TAYLOR GUITARS

Taylor Guitars is an El Cajon California?based luthier, widely regarded as one of the finest and most prestigious makers of acoustic guitars.
In 1973, at age 18, Bob Taylor began working at American Dream, a small guitar-making shop owned by Sam Radding, where Kurt Listug was already an employee. In 1974 Sam Radding decided to sell the business. Taylor and Listug became partners along with Steve Schemmer and bought American Dream which they renamed Westland Music Company hoping to conjure the image of a larger company in the minds of the public. Needing a more compact logo suitable for the guitars' headstock, the founders decided to change the name to Taylor as it sounded more American than Listug and because as Kurt Listug put it, "Bob was the real guitar-maker." Listug became the businessman of the partnership for which he was to prove well suited while Taylor concentrated on design and production. Taylor and Listug expanded their small shop into a major guitar manufacturing company while maintaining creative control and ownership. As of 2006 Taylor Guitars has more than 450 employees. The factory is located in El Cajon, California with worldwide distribution. A second plant has been opened 40 miles away in Tecate, Mexico where the smallest guitars of the Taylor line, the Baby and Big Baby are made along with the Taylor guitar cases. Taylor's Corporate Office is located in Atlanta, Georgia. All other Taylor guitars are made in El Cajon, California.
In 2005, Bob Taylor set up a separate company which is dedicated to making a small number of high quality guitars available via a few select dealers within the US. The R Taylor workshop is located within the main Taylor factory at El Cajon which has enabled Taylor to draw upon an extensive supply of top grade wood as well as a highly skilled workforce.


Taylor Guitars GSMC Review:

Features : 10 2006 Grand Symphony. Mahagany sides and back, cedar top, mahogany neck. Similar shape to Grand Auditorium, yet different. I have the Expression System electronics built in. Came with the sweetest case I've ever seen.
Sound : 9 I went shopping for a universal acoustic. One that would work great in the studio or on stage. First I bought a Taylor 314. Returned it because the unplugged tone was "lifeless". Then I brought home a Larrivee LV-03RE. I loved the guitar tone, but the pickup was very "quacky" sounding. I then took my time and spent the day at the Podium in Minneapolis. I was torn between a Taylor 514CE and the GS. The GS won. I love the BIG sound of this guitar. It took me a while to find the perfect tone and feel, but I think I found it now. I've never really liked the sound of the Elixer strings (standard on Taylors) so I changed them right away. I put on Martin SP lights which I used regularily on other guitars I've owned. I noticed two things: whoa, those must have been medium gauge Elixers, and also I started wondering what happened to my sweet tone. It's such a "warm wooded" guitar that it seems like it needs brighter sounding strings to get the tone I was searching for. The SP's didn't cut it for me. I put on a set of Dean Markley 2023 Alchemy GoldBronze Custom Light Acoustic Strings yesterday and I love them so far. They give the guitar a brighter (almost spruce sounding) tone with the depth and overtones that only cedar (or aged spruce) can produce. This guitar sounds better (and has less chance of feeding back) if I go straight to the board (or snake, or DI, or whatever) rather than going through the amp. It comes with a balanced 1/4" to XLR cord for exactly this purpose. You can use a 1/4" instrument cable, but it seems to squash the tone. It looks like I'll probably have to buy a Taylor Balanced Breakout Box so I can hook up a tuner to a balanced output. That's kind of annoying. So I played a show a couple weeks ago at a club with this guitar. I played with the full band and it seemed like it sounded pretty nice through the club's PA. I've decided to use this for the mellower songs live and my Carvin AE185 for the more "rockin" tunes. All in all, this is a tone master! I'm still getting used to the ES System, but it seems like it's good as long as you use it the way Taylor recommends.
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 This guitar is absolutely perfect. No flaws (except the couple dings I've already put in it!) and beautifully designed. The action was a little high for me at the store, but it was an easy adjustment to lower a bit. Also, changing to custom light strings instead of mediums make it a dream to play. I put a Taylor pickguard on as well. It seemed naked without it.
Reliability/Durability : 9 It's built well, but cedar is a soft wood. I plan to use it live, but I know it'll have a few bumps and bruises along the way. It already has a couple. I know, some people thing I'm crazy to bring an expensive and beautiful guitar to bar gigs, but hey, it's just a guitar, and it was meant to be played.
Overall Rating : 10 I've been playing for about 15 years. I've spent a ridiculous amount of money on musical instruments over that time, but it's a lot of fun. I sold three guitars and an amp to buy this one. I've been working on building an arsenal of "quality" instruments... which is different than the first ten years of focusing on "quantity". My other gear includes a Carvin AE185 (new electronic "guts" and Duncan '59 pickups, a crappy Washburn 12 string, a Marshall acoustic amp, a Crate Palomino class A Tube amp, Fender bass, bunch of effects, ect. blah, blah, blah... who cares? If it were stolen and I had to go through the selection process again, I might try something different because I like variety. Maybe something cheaper ( so I don't have to crings Everytime I ding it up) like the Larrivee that I liked, but maybe get a different pickup installed. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. It's just hard to say that one guitar will fill all my musical needs.