Taylor Liberty Tree Edition

[shorty]

Hi folks!
Thinking about our very recent holiday, I was wondering how many members on our forum own a Liberty Tree Edition Taylor T5 or  Acoustic? I must stress, I do not own one of these but have always been very impressed by them. Hoping for some tone opinions and even more... some eye candy!  Happy 4th of July folks!! Hope everyone had a great holiday!

[timfitz63]

Yeah, I've got one of the original GC acoustics:  #400.  See photos below; I tried to capture the main styling touches and the back wood, which I think is quite striking on my particular copy.  The back/side woods for this issue tended to vary in appearance from one guitar to another, similar to Koa guitars.

Tulip Poplar was the wood that came from the Annapolis Liberty Tree -- not a traditional tonewood, but I think it sounds quite nice.  It's tonal response is more in the brighter end of the spectrum, I'd say; similar to Koa or the African Ebony used in the 2013 Spring Limiteds; not quite as bright as Maple; and not quite the mid-range punch of Mahogany.

Somewhere out there (I suspect it's in Bob's personal collection) is the prototype Liberty Tree guitar, which makes a brief appearance in the video production that was supplied with these guitars.  It was done as a Dreadnought, rather than the Grand Concert body for the public release; going to the smaller body, I suspect, made  the wood supply go farther.  But I'd sure like to have that Liberty Tree DN...!

[davwir]

I have the original GC and even a Baby Liberty too..
Always looking for the T5, but they are rarer and pretty pricey for sure..

[timfitz63]

... Always looking for the T5, but they are rarer and pretty pricey for sure...

Yeah, I'd like to score one of the Liberty Tree T5's -- the one representing my native Pennsylvania, to be exact -- but folks definitely don't let go of those easily...

#49 (Alaska) is currently up for grabs, though; and would probably make a good match (visually) to the wood on my LTG...  That reminds me:  I'd better check the sofa for some spare change... 

[timfitz63]

... Tulip Poplar was the wood that came from the Annapolis Liberty Tree -- not a traditional tonewood, but I think it sounds quite nice.  It's tonal response is more in the brighter end of the spectrum, I'd say; similar to Koa or the African Ebony used in the 2013 Spring Limiteds; not quite as bright as Maple; and not quite the mid-range punch of Mahogany...

I reviewed the Liberty Tree DVD I have last night, and it mentioned that Bob Taylor (based on the similar wood properties -- density, etc.) was expecting the Liberty Tree wood to have similar sonic properties to Mahogany and/or Walnut.  So in retrospect, I'll revise my opinion to say that Walnut is probably the closest match.  Tulip Poplar does seem to have similar properties to Koa in that it (like Walnut) occupies a portion of Koa's sonic spectrum; but I think Walnut is probably a more accurate overall comparison.

[Dulcilo]

Gorgeous! Thanks for posting the pics, I did not know anything about these guitars or their history until someone posted theirs on FaceBook for July Fourth. Glad to get a better look see here.

[davwir]

Gorgeous! Thanks for posting the pics, I did not know anything about these guitars or their history until someone posted theirs on FaceBook for July Fourth. Glad to get a better look see here.

I posted this for you (and others), if interested.
http://youtu.be/LqLU56OTscM
Video from the DVD they produced, telling the whole story.

[shorty]

Thanks folks for all the pics and postings. REALLY enjoyed them. These guitars still blow me away. Take good care of them! (I know you all will)

[guitararmy]

I have one of the GC's as well as a Baby LT.  I am underwhelmed by the sound of either guitar, but I'm used to dreadnoughts.....

[timfitz63]

I have one of the GC's as well as a Baby LT.  I am underwhelmed by the sound of either guitar, but I'm used to dreadnoughts.....

Just out of curiosity:  does your Liberty Tree GC have a two- or three-piece back?  They were made both ways, and I've heard people in other places opine that the three-piece-back LTG's don't sound as nice...

[Herb Hunter]

I have one of the GC's as well as a Baby LT.  I am underwhelmed by the sound of either guitar, but I'm used to dreadnoughts.....

Just out of curiosity:  does your Liberty Tree GC have a two- or three-piece back?  They were made both ways, and I've heard people in other places opine that the three-piece-back LTG's don't sound as nice...

I owned a two-piece-back Liberty Tree Guitar that, to my everlasting regret, medical bills made it necessary for me to sell.  I’m here to say that what matters is the tonal characteristics of specific pieces of wood and not whether the back is made up of two or three pieces. Poplar isn’t a wood of choice for guitars so I wasn’t expecting great sound from my Liberty Guitar. Nevertheless, mine sounded better than I dared hope and I enjoyed playing it. I found its tone interesting and unique.

[timfitz63]

I have one of the GC's as well as a Baby LT.  I am underwhelmed by the sound of either guitar, but I'm used to dreadnoughts.....

Just out of curiosity:  does your Liberty Tree GC have a two- or three-piece back?  They were made both ways, and I've heard people in other places opine that the three-piece-back LTG's don't sound as nice...

I owned a two-piece-back Liberty Tree Guitar that, to my everlasting regret, medical bills made it necessary for me to sell.  I’m here to say that what matters is the tonal characteristics of specific pieces of wood and not whether the back is made up of two or three pieces. Poplar isn’t a wood of choice for guitars so I wasn’t expecting great sound from my Liberty Guitar. Nevertheless, mine sounded better than I dared hope and I enjoyed playing it. I found its tone interesting and unique.

Well, that's what I would think on the surface too...  And my LTG (two-piece back) sounds just fine to me...

But Bob Taylor made an interesting point some years ago with his Pallet Guitar:  that attention to proper construction influences the sound quality as much if not more than the wood being used.  Now, that being said, I realize that Taylor is well-practiced in making quality-built guitars in general -- including ones with three-piece backs -- and would have put the same experience and care into the LTG's (regardless of the back configuration).  My 656ce is a three-piece back, and it sounds fine -- just as good as a two-piece-backed 656ce that I also played.  In fact, I kind-of like the look of my 656ce compared to the standard two-piece version.  Some Taylor guitars I've seen with a three-piece back have been quite striking; one of our forum members has a 2014 Spring Limited 456ce with a three-piece back, and it looks very nice.

Still, one can't help but wonder -- and this might tie back into your point about the wood:  I seem to recall reading somewhere that Bob Taylor acknowledged that, in some cases (and I suspect the LTG's were one of these), three-piece backs are done to extend the wood supply.  Since the wood from this tree had extensive decay, perhaps some of the wood just wasn't as 'up to snuff' as it typically would have been...?  As a result, the wood that was used to extend the supply -- and found its way into the three-piece-backed LTG's -- just wasn't quite as good as the wood in the two-piece-backed LTG's...?

Could be confirmation bias on my part; it certainly is speculation...