Silly Builder's reserve Questions:

[Edward]

1. So with the RTaylor "company" on hiatus, does that mean this "Builder's Reserve" line is their current line of work?  Can I make such a bold connection?  How much does the RT gang of five actually contribute to these builds: some, all, none?

2. And if the connection can be made, then would it be appropriate to call these BR guitars (under one's breath ) "RTaylors" sans the "RTaylor" badge, and likewise are they priced similarly to how the RT line was priced (with respect to each guitar's specs and taking into account the bundled amp, of course).

Why I ask is strictly out of curiosity since the stunning level of detail and craftsmanship, not to mention going beyond the typical production-line wood flavorings, seem to permeate these guitars ...or at least the ad copy as I have not had my hands on one.  Personally, I think the BR idea is an interesting one, not unlike PRS' or Fender's Masterbuilt where the utmost attention is focused on a truly small number of guitars.  But at the same time, I lament the absence of RTaylor for the simple reason that in addition to the superlative detail and craftsmanship poured into their builds, they were a true custom shop where you could check off the boxes you liked and create the guitar you imagined in your head.  Even if BRs are built by the same stellar crew, they strike me as somehow not "as special" as an RT built for you.  All IMHO, of course, but just wondering aloud as I thumbed my way through the current W&S (which I then put down to grab my style 2 ) ).  Thoughts welcomed!


Edward

[Steve]

1. So with the RTaylor "company" on hiatus, does that mean this "Builder's Reserve" line is their current line of work?

No...

Can I make such a bold connection?

 

You could try...

How much does the RT gang of five actually contribute to these builds: some, all, none?

Don't know...

2. And if the connection can be made, then would it be appropriate to call these BR guitars (under one's breath ) "RTaylors" sans the "RTaylor" badge...

No.

R. Taylor is in, at best, hibernation. There is no R. Taylor right now.

Think of it this way: Guys like Larry Breedlove and Andy Powers used to build guitars with names other than "TAYLOR" on the peghead. When they went to work for Taylor, the pegheads said "TAYLOR". No different with the guys who were building R. Taylor.

Everyone building guitars at Taylor Guitars is building guitars for Taylor Guitars. It doesn't really serve any purpose to muddy the waters...

[michaelw]

as far as i know, the people that made up R Taylor still work for Taylor -
the all-koa guitar has solid lining & side braces, which i've only seen on R Taylors/prototypes &
along with the hand built ukes, i would venture to guess that the different, more painstaking &
time-consuming processes probably  would not be happening right in the middle of standard model &
BTO production, although the 4 runs of guitars/amps  may  be made right along side the rest,
as the bracing seems standard so far & the armrest, while time-consuming, is a regular BTO option

i haven't heard of any options available on the BR guitars (nut width, scale length) or
if there are going to be any lefties made, but there are 50 sets available in Series V

Brian has already said that there may  be something going on with R Taylor as early
as this fall & Bob mentioned Andy has come up with an all new guitar shape/voice (V 71 pg 5)

imho, if one wants a R Taylor, i'd suggest just waiting it out -
that's what i'm doing because i'm hoping that there will be a few options
that made available through R Taylor that aren't available in a BTO ...

we'll see

[JPHoush]

You are not too far off in your conclusions as far as I am told by a couple of Taylor employees.  I own two R. Taylors, one of which is very close to the last R. Taylor built.  There were only 74 R. Taylors built in 2011, their last production year.  The last batch of them, mine included, were actually finished in 2012. 

Some of the features that were inherent in all R. Taylors are also part of the BR group being sold now.  Solid, non-kerfed lining is one of those features.  The ukes were built by Andy Powers which is documented on Taylor's website.  If fact, there are a couple of pics on their website showing AP working on the bracing of one of the ukes and you can see that he is in the R. Taylor shop area of the factory.

I will tell you this, Taylors are very nice guitars with an amazing consistency to their sound and quality, but R. Taylors are in a class by themselves.  Those who would disagree with that statement simply don't know what they are talking about.



edited - please see rule #2

[cjd-player]

1. So with the RTaylor "company" on hiatus, does that mean this "Builder's Reserve" line is their current line of work?

No...

 

How much does the RT gang of five actually contribute to these builds: some, all, none?

Don't know...   

 

If you can't answer the second, how can you answer the first?

[Edward]

...Some of the features that were inherent in all R. Taylors are also part of the BR group being sold now.  Solid, non-kerfed lining is one of those features.  The ukes were built by Andy Powers which is documented on Taylor's website.  If fact, there are a couple of pics on their website showing AP working on the bracing of one of the ukes and you can see that he is in the R. Taylor shop area of the factory.
....

Yessir, these are some of the points that nudged me to the conclusions I drew.  The build details that they, themselves, state in print.  The woods that clearly are not out of the production-line mill, but from an obviously different stash, and little references about where this or that is done.  Clearly, these 5 guys (IIRC were 5) that had comprised the RT team are doing something productive at the plant.  And that "something" certainly can't be the rudimentary task of assembly-line guitar production (not to take away anything from said line workers, of course).  But that just would not be a logical use of talented labor ...that is my rationale, anyway.

To be clear, I am not doggin' the BR guits in any way ...just opining (hoping!) that the RT brand should come back into the public light as the true custom-shop-personal-build-world-class lutherie that it was.
 
Edward

[Steve]

1. So with the RTaylor "company" on hiatus, does that mean this "Builder's Reserve" line is their current line of work?

No...

 

How much does the RT gang of five actually contribute to these builds: some, all, none?

Don't know...   

 

If you can't answer the second, how can you answer the first?

Because Builder's Reserve have been offered at the same time R Taylor has been. Why push out the guys who'd already successfully built BR's just because R. Taylor's not currently in production?

The point of my post was that it seemed as though you were going down the road of "Well, it's just like an R. Taylor because...", and that wouldn't be the case at all. I know you'll say that wasn't the intent, but that's certainly the way it seemed...