Working in a guitar shop can be a lot of fun. I mean, let's face it, there are certainly worse ways to make a living and, as with any other job, I suppose, every once in a while you happen upon a day which makes your job seem just a bit more cool than it normally is.
This past Monday was one of those days.
Some background:
Last October, Carrie (our fearless leader and store Manager) and I had the privilege of visiting Taylor's huge campus in El Cajon, California. During that visit, we were able to select woods to be used on "Build To Order" (BTO) guitars. The cool part about that is that the woods offered up when we visit Taylor are quite often woods which might be wildly figured, rare, or otherwise just normally hard to come by. The pinnacle of such wood is known as being "off menu", meaning that it's not listed on Taylor's BTO options sheet.
Last October, Carrie (our fearless leader and store Manager) and I had the privilege of visiting Taylor's huge campus in El Cajon, California. During that visit, we were able to select woods to be used on "Build To Order" (BTO) guitars. The cool part about that is that the woods offered up when we visit Taylor are quite often woods which might be wildly figured, rare, or otherwise just normally hard to come by. The pinnacle of such wood is known as being "off menu", meaning that it's not listed on Taylor's BTO options sheet.
We enjoy a ridiculously close relationship with the folks at Taylor Guitars, and that sometimes reaps rewards. We work hard to represent their line and, in return, they'll help us out when and where they can. We knew we wanted something special and we knew we wanted something spectacular. With the help of Joe Bina and Andy Powers from Taylor Guitars, that's exactly what we got.
Laid out before us in the "wood room" were stacks of amazing Koa, Walnut, Madagascar Rosewood, various flavors of Spruce; you name it. As gorgeous as all of it was, though, there was nothing that really reached out and grabbed us by the throat.
"C'mon, Joe", I recall us saying, "we want something special".
He looked down at the stacks of wood before him with a quizzical look on his face. He thought. He pondered. And then he had it.
"Okay, hold on".
As he returned with a set of wood under his arm, he uttered those magic words that we always long to hear: "Okay, I don't have too much of this stuff. It's off-menu".
Those magical words.
"Off menu".
He set the wood down in front of us, almost reverently. He laid it down as if he were afraid it might shatter. He stepped back and looked at the wood as though he had just discovered fire. Well, it wasn't fire.
It was Amazon Rosewood.
It didn't take us long to decide that we wanted to offer a guitar built from this to our customers and, with the help of Andy Powers, we paired the Amazon Rosewood with some Alpine Swiss Moon Spruce (which was also off-menu).
We left Taylor Guitars that day very happy with what we managed to do. As a direct result of our close ties with Taylor, we were able to get a very special wood set to offer to our customers in the form of a Taylor "BTO".
Well, that guitar showed up a mere 49 days after we put it on order:
Cosmetically, we took some liberties. We opted for a bound soundhole, which is actually not unusual, as it's one of the classier options offered in BTO. In our case, we opted for Ivoroid binding on the body, soundhole and along the blank fretboard. Since we'd already gotten an off-menu wood set, we decided to find out how far we could take it. We started with an Amazon Rosewood peghead veneer and matching truss rod cover (both gloss). Then we brought the Amazon Rosewood flair down to the top of the guitar, which has a slight bit of bearclaw in it, by including an elegant Amazon rosewood rosette.
Look at your BTO sheet and let me know when you find those options.
I'll wait.
Visually, this guitar is stunning. It's almost over-the-top in its simplicity. But a good looking guitar is only that: good looking. "How does it look?" is only one third of the "big question trifecta", which also includes "How does it sound?" and "How does it play?".
Sonically, the guitar is an absolute joy. The Adirondack bracing we opted for pairs ridiculously well with the Alpine Spruce top, and allows the top to resonate freely and brightly. The Amazon Rosewood permits all of the attributes you'd come to expect from Rosewood, but with a slightly increased bass response and rich overtones. The highs are almost crystalline, and there's a distinct separation among the notes which you don't necessarily expect.
This guitar is a strong strummer, and those who lean towards using a pick will not be disappointed. The description "lap cannon" fits here, and it fits well. Likewise, the guitar is extremely responsive and warm when played fingerstyle and the top has a sweet resonance which is difficult to describe with words. Think of the feeling you get when you're working out at the gym, and you're all hot and sweaty and then you walk outside and that first blast of cool brisk air hits your face.
That's how sweet it is.
So, yes, the "How does it sound?" question has been answered.
That leaves us with that third aspect; the missing piece to the fire triangle of our impending guitar bliss:
"How does it play?"
The guitar is short scale and at 24-7/8" it plays almost effortlessly. The slightly reduced string tension makes for easier bends while, at the same time, helps with those mega-fret finger-stretching chords you've tried (probably unsuccessfully until now) to play. The nut is Taylor's standard 1-3/4" and, like the saddle, is Tusq. Taylor's renowned ES pickup is installed, making the guitar stage ready, whether that stage is in front of a 1,000 seat auditorium or in front of the couches and easy chairs at the local coffee house.
It would be real easy for me and Carrie to sit back and take all the credit for having designed this profoundly wonderful instrument but, truth be told, the wood selection and "design" of it are only two facets which are joined together in this guitar. We would be remiss if we neglected to acknowledge the talents of the Taylor Guitars team down in El Cajon, California. See, we had the easy part. We just had to tell them what we wanted. They had to pull it off, and that was made only more difficult due to the fact that a lot of what we wanted was "off menu".
They did pull it off, though, and they did so with flying colors. As a result, we're now able to offer you this incredible instrument, one which you're simply not going to find anywhere else. Give us a call or, better yet, stop in and Carrie or I will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about this wonderful guitar.
Laid out before us in the "wood room" were stacks of amazing Koa, Walnut, Madagascar Rosewood, various flavors of Spruce; you name it. As gorgeous as all of it was, though, there was nothing that really reached out and grabbed us by the throat.
"C'mon, Joe", I recall us saying, "we want something special".
He looked down at the stacks of wood before him with a quizzical look on his face. He thought. He pondered. And then he had it.
"Okay, hold on".
As he returned with a set of wood under his arm, he uttered those magic words that we always long to hear: "Okay, I don't have too much of this stuff. It's off-menu".
Those magical words.
"Off menu".
He set the wood down in front of us, almost reverently. He laid it down as if he were afraid it might shatter. He stepped back and looked at the wood as though he had just discovered fire. Well, it wasn't fire.
It was Amazon Rosewood.
 |
| Joe Bina checks a Grand Auditorium template against the Amazon Rosewood we selected... |
 |
| Carrie with our sets of Amazon Rosewood and Alpine Swiss Moon Spruce... |
It didn't take us long to decide that we wanted to offer a guitar built from this to our customers and, with the help of Andy Powers, we paired the Amazon Rosewood with some Alpine Swiss Moon Spruce (which was also off-menu).
We left Taylor Guitars that day very happy with what we managed to do. As a direct result of our close ties with Taylor, we were able to get a very special wood set to offer to our customers in the form of a Taylor "BTO".
Well, that guitar showed up a mere 49 days after we put it on order:
 |
| Taylor Guitars "Build To Order" in Amazon Rosewood and Alpine Swiss Moon Spruce... |
 |
| Incredible grain patterns abound... |
Cosmetically, we took some liberties. We opted for a bound soundhole, which is actually not unusual, as it's one of the classier options offered in BTO. In our case, we opted for Ivoroid binding on the body, soundhole and along the blank fretboard. Since we'd already gotten an off-menu wood set, we decided to find out how far we could take it. We started with an Amazon Rosewood peghead veneer and matching truss rod cover (both gloss). Then we brought the Amazon Rosewood flair down to the top of the guitar, which has a slight bit of bearclaw in it, by including an elegant Amazon rosewood rosette.
Look at your BTO sheet and let me know when you find those options.
I'll wait.
 |
| Detail of the Ivoroid bound soundhole and Amazon Rosewood rosette... |
 |
| A full shot of a very classy rosette... |
 |
| Amazon Rosewood peghead veneer and matching truss rod cover... |
 |
| The back of the guitar, which shows off the Ivoroid binding... |
Visually, this guitar is stunning. It's almost over-the-top in its simplicity. But a good looking guitar is only that: good looking. "How does it look?" is only one third of the "big question trifecta", which also includes "How does it sound?" and "How does it play?".
Sonically, the guitar is an absolute joy. The Adirondack bracing we opted for pairs ridiculously well with the Alpine Spruce top, and allows the top to resonate freely and brightly. The Amazon Rosewood permits all of the attributes you'd come to expect from Rosewood, but with a slightly increased bass response and rich overtones. The highs are almost crystalline, and there's a distinct separation among the notes which you don't necessarily expect.
This guitar is a strong strummer, and those who lean towards using a pick will not be disappointed. The description "lap cannon" fits here, and it fits well. Likewise, the guitar is extremely responsive and warm when played fingerstyle and the top has a sweet resonance which is difficult to describe with words. Think of the feeling you get when you're working out at the gym, and you're all hot and sweaty and then you walk outside and that first blast of cool brisk air hits your face.
That's how sweet it is.
So, yes, the "How does it sound?" question has been answered.
That leaves us with that third aspect; the missing piece to the fire triangle of our impending guitar bliss:
"How does it play?"
The guitar is short scale and at 24-7/8" it plays almost effortlessly. The slightly reduced string tension makes for easier bends while, at the same time, helps with those mega-fret finger-stretching chords you've tried (probably unsuccessfully until now) to play. The nut is Taylor's standard 1-3/4" and, like the saddle, is Tusq. Taylor's renowned ES pickup is installed, making the guitar stage ready, whether that stage is in front of a 1,000 seat auditorium or in front of the couches and easy chairs at the local coffee house.
 |
| It's been a while since I've had this much fun playing a guitar... |
 |
| Yep, it's a Custom! |
 |
| And here it is with all the case candy, including a clear pickguard, should you want to install it... |
 |
| Carrie tested... Carrie approved... |
It would be real easy for me and Carrie to sit back and take all the credit for having designed this profoundly wonderful instrument but, truth be told, the wood selection and "design" of it are only two facets which are joined together in this guitar. We would be remiss if we neglected to acknowledge the talents of the Taylor Guitars team down in El Cajon, California. See, we had the easy part. We just had to tell them what we wanted. They had to pull it off, and that was made only more difficult due to the fact that a lot of what we wanted was "off menu".
They did pull it off, though, and they did so with flying colors. As a result, we're now able to offer you this incredible instrument, one which you're simply not going to find anywhere else. Give us a call or, better yet, stop in and Carrie or I will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about this wonderful guitar.
