Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: timfitz63 on July 01, 2014, 04:17:39 PM
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I had something of a new guitar day over the weekend; the Custom GS-12 that I'd ordered came in to Empire Music. I have yet to even lay eyes on it -- or play it -- and probably won't until mid-August (I've elected to delay having Joe at Empire ship it to me here in Texas until after my trip home to Pittsburgh for Labor Day) -- but my brother was gracious enough to strum it a bit for me, and provided me some photos (see attached).
The back/sides are made of Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle (pop over to this thread for a look at the raw wood set (http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=4782.msg51978#msg51978)); the top is European Spruce with Ebony binding. I'm told the tone is very similar to Koa.
It's going to be a long six weeks...
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pretty guitar :)
thanks for sharing the pics 8)
the celtic inlays, used on the 01-06 walnut series, are a nice touch
myrtle (oregon, or california ?) was used on the 03 pelican guitar
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/myrtle/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/myrtle/)
blackheart (tasmanian) sassafras
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/)
used on a couple of Customs
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/282272_10151577312342232_197992406_n.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TpBRqkfVg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TpBRqkfVg)
tasmanian myrtle has identical density, nearly identical elastic
modulus, but is a bit a harder than blackheart sassafras
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/)
in spite of having somewhat similar characteristic & appearance, all three woods have very different scientific names -
myrtle
Umbellularia californica
blackheart sassafras
Atherosperma moschatum
tasmanian Myrtle
Nothofagus cunninghamii
may the next 6 weeks be short ones :D
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pretty guitar :)
thanks for sharing the pics 8)
the celtic inlays, used on the 01-06 walnut series, are a nice touch...
Thanks! I'm told it came out really well; even the guys there at Empire were duly impressed. It's hard to get the full effect from a photo, though. And one certainly can't hear it that way...
As Joe and I were going through the design process, I just kept coming back to the Celtic inlays; they were tugging at me for some reason. I tried to cajole Joe into asking Taylor to building the guitar on March 17; he laughed, but he told me that wasn't how it works... ;)
... myrtle (oregon, or california ?) was used on the 03 pelican guitar
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/myrtle/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/myrtle/)
blackheart (tasmanian) sassafras
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/)
used on a couple of Customs
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/282272_10151577312342232_197992406_n.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TpBRqkfVg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TpBRqkfVg)
tasmanian myrtle has identical density, nearly identical elastic
modulus, but is a bit a harder than blackheart sassafras
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/blackheart-sassafras/)
in spite of having somewhat similar characteristic & appaerance, all three woods have very different scientific names -
myrtle
Umbellularia californica
blackheart sassafras
Atherosperma moschatum
tasmanian Myrtle
Nothofagus cunninghamii...
From what I've been able to learn online (which isn't nearly as much as you seem to know), Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle is only a myrtle in name; apparently it's more closely related to the beech tree than myrtle.
... may the next 6 weeks be short ones :D
Well, I've got a few other guitars to keep me distracted, so I think I'll manage... ;)
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From what I've been able to learn online (which isn't nearly as much as you seem to know), Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle is only a myrtle in name; apparently it's more closely related to the beech tree than myrtle.
i accidentally put the wrong link in the above post (i duped blackheart sassafras, i think)
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/)
yep, myrtle beech, not to be confused with
(http://www.myrtlebeachschotels.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/myrtle-beach-coast.jpg)
myrtle beach ;)
glad you've got others to help keep you busy in the meantime :)
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Very nice...and certainly unique! The choice for top wood is especially interesting. I would have loved to have a cedar top with a 12er, but I suspect cedar isn't stiff enough. Engelmann likely gets you sonically close while still having the strength for 12 strings. Man I'd love to hear this one! Not to mention an armrest is a superb addition to the GS bodies. Huge Congrats!
But how you can restrain yourself for having it shipped ASAP shows restraint I could never muster :)
Edward
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Very nice indeed. Extremely beautiful may be more like it.
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From what I've been able to learn online (which isn't nearly as much as you seem to know), Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle is only a myrtle in name; apparently it's more closely related to the beech tree than myrtle.
i accidentally put the wrong link in the above post (i duped blackheart sassafras, i think)
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/ (http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tasmanian-myrtle/)
yep, myrtle beech, not to be confused with
(http://www.myrtlebeachschotels.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/myrtle-beach-coast.jpg)
myrtle beach ;)
glad you've got others to help keep you busy in the meantime :)
Mangore/Bellucci Guitars (http://www.mangore.com/wood) seem very taken with Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle; they speak very highly of it:
"Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle is perhaps the best discovery I made in 2010 when it comes to tonewoods. This Australian wood from is sure to get a lot of attention. The color ranges from light reddish beige to pinkish-purples and is sometimes reminiscent of Pink Ivory. Some sets have attractive brown streaks and others have gray-brown sapwood centers. It has a prominent and robust tap tone. It bends extremely well and finishes to a high luster. Not only is the grain spectacular but the sound the instrument puts out is tremendous with big bass lines, clear trebles and a separation of voices worthy of the highest ranking tonewoods on the planet."
Very nice...and certainly unique! The choice for top wood is especially interesting. I would have loved to have a cedar top with a 12er, but I suspect cedar isn't stiff enough. Engelmann likely gets you sonically close while still having the strength for 12 strings. Man I'd love to hear this one! ... Huge Congrats...!
Very nice indeed. Extremely beautiful may be more like it.
Thanks, guys! I've seen (in the sense that I know of their existence) a couple of Taylor 12-string GA's using Cedar as the top wood. Joe was telling me that Taylor was initially suggesting to pair this Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle with 'Sinker' Redwood, which is similar to Cedar (at least according to Taylor); in fact, they even had a particular piece of 'Sinker' picked out. But I have a BR-V and one of the 2013 Spring Limited guitars, both using European Spruce for the top wood -- and I really like the way it sounds and plays on those guitars. Taylor claims (http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/woods/top-woods/european-spruce) that, tonally, European Spruce "... blends the power and headroom of Adirondack spruce with a touch of cedar's warmth." One day (probably while playing either my BR-V or 614ce-LTD), the thought occurred to me that European Spruce would probably make a good top wood for a 12-string... I'll try to give you an adequate sound report, when I can make one; but if you're ever in my neck of the woods, you're certainly welcome to check it out yourself!
... Not to mention an armrest is a superb addition to the GS bodies...
I really like the GS bodies on the 12-string Taylors; but neither of the ones I already have (656ce, K66ce) have the armrest. Although I like the look of the armrest on any Taylor guitar, I can't say (for the price of one) that I'd have one on every Taylor body... The Custom TF I have has an armrest -- which is largely ornamental on the GC body; I'd have left it off had I spec'd out the guitar, and put the money in my pocket. My BR-V also has an armrest, and there's definitely some utility to it on the GA body (and by inference, the DN body, the lower bout of which is the same dimension). But the GS and GO bodies really seem to benefit from the addition of the armrest: so much more comfortable to me.
... But how you can restrain yourself for having it shipped ASAP shows restraint I could never muster :)
I've often been accused of being wholly unflappable. It's a personality trait that comes in handy on test aircraft gone awry in flight, but is largely misinterpreted otherwise... ;)
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Hey there timfitz,
Yeah, with regard to cost, I hear you on the armrest. I played a GS once (with coco b/s and seriously spec'd out once, yikes!) that sounded gorgeous, but the first thing that struck me even before the tone was man, this feels great! Love the armrest, but wow is it a pricey check-off box.
I love engelmann! My once #1 go-to acoustic was a GA7e, which on the face of it was pretty ordinary, but what a lovely tone. It was not until a certain RT-2 with an engel top hit my hands that I knew I had to somehow make this guitar happen for me. It was tough letting that GA7 go, and in truth, I miss it (though actually get to see it on occasion ;) ), but the RT with engel really captures much of that cedar mids-rich-warmth while adding in bottom-end oomph. Since that time, I had stumbled onto two more engelmann Taylors and it confirmed for me what I love so much about this topwood. I could easily imagine engelmann on a 12-er would suit it perfectly! Again, fine choice, and big congrats! :D
Edward
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Yeah, with regard to cost, I hear you on the armrest. I played a GS once (with coco b/s and seriously spec'd out once, yikes!) that sounded gorgeous, but the first thing that struck me even before the tone was man, this feels great! Love the armrest, but wow is it a pricey check-off box...
Even when I knew that I'd like the feel of the armrest on this guitar, it's very hard to part with the cash Taylor wants for it. I recognize that it takes additional workmanship and material (in the case of the binding) to fabricate it... But is it really that much...?! Still, folks like me end up paying it in certain cases, so I guess there's no incentive for Taylor to reduce the price of the option...
... I love engelmann! My once #1 go-to acoustic was a GA7e, which on the face of it was pretty ordinary, but what a lovely tone. It was not until a certain RT-2 with an engel top hit my hands that I knew I had to somehow make this guitar happen for me. It was tough letting that GA7 go, and in truth, I miss it (though actually get to see it on occasion ;) ), but the RT with engel really captures much of that cedar mids-rich-warmth while adding in bottom-end oomph. Since that time, I had stumbled onto two more engelmann Taylors and it confirmed for me what I love so much about this topwood. I could easily imagine engelmann on a 12-er would suit it perfectly! Again, fine choice, and big congrats! :D
Right there with you on Engelmann. My 510ce is a 2013 -- one of the last on which Taylor used Engelmann instead of Sitka Spruce. As time has gone on, my ear becomes more 'tuned' to the subtleties, and I try different wood pairings, I've found that I generally like Spruce-topped guitars -- and that I strongly prefer European or Engelmann Spruce over Sitka. In fact, when I was shopping for a Taylor DN, Empire had a custom Mahogany DN topped with Adirondack Spruce; in a head-to-head comparison, it turned out that I liked the sound of the standard 510 topped with Englemann better... I don't know how the Sitka-topped 510 sounds in comparison to my 510ce; I haven't had the chance to try one. But I'm guessing that I wouldn't like it as much as the one I've got...
The other aspect of European and Engelmann Spruce that I like is that I can't seem to overdrive it. As my confidence in my playing ability grows, and my strumming becomes more aggressive, I notice that if I want to give it a good, hearty 'lashing,' it just kind-of shrugs at me and says, "Is that all you've got...?" ;) In fact, it seems to want to be strummed aggressively.
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Well, sorry to keep everyone who's curious waiting, but I've got a lot of balls in the air right now. And I needed a few days to digest what I was hearing from this guitar once I finally got to play it. So here it is:
First off, the guitar looks stunning. The photos that my brother sent me (posted above) just don't do it justice; I will try to post some better photos when I get a chance. The back and side wood has some interesting and unique mottling and the coloring shows some pinkish or peach highlights -- which is typical of Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle from what I've read. The Ebony armrest and headstock have some faint marbling. And Joe's suggestion of the black-button Gotoh tuners was spot on for the guitar's aesthetics!
'Tiger' Myrtle could very well be an apt name for this tone wood. Got it tuned up and started strumming on it. Frankly, it kind-of startled me with it's voice. Adjectives like "bold" and "powerful" leaped to mind. Paired with a European Spruce top, the guitar has so much projection across the the entire sonic spectrum that I just wasn't sure what to make of it at first. It almost sounds amplified -- without amplification. I'm kind-of concerned about plugging this thing into my Fishman Loudbox; it might blow out the windows...! The downside of the guitar's 'bold' voice is that the sound quality seems very sensitive to mis-tuning; the strings were effectively unplayed, and all were tuned a half-step flat when I first laid hands on it. So as the strings began stretching into their final 'resting places,' early on they crept out of tune ever so slightly -- and it really started making the guitar sound off. Once i figured this out, though, I'd just quickly adjust the offending strings and it sounded fine again. As I've played it over the past few days, the strings have settled in, the guitar began to open up, and I found that the thing was -- plain and simple -- not just a cannon, but a howitzer. Maple is described as being ideal for a stage environment; but in a head-to-head competition, I think Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle would make Maple curl up in a little ball and whimper...
The best sonic comparison that I can make to typical tone woods is to try to imagine some merged hybrid of Rosewood or Cocobolo with Maple or Koa (without the latter's 'warmness'); there's just a lot more going on sonically than I can associate with one tone wood. The amazing thing is the clarity of the projection; from a bassy 'E' chord to a bright 'D' chord, nothing seems to be lost...! This big cat of tone woods definitely has a broad-sounding roar...!
So that's my early report on my Custom GS-12 in European Spruce/Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle. Like all wild cats, it should be treated with care -- but should also provide me with hours of fascination. :D
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Wow Tim,
Congrats, glad you finally got your hands on that incredible guitar. Thank you for the review, I am still learning and sampling with tone woods but it seems your guitar was worth the wait! Enjoy in good health.
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Wow Tim,
Congrats, glad you finally got your hands on that incredible guitar. Thank you for the review, I am still learning and sampling with tone woods but it seems your guitar was worth the wait! Enjoy in good health.
Thanks! And the review was my pleasure, I promise! :)
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Awesome guitar Tim! Congratulations on the acquisition and on making it through the "wait"!
PAul
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That's a "guitar for life", Tim. Congrats and enjoy that rare beauty!
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Awesome guitar Tim! Congratulations on the acquisition and on making it through the "wait"!
Thanks, Paul!
That's a "guitar for life", Tim. Congrats and enjoy that rare beauty!
Thanks, "SF!" This 12-string is really a different animal than I think I was expecting -- but in a good way! After I'd ordered it, I was wondering if I wasn't just duplicating what I already had; in particular, the K66ce. After playing it, though, that's no longer a concern...! This one is unique!
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As promised, here are some photos of the back and sides of this guitar in some better (i.e., more natural) lighting. The top is very nice as well, but really nothing of visual note compared to the back/sides.
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Very nice. I really do like the arm rest on those. It makes them feel comfortable to play.
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Very nice. I really do like the arm rest on those. It makes them feel comfortable to play.
Thanks!
As expensive as the option is, I don't think I'd do a BTO on a GS or GO guitar without one; personally, I'd even give it serious consideration on a BTO GA or DN.
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A keeper and she is gorgeous.
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A keeper and she is gorgeous.
Thanks!
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Man, that's a bad ass guitar. 8) Congrats.
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Man, that's a bad ass guitar. 8) Congrats.
Thanks, Shayne!