Specialty guitars

[michaelw]

i would hardly consider a 12 string, 12 fret, nylon, electric or parlor to be a "specialty" guitar.......

Ah, but Taylor has.........just check out W & S from a few years back; that's where I got the lingo from.

Maybe we should refer to them as "Mainstream acoustic guitars that have taken a slight detour"

"has" is the key word -
some series used to be separated by body shape, number of strings (12'ers) or type of strings (nylon), but since then the baritones
are no longer standard production models, the 12 strings & nylons have been phased into the numbered series & the 12 fret as well,
or at least in the 5, 7 & 800s they are, as to not have "separatist differentiation" as being "outsiders", which they really aren't anymore

the original 02 NS models were 12 fret GAs, with a slightly shallower body (4 3/8" vs 4 5/8")
ns34
http://www.elderly.com/items/28U-2433.htm
ns44
http://www.elderly.com/items/28U-1767.htm
ns54
http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/28U-1646.htm
ns64
http://www.elderly.com/items/28U-1639.htm
ns74
http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/28U-1615.htm

[Jersey tuning]

I play 6- and 7-string (normal 6 strings plus a low B string, sometimes tuned down to A) electrics alongside my steel string acoustics and am looking to add a 12-string and a nylon string this year. Does any of that still count? 

Sure!  Going to see a well known pair of 7-string players next week--Bucky Pizzarelli and Ed Laub.  I know Ed tunes his low 7 string to A. 

[MB]

Could it be what we are seeing from Taylor is the result of what sells?
For example, they sell substantially more 800 series guitars than baritones or 12 frets.
They probably sell more steel strings than nylon strings. More nylon strings than Ukuleles.
Percentage wise, the so called "specialty" guitar designation is probably a small overall percentage of total sales.
I could be so super wrong on this, but that would make sense from a marketing standpoint.
I would guess that the acoustic market overall is similar in sales percentages.
When I go to any of the online sites, they always have more inventory in the standard 6 stringers than they do of 12 frets, 12 strings or baritones.

Anyone?

[Jersey tuning]

Just like its easier to find a selection of PB strings at GC than 80-20's-- the former outsells the latter

[Jersey tuning]

Could it be what we are seeing from Taylor is the result of what sells?
For example, they sell substantially more 800 series guitars than baritones or 12 frets.
They probably sell more steel strings than nylon strings. More nylon strings than Ukuleles.
Percentage wise, the so called "specialty" guitar designation is probably a small overall percentage of total sales.
I could be so super wrong on this, but that would make sense from a marketing standpoint.
I would guess that the acoustic market overall is similar in sales percentages.
When I go to any of the online sites, they always have more inventory in the standard 6 stringers than they do of 12 frets, 12 strings or baritones.

Anyone?

Taylor rolled its erstwhile "specialty" 12 fret GC into its standard product line, as sales warranted

[jrporter]

My "collection" of three Grand Auditorium Taylors seems pretty pale by comparison...

[Jersey tuning]

My "collection" of three Grand Auditorium Taylors seems pretty pale by comparison...

You're one Taylor up on me.

[michaelw]

Could it be what we are seeing from Taylor is the result of what sells?
For example, they sell substantially more 800 series guitars than baritones or 12 frets.
They probably sell more steel strings than nylon strings. More nylon strings than Ukuleles.
Percentage wise, the so called "specialty" guitar designation is probably a small overall percentage of total sales.
I could be so super wrong on this, but that would make sense from a marketing standpoint.
I would guess that the acoustic market overall is similar in sales percentages.
When I go to any of the online sites, they always have more inventory in the standard 6 stringers than they do of 12 frets, 12 strings or baritones.

Anyone?

Taylor rolled its erstwhile "specialty" 12 fret GC into its standard product line, as sales warranted

yep ...
the "specialty" moniker was eliminated altogether, the models that weren't selling
well enough were dropped & the ones that are were phased into the standard series

[Jersey tuning]

The  baritone  8 is gone for now?

[michaelw]

The  baritone  8 is gone for now?

yep ...
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/baritone-8
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/baritone-8-mahogany

& the 6s too
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/baritone-6
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/baritone-6-mahogany

[Jersey tuning]

So far 19 out of 29 voters own electric guitars, and 16 own 12-strings. Only 4 own baritone guitars. 11 own 12-fret guitars and 10 own nylon-stringed guits. 1/3 of electric guitar owners, and fully 1/2 of nylon string owners, rarely play those instruments.

Hopefully we will get a larger sampling of players..........

[DennisG]

It was a little confusing because the 12-frets were right next to the 12-strings, so I passed right over them.  And once I clicked the Send button, I couldn't go back and add my 12-fret to my baritone.

[michaelw]

imho, i think the limit of votes per person should have been 6 -
there might be more results if the question posed was not "specialty", but guitars "other than steel
6 string, 14 fret acoustics", as it's hard to see where the T3 hollow body & T5 electric acoustic fit in

here's an older poll, which probably turned out to be primarily steel 6 string responses -
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=1104

out of 34, 26 were cutaways with factory electronics, 1 3/4" nut, 25.5" scale & 32 were right handed -
i guess 2 may  have been ambidextrous because there were no leftys, but there were no "other" votes

[Jersey tuning]

imho, i think the limit of votes per person should have been 6 -
there might be more results if the question posed was not "specialty", but guitars "other than steel
6 string, 14 fret acoustics", as it's hard to see where the T3 hollow body & T5 electric acoustic fit in

here's an older poll, which probably turned out to be primarily steel 6 string responses -
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=1104

out of 34, 26 were cutaways with factory electronics, 1 3/4" nut, 25.5" scale & 32 were right handed -
i guess 2 may  have been ambidextrous because there were no leftys, but there were no "other" votes

I think the current  survey gives a good sense of the big picture, sort of a quick and dirty summary of everyone's signatures, with a reaffirmation that most responders consider their 6 string acoustic to be their primary instrument.  Hindsight--and maybe a course in statistics--might have led to  slightly different poll construction.

[oatordeal]

In my case, my main guitar now is the 814ce just because my band stopped gigging. But before my band split up, my elec guitar used to be my main axe.