Author Topic: Intro & GA 12th Fret -- the next step in Guitar Evolution!  (Read 3218 times)

DDG

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Intro & GA 12th Fret -- the next step in Guitar Evolution!
« on: September 21, 2017, 12:07:06 AM »
Hi, John Taylor here (sadly, no relation) from Gracewinds/Musical Supply Direct and Dream Deal Guitars in Philomath and Springfield, OR.  Gracewinds/MSD (MSD) is a showroom level Taylor dealer, the current rendition being a spinoff from the 40-year young family business owned and operated in Corvallis in a 4-story brick building until this January.  The retail store there closed, the online MSD was moved to Philomath, and continues on as mail-order for gear and as a retail Taylor showroom dealership.  We have a handful of other brands left or traded in, but we are pretty much exclusively Taylor.

The topic is a concept very near and dear to my heart.  Though it turns out I wasn't the first, it was an idea I came up with independently: the Grand Auditorium 12th fret.  For those who aren't yet familiar with it, a 12th fret guitar has the neck meet the body 2 frets sooner than a 14th fret, which brings the bridge down to the middle of the lower bout, affording exponentially more bass.  Historically, this has been used to balance out the smaller Grand Concert size models, so they aren't all mids and high ends.  So I got to thinking (as I do most of the time most days) about guitar physics and put together a 12th fret Grand Auditorium made of Tazmanian Blackwood with an Adirondack (red spruce) top and 12th fret bracing.  The result was textboo, the sum greater than the parts; In short, the resulting guitar was nothing shy of majestic!

The shorter scale means less string tension, easier to play.  I'd been concerned that it might be too slinky, but that fear was unfounded.  Not at all slinky, just incredibly easy to fret.  Built as a cutaway, one can still readily access upper frets.  If a GC body gives you more bass, the GA body gives you the low end of a baritone, while the shorter scale makes it seemingly impossibly easy to play! 

The first was sold to a customer before it was even finished being built.  After consulting with Andy Powers, we have two more on order now, one the most affordable custom possible, the other blown out (except for armrest.) Both have adirondack bracing.  The lower cost model has a sitka top over that bracing, while the more expensive model uses Adirondack as a soundboard.  Both still enjoy Tazmanian blackwood, which is a very close cousin to Hawiian koa and a very nice golden color in its unstained state.  The shimmer of Koa is there, without the brittle edge that sometimes accopanies koa.  The combination is amazing!  (And apparetly Taylor thought so to, as an alll Koa k-series (and 814ce Cocobolo) make up the Fall Limiteds this year... and the K24ce FLTD is available as a 12th Fret GA!  The slightly shorter neck takes a little while to get used to seeing, but your hands will love it from the very start!

With so many of us Baby Boomers reaching an age when our hands become sore or tired a bit more easily, this is a very welcome solution.  More power and dynamic articulation than ever before, on a guitar that's easier to play than most anything else around.  Sounds and looks like a dream!

Back to the BTO/Custom.  There are two being built right now, in addition to the pictured fall limited.  The simple inexpensive version includes a cutaway and specially selected uber-colorful (really mindblowing ebony fretoboard, but leaves the pickup system an availalble upgrade and will list at under $XXXX.  The other includes Expression 2, koa perfling and the rest of the koa trim package, ebony binding, an ebony backstrap, large engraved diamond fret marker inlays and a GA-LTD headstock inlay, all in Mother Of Pearl (MOP).  It is stunning all across the board and lists at under $XXXX.  Members of this forum will receive very special pricing by private treaty.

When I get back to my office I'll add a few more shots of these awesome game-changing guitars.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2017, 08:43:20 AM by MGap »
Taylor Guitar Dealer, contact me privately for special forum pricing.