So what was significant about your first Taylor?

[ARGARY]

I guess we just have to disagree.  I only started playing professionally in 1962 and only have 52 years experience playing guitars, and I only buy and sell a couple of hundred guitars a year in and out of my collection.  Its also amazing that so many professionals love the guitars that were originally considered cheap junk (and believe me they were junk), and how much the custom shops charge for trashed imitations of that junk. 

I was in Biloxi, Mississippi last week at the Beau Rivage Hotel & Casino and I made a point of checking out what the live bands there were playing.  There wasn't a single electric guitar, bass or acoustic guitar in use that I cannot buy in a pawn shop for less than XXX.   Then I remembered what it was like playing professionally on the road - I played what I had because I couldn't afford to choose anything else.  I was never more poor than when I played toured and played 7 days (nights) a week.  My point is that just because a pro is playing it, it doesn't mean its what he would be playing if he could afford anything.

Personally, I am at that stage of life that I can afford any guitar I want and as many as I want.  I buy for sound, playability and resale value - never bling, never anyone's autograph and I couldn't care less who owned it or played it before me.

$ & language -
Please take a moment to review the forum guidelines.
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=320.0

[Strumming Fool]

I also played pro for many, many years. During those leaner times, I played some fairly nice guitars (based on what I could afford back then), but I would consider them toys compared to what I play today. Some of my current guitars have bling, while others do not. I wouldn't avoid a guitar because of its bling or the lack thereof. I just don't consider it a measurement of an instrument's worth regardless of price.

[DennisG]

I guess we just have to disagree.  I only started playing professionally in 1962 and only have 52 years experience playing guitars, and I only buy and sell a couple of hundred guitars a year in and out of my collection.  Its also amazing that so many professionals love the guitars that were originally considered cheap junk (and believe me they were junk), and how much the custom shops charge for trashed imitations of that junk. 

You're telling us to defer to your judgment and experience.  But I'm not inclined to do that, given how subjective guitar ownership is.  I find a huge difference in sound quality between the 300 series and the 500/700/800/900 series guitars and I don't personally know a single Taylor owner who would disagree with that observation.  If you think the 300 series is the apotheosis of Taylor tone, then fine.  I'm just not sure why you're asking us to take your word for it.

edited quote

[mgap]

I agree on one account and that is, most pro's don't bring their best guitars on the road.  Why would they, they just get beat up on the road.  However that does not mean they don't own nice ones and leave them at home.
I have a friend that plays all over the Rocky Mountain region, he has a true working C & W band and he is a Martin man.  He would never take his HD-35 out of his house, but that is what he writes with and plays at home.  On the road he has a Martin dread that is almost worn through(think Willie Nelson)that is a cheap Martin.

[Frettingflyer]

1991 510 with a wider neck(from the 12 string) because I thought my fat fingers couldn't get used to the normal neck. Not sure what the measurements were but I really wish I hadn't sold it a couple of years later. Young and dumb, but I discovered Taylor, and though I have owned a few other brand, when I wanted to start playing again I knew I wanted a Taylor to grow into.
Now of course I have grown into 5 Taylor's
Dave

[44Runner]

The most significant thing about my first Taylor was that it was purchased on the same day I closed on my first house.  Bought my first house and first Taylor on the exact same day.  It was a gorgeous 2000 810ce which I still own today.

[DJFUZZYMCPICKLE]

My 02 614 CE my first real guitar period.  Bought it when we finally had a few bucks to give each of us a little present after we got married.  Still married to the same beautiful woman (who can sing 100x better than I can play)...and I'm nothing fancy but a solid strummer, light picker - finger picker with about 150+ cover tunes under my belt.  When I bought it I couldn't finish 3.  It's still my fave of my 2 Taylors (and the other is a phenomenal 914 my father gave to me as a gift before he passed away).

Can't explain it except for knowing how many people who think "maple is sooooo bright" can be so off.  I went with my gut when I first strummed it thinking how FULL the sound was knowing it would warm over time.  I was right...something about this one is simply perfect.  Just upgraded to a bone nut saddle on this one as well with those years of seasoning if you will...will always be my 1st love of my guitars know matter how many I may own someday.

[Strumming Fool]

Great story - I agree with you about maple. Although I love all the current guitars in my lineup for what they each have to offer, that maple BTO of mine continues to surprise: very meaty, rich sound sans overtones....

[JimW]

I played a Takamine that sounded pretty good. I wanted to move up to a nicer guitar as my playing was getting better. My brother and I went to the music store to look around. He played a Taylor and is a very good guitarist. I fell for a 510 with no cutaway or electronics. My brother played a few guitars I liked but it was the 510 that caught my ear. Wish I still had it.

[lmacmil]

1)  first brand new, quality guitar (I had bought a couple inexpensive models new but those were mistakes)
2)  first non-Ebay guitar purchase in almost 20 years
3)  first purchase from Trinity Guitars (highly recommended)

[michaelw]

My 02 614 CE my first real guitar period...

the 02 614ce was my first quality acoustic guitar also -
well, i ordered it & in course of having to wait 6 weeks
i picked up a 01 314ce two weeks later, but if it wasn't
for the 614ce, i don't think i would have "had to have" the 314

i didn't care much for the plugged in tone of the fishman matrix
with onboard preamp (prefix, prefix +, onboard or stereo blender) &
when i got to where i needed to plug the guitar in, the LR baggs
element & iMix were my electronics of choice, which i retrofitted

where Taylor is headed with maple & andy powers at the tonal helm seems
to be pretty amazing, imho, & i can't wait to see/hear/play something
like this as a LTD, standard or Custom model, depending on how it goes
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=5273.0

[taylorgal]

My first Taylor was my first all-solid wood guitar(not to mention first anywhere close to 4 figures guitar). It was also special because I'd taken a bit of a hiatus from playing after a personal crisis, and when I started again, I took lessons for the first time in my life. After a couple of years of lessons I had come a long way and the Taylor was kind of my gift to myself. I hadn't set out to buy any particular brand-- in fact, I didn't really know much about Taylor's at the time. But over a period of tryng out lots of guitars, I kept going back to Taylor--specifically, a Taylor 814ce. It's a 2002, and it sounds every bit as sweet as the day I brought it home.

[EGBDF_Paul]

It was a dark and stormy night. My Guild (insert model number here) just imploded and the dog didn't want anything to do with me. So I went for a walk (sans the dog) and ended up, coincidentally, at this little, real little, mom & pop music shop. Inside was this sage old(er) man (don't know where mom was) cause I knew that he could see right through me. He said, "here son, try this" and handed me a Taylor 810 (2005). I gave it my best "going to the guitar dealer licks". He wasn't impressed but I was. I never heard of Taylor but my insides were going "wow" big time.  So I put a deposit on it. Next day, just to show the dog that there were no hard feelings, I took him for a walk and we ended up, coincidentally, at the same real little music shop. Darn. I tied the dog to a utility pole and went in and bought the thing. I was hooked.

True story except for the dog part and the night was not stormy.

Paul

[Nicky Midss]

my first taylor was a solid sapele 214. now they're laminate rosewood.