OK, today's McCollum report:
Was back at Willcutt's to
retrieve my 414ce from the repair shop. While there, I re-examined the McCollum as closely as I could for defects or inconsistencies with other known McCollum guitars on the internet.
The only inconsistency I could find was the absence of any headstock logo; the other styling cues (headstock shape, stripe on the back of the headstock and neck, bridge shape, fretboard thickness/"S" cut at the base, heel cap shape, manufacturer's label) all suggest this is a genuine article. Not to mention the tone. There were other folks waiting for service work when I wandered in, and Bob Willcutt pointed me toward the case containing the McCollum. No one really paid much attention to me when I pulled it out of the case, but
everybody looked my way when I started strumming some random chords on the thing. The tone just seems to be
that compelling...
I've convinced myself, mainly through visual comparison to photos on the internet, that the body wood is Bocote (which is also called "Mexican Rosewood" in some circles; in other circles the term is also used to refer to Grenadillo); not, as Mr. Willcutt suggested, Bubinga (which, somewhat coincidentally, is often referred to as "
African Rosewood" -- so he could have been confusing the information the previous owner gave him based on the similar colloquial terminology). But when compared to the details (color, grain, etc.) shown in photos on the internet of these different woods (Bocote, Grenadillo, and Bubinga), the body of this guitar is nearly a dead ringer for Bocote. According to at least one source, Bocote is becoming increasingly rare, bordering on extinct in some native locations. So don't look for Taylor to do a Limited edition in Bocote anytime soon...
Overall, the guitar is in excellent, but clearly used condition. The pick guard shows some light scratches from playing, and there are a few small nicks here and there on the guitar. The soundboard finish appears to have some cracks in it, probably from improper humidification. I showed them to Bob Willcutt and he opined that these are surface cracks in the finish, not in the wood; he believes they have stabilized now, but promises to stand behind the guitar if the soundboard itself develops cracks, so long as I keep the guitar properly humidified.
If I'm deciphering McCollum's serial number system correctly (and my interpretation is largely based on observation of the labels shown on other guitars listed around the internet), this is a Kayleigh (K) model -- which closely resembles a Taylor Grand Auditorium or Grand Symphony (probably more the latter, since McCollum offered a Grand Auditorium model by name). The sequence number (281) suggests this is a fairly late build, as McCollum apparently only completed 316 guitars between 1995 and 2009, when he passed away.
Now the decision you've been waiting for: we've arrived at a number we can all live with. So look for a NGD in a week or so (once the kind folks at Willcutt's have snapped some photos for me)...!
