Ali and Frazier;it was actually Ali and Foreman.

Editors Note

Read this and other back issues of Wood&Steelattaylorguitars.com under Resources.

Online

5

BobSpeakNew Tones for 10

Bob Taylor, President

Its been ten years since the worldwas going to collapse into utterdespair due to the act that comput-ers wouldnt be able to reconcile

the date. I guess that didnt happen.Instead, we made cool guitars, peo-ple dug them, and more good play-ers were added to the world. Othergreat things have happened sincethe dawn o the new millennium. Forexample, I now have a guitar tuneron my phone. OK, Im just sayin. Theworld is so much more in tune now,exactly the opposite o what theypredicted. Good times.

We havent released any signa-ture models or some time because

you can just do too many o those,you know? But this issue will show-case a Jason Mraz model. Jason isa great player and songwriter, justdoing his thing with a huge ollowing.Hes the real deal. Its been my plea-sure to see him use his Taylor guitarsto perorm his art.

Taylor Swit has also shown herollowing what a good guitar lookslike in the orm o her Taylors. Anda lot o people are looking. You can

thank her or getting a lot o youngpeople going on the guitar ourTaylor Swit Baby Taylor model isalready in the hands o hundreds andhundreds o young players who arestarting out because o her. Shesbecome an excellent player, and Improud to watch her progress. What apleasure its been to see her success

simply rocket out o this world.I have a ew surprises or this

year, probably my avorite being theOMG-sound o the 12-ret Grand

Concert. This is a guitar that needsto be in every guitar store or everyplayer to come hear. Youll want toown one, because it just soundsso beautiul. People can talk abouthow much bass or treble a guitarhas, or the sustain, or the projection,but what is oten missing rom theconversation is the tone. The tone othose requencies is as dierent asthe tone o peoples voices. SherylCrow and Josh Groban can bothsing the same notes, yet the tones

o their voices are dierent. Whatgets me about this 12-ret is its tonecoupled with its large voice, all in asmall, lightweight, package. But itsthe tone that just continues to blowme away. Youll probably see a ver-sion o this guitar as a twin to Jasonsnylon signature model at some point.I sat down with Jason and showedhim the guitar, and he strummed itonce and looked up amazed and justsaid, Wow. Then he got lost in it or

a while. I sent one o to Taylor Switand had to ask her dad how sheliked it, because she was o doingher thing, and he said, She loves itand hasnt put it down or days. Itseasy to all in love with.

The SolidBody tremolo is out,it works like a dream, and it looksso beautiul. You know, when we

designed that irst bridge or ourSolidBody, we wanted it to be origi-nal, not a copy o anything, and tobe pretty and eel good. Thats hard

because your mind just slides intodesigns that youve known and seenor years. But we managed, neverthinking that wed have to make atrem version o it someday. Ouch!But it happened it took a year,but it happened and weve takenanother committed step into the elec-tric guitar world with it. Were hereand here to stay, and its un to showplayers what were up to with elec-trics. Look or them in stores. Theyllbe arriving as the weeks roll on.

All in all, 2009 was a good yearor us. We made progress alongmany ronts, all during a righteningrecession. We thank our dealersor their love o guitars and theirwillingness to keep showing and sell-ing them amidst stomach-churninginancial news. We thank you playersor playing music and adding yourartistic lair to the world. Guitar play-ing, singing songs, perorming andlistening to great music all helps the

world stay aloat.Y2K didnt end up killing us allten years ago. Last year took a stabat it and lost, and people want theirmusic enough that already this year,were starting out with a shortage oguitars to go around. Its a strangeworld, and Im glad to toss some gui-tars into the mix.


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JASON MRAZThe Wood&Steel Interview


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Paciic storm has made ora rare day o steady rain in San Diego,upsetting morning commutes and tempo-rarily throwing people a bit o-kilter remember, this is Southern Caliornia,where rain is a major event but theweathers dour context only serves toampliy the laid-back vibe o Jason Mraz

as he arrives at the Taylor actory. Thehat-clad, smooth-crooning tunesmith hasdriven down rom his home in nearbyOceanside during a precious pocketo down time between his return roma South American tour and the start orecording sessions or his ourth studiorecord. He is here to survey the close-to-inal version o his new nylon-string sig-nature model, adorned with the custominlay work he commissioned. Taylor artistrelations rep Bob Borbonus is in thehouse, and beore long Bob Taylor stops

in to hang out and talk about the guitarwith Mraz, who has just been presentedwith it or the irst time.

I love it, he says, admiring theinlays, beore settling into a comy couchwith his new namesake guitar to inger-pick a progression o sweet chords. Thenylon is a variation on the rosewood/cedar NS72ce hes been playing andtouring with or a while now. It eels likesomething Ive had or a long time, hedecides ater a ew more lightly plucked

chords.The one remaining cosmetic revisionor the model is the choice o woods orthe guitars custom rosette design. Aew variations are on their way rom theFinish department or Bob and Mraz todiscuss. While they wait, as Mraz worksthrough another pretty progression onthe nylon, Bob picks up a steel-stringGA and asks Mraz about the chords tothe tune You and I Both, the openingcut rom his 2002 debut album Waitingor My Rocket to Come. Mraz obliges,

playing through and calling out thechanges as Bob ollows, setting up alittle jam thats ollowed by another tuneBob likes, Mrazs island-chill mega-hit,Im Yours. Both song titles, coinciden-tally, seem itting choices to christen therelationship between a songwriter andhis new guitar.

It wasnt ar rom the Taylor com-plex that Mrazs successul career was

launched, in the coeehouses o SanDiego. It was his equivalent o theBeatles Hamburg period, during whichhe honed his talent or blending acous-tic grooves, supple melodies, and clever,heartelt lyrics into compelling popsongs. He played out oten, developinghimsel into a compelling live act who

seemed destined to make it.Mraz, 32, grew up in Mechanicsville,Virginia, where, as a teenager, he startedwriting and taught himsel to play gui-tar, oten covering Dave Matthews andBob Dylan tunes with his brother. Helater moved to New York City to attendthe American Musical and DramaticAcademy to study acting, but continuedto play guitar and sing. It was there thathe discovered he had a natural knack ormaking up unny songs on the ly withhis acoustic.

It became a party trick, he toldthe San Diego Union-Tribune in 2009.People would come over and chal-lenge me with objects or situations, andI would just make up a song about itand get a good laugh and make peoplereally connect.

The experience prompted a recali-bration o his career plans. He realizedthat the creative reedom o writing andplaying his own songs beat auditioningor acting jobs.

Mraz moved to San Diego in 1999,and it didnt take long or him to pluginto the collaborative acoustic sceneand, beore long, set in motion a word-o-mouth groundswell. He requentlyperormed as a duo with local percus-sionist Toca Rivera (who remains a corecomponent o his live band), eventuallysetting up residencies at various localvenues, where Mraz cultivated a pas-sionate ollowing. The buzz spread toL.A. and beyond.

Mrazs talents as a songwriter and

perormer led to a major label deal,and his 2002 debut introduced him tothe world with the help o several hits,including Remedy (I Wont Worry),You and I Both, and CurbsideProphet. Mrazs second eort, Mr. A-Z(2005), spawned the hit Wordplayand was nominated or a Grammy.

From local coffous kng to ntrnatonal star, t acoustc tunsmt s

layng s good-b groos on t world, fuld by lo and a nw sgnatur

nylon-strng B Jim Kirlin

continued next page

A


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His most recent studio eort, WeSing. We Dance. We Steal Things.,included the soon-to-be-epic hitIm Yours, which was nominatedor two Grammys last year and setthe record or the longest running

song on the Billboard Hot 100Chart. The tune is also one o thebest-selling digital songs o all timein the U.S., with more than o 4.4 mil-lion paid downloads. Another pair otunes rom the album recently scoredGrammy nominations: Make it Mine(Best Male Pop Vocal Perormance)and Lucky with Colbie Caillat (BestPop Collaboration with Vocals).

At times, Mrazs sound suggestsa more caeinated, rock-centricversion o breezy jazz-pop singer-songwriter Michael Franks, whomMraz cites as a musical inluence (hepoints to Franks 1976 album The Arto Tea as an inspiration). But Mrazbrings more o a street/beat poet andhip-hop sensibility to the party, as heassimilates an array o musical lavorsinto his world: jazz, unk, reggae, souland Latin music, each o which injectunique rhythmic accents to his luid,mellow-rock vibe.

Seeing Mraz perorm is to experi-

ence the ullness o his multi-prongedartistry. His nimble, crystalline tenor,his melodic and rhythmic sophistica-tion, his strong pop instincts, and hisability to unleash a sonorous gush olyrical wordplay together all coalesceinto a soulul groove on stage. Hismusic has a certain lightness to itthats conspicuously devoid o ste-reotypical rock n roll angst or brava-do. On stage, hes playul, unny andspontaneous. He has a good timemessing with his persona: part hip-ster geek, part street perormer, partladykilling balladeer. Mraz innatelyunderstands musics power to uplitand empower people, along with hisown ability to use his songwritingvoice to make soul-nourishing music.Its a testament to his songcrat thathis music connects not only in acoeehouse but at a huge estival.Through his world travels and diversemusical experiences, he says hesgained a greater appreciation or a

universal desire among audienceseverywhere: They want to be happy.And through music, happiness isexactly what Mraz delivers.

At the Taylor actory, Mraz tooktime to talk about the way his Taylorsinspire him, the concepts behind hissignature guitars inlay designs, histechniques or keeping songwritingun, and why Im Yours became the

hit it did. Sot-spoken, thoughtul andarticulate, Mraz makes it clear that hismusical journey is part o a deeperspiritual journey.Do you remember your irst Taylor

experience?The irst Taylor I ever purchased I gotrom a local artist who had upgradedand didnt eel the need to hold ontoher guitar, so I acquired a 612ce,and I was still kind o exploring in myguitar playing. At that time, I thinkId been playing or like six yearsand had gone through probably sixor seven guitars, all dierent makesand models, dierent sizes, shapes.I stumbled upon this little 612 andit just rocked. It was built in 95, Ibelieve, so it was pretty old it wasat least ive years old at the time Ipurchased it. Nice and worn in. It justworked with what I was doing; I reallyconnected with it. And in buying thatguitar, I realized that Taylor was aSan Diego company, and the guitarwas built in San Diego. Id been liv-ing in San Diego or a little bit otime, and here was this guitar thatsuddenly was working with the songsI was writing and the way I was per-

orming. It was a mellow guitar butvery true in act, I dont think it hadany controls on it; youd just plug inand go. It was pretty amazing what itcould do.

You have a couple o other models

on the steel-string side. Was the

714ce the next one you acquired?

I think I experimented or like a monthwith a 9 Series. I took it on the road,and it was such a nice guitar I wasa bit nervous to bring it on the road.And I ound the 714 was a greatcompromise to the grandness thatwas that guitar, but it had sort o aroad-ruggedness that I could tear up.Id also started playing with a bandand went digging in a little more, soI let the 612 at home ater a whileand was playing the 714 with a littlebit bigger body.

Youre a ingerstyle player, but

especially when youre playing on

stage with a band, is it primarilystill ingerstyle, or are you doing

some strumming?

Back when I was playing the 714 inmy shows, I was deinitely using apick, and then I would throw the pickand use my ingers and reach into mypocket and grab the pick again, andit was kind o messy. I hate to tellguitar players what I was doing be-

cause I dont recommend it, and Ilook back in act I was playing my714 last night and they should putthe pickguard up here [above thesoundhole] because how I was play-ing with a pick was digging in at the

top. So, it was a little bit o every-thing. I had picked up a nylon-stringto bring to my show or one song,and just having that guitar aroundI started to play it a lot more. And Iound that I could still do the strum-ming, the digging in, and go right intopicking, and basically all the dynam-ics that I liked with the 714 I couldstill get out o the nylon-string. All Ineeded to do was put some acrylicon my nails, so I had our guitar pickson my ingers. I could get that sotsentiment, that really mellow, liquidytone that I really love about the nylon-string, but I could also get reallyrhythmic and percussive instantly,without changing guitars and withoutchanging picks or any type o pat-terns. It took me a little while to igureout, but its deinitely something Idont think Ill stray rom.

So these days, are you perorming

primarily with the nylon?

Yeah. In act, the last tour I didnteven take the 714. It was the irsttour where I only took two nylonswith me. I took two because one wasgoing to be in an alternate tuning[DADGAE]. So the whole show wasplayed pretty much with just this.One or two songs Id switch it upwith the alternate tunings, but thatwas it.

The nylon has such a dierent

lavor rom a steel-string. When

you started playing nylon more,

did you eel like you were writing

in dierent ways, that you were

responding to the guitars tonality

in a dierent way?

Absolutely. When I would write withthe nylon, something about it and thevoicings I would use the mellowtones o the nylon it just openedup a whole new channel or songs.I guess when I had the larger steel-string 714, I eel like I had to worka little harder. So, the nylon wasmore o a eeling that I got, but itnurtured a whole albums worth o

songs. It made road lie a lot easier.It just gave me this way to commu-nicate with the audience without aguitar standing in my way. It elt likeit was a part o me, it was a part othe energy that I wanted to put out

there. But it still drove it home whenI needed to drive it home. I could stillplay the big rock and pop songs withthe nylon.

Lets talk about your signature

model. Its based on the model

youve been playing, an NS72ce.

Whats nice about the signature is

being able to add your aesthetic

to it. Can you explain the retboard

inlay and the rosette?

Well, I didnt touch the design o theguitar because the NS72 is great.Cosmetically I added my Be Lovesymbol, which I recently got tattooedon my arm, so in a sensemaybeIll add rets to my tattoo. This is adesign I saw repeated over and overrom hieroglyphs to various denomi-nations using it in art, and I choosethis symbol simply because I want

to be whole in mind, body and soul.I think thats a divine trinity there.What is Be Love but cutting out themiddle man. You dont have to havea certain someone to be loved. Youdont have to have certain conditionsto have love in your lie. You can justbe love. So, its basically a practiceo unconditional love, a practice ounabashed generosity. You cant belove and have a bad day. You canthave a bad mood. I Im committed tobeing love, I have to show up everyday, and I really like that. It createsme as bigger than Ive ever chosenmysel to be in my lie. And everysong I write is based on love, no mat-ter what kind o song it is. So thatswhy I brought it into the guitar.

The rosette is based on one o myavorite Mucha paintings. [AlphonseMucha, 1860-1939, was a Czechart nouveau painter and posterdesigner.] Mucha was pretty muchthe inventor o graphic design; he didit all by reehand. In act, most rockposters today can be traced back toMucha. He did original designs oropera, stage shows, cabarets back

in Paris and throughout Europe. Oneo his designs is called Zodiac, andit embraces all dierent astrologicaland zodiac signs. And thats anotherthing that drives me: Im always look-ing into the cosmos to inspire me or

to help me create my schedule evenor tours and or when Im going towrite and what Im going to do. So,everyone can relate to this becauseyour zodiac sign is going to be inthe rosette somewhere, in the per-son you love; all the relationships inyour lie can be related to this. Everychart pretty much in the history ocalendar making comes down to acircle, and the rosette is here or usto put ourselves into the universe.So, I thought it was beautiul. We justtoday looked at having bloodwoodunderneath the signs. It really createscontrast, so you can see the signs;the symbols will really pop a lot moreon the inal product. [Ed. note: Theinal choice was bubinga.]And thatsbasically it. I didnt want to go toocrazy. I thought long and hard, andyou can get lost in the world o inlay.But I honestly didnt want to add anymore weight; I didnt want to addanything too strong. I still would want

any player to take it on and have theirown relationship with the guitar.

When I would write with the

nylon, it just opened up a wholenew channel for songs.

Jason Mraz on theevolution of his nylonfingerstyle technique:

I had the pleasure o tour-

ing with Raul Midn, and

hes the one who helped me

organize my style o playing.

Where I used to keep pickson my knee play and then

pick and then strum hes

the one who really pushed

me to let my nails do all

the work and not be araid

o treating the guitar like a

percussion instrument. And

Raul, i youve ever seen

him, really goes or it. In act,

Ive never seen anyone play

guitar like that guy. And I

know that he has a nylon inhis arsenal, and it was right

around the same time I start-

ed playing nylon, so I wasnt

so worried about playing sot

or just being stuck in light

picking and melody work. It

really got me to change, to

really bang on it.


9/64

9

This question goes back to the

songwriting process. I know that

youre a buddy o Bob Schneider,

whos a great singer-songwriter

rom Texas, and Id read that you

guys have kind o an ongoing

songwriting challenge, where youuse a phrase to spur on songwrit-

ing. Can you talk a little about

that? I think that people who write

songs would be interested in how

that works.

Absolutely. Basically we have a littleonline songwriting support group. Itisnt a test or challenge or somethingwhere anyone is going to win. Wedont even critique each other. Thewhole idea is to stop being so darnprecious about the songs youregoing to write. Stop worrying abouti the world will like it; dont worry iits going to be a single. Dont writeor any other reason than your loveo writing songs and connectingwith your instrument, connectingwith your divine. Whatever reasonyou love to write, this is a songwrit-ing group thats going to supportthat. And to get you started, heresa word or a phrase. So, lets say thephrase is me talking to you. Its as

simple as that. And Ill give you untilFriday to create a song and e-mailit to us all. So, by Friday you get allthese songs in your inbox rom allthese dierent writers, and you heareveryones dierent interpretationo me talking to you. The thing Iturned in or that turned out to beLucky, which was a great hit romthe last record. And the whole songopens with: [plays and sings] Doyou hear me talking to you / Acrossthe water so it gives you a launchpoint to write. I end up writing or myriends and or me instead and orthe sake o a game rather than thepressures o any label or any othergroup that wants me to write. So,I encourage anybody to do it withyour riends because it puts the unback in playing. Like, or me, Ivetaken my hobby and turned it intomy career. And sometimes that canbe a huge distraction. So addingthis game with some songwriters

like Billy Harvey, a tremendous writerrom Austin, Texas, Bob Schneider,Tom Freund, Minnie Driver has got-ten involved, Mike Doughty romSoul Coughing. Every now and thenyou see some real surprises enterthe game. Its all about the Internet.In act, Ive never even met most othe people ace to ace.

The Jason Mra

Signatre Model (JMSM)

Based on the nylon-stringNS72ce, the JMSM hasIndian rosewood back andsides, a Western Red cedartop, and custom inlays. Theretboard inlay eatures thewords Be Love below JasonMrazs circle/triangle symbol,both in Mexican cypress. Therosette design is a series ozodiac symbols in Mexicancypress against a bubingabackground, set in a ring oHawaiian koa. The pickup isthe new ES-N, which comesstandard on all nylon-stringmodels. Each JMSM comeswith a custom guitar label anda certiicate o authenticity,both o which will be signedby Mraz.

Mrazs other Taylors includea 612ce, 714ce, 414ce-R,314ce-LTD, 612ce, NS52ce

and NS72ce.

Note: The prototype picturedhas the Fishman pickup

ormerly installed on ourNS72ce. The ES-N eaturesour standard ES controls on

the upper bout.

Speaking o surprises, I have to

bring up Im Yours because its

been on the charts orever. Its a

song that you wrote ive years ago,

and it was almost a cast-o song

and then got out and through the

underground became this huge hit.Were you surprised by it?

Yeah, totally surprised by it. I wasjust kinda churning on some chordsin my bedroom while I was makingmy second album, and the song justcame out quickly. I wasnt even think-ing o sitting and writing a song, butit just happened so I recorded it, andI thought, cool, its a happy little hip-pie song. I knew Id play it live, but itwasnt ully realized or me to go andput it on the record I was making atthe time. So, I started playing it live,and I noticed that people were reallyresponding to it and singing along,and they started to request it. Havingroad-tested it or three years beorewe put it on the record, it gave me achance to record it with a new energycompared to how it was when I wrote

it. And I honestly just put it on therecord because I elt like it needed ahome or the audiences that alreadyknew it. I didnt really expect it togrow, and here it is two years sinceI recorded it, and it still seems to

be growing in certain parts o theworld. The beauty o the song is thatI wasnt expecting anything out o it. Iwasnt thinking o singles or records.I didnt relate it to that part o my lie.For me, the song is about my relation-ship with whatever inspires me. Iyou listen to the lyrics, its about mesurrendering to that, which gives mesongs. I think or every other listenerits a song about generosity; itsabout giving yoursel or your time tosomeone or something else. A lot opeople relate to it as a love song, likea man giving his lie to his woman alot o people use it in their weddingceremonies. It can be anything towhere you give yoursel up. Becauseas soon as you give it away, youresuddenly ree to receive. And I thinka lot o the success had to do with

the right message at the right time.I think were bored o hearing aboutclimate crisis and economic struggle,and were tired o continuing to sup-port and hear about war and amineand the whole darkness that kind o

saturates the news. Its nice to turnon the radio and, oh, yeah, theresalso light and love thats lourishing inthe world, and I think Im Yours kindo ed that.

Youre getting ready to record

a new album. In act, tomorrow

youre starting. Can you tell us a

little about the material? Is it stu

that youve been playing out and

that youre now ready to record?

There are only a ew songs Iveplayed out so ar. Ive been protectiveo everything else because its newor me. Its a lot more passionate. Itsstill spirited and joyous and positive,but theres a certain, I want to say,anguish, but not rom a negative orheavy side. But theres a certain pas-sion. To me its music that gets you

by the shirt collar and says, Listen tothis. Stop and listen. Because thatswhats happened to me. I dont knowwhere songs come rom. I just liketo pick up a guitar and emote, andits like something has just grabbed

ahold o me and said, This has gotto be done. And Im really moved byit, but I havent yet had an arena togo on stage and do that yet becauseour show has been o a dierent cali-ber. So were basically starting romscratch. We start tomorrow, and Imreally excited to get the basics down.Also, this is the irst album where Ivegot access to the worlds greatestarrangers and voices and collabora-tion partners, and because o thesuccess o Im Yours on our lastrecord, everyone has shown up tosay, How can I help? So, in a sense,Ive got this great opportunity Imone phone call away rom anythingand anyone in the world. Im notaraid to use all those resources onthis record, as well. Im thinking big.My ingers are crossed.


10/64

What happens when you play-

in a guitar? I have a koa

Dreadnought and didnt know i it

would play-in with light ingerpick-

ing or i I need 10 years o heavy

strumming or this eect to take

place. Could you accelerate this

eect at the actory by vibrating

the guitars ater they are made,

on a vibration machine at dier-

ent harmonics or a continuous

period? I understand i its just

another guitar myth, backed up by

perceptions and anecdotes rom

musically knowledgeable people,

but Im curious to see i you have

a more scientiic take on this sub-

ject.

Richard Nelson

Butte, MT

Richard, its more than a myth thatguitars sound better with age andwith playing. However, people dontknow why. Not that it couldnt bestudied, but whos going to dothat? There are some theories, likethe vibrations rom playing breakdown the wood, or the age andseasoning o wood break it downsomewhat. Yes, people have madetime machines to vibrate guitars,and a dierence can be perceived,but not a dierence that is as appar-ent as the natural change in aging.I can tell you this: When spruce isrelatively new, its grain structure islike celery. I you pick at one strandyou can pull o a long strip, evenwith your hands. We clamp bindingto guitars with masking tape andhave to be very careul not to pullup the spruce grain when removingthe tape the next day, as you can

pull a strip out, like pulling a hang-nail gone bad. When a guitar getsold, this is no longer a problem, asthe grain becomes less stringy. Sotoss that into the data bank o thingsthat make you go, Hmm. I havenoticed that guitars change with bothplaying and with age. I have a 20thAnniversary Taylor that sits in a dis-play case in my house. Today it

sounds way better than when it wasnew, with very little playing in its his-tory. Its undeniable. Currently itsgetting played a lot just because itsounds so good. Your guitar will con-tinue to age or the better, and youreort wont really speed or slow theprocess.

I have been gigging [with] a 614

and love it to bits. I am consider-

ing the BTO program. I know I like

the 614 shape and a Florentine

cutaway. I have allen in love with

Macassar ebony and wondered i

that would work as a top, as well

as back and sides? The visual

is important or me, too. I notMacassar ebony, then what sort

o similar, visually appealing tone-

wood would you recommend or

the top?

Ben Hicklin

Ben, I wouldnt recommend an ebonytop. Its just too heavy, too hard. Topwood needs to vibrate. I havent triedovangkol, like the back and sideson a 400 Series, but it would prob-ably make a top similar in soundto koa, which sounds pretty good.Mahogany makes a good top. Thehot ticket, though, on a Macassarebony guitar is sinker redwood withgray streaking that matches the coloro the ebony. Its very limited andcomes and goes here at the actory.You could inquire whether we havesome or not. I own such a guitar,it sounds great, and its amazinghow the looks o these two woodscomplement each other!

I am ortunate enough to own a

Taylor 310 imbuia LTD rom 2001

and love the look, sound and

especially the smell o imbuia. In

my opinion, it is one o the more

underrated exotic woods out there.

Are there any plans to reintroduce

imbuia to the Taylor line or into

the BTO program in the uture?

A custom imbuia Taylor with

the newest voicings would be

wonderul!

Dennis

Greensboro, NC

Dennis, imbuia is a classic exampleo a wood species that needs amuch larger audience than the guitarbuyer. There was a time when otherwoodworkers used imbuia, althoughor what Im not sure. During thattime we bought some. The methodwas to go to a large lumber com-pany that imports the wood and sortthrough it, buying the guitar-gradestock. A year later wed return to doit again, but their inventory wouldbe the same as the previous yearand already picked through. Withoutother people using it, we get noresh stock to select rom. The othermethod is to develop a sourcewhereby the tree is selected and cutinto guitar wood. But we dont useenough to do that. So, we keep oureyes open and look or good imbuiaat the right price when it comesalong. In 10 years it hasnt. It couldchange tomorrow, but it would be

rom some outside inluence thathappens on its own. I can tell youthat Im also a big imbuia an, but 99percent o imbuia is not guitar quality.

I was paging through Wood&Steel

[Fall 2009] and saw the 8-string

head. As a mandolin player my

pulse raced, but I quickly saw that

it was or your baritone series.

Still, wouldnt a mandocello bridge,

saddle and nut be relatively trivial

compared to programming the

headstock?

Ive taken to the mandolin

as my preerred instrument or

tunes. For singing, however, its a

little high pitched, so most oten I

use a guitar. I see artists like Tim

OBrien and Ricky Skaggs use

a mandocello as a vocal rhythm

instrument, and it sounds great.

I think the Taylor sound would

be well suited to a mando amilyinstrument. I, as you say in the

latest Wood&Steel, youre going to

use the growing lexibility o your

manuacturing process to ill spe-

cialty niches like 8-string baritones

and 9-string guitars, why not add

the mandocello to the list?

George Wilson

San Antonio, TX

I just got Volume 61 of Wood&Steel (Fall 2009) and

have fallen in love with the 35th anniversary bari-

tone guitar and the new 8-string baritone. After

reading in the 8-string article the sidebar [about]

the 6-string baritone, I wondered if that option is

simply for a guitar made for baritone purposes, orif I could experiment and try the 6-string baritone

option on my 310ce. Would I be able to use bari-

tone strings?

Chris Garnett

Chris, I think youre asking me if you can put bari-

tone strings on your 310ce and tune it down. If so,

Ill say yes, but its not the same guitar because the

baritone has a much longer fret scale. You need a

longer string to get to the low notes. With a stan-dard guitar scale, when you tune down, the strings

get loose and floppy and dont really do a great job.

This is why its a big deal that we made a baritone:

because it took a real investment to produce the

tooling for an all-new neck. But give it a go; there

are no fret scale police.


Ask BobThe art of aging, elusive imbuia, G-stringdistress and birthday quilt


11/64

Well, George, Ive got to say that ian 8-string baritone is obscure, thenmaking a mandocello would takethat to a new level. Your logic makessense until we try to support theidea with dealers, sales, marketing,etc. For us, its not just a matter

o making anything that could bemade, but also staying in the am-ily o guitars, where we know theinstrument and know the customer.The soonest exception to that mightpossibly be a ukulele, but the bassplayers would ilet me alive i I madea mandocello beore they get theirbass. I hope you understand.

Bob, have you olks ever con-

sidered crating a travel cover

or your hardshell cases, much

like the ones that Colorado Case

Company makes? I love the

Deluxe Hardshell case that came

with my 814ce, but the vinyl gets

beat to pieces! Like every musi-

cian/singer who travels, I gate

check every time its available, but

that means carrying 18 pounds

through many airports. Having

a travel cover would protect the

case itsel, possibly oer even aew more degrees o temperature

protection, and, i you would oer

backpack-like straps, carrying it

as ar as I could through airports

would be a lot easier.

Alan Parks

Myrtle Beach, SC

Alan, yes, weve made them in thepast, and people didnt order them.Like you, I think theyre great. Wellkeep it in mind. It might become aTaylorWare product someday.

Bob, I am very interested in pur-

chasing an acoustic guitar and

was wondering what recommen-

dations you might have or some-

one who does a lot o ingerpick-

ing (Chet Atkins style) and a lot

o chord-strumming backup in a

church band. I thought I wanted

a 614ce. Your thoughts would begreatly appreciated.

Jerry Stanton

Well, Jerry, i you like Chet andstrumming, youve already pickedone o the best guitars when youthink o a 614ce. Its great or bothpurposes. A 514ce is also nice, butit has more breath and high end.

The maple in the 614ce can dig inmore, cuts through the band better,and will always deliver a solid per-ormance with Chet-style playing.

I recently became the proudowner o a beautiul 614c. The

dealer (Electro Music Services in

Doncaster, here in the UK) told

me that the guitar was made o

a particularly highly igured piece

o maple, which had been given

to you as a git or your birthday.

Hence, the guitar gained the nick-

name birthday quilt. I would be

very grateul i you could clariy

this story and perhaps tell me

more about this amazing guitar,

and i any more were made o this

beautiul wood. This is my third

Taylor guitar. In more than 30

years o playing, I have yet to ind

a better instrument than yours.

Graham Campbell

Graham, that story is on the righttrack. Once upon a time, my won-derul wood supplier, Steve McMinn,sent me some killer, over-the-topquilted maple or my birthday. We

coined it birthday quilt, and thename stuck and became a woodgrading word around our shop. Itskind o a un name, you must admit.So, rom then on it was declaredin the Taylor kingdom that any quiltwith such beauty would be reerredto as birthday quilt. Yours is such agrade, just not the actual wood thatI got or my birthday, which is March12, in case you want to make a noteo that.

Ater reading the response to Mr.

Yoburns question [B Keeper

in Letters] in the all issue o

Wood&Steel regarding the myste-

rious small metal button imbed-

ded in the NT neck paddle (its

a magnet used to balance the B

string on the Expression System

pickup), I got to wondering: Do

you add this button to the guitars

you retro-it with the ES, such asthe one you did on my 855ce?

Im not about to remove the neck

mysel to ind out!

Blair Hayes

You bet we do, Blair. But you didntget one because yours is a 12-stringand doesnt need it. It has to dowith the 12-string pickups unique

design and the dierence in stringgauges between 6-string guitars and12-string guitars. I suggest you tellthis to your wie, who will then giveyou permission to run right out andbuy a new 6-string so you can getthe magnet!

I live in Japan, so inding the right

guitar can be somewhat o a

challenge. I have inally ordered

and eagerly await delivery o my

new GS6-12, and I cant tell you

how excited I am! I have done my

homework watching your videos

and have read the technical advice

or maintaining the proper humid-

ity. My problem is that the relative

humidity here is regularly well over

60 percent. I use a dehumidiier,

AC and, in the winter, the heater

to keep my rooms around 50 per-

cent RH. I have hygrometers or

my guitar cases and keep them

acclimatized with the room. While

you go into great detail describing

the eects o low humidity, what

should I watch or in a high humid-

ity environment? Do you have any

other recommendations?

Russ Hagan

Thanks, Russ. Im happy to talkabout high humidity. Lets start withthis: As always, my message is thatthe saest place or a guitar is inits case, not displayed in a house.Now, I realize that I mentioned in aprevious question that I displayed aguitar in my home. Thats becauseI know how. You sound like youredoing all the right stu. I wouldsuggest getting your hands on thePlanet Waves Humidipak and usingit in your case with the guitar. TheHumidipak not only will humidiyyour guitar, but also dehumidiy itbased on the humidity level o theenvironment. Its pretty easy to use.Also, when you remove your guitarrom the case, please close thecase, which will maintain the humid-ity within the case and not allow itto absorb excess moisture rom theatmosphere.

To answer your question abouteects o high humidity, here aresome. Your guitar will swell, and itssound will change, becoming morewet sounding. Thats becausethe excess moisture content addsweight. But it wont crack, and at50-60 percent, it wont swell verymuch. In short, I dont think you havetoo much to worry about i you do

what youre doing now. So, keep theguitar in the case when its not inuse, and pop a Humidipak in with it.

[We also have a pair o relevantTech Sheets posted at taylorguitars.com under Service & Support:

Symptoms o a Wet Guitar andPreventing the Summertime Blues.

Ed.]

Ive owned a Taylor 615 and an810 and have enjoyed them both

a great deal. I noticed in the new

Wood&Steel that the ES system

is available to be installed in all

brands or $500.00. Since one o

the elements o the ES is under

the retboard, does this apply only

to guitars with a bolt-on neck, or

can you accomplish this on a set

neck, as well? For example, my

Martin HD28LSV.

Richard Alan Prow

Richard, or guitars with a set neckwe make a pickup that its into thesoundhole right at the edge o theretboard. The pickup is encased ina very slim and beautiul machined

ebony housing. It looks good, anda set neck guitar can enjoy the ullbeneit o ES.

I bought a Taylor 114ce about

nine months ago. It was a perect

it or me. But I keep encountering

one problem: Sometimes when I

am just jamming out, my G-string

will break right around the nut. I

use Elixir Ultra-Light strings. I am

wondering i it has to do with the

guitar or the strings.

Michael Gibson

...Or the player. Dont orget theplayer, Michael. And please donttake oense, because none isintended. Its just the player is parto the package. Now, the core stringon an ultra-light G string is super-duper small. Its not strong at all.So, ultra-light strings just arent as

strong as normal strings. They needto be played, tuned and treatedas such. So, thats a actor. Also,i the nut is tight at all, or i it hasdeveloped a cross-hatch wear pat-tern in it, that could be a problem.The wraps o a string can wearinto the nut, almost like threads ona bolt. The string needs to slidereely when being tuned and played.

Imagine i the string is slightly hungup, plus its small and not verystrong, and maybe you play harderthan it can stand. All that can addup. Id suggest, irst o, just puttinga little pencil lead in the slot, whichwill lube it. Look with a magniying

glass to see i there are string wrapimpressions in the slot. I so, a luth-ier might be able to smooth thoseout. You might also try a heavierstring just or the G. I hope thatsenough to help you track it down.Give us a call anytime!

With the help o YouTube, I

recently was introduced to a

wonderul tuning (Open Db) that

Jackson Browne uses or some o

his acoustic renditions. This has

caused me to want to keep my

6-string Pelican PG-LTD tuned to

Open Db, but I worry about the

impact on the guitar. Two ques-

tions: Need I worry about keeping

my PG-LTD tuned to Open Db or

an extended period o time, and

second, i I were to purchase a

third Taylor (I also own a 12-string

355ce), what might you recom-

mend to work well with this typeo tuning?

Rob Reiman

Rob, this wont hurt your guitar inthe least. Your truss rod might needto be loosened with the lesser ten-sion, but thats the extent o it. I youwere to buy a new guitar or this, Idgo or a large body like a Jumbo or aGS. Any wood will work, but my irstchoice would be maple.

Got aquestion forBob Taylor?

Shoot him an e-mail:

[email protected].

I you have a speciicrepair or service

concern, please call

our Customer Service

department at

(800) 943-6782,

and well take

care o you.

11


12/64

unique, charitable hobby o sortsamong her repertoire: painting BabyTaylor guitars and seeking out thelegends o Nashville to have themsign the back to be raled o at aundraiser concert, usually one inwhich she was perorming. In planning

to attend PeaceJam that September,Chapman wanted to take herundraising to a new level.

I decided to see i I could havesome really serious artists design theguitars, she says. My plan was totake them with me to the event, andin my dreams I thought, Ill get theNobels to sign them and git them toPeaceJam. Never did I really expect toget all the Nobels to sign!

Five artists committed to theproject, and with the Babys in hand,Chapman and PeaceJam volunteerswere able to make her dream areality. Although it took a nudge romArchbishop Desmond Tutu to getthe Dalai Lamas signature, ultimatelyChapman collected the signatures o10 Nobel winners, including MireadCorrigan-Maguire, Shirin Ebadi, AdoloPerez Esquival, Jos Ramos-Horta,Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Oscar AriasSanchez, Betty Williams and JodyWilliams, on each guitar.

The ive guitars were auctionedo in mid-December on eBay to raisemoney or the PeaceJam Foundation.At press time, the opening bid on eachwas at $2,999.99, and Chapmanhopes they will inspire their luckyowners.

Music and peace have alwaysgone hand in hand, she shares.Young people have so much energy,such great ideas, and they hold thekey to peace in the uture. We oweit to them to inspire them to use theirgits, musical or otherwise, to createa bridge between cultures and unoldinto their lives with a sense o hope orthe uture.bethnielsenchapman.compeacejam.org

Building WellsAcross the Country

L.A.-based singer-songwriter

Trone Wells (810, GSRS) wasproiled in a cover story on Pollstarmagazine in November about thegrassroots approach hes taken tobuilding his career. The article relatesWells experience o signing up witha big-time booking agency, only tolanguish due to the bigger ish on itsroster. Wells eventually moved on,booking shows himsel, many on the

band like ours to get this opportunity,Lippencott explains. We wanted tocreate a video that was a throwbackto the great stories o thievery, likean Oceans Eleven or The ItalianJob. We contacted a local museum,and they graciously let us use their

space. On the wall there were superexpensive paintings, and the thoughto putting the guitar in a glass casejust seemed like such a cool idea.myspace.com/thenresultyoutube.com/thenresult

TaylorspottingTo lead o his interview in the

January issue o Acoustic Guitarmagazine, ormer CreedenceClearwater Revival rontman JohnFogert was eatured in a ull-spreadphoto with his ES-equipped 510,his main stage acoustic. Fogertytalks about his 15-year rededicationto improving his playing technique,including a hybrid latpick/ingerstyleapproach inspired by Nashvilleplayers, and the making o his recentsolo record, The Blue Ridge RangersRides Again Champion surer RobMachado and his longtime riend,

sur ilmmaker Taylor Steele, recentlycollaborated to create The Driter,a ilm that ollows Machado as heventures through Indonesia in searcho waves and sel-awareness. Theilm, which was released in November,blends elements o a solitary, soul-searching adventure with Machadosexperiences with local villagers hemeets along the way. Machado hadpicked up a Baby Taylor or the trip,and it gets some camera time in theilm In November, singer-songwriterKat Perr released a DVD o herMTV Unpluggedperormance romJuly o 2009. Perry played her 814ceon several songs during the showI you like old school R&B and soul,dont miss Raphael Saadiqsacoustic set rom NPRs Tiny DeskSeries, which you can ind archivedon NPRs website and YouTube.com. Saadiq and guitar partnerRob Bacon cover three tunesrom Saadiqs Grammy-nominated

2008 album, The Way I See It, asweet throwback to the days o theTemptations and late 60s soul. Themini-set eatures Saadiq on a 314ceand Bacon on an 810ce as theystrip their tunes down to their pure,unplugged essence. Saadiqs voice and the guitars sound great.

college circuit, wheres hes becomeenormously popular, and later signingwith a smaller agency that betterunderstood the types o venues andcrowd draws he could realisticallyexpect. Managing his touring logisticsand expenses smartly, Wells says, has

allowed him and his band to supportthemselves on tour, even when playingto modest crowds, as they continue tocultivate their audience base acrossthe country. Wells has also gainedexposure through song placement onTV shows like One Tree Hill, TheVampire Diaries, Rescue Me, andin promos or Greys Anatomy. Hescurrently on tour in support o hissecond album, Remain.Tyronewells.com

The N Result:Gear and Studio Time

Earlier this year, Taylor Guitars andElixir Strings partnered up to giveone lucky band or artist the ultimatein guitars and strings. Musicianswho had registered with the band-promoting website Sonicbids.comwere invited to TestDrive 2009, a an-avorite contest that would award ive

select artists with Taylor SolidBodyguitars and Elixir strings and cables.One overall winner would be awardedrecording time at a marquee studio.

Out o 2,000 entrants, 25 werevoted into the semiinals, and o those25, ive inalists were chosen by theTaylor Guitars and Elixir Strings artistrelations teams. The top ive includedpower rockers The Better World,singer-songwriter Matt Dke, genre-crossing band The N Reslt, modernpop act Kenotia, and energeticrockers Facing Forward. In theend, it was the New Brunswick, NewJersey-based band The N Resultthat took the top prize. The band hasamassed a strong ollowing both oncampus at Rutgers University (wheremost o the band are students) andalong the East Coast.

We are so excited to record,exclaimed Ross Lippencott, thebands lead vocalist and guitarist,upon hearing the good news. As

part o the contest, each band hadto make a video showing how theywere using their gear. Lippencott andhis bandmates decided to make aull-scale, heist-themed music videoeaturing their song Break it Downo their debut album, Lines.

We wanted to portray how weelt about having premium productsand what it means to an emerging

A Heroic EffortEver since we heard about the

lineup o guests on Dole Dkesnew DVD, Live Sessions: People...Places...and Pickin which includesPhil Keagg, Dane Edd, TommEmmanel and Steve Wariner weve been champing at the bit to geta taste o what Doyle and riends hadcooked up. Alas, our press deadlinekept us rom a reviewing it this issue,but by the time youre reading this, itshould be available. Doyle says theproject initially was going to be aollow-up to his Bridging the Gap CD,eaturing him playing live but withoutan audience, in various settings. Butaccording to Doyle, the death olegendary guitar innovator Les Paulchanged the concept.

Ater I got word that our oldriend had died, I elt part o me wasgone, Doyle explains. Then one dayI realized that there are so many greatmusicians who I admire, and the actis there are still heroes out there. So,

I called some o my own personalheroic riends and amily. Suddenlythis project escalated into a wholedierent realm. It was like heaven andearth kissed and I got caught up in themiddle o the smack!

Among the recording locationswere the studios o Ricky Skaggs andSteve Wariner, along with Doylesown living room. Other guestsincluded Dave Pomero, JimmCapps and John Gardner, plusDoyles son Caleb, daughter Haleyand brother Aubrey. In addition tothe perormances, theres plenty obonus ootage, including an interviewbetween Doyle and Bob Taylor at theTaylor actory, along with interviewsrom his Bridging the Gap sessions.Look or a ull review next issue. Youcan order the DVD at doyledykes.com.

Western WinsCongratulations to the 2009

Western Music Association MalePerormer o the Year Bill Barwickand Female Perormer o the YearJni Fisher. Barwick, a longtime 410player, is a multiple award-winningcowboy perormer and a regular atevents like the Walnut Valley Festivalin Winield, Kansas and the ColoradoCowboy Poetry Gathering. Barwick

was presented with a brand newDN8 at the WMA awards event inNovember, and dropped us a thank-you note shortly aterward, ollowinghis regular gig at the BuckhornExchange in Denver, to say the guitarcame out o its case player readyand that it works perectly.

Fisher, a multiple WMA winner inrecent years, took home a GS5 andalso e-mailed us a gracious thank-you,ollowing up a couple o weeks laterater some quality time with her newguitar. A longtime Larrivee player,Fisher said that Taylors had neverresonated through her the right way.But when she sat down with the GS5,her reaction was dierent.

Oh, my goodness, theresponsiveness, the clarity o tone, thesustain: all there, she said via e-mail. Iespecially like the rich bass tones. Thisbeauty will go into the studio with meor my next album (along with a coupleo Larrivees) to go on some tracks I

am most delighted with this GS5.Other Taylor-playing WMA award

winners this year included DaveStame (Entertainer o the Year);the Sons o the San Joaqin(Traditional Duo/Group); and JimCrl Msgrave (Instrumentalisto the Year). On a sad note, welearned at our press deadline thatMusgrave had succumbed to a braintumor on December 13. Our deepestcondolences go out to his amily.

A Nobel CauseIn September o 2006, on the

10th anniversary o the oundingo the non-proit organizationPeaceJam, 10 Nobel Peace PrizeLaureates and thousands o kids romaround the world came together inDenver, Colorado to celebrate theorganizations commitment to ostera new generation o young leaders

committed to positive change inthemselves, their communities andthe world. Among the attendees wasTaylor an and singer/songwriter BethNielsen Chapman, who has pennednumerous hits or a wide selectiono artists, including Faith Hill and herGrammy-nominated song, This Kiss.While known or her poignant lyricalcompositions, Chapman counts a


Sondings


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Clockws from top lft: PeaceJams painted Baby Taylors

and their Nobel Laureate signers; The N Result; Tyrone Wells

on stage during a sold-out show at the House of Blues in

Anaheim, California (photo by Max Roper); (L-R) WMA

winners Juni Fisher and Bill Barwick with their new Taylors

(photo by Lori Faith Merritt); Katy Perry performs on MTV

Unplugged (photo by Frank Micelotta)


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A Conrsaton

wt Bob Taylor

2010vsonBob talks about t

companys crat

plosopy, t 2010

gutar ln, and Taylors

commtmnt to customrs


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15

was a great year

or creativity, relects Bob Taylorrom his oice on a late Novemberaternoon, assessing a year thatother manuacturers might be less

keen to dwell upon. Despite 2009seconomic slump, Taylor ared wellrelative to the MI industry as awhole, buoyed by product develop-ment eorts that led to a bounty oexciting new guitar oerings. Theyear saw the successul debut othe semi-hollowbody T3, the ormallaunch o a ully loaded Build toOrder program, and an expansiono the SolidBody electric line toinclude an optional tremolo, newcolors, and plug and play loaded

pickguards. The Nylon Series wel-comed the NS24, new artist signa-ture models were born, and severalseries o limited editions, includingspring and all LTDs, culminatedwith Taylors bold and inspiring 35thanniversary collection. That creativesurge delivered a parlor guitar, abaritone, a 9-string, and, in anotherbreakthrough moment, an 8-stringbaritone.

In plenty o ways, the year was

hardly business as usual, but as Bobpoints out, everyyear whether anup or a down year brings a uniqueset o challenges. And within thosechallenges lie unique opportunitiesor creative companies.

When youre growing, you tendnot to ocus on small-selling items,Bob says. You ocus on the bigtickets. You might spend your tool-ing or design money on making theactory eicient so you can produceand sell more o your top-selling

models. I youre not growing, youmight think, we need to get wherewe need to be one guitar at a time,which means that 35 9-strings mightbe welcome, where another year wewouldnt have time or that.

While creativity has never beenlacking around the Taylor complex,the key, Bob says, is to apply it tothe right projects. In 2009, wewere willing to look at guitars wewouldnt necessarily sell in high

volume. But out o that comes somepretty cool stu.Having built Taylor into a suc-

cessul company that has becomesynonymous with innovation, Bobshares his thoughts on the underly-ing Taylor philosophy that continuesto guide the companys eorts mov-ing orward through 2010.

A Manactring-DrivenApproach

I think lie is about 10 percentideas and about 90 percent imple-mentation, Bob says. Once an ideais out there, you have to igure out

how to make it real. This is wheremost people or companies ail, andthis is where we excel as a company.

What helps Taylor implementideas better than other companies,Bob eels, are vision and passion.

We are a builder-driven com-pany, not a sales-driven company,he elaborates. Companies that lackinnovation, I believe, are run by theirsales orce. And the sales orce reallywants the best-sellers at a lowerprice. Were a company driven by our

love o the guitar. I I say we wantto make something, we start makingit. I can add enough excitement to

a project and release the unds todo it because we believe that thisthing needs to live and breathe. Wecan hear an electric pickup and go,I guess were in the electric guitarbusiness. Thats not a sales-drivendecision. Its like its our destiny. Wehave to now put a design shoulderto the task o making a cool guitar sothese pickup ideas can live.

The same mindset was appliedin 2009, and as a result, three mod-els a 6-string baritone, an 8-stringbaritone (a spino rom the 6-stringbaritone and a 9-string) and a 12-retGrand Concert inspired enoughexcitement that they were added tothe Taylor line or 2010.

Ive allen in love with that 12-retGC, Bob says. Its that pure andwonderul. Weve got something inour lineup that aects me that way,and it all sort o happened becausemy building team and I got excitedabout them and I was able to pull the

trigger on them. There are excitedbuilders at other guitar companies,but oten times, nobody in that grouphas the authority to pull the trigger.Thats the dierence.

Ater last years 35th anniversaryembrace o more niche-orientedguitars like the parlor, 9-string andbaritone, the question on the mindso Taylor enthusiasts or 2010 might

be, Whats next? Not surprisingly,requests or other specialty instru-ments that Taylor has never madebeore continue to trickle in, like amandocello (see Ask Bob) and atenor guitar.

Give them an inch and theyll takea mile, Bob laughs. As ar as themore obscure guitars go, a lot owhat we chose to build this past yearwas based on steady requests over apretty long time. It would make moresense or us to develop the bassnext. People are also dying or us tomake ukuleles.

But hes not ready to promiseeither.

I think 2010 will be a bit dierentthan 2009 in that we will ind our-

selves needing to make more guitarsrom Taylors standard line, Bob says.We ended up selling well in the

stores this year, so there will be someinventory pipeline well want to ill tokeep the right amount o inventory instores.

Bob concedes that the year wontpass by without Taylor introducingsomething entirely new. In act, thereare a couple o development proj-ects in the works that Bob and histeam are very excited about, but itstoo early to make an announcement.However, the company was plan-ning to bring some prototypes to the

NAMM show in January, so it wont belong beore the word starts to get out.

More Cstom CapabilitAlongside the standard Taylor line,

an emerging theme that delivers evenmore possibilities in 2010 is modelcustomization. In 2009, the ability toorder a custom guitar through TaylorsBuild to Order (BTO) program quicklycaught on with dealers and custom-ers. Hundreds o BTO guitars were

ordered last year, and now that theprogram is well-established and moredealers are hip to the ordering pro-cess, the program is poised or moregrowth in 2010.

We could potentially become theworlds largest custom guitar com-pany, Bob says. People are gettingused to the idea that these guitarsare available, that its not so exclusive

it

We are a builder-driven company,not a sales-driven company. Compa-nies that lack innovation, I believe,are run by their sales force.

or diicult to order one, and that youdont have to wait orever to get one.

Taylors BTO program expandsits menu options or 2010, includingthe ability to order a custom 9-string,12-ret or baritone acoustic, as well

as an optional armrest or backstrap.The T5 can be custom-ordered withbinding o maple, koa, or ebony. (Seeour BTO spread on pages 48-49.)

Meanwhile, greater customizationis a driving orce behind this yearsexpanded line o SolidBody electrics.Customers will have more colorchoices or the Classic, and numer-ous pickup conigurations will beoered or the Classic, Standard andCustom. The Standard and Customare also available with a pickguard

this year, and a new Vintage Alnico(VA) humbucker also joins the mix.(See our SolidBody coverage onpages 38-43.)

Raising the Bar onCstomer Spport

As passionate as Taylor is aboutguitar making, the company is equallycommitted to being a ull-serviceresource that helps people with virtu-ally every aspect o their relationship

with guitars.I think its about time a guitarcompany gives service like we expectrom other companies that we buythings rom, Bob says. I you buy aCanon camera, you want someoneat Canon to back you up. I youbuy a car, you want service. WhenI irst started, guitar company ser-

vice meant ixing your guitar underwarranty i something went wrong.Thats how it was deined until westarted to change it and make it moreservice-like a combination o pre-sale ino, tech support, straight-up

repairs, and reerrals to authorizedpeople in your area who can get youtaken care o really ast. For us, ser-vice might be answering questionsabout care o the guitar. It might beanswering questions about your nextpurchase and how that guitar mightbe dierent than your others. It mightbe answering questions about thetone or speciic applications.

People just want to eel likethey can call and get support, Bobcontinues. So we oer that. We

have six people on the phone, justanswering calls, talking with peopleabout guitars all day long. Thats big.Im sure it helps us sell guitars, butthats not really the point. The point isto treat someone who already boughta guitar as well as you treat someonewho might buy a guitar. Thats reallywhat service means to me. Becausein reality, youll roll out the red carpetor someone whos thinking o buy-ing. Why not roll out the red carpet

or the person who already bought?I you can treat the person whoalready paid as well as you treat theperson whose money you want, Ithink youre doing a good thing.

You can read more about ourCustomer Service department in ourGuitar Guide on page 52.


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new year brings resh possibilities, and our 2010 guitar

line is no exception. Boasting more guitar choices than ever beore,this years lineup o Taylor models celebrates the many lavors o

musical inspiration, some already discovered, others yet to be born

in your hands. Whether youre a beginner, a virtuoso, or somewhere

in between, our guitars promise a playing experience that brings out

your best.

In our 2010 Guitar Guide, we present an overview o the many

lavors o Taylor tone that are available to you. Like people, each gui-

tar has its own unique personality, and with more than 100 dierent

standard Taylor models on the menu, our guide is intended to help

you ind the right one.

This year were pleased to welcome three resh acoustic voicesto the line as part o our Specialty series. Two o them are baritone

models, a 6-string inspired by our 35th anniversary LTD and an

8-string we introduced last issue. Joining them is an amazing new

12-ret rosewood Grand Concert, also inspired by a 35th anniver-

sary model.

As we detail elsewhere in this issue, our Artist Series continues

to grow this year, starting with a new signature nylon-string designed

with popular singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, a longtime Taylor player.

We also debut a new pickup or our nylons, the Expression System-

derived ES-N.

In our electric division, the big news is the evolution o our

SolidBody series to oer a much greater ability to custom-order amodel. Now you can choose rom a variety o options that include

new colors, new pickup conigurations, pickguards now available

or the Standard and Custom and a tremolo option or any model.

We also have a new pickup, a vintage alnico humbucker. And rom

the T5 series comes the new ovangkol-top T5 Classic.

Each year it seems to get a little harder to contain the Taylor line

or very long because were constantly working on new designs that

spring to lie throughout the year. But we wouldnt have it any other

way.

As you lea through the ollowing pages, we hope you get a

sense o one o our underlying goals: to make the guitar-playingexperience more enjoyable. We do it through constant innovation

that redeines what a guitar can be, and we do it through the kind o

customer outreach and support that strives to help you enrich your

lie through music.

L-R: Bob Taylor and Jason Mraz at the Taylor actory in December.

16

THE 2010

guitar guide

Specialt acostics,

cstom electrics, and more

expand this ears Talor line

A


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Choosing a guitar is a highlypersonal, subjective process. This

is both the beauty and the chal-

lenge o inding the right model

one that inspires you and deliv-ers the sounds that youre ater.

Each person has dierent playing

mechanics, we each perceive tone

in a unique way, and our attrac-

tion to a certain look may get in

the way o inding the right sound.

Understanding a ew basic ideas

about the actors that contribute

to acoustic and electric guitar tone

will streamline your search and

help you ind the most compatible

instrument or your musical needs.

Keep in mind that certain gui-

tars are highly versatile, whileothers shine in a more specialized

playing application, so knowing

what you want always helps. I you

arent sure, you can always talk to

a Taylor dealer or call Ben Bena-

vente at the Taylor actory (1-888

2TAYLOR) or recommendations.

When Taylor product specialists

talk with customers at Road Shows

about acoustic guitars, they oten

start by oering this basic tone

equation or reerence:

A gitars bod shape + thetonal properties o woods +

plaer techniqe = gitar tone

In other words, a guitars dimen-

sions generate the guitars unda-

mental sound, the types o woods

used or the guitar help lavor that

sound, and the way one plays inter-

acts with those tonal attributes. The

idea is to choose a body shape and

combination o woods that respond

well to the way you play. For

example, i youre a lively strummer

who wants a lot o volume, a small-bodied guitar may not be right or

you. Or, i youre a ingerstyle player

who craves a warm sound with rich

overtones, maple probably wont

cut it. Working out your own per-

sonal tone equation will help you

ind some great model options. Grand Auditorium (GA)

The medium-size GA gave the worldan identity-deining Taylor shape

Fndng Your FtT rgt parng of sap and woods wll lad youto a Taylor tat sounds grat on you

Acostic ShapesA guitars overall shape deines

how big the soundboard is, and

a bigger shape tends to translate

into more tone because theresmore surace area vibrating with

the strings. Each Taylor shape ea-

tures a reined design that helps

establish a distinctive sound or

that guitar. Heres a rundown o

our ive standard shapes and their

accompanying sounds.


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Grand Auditorium (GA)

The medium-size GA gave the worldan identity-deining Taylor shapeand sound. It was big enough tocompete with the bigger, traditionaldreadnought shape, long establishedin the acoustic world, yet the GAoered more sonic balance instead

o a bass-dominant tone. The slightlytapered waist helps create an evenblend between the bass, midrangeand treble notes. That tonal balancecomes through or strummers, theclarity suits ingerstyle playing, andthe overall presence sits well in astudio mix with other instruments.The GA is a superb all-purpose gui-tar shape that rewards players withversatility and incredible range.

Grand Symphony (GS)

I you crave acoustic horsepower iyoure a strummer or picker who likesto drive a guitar and get ull-bodiedtone and robust volume, yet withoutcompromising balance the GSis your shape. I ts Taylors boldest,richest acoustic voice, and, like agood sports car, blends power withresponsiveness, which means playerscan drive the GS hard without sacri-icing clarity.

Grand Concert (GC)Taylors smallest body shape eaturesa slender waist that helps curb theovertones. As a result, the GC tendsto occupy less sonic space, whichhelps it blend well with other instru-ments both on stage and in a record-ing mix. Because o its tonal clarity,the GC is well suited or ingerstyleand or

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Guitar Guide