Spent a good portion of Friday evening and Saturday afternoon at Empire Music for their "Taylor Takes Over Empire Music" event, which was a fancy way to call the "Find Your Fit" event that officially opened their
Taylor Experience Room. The room was very nicely done, and was filled from wall to wall with eye- and ear-candy from Taylor.
A couple of the more striking guitars were a pair of all-Koa (including the binding and headstock veneer; which seemed unusual to me, but it worked) guitars; a Grand Concert (GC) and a Grand Orchestra (GO). Both had tops, backs, and sides of master-grade Koa, lots of abalone tinsel all around it, and were absolutely the prettiest guitars in the room. The GO didn't impress me sonically, but that's probably because 95% of the GO's I play just don't light my fire. The GC (see attached photos), however, was sweet, sweet, sweet! But the price tag was just too steep for my wallet, and I found something even more compelling to ponder, so it ultimately never followed me home...
Another interesting guitar -- and surprisingly one that made it to my short list -- was a Custom GO in Spruce/Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle. This is the same body wood that was used in
one of my Custom GS-12's; and although the wood didn't have nearly the visual presence of
my Custom GS-12, man did it sound BIG! The wood worked very well to balance the GO body with crystal clarity, and was really one of the best-sounding GO's I'd come across. Unusually, it had a Maple neck too. But nit-picking a bit, it didn't have an armrest (which the GO body
desperately needs); and the aesthetics of the woodgrain itself were pretty bland (see attached photos), especially in comparison to
my Custom GS-12. So it also didn't follow me home either...
Well, at least initially...However, a guitar that was already in Empire's inventory
did follow me home... Check
my NGD thread for that story.
As an aside, I also played a couple other guitars that Taylor was obviously showcasing at the event:
- The new PS14ce in Macassar Ebony -- I liked it! Same visual presentation as the previous Presentation Series guitars in Cocobolo, but a nice, bright tone. This one's a winner!
- The new 914ce -- This was the first one I'd laid eyes/hands on, and I must say I was rather surprised by my overall reaction -- especially given my general reactions to the new bracing schemes in the past. The new aesthetics are very elegant and classy; I really did like it once I saw one in person. The tone? Well, it struck me as intensifying everything I both like and dislike about East Indian Rosewood (EIR): the lows and highs were stellar; the 'scoop' was even more pronounced. If I was a vocalist who accompanied myself on the guitar, I would have bought that 914ce on the spot; but I'm not...
- The 314ce-RW LTD -- This Limited was the first time I'd played a Cedar/EIR combination. Frankly, I wasn't wowed by it, but neither Cedar or EIR are high on my personal list of tonewood favorites either. That being said, the combination worked well together if that's your taste; and I definitely could hear what others on the forum have been saying about the tone of this combination: warm, with clear lows and highs; still has that characteristic mid-range scoop.
- The 360e SEB -- It would seem that my search for a Dreadnought 12-string continues. The combination of Mahogany over Sapele sounded too warm and 'one-dimensional' to my ears. I've had the same reaction to the all-Mahogany 500's as well... If you're a fan of these tonewood combinations (Mahogany/Sapele or all-Mahogany), this guitar will probably appeal to you; personally, though, I like the 150e better...
I also broke ranks and had Joe pull out
the ubber-expensive Martin OM-45 Empire has and sampled that. Very, very nice guitar. But too rich for my blood; and frankly, it didn't sound 10-times better (for the price) than
my PS14ce in Brazilian Rosewood...
