Does Taylor still do it for you?

[Coco Kid]

I don't know, for me, since the move to V-bracing, the new models coming out... Tried the GT. It was kind of meh. The satin finish also made it feel like a cheap guitar. Tried a 618 and 818 with V bracing. Something about them didn't sound quite right - it's like the V-bracing has really stiffened the tone of the Grand Orchestra body shape. Tried an 816ce BE. Didn't really like the shortened scale length. The two good ones I tried were a 514ce with a Cedar top and 714ce with a Lutz top, but I didn't like them enough to want to buy them, especially at almost $3,000. Tried the Grand Pacific models, didn't really hear what people like Wade Hampton on the AGF rave on about about them.

Just didn't really feel like Taylors are amazing guitars anymore. I remember back in the day picking up a Taylor was like an awesome experience, trying the Grand Symphony for the first time, playing an all-solid limited edition, reading about people's NGDs with their BTO models, comparing all the different tonewoods side by side to hear the nuances... Now it just feels dead to me... Kind of disappointed that I'm not as enthusiastic about them as I used to be.

[Earl]

I hear you - it feels like they have deliberately left their loyal fan base behind.  They probably have to do something to keep selling those 160,000 new guitars cranked out every year.  No hard feelings here and plenty of folks seem to like the changes.  Taylor isn’t the first builder that “no longer does it for me”.

V-bracing does nothing for my ear or my playing style.  The few GP’s that I’ve been able to play are nice, but not nice enough to open my wallet.  My trips around the sun are numerous enough to realize that nothing stays constant forever, and maybe I’ve changed.  But I still enjoy my 2007 koa 424 and several other guitars that have been around for a long time.  Admittedly I’m way more in a downsizing mode than an acquisition mode (just look at my signature).  My situation is more “been there, done that” these days, and I’ve learned and settled on what works best for me.  In addition to that I am tired of the humidity battles and am converting over to mostly low worry carbon fiber guitars and ukulele.  When coming home from a jam, if the guitar is inadvertently left in the car overnight in the garage, it isn’t the end of the world - either summer or winter.

[Frettingflyer]

I am finding some of the newer stuff I like, my all Koa K24ce BE is excellent, but so is my older Euro spruce/coco GC. I think part of it is the “shine” wearing off a little, but mostly as my ear has gotten used to certain sounds and as my playing ability has (slowly) improved I appreciate different things now than I did before. I still enjoy playing all the new Taylors, but usually not enough to open my wallet. I find I have gravitated towards harder tone woods in recent years and played a 324ce BE that was really great not long ago. Having tried 2 urban ash guitars, one was “blah” and the other excellent, so like anything else there is variation between sets.
I am glad they make such a variety of great instruments, but I don’t foresee too many more Taylor purchases in my future. They seem to want to have something for everyone, and that is ok by me but may be confusing for someone new to guitars and not knowing what they are looking at or looking for.

[Edward]

I see it like a band who has had 3, 4, and then a 5th great album (remember those? ), than that next one makes you scratch your head???   It’s hard to be groundbreaking; this goes without saying.  Then to slay the dragons as a nobody; rarer still.  But to continue the momentum for the long haul?   Well that is something only time will bear out.  The Stones did it; the Eagles.  Sir Paul is still at it. We’ll see.  This I do know: the Taylors I own are stellar keepers for life. 

Edward

[SoCalSurf]

Taylor absolutely does it for me. I love the tone of the v-class models and the last Taylor I bought, a K24ce, was the best Taylor I have ever played.

To be fair to Taylor, I agree with a general sentiment in the acoustic community that we are in a golden era of sorts in guitar manufacturing. Virtually every major guitar brand, along with dozens of smaller luthiers, makes absolutely great sounding guitars. Some at very affordable prices. So perhaps the competition has grown considerably in recent years, providing more choices outside of our trusted brands.

While not every new innovation has done it for me, I am excited to see what Taylor continue to do in the future.

[DennisG]

Taylor not only still does it for me, it does it for me better than it ever has.  I love what V-bracing has done to the tone and intonation.  And every time I pop for a different brand of guitar, I end up selling it off because I miss the feel of a Taylor neck.

[Strumming Fool]

Taylor still does it for me, but both Taylor and I have changed over the years. I love what I have, but I'm selling my 2011 custom GA, because my ears want to hear a bit more sparkle and a little less bass than this one offers. I'm going to get a 324BE, because I am quite impressed with that new sound! So I will have three X-braced Taylors and three V-braced Taylors and they will all look, sound and play beautifully. Guess I'm just a simple beast....

[TaylorGirl]

Taylor still does it for me too, but I'm sitting on older Taylor's, not even looking at the newer ones. I'm happy with them and they are happy with me. 

[woodnut]

Well the V bracing has cured my GAS.
Danny

[Ohio Tom]

I think your ear might need re-calibrated.

Go play a $250 ply-wood guitar to remind you of what left behind long ago.

I also like to play in a different room sometimes just to get a different reflection.

[beachbum205]

Taylor still does it for me too, but I'm sitting on older Taylor's, not even looking at the newer ones. I'm happy with them and they are happy with me. 

This is my story too. I owned a 517e Builder's Edition for a little while, and while I didn't dislike it, I never quite bonded with it either. I found nothing significantly better about it than the older Taylors I have owned or own now. Not particularly a fan of Andy Powers, but I understand the need to innovate.

So I guess I'm still a big fan of Taylor guitars, just not ready to jump on the V-Bracing bandwagon at this point.

[Guitar Cowboy]

Absolutely, Taylor still does it for me. To illustrate it, I have two 2019s and  a very recent 2020 purchase. I love all my Taylor’s and appreciate the different sounds coming from the different tone woods, bracing, and sizes. I love bringing several guitars out at one time to compare them. I feel very blessed to own them.

[timfitz63]

To be perfectly frank:  not as much as 10 years ago.  Don't get me wrong; they're still fine guitars and I wouldn't discount the possibility that I would buy a V-Class guitar if the right one came along.  And maybe it's just my tin ear, but I'm not getting what all fuss over V-Class is about; to me, the overall voice of the V-Class guitars just generally sounds 'thin' by comparison to the older (in particular, the pre-Andy-Powers) bracing schemes.  Striving to innovate is fine; but I know from my career in engineering that any given design is a mixture of compromises:  gain in one area, lose in another.  With V-Class, I'm not perceiving the gain -- but I am perceiving the loss...

And while I applaud Taylor for their desire to reduce waste and use as much of the harvested wood as possible, I've just gotten the impression that the woods (in particular, Koa) are not as visually appealing as they once were.  I liked exploring all of the 'exotic' woods that Taylor seemed to use as little as 5 years ago; I have a few Taylor guitars with some very unique body woods in them (my Makore Custom GA springs to mind).  I know in practical terms this should be irrelevant; but music can be as much a visual art as an auditory one; and on occasion, we've all bought as much with our eyes as our ears...  So for me, this enticement has been almost eliminated from the equation as well.

For me, Taylor has seemed to slowly gravitate away from the things that made them stand out in the premium guitar market; now they're marketing differently, focusing on areas that are (to me anyway) secondary considerations.  This has all struck me as an effort to increase their market share and secure it rather than retain their existing customer base, leaving me feeling a bit 'left behind.'

So while I may not ever be in the market for a new V-Class Taylor, there are going to be plenty of older Taylors that will cross my path from time to time...  I won't say I'll never buy another Taylor; but it may not be a new Taylor...

[Strumming Fool]

It is in our nature to resist change. I've seen many changes over the years in all aspects of life, which were first rejected, panned or even ridiculed, only later to be praised as game-changing innovations. I believe that Taylor is no exception to this circumstance. While I have some nostalgia relating to earlier versions Taylor products (like my 1997 Cujo), I'm excited about Taylor's future along with my acquired tastes for the evolving iterations of their product line. As I've said before, I love my X braced Taylors as much as I love my V braced Taylors, while embracing the contrast, and enjoying the diversity of playing choices.

[DennisG]

It is in our nature to resist change. I've seen many changes over the years in all aspects of life, which were first rejected, panned or even ridiculed, only later to be praised as game-changing innovations. I believe that Taylor is no exception to this circumstance. While I have some nostalgia relating to earlier versions Taylor products (like my 1997 Cujo), I'm excited about Taylor's future along my acquired tastes for the evolving iterations of their product line. As I've said before, I love my X braced Taylors as much as I love my V braced Taylors, while embracing the contrast, and enjoying the diversity of playing choices.

Really well-stated.  One of the smartest posts I've seen in a long time.