Quasi-manifesto alert, and all IMHO:
1. When the Grand Orch model came out: I was excited (though bummed about the demise of the Jumbo), and looked forward to it, even ready to buy, which is rare for me, but the GO-concept was too cool! Tried all 4 models, for well over an hour in a good room ..."good" but not great. And now today, I am even less impressed with the GO guitars as opposed to an otherwise stellar line of Taylors.
2. Revoiced 800s came out. Cool, I thought: this is their flagship and they're gonna kill it! Well some loved it, others ended up lukewarm; I found it just "meh." I do, however, think the 600 maple guitars benefitted quite well from the "800-revoicing," more so than did the 800s.
3. ES-2 came out. I
love the ES version 1.3 (model year 2010ff.). So feeling the 1.3 was at the pinnacle of the ES development, I was jazzed to see another incarnation as each was better than its predecessor. Utter disappointment. Tried other guitars and definitely not enamored with this system. This recent ES2 (2016) is better than the opening version, though. Sure it's "good," and totally usable, but
not at all what I consider to be an upgrade over the ES1.3
Again, all the aforementioned clearly IMHO and wrought with my own biases. But I
always went in hoping for the best for this company that I continually have the utmost regard for, but likewise
always maintain critical objectivity whenever judging tone. So the chips always fall where they do for me, however it ends up.
All to say I really do hope this V-bracing is what they claim to be ...but therein lays the problem: Taylor claimed
a lot! The claim more than they did with the GO body, the Revoicing, the ES2; this "biggest" of all changes has been "heavily sold" in marketing terms, which
if they fail to deliver (and I respectfully believe these three examples failed to fully deliver), they expend the precious cache of respect and diminish the brand in the long run. Hyperbole in the marketplace is rampant. And because we see it, we respect those who
don't employ it. Here's to hoping Taylor delivers, and delivers big!
Edward