Hello from the Gloucestershire Cotswolds

[Tinker Taylor]

Hello Taylor owners, from Gloucestershire, in the rainy (the garden needed it) Cotswolds. Been playing for too many years to be this bad, but I keep on bumbling along... the consolation being I can now afford the guitars I used to dream of.

Just bought a 214ce Koa which is the most immaculately made - and sounding - guitar I've had since my little Larrivee phase a decade ago. Might tinker with the tuner buttons (ivoroid or ebony, folks?) and remove the pickguard (I play mostly fingerstyle, or strum without a pick), but apart from that it's a beauty. Will post pics shortly.

[Strumming Fool]

Welcome Tinker!

You've gotten yourself a really nice Taylor. Spruce/koa has a very satisfying tone, combining the best of mahogany and a bit of rosewood. My vote is for ebony buttons - they look classy and organic. Congrats and enjoy!

[TaylorGirl]

Welcome Tinker Taylor, love your name. Congratulations on your 214ce, a popular and excellent choice. I also vote for the ebony buttons. Looking forward to the pictures. Glad you joined us here.

[Tinker Taylor]

Thanks Strumming Fool and TaylorGirl - I agree on the tuner buttons... ebony. TG, you inadvertently got me looking at mountain dulcimers last night. I was vaguely familiar with the hammer dulcimer, but not the mountain. So inexpensive, I might have to sneak one through the door some time soon. I have neighbours (although I've yet to get to know them well) who split their time between here and Tennessee - is the mountain dulcimer native to those parts?

[TaylorGirl]

Thanks Strumming Fool and TaylorGirl - I agree on the tuner buttons... ebony. TG, you inadvertently got me looking at mountain dulcimers last night. I was vaguely familiar with the hammer dulcimer, but not the mountain. So inexpensive, I might have to sneak one through the door some time soon. I have neighbours (although I've yet to get to know them well) who split their time between here and Tennessee - is the mountain dulcimer native to those parts?

The mountain dulcimer is really fun. I call it the easiest complex instrument to play. It can be played/enjoyed at so many levels, it's what you make of it. At a basic level, it is quick to learn. But, depending on where you want to go with it, it can become much more complex. So, you see a wide variety of people playing it, from grandma, who might just play it as a drone instrument with the melody only on the first string, to an advanced player like Bing Futch (look him up) who plays about every style you can think of. I've settled comfortably in the middle. It is a truly American instrument, with roots in the Appalachians. But, be cautious, DAD (dulcimer acquisition disease.....also DAD is the Mixolydian tuning of a dulcimer) is nearly as bad as our GAS! I have 4, and am trying really hard not to increase that to 5.