Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: terrypl on February 21, 2012, 11:41:03 PM
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I am ALMOST ready to place an order for a rosewood/spruce Taylor GA BTO, but am stuck on the question of binding. I keep looking at photos online of various options, but can't seem to settle on what I want. I know you can't decide for me, but maybe you can provide some guidance.
I have a rosewood GS BTO with tortoiseshell binding, and I like it, but don't want the same. I thought about ebony, but think it's too dark, maybe looks like black plastic.
I have been pondering figured maple or figured koa, and have seen photos online, but can't decide for sure. Is maple too light, too stark a contrast? Is koa an off-color or odd color against rosewood? I've seen rosewood binding on rosewood bodies, and it looks better than I would think. I've seen a little cocobolo on rosewood, but not sure about that.
Taylor ought to provide an online simulator for acoustic BTOs, so you can visualize the various options together! Can you point me to any photos, or provide any photos that would help me decide? Can you offer any thoughts on this befuddling question?
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Either one would be great. I have owned both combinations.
Most Taylor dealers will have an 800 or 900 series guitar in stock. Both of those series have maple binding on rosewood. Good luck!
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Rosewood binding on rosewood looks stellar in my opinion.
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=3.165 (scroll down and have a look at S MS Picker's beautiful 710-L9!)
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I think the maple binding on the 800 series looks just beautiful, but as to whether it's too much of a contrast, that's best left up to your personal taste. Koa also looks great, but tends to get lost against the mahogany of the neck as a fretboard binding.
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My 814 has maple binding. It was one of the reasons why I chose it over some other models that I played, inlcuding 414 Fall Ltd. I think that the maple/rosewood looks great.
Jim
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Koa can look great against rosewood as long as you keep the other appointments simple. Otherwise, it can get too busy for my taste. I agree with an earlier poster that rosewood binding on rosewood looks stunning. It's why the 900 series features it once again (back by popular demand). Pinstriping against that binding will also make a difference. The 900 seies uses red. In the picture below, my rosewood-bound GA-KS features a blue pinstriping that really makes the abalone pop:
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa445/abpurfling/Dorathreequarter.jpg)
(You'll note thatn the sound hole is also bound in rosewood.)
Have fun with your BTO process!
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Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and photos! Keep 'em coming!
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koa can have a good bit of variegation & contrast (a bit 'darker') & it goes well with maple purfling, imho
(http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/49211/2655386670081788860S600x600Q85.jpg)
even on the fretboard binding, the edges can stand out a good bit
(http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/26698/2771719080081788860S600x600Q85.jpg)
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Figured Koa and Maple can look very similar, with Koa being slightly darker, which looks better against rosewood in my opinion.
Here is a closeup of Koa against a rosewood of he cocobolo variety.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4792551698_87d432bb7f_b.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4791974107_55a56f5ba5_b.jpg)
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Bloodwood makes an interesting binding for a spruce/rosewood guitar.
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q298/Swablr/RTBloodwoodBinding.jpg)
I once had an Engelmann/Brazilian rosewood Breedlove guitar with bloodwood binding that I found very appealing.
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Here's a link to shots of my BTO with the Koa binding. I had an edgeburst on the entire guitar which unfortunately seemed to include the binding, so it's more muted than what I've seen on others. You'll see what I mean compared to the mini-wedge - still looks good to me though. Happy building - fun stuff!
http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff463/bmeader2/
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Here's a link to shots of my BTO with the Koa binding. I had an edgeburst on the entire guitar which unfortunately seemed to include the binding, so it's more muted than what I've seen on others. You'll see what I mean compared to the mini-wedge - still looks good to me though. Happy building - fun stuff!
http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff463/bmeader2/
I like it, the edgeburst does not take away from the binding. Looks great!
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This is Koa binding against Madagascar Rosewood...not exactly what you're looking for but it might give you an idea. The MR color is slightly orangey on its back due to the late afternoon sunlight.
(http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz235/MusicForumPics/Taylor%20BTO/KoaBinding.jpg)
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Is maple too light, too stark a contrast? Is koa an off-color or odd color against rosewood? I've seen rosewood binding on rosewood bodies, and it looks better than I would think. I've seen a little cocobolo on rosewood, but not sure about that.
Personally I would go with Koa, and I can assure you that it will not look off next to the Rosewood and Spruce. I've built more BTO's with that combo than I can remember and they all looked great.
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I love the Curly maple binding, It gives a great contrast and usually "pops" the most in my opinion.
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I love the Curly maple binding, It gives a great contrast and usually "pops" the most in my opinion.
I would agree with Jack, curly maple is very nice looking and pops. Here are a couple photos of the Koa on my GA-LTD. Didn't pick it but it looks schweeet!
http://home.comcast.net/~dglair/pwpimages/DSC_0683.jpg (http://home.comcast.net/~dglair/pwpimages/DSC_0683.jpg)
http://home.comcast.net/~dglair/pwpimages/DSC_0686.jpg (http://home.comcast.net/~dglair/pwpimages/DSC_0686.jpg)
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I know the OP didn't ask about the hardness of various bindings, but I do remember reading either here or on the previous Taylor forum about some of the wood bindings getting dinged.
Which might be harder...maple or koa...or are they about the same hardness? What about the hardness of other binding options? Perhaps the OP might want to take this into consideration? :-\
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I know the OP didn't ask about the hardness of various bindings, but I do remember reading either here or on the previous Taylor forum about some of the wood bindings getting dinged.
Which might be harder...maple or koa...or are they about the same hardness? What about the hardness of other binding options? Perhaps the OP might want to take this into consideration? :-\
Wood hardness using Janka scale (pounds-force):
Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) 850
Koa (Acacia koa) 900
Bloodwood (Brosimum paraense) 2900
Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia ) 3170
Black maple is slightly harder than big leaf (and koa) which is what Taylor uses for the back and sides of their maple guitars but it seems reasonable to assume that the wood species used for back and sides would be the same as that used for the binding.
Wood hardness varies from one sample to another of the same species but the above still serves as a comparative guide.
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Thanks for all your helpful advice. I finally settled on figured koa on a AA grade rosewood body. Placed the order today with Jim at Guitar Rodeo -- great guy to work with, bought a BTO GS from him.
It should be a nice sitting-down-in-the-living-room guitar at the GA size. I used to have a 514-C, which was that size, but I sold it to finance the GS. I love the GS, but wanted to try a short-scale, smaller body, thus the new BTO.
The only fancy appointments will be the koa binding and small diamond fret markers. Otherwise, it'll be a pretty classic-looking gloss rosewood/spruce GA -- no cutaway, no electronics, no wedge, no pickguard, ebony headstock.
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Thanks for all your helpful advice. I finally settled on figured koa on a AA grade rosewood body. Placed the order today with Jim at Guitar Rodeo -- great guy to work with, bought a BTO GS from him.
It should be a nice sitting-down-in-the-living-room guitar at the GA size. I used to have a 514-C, which was that size, but I sold it to finance the GS. I love the GS, but wanted to try a short-scale, smaller body, thus the new BTO.
The only fancy appointments will be the koa binding and small diamond fret markers. Otherwise, it'll be a pretty classic-looking gloss rosewood/spruce GA -- no cutaway, no electronics, no wedge, no pickguard, ebony headstock.
Great choices! That will be a classy-looking instrument...can't wait to see pics.....
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I've got Koa on both my Rosewood BTO's and they look spectacular.
-Dave
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I know the OP didn't ask about the hardness of various bindings, but I do remember reading either here or on the previous Taylor forum about some of the wood bindings getting dinged.
Which might be harder...maple or koa...or are they about the same hardness? What about the hardness of other binding options? Perhaps the OP might want to take this into consideration? :-\
in terms of durability & protection, i believe that the plastic binding used on the 600 series
is the most 'rugged', as the 600s seem to be designed to be more of a gigging/stage guitar -
imho, it would have been nice to have the headstock binding on those models to cover
the entire area of the tops of the 'scallops', rather than just being on the leading edge,
because the edges, corners & 'peaks' of the headstock can get dinged quite easily ... ouch :(
wood binding, when compressed, dented, dinged or bruised, can also allow the force of
impact to continue to the purfling & edge of the top, which may allow finish chipping,
peeling, cracking or lifting to occur more easily than with a more resilient material
i would have thought that maple would be a harder material than koa or rosewood,
but i've seen rosewood bound guitars with their fair share of chips & nicks also -
ivoroid & faux 'tortoise' binding seem to be more susceptible to separation on older models
that i've seen, especially where the body contours have the tightest curvature (waist, etc),
but it could be due to adverse conditions that the guitars were exposed to over the years
keeping maple binding clean on a satin finish neck may require a little more upkeep than
a darker binding, but this should not be concern if the neck/binding have a gloss finish -
maple can look pretty nice also, imho :)
(http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/41603/2765558530081788860S600x600Q85.jpg)
hmm ... i wonder how transblack or other transparent-stained maple would look (if it were offered) ???
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Look at the R. Taylor site. The have some great pictures of the different binding woods. I have personally fallen in love with bloodwood and long ago saw a McIlroy bound in pearwood.