jumbo question

[ttfireman]

Just to give y'all a little background, I do not own a Taylor yet, but I am currently in the market for one. I have been visiting guitar shops here in Oklahoma City trying to find the one that "speaks" to me. While in Guitar Center yesterday, I played a 2011 615ce. It played like butter. I think the tone may be a little too bassy for me, but good grief it was smooth! The action seemed really low and it just blew me away! I played pretty much every other Taylor they had in stock, about 15 or so. They were all VERY nice guitars, but their feel was totally different.  Later that day, I found myself thinking about that jumbo and couldn't figure out what the difference was. I called guitar center to ask if perhaps that particular guitar had already been set up while maybe the others were all like they come from the factory. The guy that answered the phone said that their techs set up about 80% of the premium guitars, but if I would like to come back in...blah, blah, buy something, blah. I guess I am gonna have to go back in, and ask their tech. I was just wondering if you guys could enlighten me any. As i understand it the jumbo would have mediums, whereas the x14's (which I went in looking for) have lights. I don't understand why that jumbo was SOOOO much easier to play. It was the only jumbo they had, (I know they didn't make any for 2012) so I didn't get to compare it to another.  Does anyone have any idea? Other than that it was set up differenly? I just cant see their tech setting up one taylor, out of a wall of them, so totally different.

[dmccrider]

I was at the Taylor factory yesterday (see thread "Take a look inside the Taylor factory") and played a jumbo 815ce that was amazing! I don't know what they do to them but I was totally not expecting to get blown away like that, it was the best sounding instrument there, and there were some nice ones! Here's a piece of info you should know, Taylor has recently discontinued production of the jumbo so inventory on new jumbos are about to get very slim. 

[ttfireman]

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

[dmccrider]

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

I was told from a Taylor employee they would no longer be producing the jumbos

[Herb Hunter]

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

I was told from a Taylor employee they would no longer be producing the jumbos

The LKSM and LKSM-6 are two jumbos Taylor guitars that are still being produced. That fact alone would tend to discredit the employee's claim unless there was some misunderstanding about it.

[michaelw]

i doubt that the tech at GC would do little more than adjust the neck relief & lower the
saddle (maybe), but seeing that it's a 2011 model, they may  have put light gauge strings on it

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

I was told from a Taylor employee they would no longer be producing the jumbos

there is a photo of a prototype jumbo on Taylor's FB page & there has also been more
than one instance that stated the jumbo was on hiatus & being revoiced on Taylor's site -
granted anything is subject to change, but i imagine there is still a pretty sizable market for jumbos

[ttfireman]

i doubt that the tech at GC would do little more than adjust the neck relief & lower the
saddle (maybe), but seeing that it's a 2011 model, they may  have put light gauge strings on it

So are you saying that GC put light strings on it or did Taylor make some 2011 jumbos with lights?

[michaelw]

it used to be that one could specify the string gauge for the guitar to be set up with when ordering a new one -
i imagine a 615ce would be a stock model for GC & that it would have originally been delivered with mediums, but
sseing that it's a 2011 model, it's likely that strings have been replaced on it & maybe a set of lights were put on

[egkor]

If you found a late model (2011 or pre) 615ce that was easy to play and sounded good then (of course depending on pricing) Grab It!

I had the opposite experience with a 615ce in my city, it was hard to play and sounded dead no matter what I tried (that I could do in my 30-day trial period).

I would have liked to have found that one that "plays like butta" 615ce.  I'm a fan of the 614/615/616ce Taylors.

-Gary K

[ttfireman]

A little update. I went back to GC a couple of days ago to talk to them in person. Apparently it was a "custom job" that was never picked up. When it came in the guy that ordered it had already bought another guitar. I didnt really see anything about it to make me believe it was BTO. I think they just specifically asked Taylor for a tobacco burst 615ce, or maybe traded with another store.
He did say, however, that they set up all of their Taylors with lights. Other than that he was unable to give me a good answer as to what was different. Who knows? Maybe I just happened to find that one guitar that speaks to me.

[Andromeda]

i doubt that the tech at GC would do little more than adjust the neck relief & lower the
saddle (maybe), but seeing that it's a 2011 model, they may  have put light gauge strings on it

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

I was told from a Taylor employee they would no longer be producing the jumbos

there is a photo of a prototype jumbo on Taylor's FB page & there has also been more
than one instance that stated the jumbo was on hiatus & being revoiced on Taylor's site -
granted anything is subject to change, but i imagine there is still a pretty sizable market for jumbos

That prototype looks small for a jumbo!

[michaelw]

to me, the lower bout appears larger & more rounded than a GS, with the
waist contour not being quite as tight as even the most recent jumbo (11) -
Taylor's first 2 models were the jumbo & dreadnought (the X12 started in 84), so unless the
jumbo BTO is going to be removed next year (& DN3) i'll wait to hear a report from winter NAMM

as there are 100/200s being made in el cajon, perhaps there will be some things 'put-on-hold'
because even if the tooling is done, any new/redesigned models will have to sell  & most recently
it seems the standard models that are 'flying-off-the-shelves' are GS minis & baby Taylors -
i find it odd that there was no mention of the 210/214ce LTD koas (they just 'popped-up' on dealer sites)

[dsamuel24]

i doubt that the tech at GC would do little more than adjust the neck relief & lower the
saddle (maybe), but seeing that it's a 2011 model, they may  have put light gauge strings on it

Discontinued? I thought they were just "revoicing" them?

I was told from a Taylor employee they would no longer be producing the jumbos

there is a photo of a prototype jumbo on Taylor's FB page & there has also been more
than one instance that stated the jumbo was on hiatus & being revoiced on Taylor's site -
granted anything is subject to change, but i imagine there is still a pretty sizable market for jumbos

That prototype looks small for a jumbo!

Yeah, that's no Jumbo. If that's a Taylor jumbo I suddenly am no longer a fan. I have 3 jumbos (615ce, 315ce & Alvarez 5072) and love the jumbo body style above all others. I would find it very hard to believe that Taylor would turn its back on the shape that started it all, or that they would turn it into something that looks exactly like a GS.

[Herb Hunter]

Yeah, that's no Jumbo. If that's a Taylor jumbo I suddenly am no longer a fan. I have 3 jumbos (615ce, 315ce & Alvarez 5072) and love the jumbo body style above all others. I would find it very hard to believe that Taylor would turn its back on the shape that started it all, or that they would turn it into something that looks exactly like a GS.

It seems to me that the reason Taylor is revising its jumbo design is to better differentiate it from the GS body style not to minimize the differences between the two styles.


I wonder if the guitar in question is the new model that Andy designed.

[Edward]

Hmmm, granted it's a prototype, but having seen/played a few other Taylor protos, they were not far from the final result (at least in my very limited experience).  So if that is, indeed, the shape they are going with, it had better sound amazingly fantastic as I am completely put off by its non-jumbo size and shape.  Time will tell, of course ...wouldn't be the first time I'd have to eat my words (I thought rap was going to be a passing fad ..."hoping" actually, but that's a different story   ).

Edward