BTO Taylors Better than Regular Taylors?

[Gary-N-LA]

Do you think BTO Taylors are made with more care - in a more luthier-like process - than an off-the-rack Taylor?  And if so, do you think this results in a more beautiful sounding instrument?

[MexicoMike]

"Do you think BTO Taylors are made with more care - in a more luthier-like process - than an off-the-rack Taylor? "

Can't this be factually determined rather easily as opposed to it just being an opinion survey?  Surely those who have visited the factory could have observed the difference, if any, in the construction process.  Or perhaps Taylor has videos/info available re that.

There would be no actual requirement for the process to be different other than selecting the particular woods/appointments but again, that info should be readily valuable.

[Fire]

Do you think BTO Taylors are made with more care - in a more luthier-like process - than an off-the-rack Taylor?  And if so, do you think this results in a more beautiful sounding instrument?

Better in wood selection but I think the manufacturing process is the same as with others.

[Jersey tuning]

Do you think BTO Taylors are made with more care - in a more luthier-like process - than an off-the-rack Taylor?  And if so, do you think this results in a more beautiful sounding instrument?

Better in wood selection but I think the manufacturing process is the same as with others.

There's a 2009 or so issue of Wood and Steel that goes into the process more completely.  My recollection is that the inspection process at the end of the line--and wood selection in the beginning-- is more rigorous but the construction process uses normal build slots in the schedule.  If I see more productive info from the article when I get home I will post it.

[michaelw]

Do you think BTO Taylors are made with more care - in a more luthier-like process - than an off-the-rack Taylor?

more attention to detail needs to be paid in order to ensure the guitar is built with correct options -
with over 40 different choices & over 300 options to choose from & in the end, it all has to be "right"

And if so, do you think this results in a more beautiful sounding instrument?

it can, although i've heard some BTOs being sold because one of the aesthetic features did not meet
expectations, so it all depends on the individual & the reasons why they're purchasing a "custom" guitar

[wooglins]

I think it really depends on the the options.  Some options lead to steps that a normal build does not experience.  For example if you choose an Adirondack top there are some extra steps that go into the selection, and cutting of the top that a standard Taylor does not go through.  Same for selecting a short-scale neck on a non GC model.  For short scale to work on a non GC body the build setup for the top has to change.  The bridge is in a different location which leads to positional changes in the bracing.  Because so few guitars are selected with these options more attention has to be paid to how it is setup, otherwise the guitar may not meet Taylors QC standards which are high.

On the other hand if your choices are simply aesthetic such as back and side choice, inlay, etc then you are just plugging in different pieces into the normal assembly line production. 

In either case the individual selection of woods and final steps are more rigorous for BTO (which I believe is not called custom again).

[Drock2k1]

You will typically get better woods with the BTO's unless you are going 900 series or presentation series. Still To me, the biggest draw of the BTO is the process and ability to specify my visual tastes. Having owned both though, I wouldn't say that a BTO offers an upgrade in tone just upgraded aesthetics and choices.  This goes out the window though if the wood combo you want is only available on a BTO.

Hopefully one of our sponsors will drop in here to shed some light. I know that Ted from LA Guitar Sales should have a pretty good idea as he has seen plenty of them both.

[Strumming Fool]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way superior to the others.

[wooglins]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

[Jersey tuning]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

I wuz thinking the same thing--more off the track than off the rack

[Strumming Fool]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. That's the reason I placed "off-the-rack" in quotes. I didn't create the specs for the ones I bought from the store's stock. As far as the BTOs being typical, I would say that you won't find many sinker redwood/ovangkol GAs out there; you'll find a few more engelmann spruce/quilted maple GAs, but not many, so I'm not sure why you would call these combinations more typical than say, sitka/koa for example.

[Strumming Fool]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

I wuz thinking the same thing--more off the track than off the rack

As a reminder, cedar/walnut became a regular offering for a few years following the Cujo model, although it is no longer a regular production model. As far as euro spruce/flamed mahogany, it's still a spruce/hog combo, which can be found just about anywhere. Sitka is most typically paired with flamed maple. I guess my point is that if these BTO choices were so typical, why aren't they offered as standard production models (possibly lack of wide appeal?).

[wooglins]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

I wuz thinking the same thing--more off the track than off the rack

As a reminder, cedar/walnut became a regular offering for a few years following the Cujo model, although it is no longer a regular production model. As far as euro spruce/flamed mahogany, it's still a spruce/hog combo, which can be found just about anywhere. Sitka is most typically paired with flamed maple. I guess my point is that if these BTO choices were so typical, why aren't they offered as standard production models (possibly lack of wide appeal?).

It really was more of a compliment.  I mean you cant get Euro Spruce on a Taylor period unless it is part of a LTD run.  Same for some of your other combinations.   

I was pointing out that I would expect your impressive collection of LTD's to be on par with exotic combinations that are often found on BTO's.

[michaelw]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

granted engelmann/maple was offered on the 03 NAMM ruby red, L5 blueburst & L6 ruby redburst PS LTDs over 10 years ago
other than that, i've only seen or heard of hardly over a handful of those & not too many more sinker redwood/ovangkol models -
in terms of tops (sinker is used a good bit) & back & sides (ovangkol 400s & maple 600s), i could see one the other being a
more common choice, but not in the combinations used, although i know of a few englemann/ovangkols & redwood/maples

[Strumming Fool]

I own 6 Taylors - 4 are "off the rack", and two are BTOs. The BTOs are not better than the others. If they were, I wouldn't own the others. The BTOs happen to reflect my personalized tastes in tone and appearance, but they are in no way supererior to the others.

Don't take this the wrong way but your BTO wood choices are rather typical compared to your very impressive collection of ltd edition Taylor's.

I wuz thinking the same thing--more off the track than off the rack

As a reminder, cedar/walnut became a regular offering for a few years following the Cujo model, although it is no longer a regular production model. As far as euro spruce/flamed mahogany, it's still a spruce/hog combo, which can be found just about anywhere. Sitka is most typically paired with flamed maple. I guess my point is that if these BTO choices were so typical, why aren't they offered as standard production models (possibly lack of wide appeal?).

It really was more of a compliment.  I mean you cant get Euro Spruce on a Taylor period unless it is part of a LTD run.  Same for some of your other combinations.   

I was pointing out that I would expect your impressive collection of LTD's to be on par with exotic combinations that are often found on BTO's.

I got it - thanks for the clarification...I agree. The point I was trying to make that there really is no difference in build quality between a BTO and any production run, be it a LTD or a standard model. All guitars go through the same quality-controlled production lines.