Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Hornwriter on February 23, 2018, 08:53:03 PM
-
This is my story of guitar history, which is undeniably intertwined with the history of Taylor Guitars as well. It’s the search for my acoustic Stradivarius or Holy Grail of acoustic guitars.
I had visited the small American Dream Guitar shop in Lemon Grove several times already between 1973 and 1974, as I was living in the back hills of La Mesa in San Diego, so I could literally walk to Lemon Grove in a few minutes over the rail road tracks. The next time I visited was in early 1975, just shortly after Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug had assumed ownership and was greeted cordially by Bob and Kurt as it was now called Taylor Guitars.
It Started with a Tapping Sound
I told them what I was looking for in a custom guitar and without hesitation Bob went into the shop and brought out a beautiful spruce top maple jumbo guitar body. Even unfinished, this incredible flaming maple body with three piece back and center of Birdseye maple looked amazing. I recall Bob holding it to his ear and taped it several times and saying, “Listen to that, do you hear that? Now that’s sustain! This will really be an amazing guitar once it’s finished”. (This was before the film “This is Spinal Tap”, and before that became a guitar cliché). So, right then and there my fate was sealed.
Jumbo Body with Flaming and Birdseye Maple Back
After a short discussion of what custom features I wanted, like electronics and inlays, Kurt provided me the price tag. Now, $650.00 was a good chunk of change back then and adjusted for inflation is almost $3,000.00 now in 2018 US dollars. We decided to add custom fret board inlays, which raised the initial price slightly. I remember my folks thought I was crazy spending that kind of money on a guitar, but supported my musical interest. Back then even the teller at my local bank wanted to know what I was doing with all that cash.
Why did I place my faith in Bob Taylor, who was a completely unknown guitar maker at the time? Truth is I liked both Bob and Kurt’s professionalism; they took this business very seriously. One could also tell Bob had a passion for wood, it talked to him and the several great demo guitars he showed me were a testament to his ability to produce quality instruments and qualified him as a certified guitar Luthier in my mind.
I put my trust in them and they in turn put their trust in me. You see I didn’t have that much available cash on hand, so they worked out a way I could pay for it over time. I would bring in a payment each week and Bob would put additional work into the guitar. With a handshake and an initial down payment, we sealed the deal for my future guitar. One I would have for the rest of my life.
A custom build guitar means it's not just a production guitar; but one built precisely to your personal specifications. Therefore, it wasn’t like Taylor Guitars could turn around and sell this one “off the shelf” to someone else, if I were to back out of the deal. Trust between two people is usually earned in advance. I can never thank Bob and Kurt enough for placing that trust in me, as it provided me a once in a lifetime experience for a guitarist. Taylor Guitars now takes Custom orders (BTO) and this was undoubtedly the pioneer of that experience. I highly recommend it, if you can afford it.
But l can also point out, as Bob or Kurt once told me, “Hey we were living off your payments back then, eating cheese sandwiches and sleeping in back of the shop.” I was happy to pay the power bills guys.
The Birth of a Taylor Neck
Every week I would come in with my payment and check on the additional progress of my guitar. I recall Bob and myself sitting down together in the shop and discussing neck shapes. Bob had half a dozen guitar necks with different shapes to them. We both leaned more to something with a slight-V at the top tapering out to a gentle round shape at the bottom. He used a hand rasp to file the neck, stopping to feel the fit together to my hand as we went, until I was happy with it. I doubt many guitarists get to experience this event in the life of their guitar.
As I’ve reviewed the history of Taylor Guitars, this or similar shape has become a signature trademark and this was undoubtedly one of the first prototype necks.
The Custom Fretboard Inlays
When it was time, there was a discussion on what I wanted for the custom fret board inlays. There was no pressure, but I recall Kurt saying, “Hey this is a custom guitar, why not have some cool looking abalone or mother of pearl inlays”. The abalone sound hole rosette on the body was included in the price of the guitar, and I was ecstatic about just having that. The base price guitar came with pearl dot inlays only. I forget how much we finally agreed for custom inlays. Bob said it was up to me to choose a design, as long as it was within reason.
I wasn’t an artist and was not going draw a flower inlay design or something. So, I drew on what I knew, l asked Bob if he could produce a similar rectangle and diamond inlay, which was of course used primarily on the Guild© acoustics. I recall a little wincing in the room, but as you can see in the picture below, here is Bob Taylor’s handmade abalone diamond inlays and mother of pearl with a truly amazing and professional result. They are still holding up strong after more than 40 years!
The First Taylor Machine Routed Headstock Inlay
It was also about that same time, when we were finishing up the inlays, when Kurt walked up and said “Hey look what we just got in! It’s a wood routing guide which produces a Taylor logo on the headstock.”
Now this was MY custom guitar, and there was no discussion up to now about putting any “Logo” on the headstock. I recall saying joking of course, “I don’t know. Why would I want to put someone else’s name on my guitar? I think Bob’s mouth dropped open about then. “But then again who knows Bob, maybe you’ll be some well-known guitar maker someday.” Kurt interjected “Just think of it this way Steve, its more mother of pearl inlay, and you get it for no additional cost.” Kurt was always taking care of the business side of things.
So there you have it then. This guitar actually has the 1st ever machine routed Taylor logo on the headstock. I’m not sure that is of any significance to anyone except for me. But this is my factual recollection of the time.
The Finishing Touches
As we progressed with the “pay as you build it plan”, Bob began the process of laquering the body and neck. As I recall this was a slow and tedious process and nothing like what Taylor Guitars is using today with ultraviolet curing, this was “old school”. This was a labor intensive hand process and required days of drying times and hand rubbing between coats. Of course all done by Bob personally, as there were no employees back then.
By now I was so anxious to get my hands on this guitar, those several weeks seemed like an eternity. It was all I could do to stop myself from coming in every day and checking on it.
The Old Mustache Bridge
Back then Bob had a template for what was called “the mushtache bridge”. I had seen it on one of the demo models and really liked it, so it became part of the charm and character of this Taylor. Once more, after over 40 years of stressing and destressing the string tension, there is no bulge behind the bridge or cracking along the bridge pin line. It’s in perfect condition; a true testamony to quality construction being used even back then.
The Final Delivery
Eventually the neck got joined to the body and the bridge was glued, the tuning hardward and pickup installed. The guitar was finally strung for the first time with some light gauge bronze wound strings.
On the day I received the guitar, I recall Bob coming out of the shop with a big smile on his face, as he seemed very pleased at how the guitar turned out. This was an emotional time for me at least, when Bob handed me the guitar and said “It’s your guitar now.”
The guitar came with a Guild© manufactured jumbo hardshell case (sans logo). It didn’t fit just exacly to the this guitars custom jumbo body shape, but good enough. Taylor didn’t make their own cases back then of course. I've recently bought it a new Taylor made case, as with all the world traveling I've done with this guitar, the old case was fairly beat up and didn't do the guitar justice.
As for the guitar, other than a lot of wear and tear on the face of the guitar and some spider hair cracking (checking) it looks the same as it did that day in May 1975, in the small Taylor guitar shop in Lemon Grove.
Time for a Major Tune-up
Eventually, no matter how much care I had given it, the action faded and the guitar needed a refresh. As I had returned to California, I brought the guitar back with me to Los Angeles, and in 1997 drove it down to the Taylor Service Center, now in El Cajon.
The folks at Taylor arranged to have Bob Taylor meet me so he had an opportunity to see his old guitar work. We talked for awhile and then he gave me a personalized tour of his El Cajon factory. I was really quite honored. I’ve been an Aerospace engineer for some years, and was really quite impressed with the modernized NC machining and laser etching and aligned manufacturing techniques. Bob and his team have really got an inovative state of the art facility out in El Cajon.
Originally, we installed an old style Barcus Berry pickup under the bridge, which needed an external pre-amp to function. I had the Taylor shop removed this and install a more updated Fishman Acoustic Matrix Pickup system with onboard pre-amp. What an improvement and why electronics in a guitar needs to be as modern and efficient as possible, but also upgradeable. We also finally installed a pickguard (clear) as I originally didn't want one. This was needed to help stop the Willie Nelson effect, which had started around the sound hole from getting any worse. This guitar never spent any time under the bed I can assure you.
Lifetime Warranty - It was explained to me that my guitar had a Lifetime Warranty to the original owner. I really had not imagined that Taylor would bestow upon the product of our little joint venture together, their modern warranty. So Taylor Service Center carefully removed the neck and performed a laser neck alignment for the first time. This was done at no cost even after all these years. Taylor really does stand behind their products. When I got the guitar back it really did play better than when I received it in 1975. I think the Taylor Service Center manager, Terry was very pleased how it turned out.
Elixer© Strings - I was actually beta testing Elixer© strings at the time I brought my Taylor in for the 1997 tune-up. I discussed with Bob the advantages of these coated strings tone longevity solving the dead string issue when a guitar hangs on a store wall too long before purchase. Having owned a Taylor guitar longer than, well almost anyone, I knew those few hours or days before string oxidation sets in, was when my Taylor tone could blow peoples ears and minds. I actualy spoke with the folks at Gore© about my idea shortly after that. They helped me write my Pepperdine MBA marketing project around this joint venture concept. I believe by the 1998 NAMM show, this Taylor Guitar / Gore Elixer© String idea was a reality. I am not trying to take any credit for this move, just that like minds think alike.
First Serialized Taylor
There was never a question that this was one of Bob’s first guitars, as we talked about it in 1997 he seemed to remember making it for me back then. But I noticed the historical serial number information on the TaylorGuitar.com Website indicated that the first Serialized Taylor was SN# 10109. This appeared to be incorrect, as my guitar is SN# 00109. I had recently read that S/N XX101 thru XX108 were reserved, thus making this possibly the first serialized Taylor ever built, produced between April and May of 1975. Bob has communicated his thoughts on this matter and graciously decided to amend his Taylor website to now read as follows:
"The two oldest verified serial numbers are 00109 and 10109. Record keeping in the early days was spotty and it's uncertain which guitar is actually the first one, but these two were built within the first few months of Taylor Guitars production."
https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/general/decoding-taylor-guitars-serial (https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/general/decoding-taylor-guitars-serial)
Finally, I want to thank Bob and Kurt and all those at Taylor Guitars for their tremendous attention to quality and engineering innovation in the field of guitar manufacturing. If it weren’t for you, my early Taylor guitar probably wouldn’t have held up as long as it has and provided me so much pleasure over the years. It was worth every penny.
Happy Pickin',
Steve
-
Wow, what a fabulous history lesson. Thank you so much for sharing it and joining us here. Did you intend on posting some pictures too?
-
Hi Susie;
I did finally figure out how to post photos, thanks. There is a four (4) photos limit per posting, so here are a couple more.
-
What a beautiful Taylor! It looks to be very well taken care of.
See if the 3rd post in this thread helps:
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=320.0
-
Great Saturday morning reading along with my tea. Now off to play my Taylor( a bit later model than yours!)
-
Interesting read Hornwriter. I enjoyed getting a little insite as to how Kurt and Bob probably struggled day to day to get their little venture off and running. Like many of the great American dreams, it is typically not an easy road.
Your jumbo is a beautiful example of Bob's design and workmanship, it is beautiful.
-
Great story, and thank you for sharing your journey! Great read ...and a quite a memory for you, no doubt, particularly where Taylor is today. Have you tried to reach out to Bob and Kurt with this? (I think you should ;) )
If anything, they may get a real kick out of it! :)
Edward
-
Cool tale!
The first Taylor I played might have been
in the 80's. It was a dreadnought and
I was very impressed...but it was purple.
-
Hi folks - Thanks to everyone for your comments thus far related to my lengthy story. I felt compelled to write this down for my children some time ago, so it had been kicking around for a while. Thought I would share it out on the web for reasons below.
Edward - You suggested I share this story with Bob and Kurt. I have in fact done that already. My latest contact last year with Taylor Support included this story (along with dated receipts) and was what prompted Bob to agree to update the Serial Number information on the TaylorGuitar.com website link last year.
I would certainly like to encourage the owner of Taylor S/N 10109 to reach out and discuss their experience as well. It would be interesting to solve the mystery and add to the legacy. Perhaps this then would make an interesting article for Wood & Steel.
-
WOW!! what an amazing story! when i read bob’s book - i thought about it too - there had to be extremely brave people to have trusted taylor enough to buy a guitar!
i completely agree - the experience of building a custom guitar is incredible - i was fortunate to hand pick my back and sides. i loved the experience so much i did it again, although this time i had to pick from photos.
attaching photos has become so tricky now, i’m on my phone now so can’t really write easy instructions, but if you like, you can send me a private message, i’ll provide you with my email and you can email them to me, i’ll host them on a website called imgur for you
imgur has image attachment options from their main website, that isn’t available on their mobile app
thanks again for that wonderful story, amazing!!!!!
-
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! When I read Bob’s book I was taken with how hard it was to get their fledgling business running and keeping it running. Early customers like you were vital to their eventual success! Thank you for having faith in your local luthier, it looks like things worked out well for both you and Bob! As an aside, my son is going into aerospace engineering next fall, any pointers you could share (via private message) would be appreciated! Thanks again for sharing your tale.
-
So very cool that not only have you shared this with Bob and Kurt, but that they were prompted to fix a serial number issue because of your guitar. This is definitely a W&S worthy story that I hope will make it into print! Heck, they should feature you and your guit, personally, on the pages ...I think that would be tremendous!! :)
Edward
-
WOW! Thanks for sharing! Do you happen to have any sound clips of it?
-
I don't have a sound clip to add here, but I should have as I picked up a Zoom H4n Pro handheld recorder recently, so easier than ever to do. I'll look around for one.
I'm assuming you wanted to hear the tonal quality of the instrument. Also, to determine if Taylors tone actually does improve with age. As I recall, the top did loosen up over the first 10-15 years and I could definitely hear an improvement in the low end (love my Jumbo) and sustain. It used to blow peoples minds after installing a new set of strings.
Taylor's guitars themselves are their best saleman. When I hit the East Coast with it in '76, it was the only one around. I feel I helped spread the brand. At least I helped teach them how to say El Cajon right (the j is a ha sound). Anyway, after that, over the next 30 years, improvements in sound became a little more subjective. It's an accumulation of factors, but after the neck laser realignment, it took another jump in resonance as well.
Steve
-
What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.....
-
That's a piece of Taylor History!
To echo the comments above, beautiful guitar and thanks for sharing the story.
-
Hi Hornwriter! 8)
What a great story. It seems strange to me that Taylor would post that yours is not THE first serialized Taylor, since your SN 00109 is clearly lower than SN 10109. Also, you said in another response that you sent this story to Bob Taylor along with your original receipts. That should have cleared up any fuzzy recordkeeping. Did the other guy have his original receipts?
-
Hi Hornwriter! 8)
What a great story. It seems strange to me that Taylor would post that yours is not THE first serialized Taylor, since your SN 00109 is clearly lower than SN 10109. Also, you said in another response that you sent this story to Bob Taylor along with your original receipts. That should have cleared up any fuzzy recordkeeping. Did the other guy have his original receipts?
I think that shows how chaotic it probably was back in the day with two very young and inexperienced dudes so full of dreams, but had not acquired the total business sense they now possess.
-
Hi EuroJam, good to know there are readers overseas in Europe reading this forum. That's awesome, I loved it over there. I lived in Germany for about six years and enjoyed their love of classic rock. I got a chance to use the old Taylor in a few sets playing in a German classic rock cover band for a while. The band was called Take Off, as we were all Aerospace engineers.
To answer your question, I'd had similar thoughts and Taylor Support told me the following "The other person doesn't have the receipts like you do, so there's some uncertainty there. Receipts would mark the sale date and not the build date, so that's another factor to consider. Bob says they changed serial numbering methods several times in the early years and he just doesn't remember why one serial would start with a zero and the other with a one."
I could also add that there is a reason I have my original receipts after more that 40 years. Because thats one of the things I always put in that little fuzzy box in the middle of the guitar case and leave it there. I tend then to think that if one does not have their original purchase receipts (good for warranty issues and resale you know), then you probably are not the original owner.
I guess unless the current owner of this other rare older model guitar comes forward with details on their Taylor Relic Guitar, then I probably won't be able to do any better than having "one of two of the oldest Taylors". Ce La Vie.
Steve
-
Very cool story and guitar, Steve! Makes me think we should start a "Most Interesting Guitar" thread to collect information like this on our members' most interesting and/or significant guitars. Maybe everyone could vote for forum "Guitar of the Year" or something like that...?
... The band was called Take Off, as we were all Aerospace engineers...
Geez! I thought I was the only aerospace engineer on the forum! My only work-related trip to Europe was to present a technical paper at an AGARD conference; but that was something like 20 years ago. What were you working on in Germany?
-
Hi timfitz63- Thanks for your comment. I unfortunately am not at liberty to discuss my work activities in Europe. However, I can say that if you ever get a chance to get to Hamburg Germany, go to the Reeperbahn! Check out the memorial (picture below) of the old Star Club, where the Beatles (and others) got their start and polished their licks.
-
Great narrative - Thanks for sharing. One of the more attractive aspects of Taylor as a company is, although it has become huge, there is still an emphasis on quality and service. As an individual Taylor owner, we feel like an individual and not a part of a herd of cattle. I know your situation with this very special guitar is unique, but it demonstrates (although somewhat indirectly) the company's level of care towards all of its owners. Refreshing.
-
Great narrative - Thanks for sharing. One of the more attractive aspects of Taylor as a company is, although it has become huge, there is still an emphasis on quality and service. As an individual Taylor owner, we feel like an individual and not a part of a herd of cattle. I know your situation with this very special guitar is unique, but it demonstrates (although somewhat indirectly) the company's level of care towards all of its owners. Refreshing.
Thanks Mark - You couldn't be more right. Taylor Guitars really do service their clients, their community and the world at large with their own brand of steadfastness to quality, innovation, environmentally sustainable approaches to materials and processes and their focus on great Customer Service. Here in San Diego area, they are very well known and respected for these attributes. Their factory tours are a big hit here and it's amazing to see how many people at work have the sounds hole cutouts they give out as their office coffee coasters.
I'm thinking of heading over to the El Cajon factory one last time for a refresh with the old Taylor. I just realized it's been 20 years already since the last visit. Life's a journey and we're getting ready to head out again, so don't know if life will take me back here to my home town of San Diego again.
Steve
-
Great narrative - Thanks for sharing. One of the more attractive aspects of Taylor as a company is, although it has become huge, there is still an emphasis on quality and service. As an individual Taylor owner, we feel like an individual and not a part of a herd of cattle. I know your situation with this very special guitar is unique, but it demonstrates (although somewhat indirectly) the company's level of care towards all of its owners. Refreshing.
Thanks Mark - You couldn't be more right. Taylor Guitars really do service their clients, their community and the world at large with their own brand of steadfastness to quality, innovation, environmentally sustainable approaches to materials and processes and their focus on great Customer Service. Here in San Diego area, they are very well known and respected for these attributes. Their factory tours are a big hit here and it's amazing to see how many people at work have the sounds hole cutouts they give out as their office coffee coasters.
I'm thinking of heading over to the El Cajon factory one last time for a refresh with the old Taylor. I just realized it's been 20 years already since the last visit. Life's a journey and we're getting ready to head out again, so don't know if life will take me back here to my home town of San Diego again.
Steve
steve, you’re an awesome person with an equally amazing story. i emailed taylor your post, i think you should contact them prior to your visit!
-
Hi again Hornwriter,
Still love your great Taylor Guitar story, what a history lesson. Also, I like that you brought it over the Europe and played for a while in a German rock band too, COOL! We here in France also like our classic rock and have some great players.
I was reading your story and and was wondering about something. You said Bob Taylor "went directly into the back shop and brought out an almost finished jumbo maple body”. To me, I would wonder how long it had been sitting there already built? This body could have been made during the Westland Guitars times or even American Dream days, who knows. Just a thought for you. ;)
EuroJam 8)
-
Hi again Hornwriter,
Still love your great Taylor Guitar story, what a history lesson. Also, I like that you brought it over the Europe and played for a while in a German rock band too, COOL! We here in France also like our classic rock and have some great players.
I was reading your story and and was wondering about something. You said Bob Taylor "went directly into the back shop and brought out an almost finished jumbo maple body”. To me, I would wonder how long it had been sitting there already built? This body could have been made during the Westland Guitars times or even American Dream days, who knows. Just a thought for you. ;)
EuroJam 8)
EuroJam - Yeah, France ROCKS too! I'm blown away by some of the young artists out there, particularly this young French girl called Tina S on YouTube. Makes me wonder just how some of this generations musicians get that good at such a young age and where they will take music in the future.
I thought about what you had brought up about the guitar body having been already built when I first came into the Lemon Grove shop back in early 1975. I think the sign next to the front door still said Westland Music Co., so technically you could be right. The guitar body then could be pre-Taylor (Westland or even American Dream) and could date into '74 timeframe, which would make it even cooler in my mind. Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Also, my thoughts for you and maybe your band mates: Accrochez-toi à ton rêves (Hold on tight to your dreams) "E.L.O."
Steve
-
Hi timfitz63- Thanks for your comment. I unfortunately am not at liberty to discuss my work activities in Europe. However, I can say that if you ever get a chance to get to Hamburg Germany, go to the Reeperbahn! Check out the memorial (picture below) of the old Star Club, where the Beatles (and others) got their start and polished their licks.
Will do, Steve!
... Also, my thoughts for you and maybe your band mates: Accrochez-toi à ton rêves (Hold on tight to your dreams) "E.L.O."
Looks like we may have something else in common besides being aerospace engineers and Taylor guitars: we both follow Electric Light Orchestra. I remember I was just going into college when "Hold On Tight" was all over the radio. The French verse baffled me, though, but my girlfriend at the time was taking French so I asked her to translate it. Turns out it's just the first verse of the song in French... Apparently the music video for the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkekqVPIc2M) was the most expensive to produce at the time; it seemed to have little to do with the lyrics, but was entertaining nonetheless. Somewhere along the way I've heard an unconfirmed rumor that the guy playing the 'mad scientist' in the video is former band member Roy Wood, but no one who really knows has ever said one way or the other...
-
Hi timfitz63- Thanks for your comment. I unfortunately am not at liberty to discuss my work activities in Europe. However, I can say that if you ever get a chance to get to Hamburg Germany, go to the Reeperbahn! Check out the memorial (picture below) of the old Star Club, where the Beatles (and others) got their start and polished their licks.
Will do, Steve!
... Also, my thoughts for you and maybe your band mates: Accrochez-toi à ton rêves (Hold on tight to your dreams) "E.L.O."
Looks like we may have something else in common besides being aerospace engineers and Taylor guitars: we both follow Electric Light Orchestra. I remember I was just going into college when "Hold On Tight" was all over the radio. The French verse baffled me, though, but my girlfriend at the time was taking French so I asked her to translate it. Turns out it's just the first verse of the song in French... Apparently the music video for the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkekqVPIc2M) was the most expensive to produce at the time; it seemed to have little to do with the lyrics, but was entertaining nonetheless. Somewhere along the way I've heard an unconfirmed rumor that the guy playing the 'mad scientist' in the video is former band member Roy Wood, but no one who really knows has ever said one way or the other...
Tim - My thanks for all you have shared on this site as well. You are definitely a man who follows his passion. I am truly amazed at the collection of fine Taylor instruments you have amassed. Never seen anything like it in all my travels and associations.
I've read your story of your PS14ce (Coco, Braz RW, "Milagro") and must admit I'm very impressed with this endeavor. I had a 2004 914ce Cyndi for about 10 years. I was always so paranoid when taking it anywhere, especially stage events, that I invariably left it at home and used my old trusty '75 jumbo. I was always freaked out about getting is scratched or dinged or some drunken fool doing something stupid to it (which could include myself). Also, it seems like once one has taken that leap into the stratosphere of higher end guitars, at least in my case it started me dreaming of moving up to something even finer like perhaps a new Presentation. I've recently sold my 914ce and am debating the next move. Perhaps a new V-braced PS14/18, but certainly a Braz RW model.
Again, my hats goes off to you my friend. "Fortune sides with he who dares." - Virgil
Steve
-
Tim - My thanks for all you have shared on this site as well. You are definitely a man who follows his passion. I am truly amazed at the collection of fine Taylor instruments you have amassed. Never seen anything like it in all my travels and associations.
I've read your story of your PS14ce (Coco, Braz RW, "Milagro") and must admit I'm very impressed with this endeavor. I had a 2004 914ce Cyndi for about 10 years. I was always so paranoid when taking it anywhere, especially stage events, that I invariably left it at home and used my old trusty '75 jumbo. I was always freaked out about getting is scratched or dinged or some drunken fool doing something stupid to it (which could include myself). Also, it seems like once one has taken that leap into the stratosphere of higher end guitars, at least in my case it started me dreaming of moving up to perhaps a new Presentation. I've recently sold my 914ce and am debating the next move. Perhaps a new V-braced PS14/18, but certainly a Braz RW model.
Again, my hats goes off to you my friend. "Fortune sides with he who dares." - Virgil
Thank you, Steve! I appreciate the compliments! As with all endeavors, though, the passion brings a downside: the collection is becoming somewhat unmanageable. I really should pare it down, but can't bring myself to sell anything. At least it's become time for a long pause while I get a handle on things...
I share your squeamishness about damage to the guitars. I guess it's just the touch of OCD that every engineer has... I recently returned to Texas after being on a remote job site for the previous five months and found that, despite my best efforts to keep it safe (i.e., Humidipaks in the case, a humidifier in the room that my next-door neighbor monitored diligently for me), one of my beloved guitars had developed some cracking in the finish. I guess the harsher-than-normal winter was a bit too much for it. The good news it it appears -- as best as I can discern -- that the wood is unaffected; only the finish seems to have cracked. This was a factory-used guitar that seemed to have a finish imperfection right in the area that was affected, and it's not affected the tone at all. But it's still disappointing to look at it and know it's there... I'm trying to let it be, but know in my heart that I will probably have it repaired -- just because...
Well, since you brought it up... One thing we're all good at on this forum is spending each other's money on Taylor guitars. And I happen to know of a couple of guitars lurking out in Taylorland that may pique your interest: both are made with the coveted "Milagro" Brazilian Rosewood (of which I was told Taylor only had enough for about 50 guitars); and both are at the same Taylor dealer (Empire Music in Pittsburgh, PA).
The first is a PS14ce (http://empiremusiconline.com/products-page/acoustic-guitar/taylor-ps14ce-2/); aside from having "Milagro" Brazilian Rosewood, it is probably the only PS14ce on the planet with the AP bracing (not found on the Presentation Series). Certainly the only one with "Milagro" and AP bracing. It's also on sale, but you'd have to call Empire and talk to Joe or Todd to get the special pricing. Don't know if it will hurt or help your wallet to mention me... ;)
The other is a Custom GA (http://empiremusiconline.com/products-page/acoustic-guitar/taylor-ps14ce-custom-shop-brazilian-rosewood/) that, I believe, Taylor had at Winter NAMM. It's all decked out with "Milagro" backs/sides, Adirondack top, AP bracing, Koa binding with armrest -- and "V-Class" bracing for the top.
I've played both guitars and they're both quite nice. I actually prefer the tone of the PS14ce, probably because Adirondack sounds a bit too harsh to my ears, but you may hear otherwise. And I'm not a discerning enough player at this stage to truly appreciate the benefits of "V-Class" bracing. Ideally -- and especially given the money involved -- you should sample them both yourself. But I don't know how feasible a trip to Pittsburgh is for you...?
Is that Virgil I hear daring you...? ;)
-
Thanks ZeeBow - I will give a call to Customer Service before I head over to the Taylor factory in El Cajon. I've talked to Bob and Kurt both over the years several times, as I used to go to the winter NAMM show every year with a friend who had a musical manufacturing business. If you can swing a pass to the NAMM in Anaheim Ca, it is amazing and the Taylor Guitar "suite" is to die for. You also get the possibility to see up close or even meet a lot of famous musicians (met Joe Satriani, Steve Vei and many more).
Anyway, it's been many years now and I doubt either would recognize me. It's not readily apparent from the story about my first Taylor, but I really do believe walking in the shop back then that I was possibly their 1st customer to purchase a guitar out the door. It's not that significant a data point for them now, but it left an indelible impression on me as a young player just out of high school and provided me with a life long friend (my custom Taylor) to remember it by.
Steve
-
This is a great story, thanks for posting! I actually have a 1975 Taylor with serial number 00104, that was sold under the Westland brand but has the same Taylor inlay on the headstock. I was never clear on where this fit in the build order as Bob also told me that they didn’t keep good records back then. You said that the early serial numbers were reserved, what does that mean? My guess is that your guitar was started before mine and finished after mine as I am sure they would assign the serial number at the end.
I also have a June 1974 American Dream built by Bob when he was 19 years old (4 months before he started Taylor Guitars). He built approximately 10 guitars at the American Dream shop and only the first one (still with the original owner) and this one have been accounted for.
-
This is a great story, thanks for posting! I actually have a 1975 Taylor with serial number 00104, that was sold under the Westland brand but has the same Taylor inlay on the headstock. I was never clear on where this fit in the build order as Bob also told me that they didn’t keep good records back then. You said that the early serial numbers were reserved, what does that mean? My guess is that your guitar was started before mine and finished after mine as I am sure they would assign the serial number at the end.
I also have a June 1974 American Dream built by Bob when he was 19 years old (4 months before he started Taylor Guitars). He built approximately 10 guitars at the American Dream shop and only the first one (still with the original owner) and this one have been accounted for.
wow! really cool to see this. have you played any of the newer taylors and how do you feel they compare against these? i find it interesting, must have taken courage to buy these early guitars before taylor became well known
-
This is a great story, thanks for posting! I actually have a 1975 Taylor with serial number 00104, that was sold under the Westland brand but has the same Taylor inlay on the headstock. I was never clear on where this fit in the build order as Bob also told me that they didn’t keep good records back then. You said that the early serial numbers were reserved, what does that mean? My guess is that your guitar was started before mine and finished after mine as I am sure they would assign the serial number at the end.
I also have a June 1974 American Dream built by Bob when he was 19 years old (4 months before he started Taylor Guitars). He built approximately 10 guitars at the American Dream shop and only the first one (still with the original owner) and this one have been accounted for.
Hi Denoo, thanks for reading my post and leaving your great story as well. To be frank, this is exactly why I have left this post. To find "kindred spirits" who knew Bob and Kurt back in the days and have Taylor's, Westlands or American Dream guitars and hung onto them. So now we've located Serial Number 00104, build in 1975. Truly outstanding example of early Taylor dreadnaght construction. I'm sure I was in the the shop when this guitar was being built. All these guitars have a story to tell.
Bob once told me Taylor doesn't have a vintage market because he'd not been in business for several generations like companies like Martin. Well time marches on and things change. If Taylor ever does finally have a vintage market, your guitar will be on the top of that list.
As for some serial numbers being reserved, I'd read that in another blog and cannot confirm this. Your serial number 00104 with a Taylor logo is quite interesting. I can tell you for certain that Bob hand carved that headstock himself off a stencil. I know this because I was sitting at the bench with him carving my neck when Curt walked up with the fist Taylor routing guide. I think this makes your guitar even more unique.
If you are living in San Diego, I'd certainly like to arrange a get together to see these two guitars. Would be a kick to take them over to El Cajon to the Taylor factory. You know they are still under life time warranty. I'm thinking of getting another neck alignment as it's been 20 years sine the last one.
-
Thank you for sharing such an awesome story about your Taylor!
marc
-
I'm being warned that this topic isn't fresh but since it seems to be related to what I want to post I thought this would be a good spot. I told some of this story in the post where I introduced myself (http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=10740.0 (http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=10740.0)) but since seeing the topic I thought I'd show a few pictures.
I picked up this guitar from the American Dream shop in late 1972. It never had any insignia of any sort so there is no way to prove that it even came from American Dream but I was there and have had the guitar with me for 49 years so I'm pretty confident of that fact. I don't know when Bob Taylor started working there, but a mutual friend asked him about building fibreglass backed guitars and he indicated that he remembered working on a couple. Mine would have been the last because American Dream received a cease and desist letter from Ovation on the day I picked it up. I was told they'd made 12 but who knows.
A post above by Denoo shows a 1974 or 1975 Taylor that has some features similar to this one made a couple of years earlier. I think my guitar is a historical curiosity but thought you might be interested in seeing it. It's not an early Taylor or even pre-Taylor but still...
-
Great read - thank you very much, I thoroughly enjoyed the detail of your heart-warming story. It's been a long time since I've seen any posts that really grabbed my attention like that - another effect of this pandemic, I suppose!
Your guitar is truly remarkable - it probably wouldn't be instantly recognisable as a Taylor with the fretwork design you ordered - there can't be many like that. (Vaguely remember seeing Susie Boggis playing what I thought was a small-bodied Taylor some time ago, but dismissed it as it had block mother-of-pearl fretwork - may have been wrong!
I acquired a custom grand concert a few years ago, 'pre-loved' as they say - I am very fond of it but can echo what has been previously said in this thread: it's not the same as if I'd specced the guitar myself!
Thank you again.
-
Thanks.
As it turns out I didn't spec it out myself. My friend (he's got quite a story himself a bit later as a trader in classic guitars - apparently sold one to Mick Jagger in a parking lot. But I digress.) just heard I wanted to buy a guitar. He said why buy something from a shop when you can get a handmade guitar for less. I said Ok. I think American Dream had designed the guitars and were hoping to make a lot of them until Ovation stepped in. The design and specs were all American Dream. I was just the lucky buyer.
-
Gorgeous, and awesome history. Thanks for sharing
-
This is my story of guitar history, which is undeniably intertwined with the history of Taylor Guitars as well. It’s the search for my acoustic Stradivarius or Holy Grail of acoustic guitars.
I had visited the small American Dream Guitar shop in Lemon Grove several times already between 1973 and 1974, as I was living in the back hills of La Mesa in San Diego, so I could literally walk to Lemon Grove in a few minutes over the rail road tracks. The next time I visited was in early 1975, just shortly after Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug had assumed ownership and was greeted cordially by Bob and Kurt as it was now called Taylor Guitars.
It Started with a Tapping Sound
I told them what I was looking for in a custom guitar and without hesitation Bob went into the shop and brought out a beautiful spruce top maple jumbo guitar body. Even unfinished, this incredible flaming maple body with three piece back and center of Birdseye maple looked amazing. I recall Bob holding it to his ear and taped it several times and saying, “Listen to that, do you hear that? Now that’s sustain! This will really be an amazing guitar once it’s finished”. (This was before the film “This is Spinal Tap”, and before that became a guitar cliché). So, right then and there my fate was sealed.
Jumbo Body with Flaming and Birdseye Maple Back
After a short discussion of what custom features I wanted, like electronics and inlays, Kurt provided me the price tag. Now, $650.00 was a good chunk of change back then and adjusted for inflation is almost $3,000.00 now in 2018 US dollars. We decided to add custom fret board inlays, which raised the initial price slightly. I remember my folks thought I was crazy spending that kind of money on a guitar, but supported my musical interest. Back then even the teller at my local bank wanted to know what I was doing with all that cash.
Why did I place my faith in Bob Taylor, who was a completely unknown guitar maker at the time? Truth is I liked both Bob and Kurt’s professionalism; they took this business very seriously. One could also tell Bob had a passion for wood, it talked to him and the several great demo guitars he showed me were a testament to his ability to produce quality instruments and qualified him as a certified guitar Luthier in my mind.
I put my trust in them and they in turn put their trust in me. You see I didn’t have that much available cash on hand, so they worked out a way I could pay for it over time. I would bring in a payment each week and Bob would put additional work into the guitar. With a handshake and an initial down payment, we sealed the deal for my future guitar. One I would have for the rest of my life.
A custom build guitar means it's not just a production guitar; but one built precisely to your personal specifications. Therefore, it wasn’t like Taylor Guitars could turn around and sell this one “off the shelf” to someone else, if I were to back out of the deal. Trust between two people is usually earned in advance. I can never thank Bob and Kurt enough for placing that trust in me, as it provided me a once in a lifetime experience for a guitarist. Taylor Guitars now takes Custom orders (BTO) and this was undoubtedly the pioneer of that experience. I highly recommend it, if you can afford it.
But l can also point out, as Bob or Kurt once told me, “Hey we were living off your payments back then, eating cheese sandwiches and sleeping in back of the shop.” I was happy to pay the power bills guys.
The Birth of a Taylor Neck
Every week I would come in with my payment and check on the additional progress of my guitar. I recall Bob and myself sitting down together in the shop and discussing neck shapes. Bob had half a dozen guitar necks with different shapes to them. We both leaned more to something with a slight-V at the top tapering out to a gentle round shape at the bottom. He used a hand rasp to file the neck, stopping to feel the fit together to my hand as we went, until I was happy with it. I doubt many guitarists get to experience this event in the life of their guitar.
As I’ve reviewed the history of Taylor Guitars, this or similar shape has become a signature trademark and this was undoubtedly one of the first prototype necks.
The Custom Fretboard Inlays
When it was time, there was a discussion on what I wanted for the custom fret board inlays. There was no pressure, but I recall Kurt saying, “Hey this is a custom guitar, why not have some cool looking abalone or mother of pearl inlays”. The abalone sound hole rosette on the body was included in the price of the guitar, and I was ecstatic about just having that. The base price guitar came with pearl dot inlays only. I forget how much we finally agreed for custom inlays. Bob said it was up to me to choose a design, as long as it was within reason.
I wasn’t an artist and was not going draw a flower inlay design or something. So, I drew on what I knew, l asked Bob if he could produce a similar rectangle and diamond inlay, which was of course used primarily on the Guild© acoustics. I recall a little wincing in the room, but as you can see in the picture below, here is Bob Taylor’s handmade abalone diamond inlays and mother of pearl with a truly amazing and professional result. They are still holding up strong after more than 40 years!
The First Taylor Machine Routed Headstock Inlay
It was also about that same time, when we were finishing up the inlays, when Kurt walked up and said “Hey look what we just got in! It’s a wood routing guide which produces a Taylor logo on the headstock.”
Now this was MY custom guitar, and there was no discussion up to now about putting any “Logo” on the headstock. I recall saying joking of course, “I don’t know. Why would I want to put someone else’s name on my guitar? I think Bob’s mouth dropped open about then. “But then again who knows Bob, maybe you’ll be some well-known guitar maker someday.” Kurt interjected “Just think of it this way Steve, its more mother of pearl inlay, and you get it for no additional cost.” Kurt was always taking care of the business side of things.
So there you have it then. This guitar actually has the 1st ever machine routed Taylor logo on the headstock. I’m not sure that is of any significance to anyone except for me. But this is my factual recollection of the time.
The Finishing Touches
As we progressed with the “pay as you build it plan”, Bob began the process of laquering the body and neck. As I recall this was a slow and tedious process and nothing like what Taylor Guitars is using today with ultraviolet curing, this was “old school”. This was a labor intensive hand process and required days of drying times and hand rubbing between coats. Of course all done by Bob personally, as there were no employees back then.
By now I was so anxious to get my hands on this guitar, those several weeks seemed like an eternity. It was all I could do to stop myself from coming in every day and checking on it.
The Old Mustache Bridge
Back then Bob had a template for what was called “the mushtache bridge”. I had seen it on one of the demo models and really liked it, so it became part of the charm and character of this Taylor. Once more, after over 40 years of stressing and destressing the string tension, there is no bulge behind the bridge or cracking along the bridge pin line. It’s in perfect condition; a true testamony to quality construction being used even back then.
The Final Delivery
Eventually the neck got joined to the body and the bridge was glued, the tuning hardward and pickup installed. The guitar was finally strung for the first time with some light gauge bronze wound strings.
On the day I received the guitar, I recall Bob coming out of the shop with a big smile on his face, as he seemed very pleased at how the guitar turned out. This was an emotional time for me at least, when Bob handed me the guitar and said “It’s your guitar now.”
The guitar came with a Guild© manufactured jumbo hardshell case (sans logo). It didn’t fit just exacly to the this guitars custom jumbo body shape, but good enough. Taylor didn’t make their own cases back then of course. I've recently bought it a new Taylor made case, as with all the world traveling I've done with this guitar, the old case was fairly beat up and didn't do the guitar justice.
As for the guitar, other than a lot of wear and tear on the face of the guitar and some spider hair cracking (checking) it looks the same as it did that day in May 1975, in the small Taylor guitar shop in Lemon Grove.
Time for a Major Tune-up
Eventually, no matter how much care I had given it, the action faded and the guitar needed a refresh. As I had returned to California, I brought the guitar back with me to Los Angeles, and in 1997 drove it down to the Taylor Service Center, now in El Cajon.
The folks at Taylor arranged to have Bob Taylor meet me so he had an opportunity to see his old guitar work. We talked for awhile and then he gave me a personalized tour of his El Cajon factory. I was really quite honored. I’ve been an Aerospace engineer for some years, and was really quite impressed with the modernized NC machining and laser etching and aligned manufacturing techniques. Bob and his team have really got an inovative state of the art facility out in El Cajon.
Originally, we installed an old style Barcus Berry pickup under the bridge, which needed an external pre-amp to function. I had the Taylor shop removed this and install a more updated Fishman Acoustic Matrix Pickup system with onboard pre-amp. What an improvement and why electronics in a guitar needs to be as modern and efficient as possible, but also upgradeable. We also finally installed a pickguard (clear) as I originally didn't want one. This was needed to help stop the Willie Nelson effect, which had started around the sound hole from getting any worse. This guitar never spent any time under the bed I can assure you.
Lifetime Warranty - It was explained to me that my guitar had a Lifetime Warranty to the original owner. I really had not imagined that Taylor would bestow upon the product of our little joint venture together, their modern warranty. So Taylor Service Center carefully removed the neck and performed a laser neck alignment for the first time. This was done at no cost even after all these years. Taylor really does stand behind their products. When I got the guitar back it really did play better than when I received it in 1975. I think the Taylor Service Center manager, Terry was very pleased how it turned out.
Elixer© Strings - I was actually beta testing Elixer© strings at the time I brought my Taylor in for the 1997 tune-up. I discussed with Bob the advantages of these coated strings tone longevity solving the dead string issue when a guitar hangs on a store wall too long before purchase. Having owned a Taylor guitar longer than, well almost anyone, I knew those few hours or days before string oxidation sets in, was when my Taylor tone could blow peoples ears and minds. I actualy spoke with the folks at Gore© about my idea shortly after that. They helped me write my Pepperdine MBA marketing project around this joint venture concept. I believe by the 1998 NAMM show, this Taylor Guitar / Gore Elixer© String idea was a reality. I am not trying to take any credit for this move, just that like minds think alike.
First Serialized Taylor
There was never a question that this was one of Bob’s first guitars, as we talked about it in 1997 he seemed to remember making it for me back then. But I noticed the historical serial number information on the TaylorGuitar.com Website indicated that the first Serialized Taylor was SN# 10109. This appeared to be incorrect, as my guitar is SN# 00109. I had recently read that S/N XX101 thru XX108 were reserved, thus making this possibly the first serialized Taylor ever built, produced between April and May of 1975. Bob has communicated his thoughts on this matter and graciously decided to amend his Taylor website to now read as follows:
"The two oldest verified serial numbers are 00109 and 10109. Record keeping in the early days was spotty and it's uncertain which guitar is actually the first one, but these two were built within the first few months of Taylor Guitars production."
https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/general/decoding-taylor-guitars-serial (https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/general/decoding-taylor-guitars-serial)
Finally, I want to thank Bob and Kurt and all those at Taylor Guitars for their tremendous attention to quality and engineering innovation in the field of guitar manufacturing. If it weren’t for you, my early Taylor guitar probably wouldn’t have held up as long as it has and provided me so much pleasure over the years. It was worth every penny.
Happy Pickin',
Steve
Thanks for this great story. I know this is an old thread but this was worth reading.