Author Topic: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway  (Read 1483 times)

ave

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Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« on: January 10, 2018, 05:11:51 PM »
Hello from England ! I would like to address members of this august forum in the hope of enlightenment regarding a guitar I was bequeathed some years ago on the passing away  of a dear friend, fellow musician and fellow lover of American guitars.
Our mutual friendship was based on a love of 'The American Songbook' (whatever that may be ) but we came from almost opposite sides of that almost infinite spectrum, him from the folk/blues WC Handy Library of Congress Recordings end and myself from Jazz !
Anyway his estate left me this beautiful Taylor 615 CE model serial number 980622113 which is a non-cutaway, Jumbo-esque style guitar.
It looks like all maple with an ebony stripe on the back,it is bound with a nice rosette around the soundhole in what may be pearl ?
and is appointed with a Fishman pick-up with a soundbar and flexible microphone underneath- Rare Earth ?
It is beautiful on the eye and the sound has an almost incandescent quality which I was not expecting - full in the lower register with non intrusive timbre but a richness that does not overimpose on the almost delicate mids and the clarity and fullness of the trebles. I have had limited success in researching this model= is it rare ? I am a Gibson ES175 and Les Paul Goldtop player and my only other acoustic guitar is a Guild Songbird so my knowledge of these matters is at best limited and at worst Internet search-led !Any help much appreciated, Cheers. ave.

mgap

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Re: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 12:02:07 AM »
I believe that you have a real gem of a Jumbo maple guitar there.  Here is a way to decode the serial number.  I found it on the Taylor website.  Hope it helps.

9-Digit Serial Numbers

From 1993 until the end of 1999, each Taylor guitar featured a nine-digit serial number that pinpoints when work began on that guitar, along with its series and production position. See the explanation for serial number 980311301 below:

980311301 First two digits indicate the year - 98 (1998)

980311301 3rd & 4th digits indicate the two-digit month - 03 (March)

980311301 5th & 6th digit indicate the day - 11 (the 11th)

980311301 7th digit is a series code number - 0 for 300 or 400 Series, 1 for 500 through Presentation Series, 2 for 200 Series, 3 for a Baby, 4 for a Big Baby, 5 for a T5, 7 for Nylon Series, 8 for 100 Series, and 9 for SolidBody Series. This example is number 3, a Baby.

980311301 Last two digits indicate the guitar's position in that day's production sequence.
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Hank T. Tone

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Re: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2019, 06:00:35 PM »
Keep that gem! I have a 615(ce), and it's nearly always the one i reach for these days. Beautiful balanced sound with a strong projection, which is why they call it "the canon." Said able to pierce a string quartet.
Hank T. Tone

Taylor 714CEL
Taylor 615CEL
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SDTaylorman

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Re: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2019, 06:25:11 PM »
Not a really rare one but sounds like a beauty! I'd recommend you contact Taylor Customer Service with the serial number. Besides getting it registered to you (it was probably registered to your friend as the original owner) they'll tell you everything you want to know (and likely even more!) about your particular instrument. Here's the info:

Email: support@taylorguitars.com

United States and Canada: 1-800-943-6782 from Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (PST)

Europe: +31 (0)20 667 6033 from Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (CET)

Now go enjoy that guitar!  :)

Earl

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Re: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2019, 10:14:12 AM »
I have a 615ce, with cutaway built in 2010.  It may be the last jumbo they built, as the x15 Jumbo body was discontinued in favor of the x18 Grand Orchestra that year.  Without a cutaway, technically yours would be a 615e (no "c") but there have been many cases where the label is not quite right on that point.  Your description sounds like an aftermarket pickup system in it.  The serial number definitely tracks to 1998.  The rosette is most likely abalone.  The large jumbo body helps to tame the inherent brightness of a maple guitar by adding low end horsepower.

Enjoy it and remember your friend fondly.
Taylors:  424-LTD (all koa) and a 114ce that lives with friends in Alaska.  Low maintenance carbon fiber guitars are my "thing" these days, but I will always keep the koa 424.  Several ukulele and bass guitars too. 
*Gone but not forgotten:  a 2001 414ce, 410, 354-LTD twelve string, 314-N, 416-LTD baritone, T5 Classic, 615ce, 2006 GS-K, 1996 (first year) Baby

Shutterbug

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Re: Taylor 615 CE non cutaway
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2019, 01:10:10 PM »
Without a cutaway, technically yours would be a 615e (no "c") but there have been many cases where the label is not quite right on that point. 

I do know that, for a while, at least, Taylor didn't offer a 615 (this was in the mid to late 2000's). They only offered the "ce" model. You could order a 615ce without the cutaway, but it was still, technically, a 615ce, and Taylor considered it as such...
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