Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Edward on December 13, 2011, 08:18:57 PM
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OK, so here's a tease ...no pics, but I had to post because I am just so excited, yet let down!! I had to take the guitar to a Taylor Tech today ...the ES seems to have given up on me ...only a few days in and ugh, DOA. Oh well, thems the breaks. But pics are forthcoming soon as I can. But imagine if you will:
- AA Sitka Spruce
- AA Quilted Maple b/s
- Rosewood binding
- Full Body binding of Green-heart abalone! ...now that's pop!
- Dred-bodied canon ...thunder in a box with big solid bottom, well-defined mids, and crisp highs replete with Taylor sparkle. Can't wait to share!
Edward
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Yes you are teasing us.... After seeing the other two I could only imagine what this babe would look like. Sorry you had take her in for repair of the ES. One thing I learned over the years is that if mankind had a hand in making something, sooner or later one of those something(s) will show a problem. We know that Taylor stands behind their product :)
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Ahhh, and no pics! Yes you have a good reason, but I can't wait to see them. I hope you get it back soon...you know, so you can share it with us. lol
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OK, so here's a tease ...no pics, but I had to post because I am just so excited, yet let down!! I had to take the guitar to a Taylor Tech today ...the ES seems to have given up on me ...only a few days in and ugh, DOA. Oh well, thems the breaks. But pics are forthcoming soon as I can. But imagine if you will:
- AA Sitka Spruce
- AA Quilted Maple b/s
- Rosewood binding
- Full Body binding of Green-heart abalone! ...now that's pop!
- Dred-bodied canon ...thunder in a box with big solid bottom, well-defined mids, and crisp highs replete with Taylor sparkle. Can't wait to share!
Edward
hi Edward,
i have 2 questions ... er, well may be actually 3
1. does it have a cutaway ?
2. by full body binding, do you mean on the top, sides & back (like a PS) ?
3. was this thread designed to be some kind of 'torture' ?
teriffic description, but not even a tiny, grainy, fuzzy cell phone pic ???
i'm just kidding -
thanks for sharing, hope they get the electronics sorted out asap & waiting for the pics :)
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Man, I wish I would have thought of a cell phone pic, but as soon as I realized that my ES was DOA (um, on stage!!!), I wanted to get it to the shop ASAP and wasn't thinking of pics. So trust me, the "torture" you are experiencing is only a fraction of mine :)
Yes, it has a cutaway.
The rosewood binding (ooh, lovely contrast!!) is the entire front and back of the guitar, as one would expect. The green-heart abalone (yikes, sorry, had to interject how much I like this species of abalone!!) is on the entire guitar top only (as if the word "only" were some kind of diminutive statement here ...lol!!!).
Viewing from the front, the guitar looks like some 910CE variant with green abalone and different fret markers, which I just learned are T5 "Artist" fretboard inlays. Viewing the guitar from the sides or back, one sees the deep brown hue of the rosewood bindings contrasting sharply against the blond quilt in its natural finish, "framing" the canvas of 3-D maple beautifully. Um, can you tell I'm smitten.
All of which is lovely, to be sure. But the tone sure is there, as well! From what I understand, the upgraded Sitka top is graded for its aesthetic quality, but given its overall tone and balance, I can't help but think the grading has something to do with how loud yet balanced the whole voice is. Can't wait to get it back ...with a working ES and plug this badboy in the house! :D
Edward
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Artist inlays, too :) ...
niiiiiice :D
any word on when it will return home with you ???
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Can't wait to see this one!
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I need pictures...don't know if I can go the weekend without them :'( Really looking forward to this thread...where's the popcorn emoticon?
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mmm... maple
(http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/195715_151777211544939_4404475_n.jpg)
;D
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mmm... maple
(http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/195715_151777211544939_4404475_n.jpg)
;D
Even better than the popcorn guy ;D That's probably what people see when I'm at the local Taylor shop LOL
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Man o man, I am afraid after all this build up, my very mediocre pics will be a let down. OK, disclaimer: I'm not a great shot and I was losing light. But being so excited to pick up my guitar from the shop today, I had to snap these up and show y'all! BTW, yet another huge kudos to Taylor for covering my ES under warranty. If you recall my saga, this guitar was merely days old in my hands and the ES was DOA. Bob and Co. backing their customers, yet again! Gotta love these guys!!
BTW, I tried to get the hues right ...did Imention I was a hack shooter? LOL ...these'll get you the general idea. And yes, she looks better in person!
And now, on to the pics. :)
This pic fails to capture the real sparkle of the abalone ...when the light hits it right, the entire perimeter just pops!
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2760.jpg)
Man I love the green-heart stuff ...not to mention the fretboard inlays!
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2761.jpg)
I dig how the abalone on the face is complimented by the rosewood binding when viewed at 3/4 angles.
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2762.jpg)
The back/sides are mesmerizing. I love the contrast of the deep rosewood hue against the waves of blond maple.
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2765.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2764.jpg)
I forgot to snap a few of the headstock, bummer. But it's a gloss ebony overlay, and Gotoh 510s in antique gold finish. Niiiice, if I do say so myself. :)
And both this and my Style 2's maple necks were spec'd in satin, as opposed to the high gloss which normally accompanies maple necks (as in my 12-er). Satin just feels right on a neck ...oh so slick.
To say that I feel "fortunate" is a gross understatement. Thank you all for letting me share my good fortune with you! May we all enjoy this Christmas season with loved ones, in good health, and great cheer!
Edward
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i'm glad that the shop was able to get the ES back up &
running within a short turn-around time & you got 'er back
:o
yeah, it'd say the guitar does your description justice ... & then some ;D
if you happen to click a few more of pics, i was just wondering if the headstock has the Artist inlay
on it also & if you could possibly get a close-up shot of one of the inlays further up the fretboard,
because to me it looks like the inlays are green ab too, which i've never seen ... really nice 8)
got quilt ? :)
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Hi Michael,
Yeah, I am very appreciative of getting her back in such short order, as well. Thanks!!
Well, had a bit more time and sunlight today so let's try a few more. Funny thing about inlays, as I'm cure you know, the hue you see all depends on the angle in which the light hits the abalone.
For example, in these two, the inlays don't have any green tint to them that I can see (looks like standard white abalone or MOP here)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2847.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2850.jpg)
But in this pic, the green is clearly evident. Not as much, of course, as the green-heart rosette and binding, but still a hint, which "ties" the neck to the body nicely.
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2846.jpg)
Really hard to capture the green here (and hold the camera and guitar at the correct angle to catch the light ;) ), but the "Taylor" inlay definitely has a tinge of green to the naked eye.
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2851.jpg)
I can only wonder at how much the "inlay person" doing the work on this BTO was intentionally going for complimenting the greenheart with the fret markers/headstock inlay. Maybe conscious effort, maybe I just got lucky ...who knows. But it is a nice effect, in sum! Thanks for noticing ...glad to know Im not the only one geeky about these kind of details ...lol!!! :D
BTW, upon closer looking at the top, I never really noticed how upgraded AA Sitka differs, but now I get it. There is a fine silking and very even grain
throughout the entire top (tough to capture on cam) that is really nice. Perhaps I can assume the RTs also have this upgraded Sitka as the silking and grain is just so pretty, not to mention the bookmatching is seamless. Now I know how easy it is to get all nerdy about these details ...nerdy in a good way, that is (that's the story I'm goin with :) ).
Thanks for tolerating my neurosis, all! :D :D
Edward
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One batch of high grade quilted maple just wasn't enough, huh?!! One of the things I love about both this and your other maple it's that dark green heart abalone, it's absolutely striking.
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thanks for posting the additional pics Edward :)
the grain top is especially nice & how the grain gradually widens out
to the edge is reminiscent of a sitka top that Uncle Bob picked out for me -
i can only imagine the tone, based on your descrption, is remarkable
the center (or head) of the fretboard inlays looks like green heart ab to me &
that, imho, shows the particular attention to detail given to that guitar -
i have a sitka/maple GA with the artist inlays & the center is standard ab
(some of the pieces have a good bit of pink in them, while the 'wings' are
MOP, which is i believe is standard also & the rosette is 1-ring standard ab &
at the time i did not have the means to be able to add any more upgrades
although they are aesthetic features, i think the green heart ab, along
with the bound soundhole, binding, Gotoh & extremely high figured quilt
gives your guitar many R Taylor style touches (kind of 'blurs the line' a bit)
she's a sweetie ... congrats ;D
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That quilt is awesome! That is the grain I see when I think about my future BTO. I love it. If you ever sell, I'm going to go ahead and call dibs on this guitar, too. I've already layed claim to not darths Living Jewels dread LOL
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i am thinking that 'Birthday Quilt' should be added as a BTO option ;)
to think that, 'back-in-the-day', models like this were ... 'standard' ???
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270874156783 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270874156783)
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Gorgeous!! ;D ;D
I've never been a huge fan of quilted maple but I love the look of your guitar. Blonde maple against the rosewood binding and the GHA is very striking. Many congrats. (http://smiles.kolobok.us/artists/just_cuz/JC_clapgirl.gif) I bet she sounds loud, bold but crystalline and clear. Yum!
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Thanks for the kind words, all! This guitar really is a lovely piece any way you look at it! Certainly in aesthetics, the level of detail the BTO folks afforded this one really is stunning to me.
And Michael, thanks for the insight on the inlays ...I was guessing that the inclusion of green in the artist fret markers seemed intentional, but couldn't draw such a conclusion with not having much experience with Taylor's inlays (beyond their dots). Thanks for shedding some light there!
And yes, the tone is clear and big! Notes decay faster (as is characteristic to maple) than on RW or Mahog, to be sure, but the notes are crystal clear and oh-so well defined. There is nothing "blurred" about the tones here as the fundamentals seem to leap off the guitar with authority, and harmonic overtones play a back seat. This is my new play-out guitar. I do wish it had the 2010 ES as do my GA7 and 410 (hint, someone buy these :) ), but definitely no funds to even entertain any fantasy of an ES upgrade. Not that I'm complaining, mind you ...that would clearly be silly :D
Edward
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... And yes, the tone is clear and big! Notes decay faster (as is characteristic to maple) than on RW or Mahog, to be sure, but the notes are crystal clear and oh-so well defined. There is nothing "blurred" about the tones here as the fundamentals seem to leap off the guitar with authority, and harmonic overtones play a back seat...
Edward
i just wanted to clarify that when i referred to 'blurring the line', it was in terms of aesthetics
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i136/993edward/Guitar%20Inventory%202011/IMG_2850.jpg)
if the bridge was not visible in this pic, it'd be tough to tell if it was a BTO or RT model -
it sounds like this one may have a bit of the RT tone department in it as well :)
very nice ;D