BTO Special Treatment

[pottski]

So, I'm really not trying to complain, just curious. How is it that some people are able to get woods and appointments on their BTOs that are not on the option sheet. I asked for an ovangkol headstock overlay on my BTO to match the back and sides, but my request was denied by Taylor. I have seen at least one BTO advertised from a dealer that had that option. Every once in a while I see dealers advertising BTOs with wood options that aren't on the spec sheet either. Is this something Taylor only does for dealers who visit the factory to spec out guitars or is it just based on who you know? If anyone has some insight about this, I'd be interested to hear about it.

[shaberd]

I have seen the same thing and am curious too.

[Steve]

There are a couple of possibilities.

A dealer may have come out to Taylor University and built some BTO's during that. It's not uncommon for a dealer to look at Bob or Chris Wellons and say "But can we do this?", and Bob or Chris look at him and say "Sure, we can do that."

Another possibility has to do with the strength of a dealer. There were certain dealers I had who I would bend over backwards to help. If I had a dealer, who was doing $350K a year in business, and he wanted an Ovangkol overlay on the peghead, guess what? I'm going to the mats for him to get him that Ovangkol peghead overlay. Conversely, the guy doing $18K a year in business gets to choose from what's on the BTO sheet. Period.

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours...

[cigarfan]

I guess that means the individual buyer doesn't have a chance to score a special option. Unless your Warren Buffet (don't know if he even plays guitar).

I asked about the possibility of doing the KOA inlays in greenheart abalone and MOP on a BTO. The answer was, of course, NO!

Oh well ....

[Steve]

I guess that means the individual buyer doesn't have a chance to score a special option.

That's not the case at all.

I just explained that much, if not all, of it has to do with the dealer's relationship with Taylor. If you walk in to Jimmy-Bo-Bob's Guitar Shack, and they're a $15,000 a year account with Taylor, no, you probably won't get it. If you go through a dealer like L.A. Guitar Sales, you stand a much better chance.

I've seen countless "off the sheet options" guitars over the years...

[Strumming Fool]

I do think that it depends upon the dealer and the relationship with Taylor. I was able to get an ovangkol headstock overlay that incidently matched the flame in my BTO's ovangkol back and sides nicely:



 

I also believe that the options are widening, because I've also seen some features lately that were each a "no" when I had asked in the past. I'd say, just keep asking, because the more popular requests are more likely to be added to the standard options line-up.

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

I guess that means the individual buyer doesn't have a chance to score a special option.

That's not the case at all.

I just explained that much, if not all, of it has to do with the dealer's relationship with Taylor. If you walk in to Jimmy-Bo-Bob's Guitar Shack, and they're a $15,000 a year account with Taylor, no, you probably won't get it. If you go through a dealer like L.A. Guitar Sales, you stand a much better chance.

I've seen countless "off the sheet options" guitars over the years...

I'm considering (read: ordering) a BTO later this year but have a que for you Steve (I really like that you participate here and we get the "inside" perspective on things).

I have a local shop nearby and would like to give them the business but I think maybe I should order thru LA or Guitar Rodeo.  Of course, I don't know if my local shop is special - they did get one of the Builder's Reserve sets in.  How would I find out which is the better option?

[cigarfan]

I guess that means the individual buyer doesn't have a chance to score a special option.

That's not the case at all.

I just explained that much, if not all, of it has to do with the dealer's relationship with Taylor. If you walk in to Jimmy-Bo-Bob's Guitar Shack, and they're a $15,000 a year account with Taylor, no, you probably won't get it. If you go through a dealer like L.A. Guitar Sales, you stand a much better chance.

I've seen countless "off the sheet options" guitars over the years...

Well, at least I know I'm asking in the right place. It was Ted I approached about the inlays.

I am not thinking this is really a bad thing. Business is business. And if Taylor started offering just any option, on anything, all the time ... they would have a mess on their hands. I certainly believe they have taken the right approach to maintain stability in production.

Still hurts when they say no ...

[Steve]

Well, at least I know I'm asking in the right place. It was Ted I approached about the inlays.

I don't understand. Taylor does custom inlays all the time. It's not an inexpensive endeavor, but they do it.

And they do it a lot...

[Steve]

(I really like that you participate here and we get the "inside" perspective on things).

I just want to make sure that something is understood here. Things at Taylor Guitars are never static. That's one of the things that makes Taylor such a great company.

I left Taylor on February 9th. Any number of things could have changed since I left, and I just don't want anyone here thinking that I currently have some inside track on what's going on inside the ramparts at Taylor. I state my opinions based on what was going on as recently as a few months ago, and my experiences with the company for the seven and a half years I was there.

Just want to make sure that's understood...

[mgap]

Good information Steve.  It is nice to have some knowledge of the Taylor world from the inside for us here.  I am glade you active on this site.

[cigarfan]

Well, at least I know I'm asking in the right place. It was Ted I approached about the inlays.

I don't understand. Taylor does custom inlays all the time. It's not an inexpensive endeavor, but they do it.

And they do it a lot...

I know ... and I figured they already had the tooling. It was just different materials for the parts of the inlay. I actually thought greenheart paua abalone vines with MOP flowers would look awesome with that pattern.

Maybe they just wanted to reserve that particular pattern for KOAs. As a signature inlay.

Who knows.

[GtrgRrl]

Well, at least I know I'm asking in the right place. It was Ted I approached about the inlays.

I don't understand. Taylor does custom inlays all the time. It's not an inexpensive endeavor, but they do it.

And they do it a lot...

I know ... and I figured they already had the tooling. It was just different materials for the parts of the inlay. I actually thought greenheart paua abalone vines with MOP flowers would look awesome with that pattern.

Maybe they just wanted to reserve that particular pattern for KOAs. As a signature inlay.

Who knows.

I have heard that abalone is getting more scarce and is therefore more difficult to get.  I think that is part of the reason that we are seeing new inlays on some of the Taylor line.   Taylor has always been "green" whether they announce it to the world or not.  Sustainability is important to them.

[pottski]

There are a couple of possibilities.

A dealer may have come out to Taylor University and built some BTO's during that. It's not uncommon for a dealer to look at Bob or Chris Wellons and say "But can we do this?", and Bob or Chris look at him and say "Sure, we can do that."

Another possibility has to do with the strength of a dealer. There were certain dealers I had who I would bend over backwards to help. If I had a dealer, who was doing $350K a year in business, and he wanted an Ovangkol overlay on the peghead, guess what? I'm going to the mats for him to get him that Ovangkol peghead overlay. Conversely, the guy doing $18K a year in business gets to choose from what's on the BTO sheet. Period.

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours...

That makes a lot of sense, Steve. I spec'd my guitar through Rodeo, and Jim was perfectly happy to pass along my request for the ovangkol headstock overlay. I'm pretty sure, though, that Jim is one of those strong dealers who sells a ton of Taylors. That leaves me still wondering why it would be a yes for some people and a no for others. Another member posted a reply to this thread showing the ovangkol overly on their headstock, and it didn't seem to be an issue to do it on that guitar. Like I said before, I'm not complaining. I'm just curious. Thanks to everyone for all the replies so far.

[Steve]

That makes a lot of sense, Steve. I spec'd my guitar through Rodeo, and Jim was perfectly happy to pass along my request for the ovangkol headstock overlay. I'm pretty sure, though, that Jim is one of those strong dealers who sells a ton of Taylors. That leaves me still wondering why it would be a yes for some people and a no for others. Another member posted a reply to this thread showing the ovangkol overly on their headstock, and it didn't seem to be an issue to do it on that guitar. Like I said before, I'm not complaining. I'm just curious. Thanks to everyone for all the replies so far.

Well, the dealer/manufacturer relationship is only one relationship that comes into play. The dealer/customer relationship is another.

I had customers that I would bend over backwards to help. Then I had customers who I couldn't stand dealing with. Those are the people who would be politely told "Sorry, but they don't do that". Some dealers feel that they don't want to burn all their credit with their rep, so they reserve those "special requests" for their "preferred" customers. I know I did that a lot...