History of Taylor Acoustic Guitar & Series Review

The well loved Taylor Acoustic Guitar models were once nothing more than a teenager’s dream. In 1972 Bob Taylor began working at a guitar shop called (appropriately enough) “American Dream.” He was 18 years old. Within two years the company was up for sale and at the age of 20 Taylor, along with two other workers from the shop (Listug and Schemmer) decided to buy it.

When the new trio of owners decided that they needed a new logo for their guitar’s logo, they settled on “Taylor” for two reasons; one, it sounded more American than either of the other owners’ names and two; both of the other owners agreed that it was actually Taylor who was the real guitar maker.

Today, Taylor Acoustic Guitar has developed a reputation for making some of the best acoustic guitars available. They employ hundreds of employees at a factory in El Cajon, California, from which they distribute their guitars worldwide. What an incredible achievement for a young entrepreneur in just 40 years, especially seeing as that Taylor Guitars can be compared to some of the best acoustic guitars being made today when it comes to tone and quality.

Taylor’s lineup of acoustic guitars offers a veritable smorgasbord of choices for the discerning connoisseur of acoustic instruments. It also exemplifies some of the best acoustic guitars to ever come out of the Taylor Acoustic Guitar shop.

Taylor Acoustic Guitar Series Roll Call

The GS Series

GS Series guitars are the first new shape of acoustic guitars that Taylor Acoustic Guitar has made in ten years and the rich, clear texture it produces puts one in mind of a concert piano where every note is clear and almost bell-like. The new GS body shape leans towards a classical guitar build with its curvaceous body that is very easy to hug and hold. The guitars in this series are available in a number of wood combinations including Mahogany/Cedar, Maple/Sitka, Rosewood/Cedar and Rosewood/Sitka. While the GS series guitars tend to be on the big side (making them more difficult to handle for smaller and younger players) the balance of tone and volume make these an excellent choice for great acoustic guitar.

The GA Series

Taylor’s Grand Auditorium acoustic guitars are very popular with amateurs and professional musicians alike. Always a popular choice as an acoustic/electric guitar, Taylor’s new Grand Auditorium now has a completely acoustic design with two gloss top and four all-gloss models. The simple, traditional style of the GA series make the guitars easy to handle, even for more slightly built players. And while their rich woody tones (due to a shorter scale neck) can become a big twangy if too aggressively played, choosing the right weight of guitar string can correct any deficiencies. The GA series is available in several wood combinations including Sapele/Sitka, Ovangkol/Sitka, Mahogany/Cedar, Maple/Sitka, Rosewood/Cedar and Rosewood/Sitka giving the guitarist a wide range of choices when it comes to aesthetics and overall clarity of sound.

The GC Series

The Taylor Acoustic Guitar Grand Concert Series packs a rather large punch for small-bodied acoustics. Between their small body size and curvy shapes, the guitars of the GC series encourage really getting into your playing. The short neck scale of the GC’s gives them a rounded woody tone that has a volume surprisingly loud for guitars this small. Available in wood combinations of Sapele/Sitka, Ovankol/Sitka, Mahogany/Cedar, Maple/Sitka and Rosewood/Cedar, the guitars of the Taylor Grand Concert Series are well suited for younger and smaller built guitarists, but no matter what your size, the GC series will not disappoint.

The DN Series

The most well-known of all acoustic models, the Taylor Aoustic Guitar Dreadnought based DN series are great acoustic guitars; deep of body and broad of shoulder they produce a rich, wide tone that seems to encompass whole rooms with its power and is truly a flatpicker’s dream. Available in several wood combinations (sapele/Sitka, Ovangkol/Sitka, Mahogany/Sitka or Rosewood/Sitka) DN guitars are too large to be easily handled by smaller players, though if you can manage the reach the quality of tone and expansive volume are truly impressive.

100 Series

The instruments in the Taylor 100 Series more than live up to the Taylor Acoustic Guitar reputation for producing great acoustic guitars. Though the models range from Dreadnought to Grand Auditorium (and everything in between) each of them has a solid Sitka spruce top and sapele laminate back and sides for a well-rounded tone and smooth playability. You may have to fiddle with string weight on some of the models until you get the right string playability, and while the tone and volume of each model varies depending on the size and body shape of the guitar, the 100 series sports all around quality.

200 Series

The guitars in the Taylor 200 Series set new standards for the definition of a mid-priced guitar. While there are a wide variety of body styles to choose from, each of the guitars in the 200 series is made with a solid Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood laminate for the back and sides, giving them a warm, rich and redolent flavor. These professional quality guitars produce an excellent sound; clear and defined. While some of the models are more conducive to fingerstyle playing, others are great for pick style playing, while some, like the Grand Auditorium and Grand Concert work well for all playing styles

The 810/910

These “Legacy” Dreadnoughts are considered to be a series of their own as they were designed to honor Taylor’s acoustic guitar history. The 810 was one of the styles on which Bob Taylor built the company and the 910 is one of the most popular ‘fancy’ guitars he made during the early years; complete with Taylor’s “Cindy” inlay. These popular models were technically retired from the standard line, but can be bought through Taylor’s Build to Order guitar shop.

The Signature Series

The Taylor Signature Series come in a variety of styles and with a variety of amenities depending on the artist for whom they were designed. Each of the models in this series was crafted to work with the individual musician’s unique playing style and voice as well as their personal aesthetic preferences. While these models are excellent for the collector, or for those who have the same playing style as one of the artists, not all the bells and whistles will be suitable for all players.

The KOA Series

Building a guitar out of Koa wood provides a unique tone that is both solid while at times drifting into wistfulness and can give the guitar’s voice an almost haunting quality. While there are plenty who don’t like it, or would prefer a more “real” sounding tonewood combination, guitars made from Koa wood are popular enough that Taylor has devoted an entire series to them. Or, rather, they have a lineup of some of their most popular standard guitar models that they make out of Koa wood to give the guitar that elusive, haunting quality.

Taylor Small Guitars

Finally, if you want a smaller guitar, Taylor Acoustic Guitar makes two styles that are great for beginning guitarists and younger players or which can also be used as travel guitars and those are the Taylor Mini, and the Taylor Baby Taylor.

The Taylor Mini is designed as a travel guitar using the popular Taylor GS body shape and downsizing it so that you get the same tonal quality in a smaller package. Baby Taylors, on the other hand, come as a Baby or as a Big Baby and are scaled to ¾ size of a regular Taylor guitar, which makes them one of the best choices for acoustic guitars for beginners.

No matter which Taylor you choose, you can rest assured that you are going to be receiving an excellent quality, American made guitar for a price that is decidedly lower than other guitar makers ask – most even come with their own gig bags or cases! But not only is a Taylor acoustic guitar an excellent choice when it comes to value, it is an instrument that you will enjoy playing and which you will be able to treasure for years to come.

Taylor Acoustic Guitar Reviews

Taylor Acoustic Guitars have only been around since 1974, but they have made their mark on the industry in that short time. The company is privately held and owned by Bob Taylor. The quality in every guitar is unrivalled by any American luthier. Taylor Acoustic Guitar delivers an all wood guitar (top, back and sides) for the most discerning player at a relatively affordable price. Their all wood guitar Taylor's "Baby" series comes in at around the $299 range and is probably a good place to start. If a higher-end guitar is what you need, then Taylor can supply your need for around $1,500 to begin with. Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Bryan Adams have all played Taylors exclusively in studio as well as live performances.

Taylor Acoustic Guitars | Taylor Acoustic-Electric

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