I attended my first Road Show last night in Shawnee, KS. I showed up about 30 mins early to a crowd of about 20, but the place filled up extremely fast after that. There was virtually no more room to sit once the show started. Folks were standing at the back of the store. If I had to guess I'd say there was close to 80-100 people there. PACKED. But I got a good seat. Second row
Pic from my seat
The folks who attended really knew there stuff. They asked the right (and good) questions that showed experience with the guitar as well as Taylor guitars. I appreciated the questions because some were asked that I would have never thought of. I sat next to another Taylor owner who happens to do voice work for a local radio station. Immediate connection as we both owned Taylor guitars and it turned out to be some great conversation. Just wanted to highlight that the people who attended augmented the show.
The show itself was quite informative. I basically knew most of the info "on paper" but it was good to see that info being put to use by demonstration. They played through every body style, which was great to hear. I came away more appreciation for the Grand Concert and what it can do. They really touched on all the great things about each body shape, but to my disappointment they didn't talk much about the GS. Only saying that it's the GA's big brother and it's the "big bold strummer". (though later he mentioned something about the history of it which I'll save for another thread). My consolation though, was that all of the examples of the tonewoods were done (mostly) with the GS
They then highlighted the basic three wood tones:
-Indian Rosewood (big on the lows and highs, scoops midrange)
-Mahogany (big on the midrange)
-Maple (bright, highly articulate, little reverberation)
Then they brought out the all Koa guitar and claimed that Koa more or less combines all three of these tones together (perhaps subjective...though when played I could see what they were saying). He explained how precious the koa wood is and how Bob Taylor makes every opportunity to get the best Koa. He said there is a joke in the industry that when a Koa tree falls...Bob Taylor hears it.
Ovangkol and Sapele were asked about and the answers given were that Ovangkol is a rosewood and so the range is similar to Indian Rosewood but with a bit of sparkle. Same thing with Sapele, it's related to mahogany with a bit of sparkle. Aside from offhandedly saying that he considered Ovangkol a dark horse, this was basically the only time they mentioned these woods.
Walnunt and Sinker Redwood made an appearance as well. They brought a blinged to the max Redwood/Cocobolo that was droolworthy.
He did mention that you can normally use the color of the wood to help determine the sound. Darker woods give us warmer sounds, lighter woods give us brighter sounds. (Although they did have a beautiful dark stained Maple that defied that advice...heh)
The Petting Zoo happened at 'halftime', and it was literally a zoo. I tried to play as many as I could get my hands on, but it was pretty difficult to get hands on anything. Due to the guitars being on the wall (with untrustworthy fixtures to boot) the rule was that you must have an employee or Taylor staff hand you one. So maybe 6-7 staff for 70 people wanting to play...madhouse. But I did get my hands on about 4 guitars. I played that stained maple I mentioned (directly above the guitar player's head in the pic). It was just handed to me without asking so I jammed on it. Next was the Koa (not pictured) from the demonstration (although I really wanted to play the Koa...three to the right of the stained maple...couldn't get my hands on it). I think I played the redwood (cutaway next to the koa above) but honestly I don't remember. It was like war in there
But I do remember trying out the new 818ce (pictured furthest to the right) and spent the most time with this (because I couldn't find anyone to hand it back to). I tried to sneak off to a quiet place with it but there was no quiet place. I liked it, but came away with the feeling that I wasn't blown away like I thought I would. It sounded good, but just didn't sound...I don't know...that much different from a GS. But I'll not knock it until I try it again in a quieter atmosphere.
Which leads us to the second part of the show, the new 800 series. I was surprised how quickly they went through this part. Basically it was,
here is the new stuff. This. This. and This. It's great. Any questions? I figured it would be a more detailed explanation (even though I'm already familiar with it) but it did open up a lot of time for questions. I learned new things about the new pickup, which I'm not sure if I'm sold on it yet since I haven't heard it compared to the old one. After I was driving home I was kicking myself for not asking them to do a side by side comparison (which, surely they would have done).
One thing they said about it at the beginning though I found rather interesting, and I wonder if it is in reaction to the new 800 series. He asked how many of us thought the Taylor tone was the best on the market. Most hands raised. Then he said imagine about 80% of Taylor owners think this way and 20% are not convinced that Taylor has the best tone. Then he said the new redesign is aimed at those 20%. He said the new redesign (aside from Bob Taylor always wanting to push the boundaries and never wanting to stop innovation...that's a given, right?) is essentially a different flavor. Some of those 80% may not care as much for this flavor. He compared it to going to Baskin Robbins and asking what is the best flavor of ice cream. There is no answer, only different tastes. Basically he presented the new redesign as a different flavor for those who aren't yet convinced about Taylor having the best tone. Taylor thinks the redesign will bring them in.
Then lastly they gave a great demonstration of the new T5z, which I must say I was highly impressed with how versatile it is. Being an acoustic guy, not really paying that much attention to electric guitars, this one was not on my radar. If ever I find myself in a situation to go that route, or if anyone asks for a recommendation, it's the T5. Simply a phenomenal guitar. A whole new appreciation for it and the creativity at Taylor.
There was more, but that's a good summary of the night. I was the first person called for the drawing and won some medium strings (prizes were strings (med&light, no hd lights), a shirt, or picks. Stickers were free for all).
If I missed anything feel free to ask. I had a great time and would go back to another in a heartbeat.
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