Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Edward on December 13, 2011, 08:05:32 PM
-
And here's the Style 2. Engelmann top, AAAA Quilt, Cocobolo binding, and TONE! :D
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2728.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2725.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2730.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2733.jpg)
I love the green-heart abalone that visually "pops" off the blonde canvas and cocobolo trim :)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2732.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/R-Taylors%20Misc/IMG_2731.jpg)
Edward
-
And, I will just say this one is 'double purdy' :)
-
Poor Edward. What you really need is some nice maple in your life.
Both of your R-Taylors look amazing!
-
That's a sensational looking guitar!
Although pricing isn't allowed here, I'm very curious as to what kind of discounts were available at the f&f event. Was it something like a 10% discount across the board on what you could find elsewhere, or did this vary according to the guitar? Just asking - it may not be breaking protocol referring to an irregular event like this.
-
:o
an appropriate comment next to the pic of the back
woud be 'happy birthday' or 'merry christmas' to me quilt ;)
is that a 2 piece neck, because i can't see a scarfjoint &
the neck heel block on the bass side looks quilted ???
sporting modified X bracing & 65' radius top on this one?
a 'sticky' for guitar pics would be nice, especially for maple ;),
just so that they can all be found and seen in one place
congrats, Edward :D
-
Thanks for the kind words, Michael ...man you got a good eye! :)
And yes, 65' top and standard Mod-X bracing. All specs are "standard" for this RT except for the AAAA Quilt, Engelmann top, and Cocobolo binding boxes checked off.
As this is an RT, the neck is one piece, so no scarf or fingerjoint up there ...all one contiguous chunk of loveliness, lol!!
The heel block is, indeed, two-pieces, but definitely from the same block. Though you can't tell in the pics, the heel block and neck are all from the same cut of flamed maple as the grain "flows" from the neck to the block ...best it can, anyway, given some material has been milled away.
I haven't spoken much about the tone on this one, but I have to say how incredibly surprised I am at the Style 2s here. In another thread, I had mentioned how I "fell for" a 12-fret when I played one at a RoadShow. So I since had scouted out some Taylor x12s hoping to hear liekwise, and all the GC bodies I played just didn't do it for me (no offense, GC owners ...that's just me :) ). So I got it in my mind that it is 12-fret or bust. UNTIL I played the RT Style 2s! I played this one, I played James' ("jalbert" here in his RT thread), and two other Style 2s ...they all had in common a very large and round tone that completely defies their size! This particular one stuck with me, of course, but I could have been happy with any of the Style 2s there ...remarkable guitars, to be sure!
Suffice it to say, I love maple. But this particular guitar, given its Engelmann top (thanks to Cindy who was the original owner of now "Iplay2" 's fabulously pretty 614ce planted the idea of engel/maple combo in my head) made this guitar a standout for me. Yes, this maple guit has the signature potent, clear fundamentals that ring out truly bell like. But the engelmann top rounds out the overall timbre beautifully. The bass is deeper, the highs are crisp but not zingy, and the mids are almost cedar-like in how "present" they are. Sorry folks, I've never heard engelmann before (save a buddy's 914 which was very nice), so this was all a surprise to me. I listen to this guitar and marvel how there could be so much deep bass tone from a little body, and in maple, to boot (blows away what one typically thinks when "maple" comes to mind). I have a lush-sounding GA7 where the deep RW tones, warm cedar mids, and crisp top to compare with. A/B'd both, side by side, for literally over an hour (then also with my Custom DN in the other thread). Keep in mind, I dig my GA7 and it has served as my #1 go-to acoustic for these years, which says it all. But how this little Style 2 can cover those tonal bases, with such vastly different wood and body size, I can only attribute to the RT wood and build magic. Sure I love my Style 2, but the other Style2s I played were likewise impressive, albeit with their own tonal flavor. Maybe this is an overworked cliche, but the tone really does sound "mature": like somehow the low notes got extended, the highs got rounded, and the midrange voice grew up and took center stage. I dunno; weak comparison, perhaps, but it makes sense to me. Not to mention, too, that the smaller bod and shorter scale, along with standard nut width, really make this a fingerstylists dream.
As a sidenote to all this Style 2 love (lest you fear I've fallen off the deep end ...ahem, too late ;) ), I will say that its size does limit the overall volume of the guitar. Sure the tone is huge and the bass coming out defies logic, but there is a definite volume ceiling where physics simply butts in and says "enough, I'm taking over." This is where the DN or GS bodies can really flex their muscles ...and they've got muscle in spades. But that's the joy of having both a big guitar and a little one with a big voice. I can't wait to eventually get a pup in this one. Did I ever mention how fortunate I feel?
:D
Edward
-
hi Edward,
i can totally related to your description of engelmann/maple -
i hear a very similar tone coming from my 614ceL2 engelmann,
although i would not be able to put it into words as eloquently ...
great write-up :)
you hit the hammer right on the ol' noggin, imho ;)
i was wondering also, how the body dimensions differ from the X12 -
the only RT i've seen/held IRL was a style 2 & i had a DN Proto which had
the RTS3 body shape, but i wasn't sure how different/similar the 2 are
-
Ahhh, so you've got a 614 w/engelmann as well ...seems like I'm late to that party. But better late than never as I definitely like what's going on there! :D
You also ask a question that's been sitting passively in my head for a couple of years now: are the RT and Taylor corresponding body shapes the same size? Dunno.
I know that when RT jumped on the scene as Taylor's upper-end line in '06, the Style 1 was the first model ...neatly followed by Taylor's introduction of the GS body, also in 06, IIRC. That was a no-brainer to figure out, to be sure. But how similar are they in exact dimensions, not sure myself. I can tell you that my Style 1 12 string is a deeper body than all my taylors. I don't know what to make of that since I don't know how Taylor handles their 12-string guitars' dimensions: same as the 6-string counterpart or no? By informal feel, my Style 2 definitely feels the same as the X12s I've tried ...but as I don't own an X12, I couldn't tell you definitively whether they are identical. I suppose if I were curious enough, I would have called the factory in these past years. Your thoughts?
Edward
-
from the RT site, the Style 1 is 16 1/4" at the lower bout which is the same as the GS,
& the body depth shows to be 4 7/16", whereas the GS is listed as being 4 5/8"
the Style 2 is 15", as is the GC) with a 4 3/16" depth (pre-03 GCs were 4 1/8" & the 03-current is 4 3/8")
it may also be possible that the Taylor measurements are 'rounded up', not unlike how a 2x4 not 2"x4" -
the grand auditorium shows a body depth of 4 5/8" but checking measurements on a 97 414K, it's 4 7/16" ???
i am trying to remember if the RTS1 was available before the GS, or the GS then RTS1, or if it was 'too-close-to-call'
the Style 3 does not give any dimensions, but the body contours do appear to vary from a DN slightly
the X12s i have well made well before 00, so the overall shape, depth, etc is a good bit different than the current GC,
so i really don't have a definite answer either ... i was just curious about any other RT body contour changes
-
Good sleuthing, Michael, thanks for that!
If memory serves me (which is always a dangerous thing), I recall the RT coming first, then Taylor's intro of the GS body shape. But I could be wrong ...or maybe it's a too-close-to-call moment.
Funny spec about the depth of the GS/GA listed at 4 5/8" ...that's deeper than an RT-1?? Not in my experience. Who knows if any of the web-posted specs correlate to actual dimensions, which may have varied over time. One thing I can say for certain is my S-1 is definitely deeper than any Taylor body I've had. Perhaps due to it being a 12 string? That's one dimension I did not find on the RT site is whether the 12 body is the same as their 6 ...yet another wrinkle :)
Edward
-
what i've also heard is that the CV bracing pattern was adopted/adapted from the RTS2
(perhaps the height or profile), which is interesting because the DN, GA, GS & JM bodies
are a good bit larger than the GC, in overall volume (area) as well as size ... calling Brian S ;)
-
That quilt is ABSURD! I've been looking at these photos for 20 minutes. Congrats!
-
Hi Edward,
Absolutely gorgeous guitar. I have no doubts it sounds as incredible as it looks. You're a lucky soul to have such a great instrument for making music.
Enjoy,
Bill