You're now the new CEO of Taylor. What changes are you gonna make?

[DennisG]

Here's the supposition:  Bob Taylor has gone insane and named you as the new CEO of Taylor Guitars.  Congratulations!  Now what immediate changes will you make — either to the company in general or to specific guitars?

[Christhee68]

--Taylor is the #1 acoustic guitar maker in the USA.
--Their products are famous for their quality
--Their process is famous for its efficiency
--I'm not sure about the financials, but I'm pretty sure Kurt has that part under control.

No changes required. Proceed on the present course. Full steam ahead!

[azslacker]

 Over all, I like the direction the company's going. I think the company's investment in Camaroon"s Ebony supply is a positive move. Great selection of guitars, at all price points.

 Now, on day one. I'm pulling Andy off of all projects, and he is going to put solid wood GS-Mini's in production.

[GuitarDogs62]

Taylor guitars in my eyes is on the right track and riding the cutting edge of technology and leading the conservation efforts of guitar manufacturers. I would do nothing different and would also monitor closely what my customers truly want and feel how the quality and customer service experience are. If I receive any bad report cards that is what I would address and change. I would also allow my research development and engineering staff to continue doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Bob Taylor shoes in my humble opinion would be pretty hard to fit into and fill.

[Earl]

--Taylor is the #1 acoustic guitar maker in the USA.
--Their products are famous for their quality
--Their process is famous for its efficiency
--I'm not sure about the financials, but I'm pretty sure Kurt has that part under control.

No changes required. Proceed on the present course. Full steam ahead!

^ I agree with this.  When things are going well, proceed cautiously and don't make any radical changes.  I might review what the GO body size is doing sales-wise, and would be a little slow to let the "Andy Powers" changes propagate through the whole product line.  Andy's tweaks are good, but there is always going to be a market for "Classic Taylor", the sound that put them where they are today.  Coca Cola learned THAT lesson. 

I would feel an awful burden to fill Bob's shoes without messing things up.  And I would start cultivating a replacement for Kurt as CFO for when he wants to retire.  Most people who start businesses do so because they like and are good at what they do.  Finding someone who can build guitars AND run the business side of things in one package would be extremely rare.

[Frettingflyer]

Continue the present course, and start choosing the wood for my BTO Taylor😀

[timfitz63]

...  I might review what the GO body size is doing sales-wise, and would be a little slow to let the "Andy Powers" changes propagate through the whole product line.  Andy's tweaks are good, but there is always going to be a market for "Classic Taylor", the sound that put them where they are today.  Coca Cola learned THAT lesson...

I think this would be my general tack as well:  take a hard look at the GO to determine whether it's really living up to it's potential or just consuming company resources; and continue to make 'legacy' models available, in particular, the 600 Series (perhaps only by special order) while evaluating whether the remaining lines would truly benefit from 're-voicing' attempts.

I'd also try looking for better ways to keep the more exotic woods (e.g., Brazilian Rosewood, Cocobolo, etc.) available to customers, if not part of the Presentation Series.  Perhaps a pipe dream, but no harm in exploring the possibilities.  Finally, I'd give some serious consideration to re-introducing Dreadnought-bodied 12-strings beyond the 100 and 300 Series, perhaps only in the 500, 600, and 800 lines.

[bbarkow]

If I had a say, I'd recommend that Taylor build an all-out bluegrass cannon in both mahogany and rosewood with Adirondack tops. It isn't what they're known for, but I think they'd take a chunk of Martin's market share in that category.

[DennisG]

1.  What Taylor is doing in Cameroon is wonderful, so wherever possible, I'd apply this model to other areas of the world in order to maintain wood supplies, protect the environment, and provide local workers with livable wages.

2.  If they haven't done it already (and I hope they have), I'd apologize to all the dealers who were coerced into carrying Taylor electric guitars against their better judgment.

3.  I'd revisit the X18 series to see if it's possible to make these guitars more balanced tonally.

4.  Once #3 is accomplished, I'd look at releasing some X18 12-strings.

5.  The GS mini desperately needs the availability of a 1-¾ inch nut.  Craigslist often has several GS minis for sale, presumably from people who originally thought buying one was a good idea, then changed their minds.  I almost never play mine anymore, and it's because the fingerboard feels cramped after playing my normal-sized guitar.

6.  I'd improve the Taylor-branded tuning machines.  And I'd use Gotoh 510s as my model.

[Earl]

5.  The GS mini desperately needs the availability of a 1-¾ inch nut.  Craigslist often has several GS minis for sale, presumably from people who originally thought buying one was a good idea, then changed their minds.  I almost never play mine anymore, and it's because the fingerboard feels cramped after playing my normal-sized guitar.

6.  I'd improve the Taylor-branded tuning machines.  And I'd use Gotoh 510s as my model.

Both good options, Dennis.  I would expect that if Taylor made a 1-3/4" neck available, many - maybe most - of the GS Mini's would be bought that way.  Better still, make it possible to buy an aftermarket wide neck to swap out (by trained techs only).  It probably would not be cost effective, but as long a we are wishing......   I for one would be much happier with the GS Mini if it had a wider truly Taylor neck.  That is why it's listed for sale in my signature.

[GuitarDogs62]

If I had a say, I'd recommend that Taylor build an all-out bluegrass cannon in both mahogany and rosewood with Adirondack tops. It isn't what they're known for, but I think they'd take a chunk of Martin's market share in that category.

Honestly the Taylor 310 rivals the D-18 nicely and the Taylor 810 is the Rosewood answer that outperforms the D-28. But, the real issue is not to out do anyone, the  real issue is the mentality of hard core Bluegrass players that won't break the Martin or nothing mentality. Now far as the 310, it just competed nicely against D-18's this weekend and held it's own and in some cases out shined the D-18.

Taylor already has made those great Bluegrass guitars, the issue again is the hard core players not willing to change and installing that mentality in new comers. Unfortunately the hard core group is about tradition and I feel they lost there touch for sound.

I am a Bluegrasser and was a Martin guy and now back home with Taylor. The 310 knocks it out of the park nicely. Taylor is on the right track and should just keep on keeping on all around.

[Guitarsan]

Do everything Bob is doing, except introduce an integrated polyphonic tuner which is so unobtrusive and integrated it would be a no brainer. I already have tons of ideas how to implement this, I don't know that there's any good excuse to not do this as an option at least, as much as "ce" is an option. Can you tell what my biggest beef with Bob is? 

[Strumming Fool]

I would do everything Bob's has been doing and ensure that the company remains true to Bob's vision for innovation as a means of  improving the modern guitar versus paying tribute to tradition as many other builders (including Andy Powers to some extent) continue to do.

I would ensure that the custom program thrives and strives to be as much like the individual luthier's program as is possible in a large production company. That means continually sourcing replenishable exotic woods to offer more tonal options. I would press the team to find a way to exploit CNC technology to produce one-off inlay designs for the customer at an affordable price.

In short, stay ahead of the curve through innovation that fosters more individual choice at all price points. Not asking for much, am I?

[CodeBlueEMT]

 All fashion fit t-shirts will be removed from the TaylorWare store and replaced with Hanes Beefy-T's. Effective immediately.

[Christhee68]

All fashion fit t-shirts will be removed from the TaylorWare store and replaced with Hanes Beefy-T's. Effective immediately.

Let's also banish all remaining stock of  size S/M/L t-shirts to the discount rack until they are gone, never to return again!