what's Taylor's "holy grail"?

[Herben]

For anyone,

I think the Hand Build Lemon Grove's are A potential candidate!

I got an an 810 and Ohw my goodness,.... You can not compare anny other Taylor guitar with it.

It is so much warmer sounded than the new ones (And not that they are bad, not at all). Obviously the age (1981) playes an roll.

But realy these guitars sets the tone. Taylor did not get this big, making bad guiters back in the days where they started

[Redwood Tree]

 I started my Taylor journey in 2000 with a 810Bce LOTF.
   The earlier 900s up to 2000, In my mind are a prize.
  Runner up KLSM/Kenny Loggins Signature Model. Have had 3, still one of the 100 made.
 Got stuck on the 2004 900 L7's, Brazilian/Engelmann , 19 years later I ended up with 3(again)
  My "Holy Grail"
912ceL7
914ceL7
915ceL7
  I have many cool Taylors, But the #'s talk for L7 900's
 X12     16 made
 X14     36 made
 X10     10 made
 X15       5 made

[Guitars44me]

Hmmm.   This is right up my alley

First, technically, R.Taylor was always a complete separate company, even tho the six builders worked in a small building adjacent Taylor’s huge El Cajon campus.

I vote for an early or first year (1996) 514c, no e.  Check all the hits recorded with “Excalibur”.  One big producer’s studio weapon.

Too bad the informative video on line is out of tune!   Hahaha

I have had 4 of these, and may have one again!

Cheers

Paul

[Edward]

R.Taylor ...nice that you brought that up, Paul!

Fwiw, I do think these are the pinnacle of the Taylor guitar.  Yes, the 900s are fabulous.  But the RTs, to me, are really something special.  I don't often like to bring them up on forums as they seem to attract derision from folks ...oh, that typical "its just a toyota dressed as a lexus" drivel.  Not to my ears and hands, and certainly not the ones I own.  And I am pretty darn critical --and objective-- and have no qualms about stating what I don't like.  There is no shortage of really fine Taylors.  But for me, every R.Taylor over years past that I've personally tried was in more than one measure a cut above the production line.  And I certainly ain't ever getting rid of mine because they are that special!

Edward

[Guitars44me]

Another candidate

1994-99 LKSM 12 string

Hard to fault the LKSM 12 !  Made to be tuned down to C# or even C with MEDIUM gauge strings.  Don’t tune it up to E with them or it may explode…

Get ready to RUMBLE.

Paul

[GP517]

For me, it is my 1991 515 Ltd. which is a spruce/mahogany Jumbo with a soft cutaway.  The woods are beautiful, and the guitar has great dynamic range. To my ear the guitar is a bit warmer sounding compared to some of the more recent Taylor models, and after 30 years of playing I still smile every time I play that guitar. It gets pretty loud when flat picked but also sounds great fingerstyle.  In early 2003 I sent the guitar back to Taylor for a neck adjustment under warranty. During that process I asked the Taylor shop if my 515 Ltd. was a predecessor of the LKSM 6-string which had been released in 1997 or about then (they look identical except my 515 has dot markers on the fret board  vs. none on the LKSM 6). They confirmed that mine was "basically" the same build as the LKSM 6. Over the years I can recall seeing two 515 Ltd.s for sale, but they seem to be pretty rare. My guess is that most owners of this model are like me and know a good thing when they hear it.