Anyone Know Why Taylor's Cost So Much?

[Afixer]

OK, I'm posting this thread solely for the purpose of justifying (to myself) the purchase of a beautiful 2006 Taylor 440ce which I resently aquired for a little more than half the cost of a brand new model.
I've been playing my trusty ol' Yamaha 441S which has a few more miles on her than the Taylor.
I carefully measured the two. Surprisingly they are almost identical, save the fact the Taylor is a cutaway.
They both have similar woods and solid tops. Their both fitted with TSQU saddles and nuts. They both have Elixir Nano's.  I just did a side by side exhaustive play-off between the two. Surely I was fully expecting the Taylor to trump my Yammy since it was roughly five times the cost (used values).
Guess what? The Yamaha is convincingly louder. The Taylor has a slight edge in the treble department (thank goodness). I frankly like the feel of the Taylor better (purely subjective) on my part. But what I'm wondering ... at the end of the day ... are Taylor's way over priced? Somebody that knows Taylor's please chime in and tell me what makes Taylor guitars cost so much. I'm not trying to argue. I'm just an old picker who's wondering what a few of you must have ... why are Taylor's so darn expensive?

[M19]

Objectively, NT neck (never a costly reset), cutaway and electronics together might add $500-700.
Quality of woods, bindings, etc. might add several (or more) hundreds.

Subjectively, playability (action), tone, feel, etc.

If you add all the above up, and it doesn't total the difference in your mind, sell the Taylor.

I suspect that your problem right now is just a case of normal "buyer's remorse."

Give it a month and see what you think. If you are picking up the Taylor more often than the Yammi, your question is answered.

[JB12]

I may be mistaken, but I believe the Yamaha 441S has a solid spruce top with laminate back and sides (w/ the ovangkol veneer).

The Taylor, however, is constructed of all solid woods. 

[leeasam]

Taylors high priced? Compared to what? other USA made guitars or against china/asian made.
Taylor has all solid wood where the yamaha is only solid top for the body. back and sides laminate.

Fret board on Taylors are ebony vs rosewood on yamaha. Ebony is harder to attain thus more expensive.
Bridge on Taylor ebony vs rosewood

Neck on Taylor is mahogany vs a cheaper easier to attain NATO on yamaha.

Taylors come with a nice hard shell case included in price( try buying the case seperate!) Yamaha does not.

since this yamaha model is not longer made it also does not have much or a resale value( well none of the asian models did) another reason for the price difference. The Taylor was probably much closer to the original selling of a new guitar than the yamaha. Yamaha was probably less than half of what is cost new where the Taylor maybe 25% 35% off new.

and last but not least the cost of USA labor and other costs vs Asian labor and business cost.

the reason for the feel would be Taylor has a wider nut width than the yamaha. Pretty sure the yamaha has close to the 1 11/16 nut vs a 1 3/4 nut on Taylor.

For the money Yamahas are nice guitars.   but when taking all things together is like comparing apples to oranges.

[jivauk]

That sure is one nice looking Yamaha.

+1 to M19 - it really boils down to the (objective) quality and technology and which is the most enjoyable/inspiring to play and which makes the (subjectively) better sound.

We've got two Yamahas
FG580 6-string (Brazilian Rosewood)
FG630 12-string (Brazilian Rosewood)

There's something comforting about playing the FG580 - this was Jimmy's constant companion for 25 years. It still sounds good, and adding custom brass bridge pins helped with retaining its sparkle (albeit with a slightly reduced volume).

In the five years since buying a 910CE-L7 (also Brazilian Rosewood) for Jimmy, the Yamaha saw very little use - tried experimenting with open tunings, and it saved our bacon as a backup for gigging when the Taylor was having its Expression System renewed. Now that Jimmy has has a 914CE-L7, the 910CE-L7 is the backup and the Yamaha gets even less play (but just occasionally he plays it for old times sake and still enjoys it)... but the 914CE-L7 is definitely the go-to guitar.

12-strings are a different ball game - the FG630 was never an easy guitar, but Jimmy's 855 and Val's Custom Jumbo are effortless even for finger-picking up the fretboard! The Yamaha FG630 hasn't been played in a long time.

Are the Taylors worth the price difference (thousands as opposed to hundreds)? To us, it's a resounding "Yes!" - but as some would say "YMMV" (your mileage may vary).

[joerogrz]

I can't say I know Taylors real well, but I do understand a bit about wood. I've watched the videos of Bob Taylor talking about Ebony and spruce and walnut and I understand very well why the quality of the wood can bring the price up. It's likely that the sitka spruce tops on the higher end Taylors come from a 300 year old spruce tree that fell down in a wind storm on a mountain side in Alaska and has to be airlifted out. The wood can have a huge impact on the price. Not to mention Taylor trying to be an environmentally friendly company and not clear cut entire forests to get as much as they can. And unless it's changed, ebony is only harvested in very very few countries. Also keep in mind the American-made part of it which affects the price also.

[Nomad]

That Taylor 440ce looks a lot like a Taylor 414ce to me.

Taylors expensive?

Price a Taylor 510, then compare that to a Collings D1.

Do the same with a Bourgeois Country Boy.

The Taylor is downright affordable in comparison.

[Nomad]

And unless it's changed, ebony is only harvested in very very few countries.

I think Bob Taylor now pretty much controls ebony production for guitars. I recall reading that he bought an ebony mill, somewhere in Africa, that was the primary source for guitar builders.

[S MS Picker]

Supply and demand.

[TaylorGirl]

+1 to all the previous posts. Let me add one thing.......Taylor guitars have an unmatched beauty.....they call it The Art of Taylor.  It's what you get when you put together guitars like all the previous posters described.

[Scriptor]

Taylors expensive?

Price a Taylor 510, then compare that to a Collings D1.

Do the same with a Bourgeois Country Boy.

The Taylor is downright affordable in comparison.

When it comes to a good guitar, for me it tends to always be a serious financial decision ... however, when you consider what you are getting with the higher end Taylor's (build quality, excellent feel/playability, solid woods, tasteful appointments, electronics, case, company reputation and customer service), it really is a lot for the money ... spec out other high end guitars with the same features and you begin to get the perspective ... not saying you can't get a decent import that sounds/plays nice ... and when that happens, it feels good ... but in general, while I always wish everything I buy was cheaper, I think Taylor's respresent a lot of value for the price ...

[leeasam]

well also got to thinking the Taylor has electrinics and a cutaway which also increase price. Like I said before to compare these two guitars is like comparing apples to oranges. It would be better to compare say a DN3 or a 310 but even then it is not a fair comparison. try like a used 210 and you would find that the price is barely double the Yamaha.   Especially if you find an older all solid wood 210!

actually this would be a more fair comparison  http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-Taylor-110-Acoustic-Guitar-USA-/190813692151?pt=Guitar&hash=item2c6d61e0f7

[Nomad]

however, when you consider what you are getting with the higher end Taylor's (build quality, excellent feel/playability, solid woods, tasteful appointments, electronics, case, company reputation and customer service), it really is a lot for the money ...

You realize that you get all of those with a 300 Series, right?

No need to even go into the realm of "higher end".

[PureTone]

In a nut shell, where they're made, how they're made and what they're made out of are some the factors that determine the price of a guitar, any guitar.

A 414CE vs a FG441S is not an 'Apples to Apples' match up.
A closer comparison would be a 210 to the FG441S, or a LS26 to an 812.

Taylor did not make laminate back and sides full size acoustics in 94, so the closest model in that aspect would be a 1994 410.

If the tone, playability, build quality, feel and aesthetics of a guitar do not justify the purchase price to the person playing the guitar then that guitar is overpriced, any guitar.

[joerogrz]

I have to wonder how much goes into a Crescent MG38-CF... Look it up on Amazon... There is a lot being put into Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, etc. But I really am curious about the Crescent...