Photo Synthesis
As you’ve probably noticed, our winter Guitar Guide issue is a
little different from our other issues. Over the years, as Taylor has
evolved, so have these pages. In the old days, as some of you will
recall,
Wood&Steel
’s newsprint paper made it difficult to convey the
beauty and details of our guitars. But we managed just fine, in part
because what was important to Bob and Kurt was to connect with
Taylor owners in a personal, down-to-earth way. Of course, there
was a certain irony to the fact that we printed pictures of our beauti-
ful high-end guitars on newsprint, yet created a glossy insert to sell
T-shirts and guitar accessories.
The Taylor catalog, by contrast, provided the sexier print vehicle
for showcasing the glorious details of our instruments and refining
the Taylor brand. We worked with a design agency to produce those
catalogs, and we’re proud of the way they captured not just the pre-
mium quality of our instruments, but also the passion and personality
of the brand. Yet, for all of the effort and expense that went into the
catalogs, their shelf life was becoming shorter and shorter, especially
for a company like ours, whose product development efforts were
outpacing our print cycle. Our website certainly added a better com-
munication channel to update you on our latest news and develop-
ments, but for a company whose products are predicated on having
a tangible experience, we felt strongly that a print publication was
important, too.
Ever since
Wood&Steel
made the transition to higher quality
paper with our summer 2008 issue, we’ve taken full advantage of our
upgraded “canvas,” starting with special features on guitar shapes
and woods, and a year ago creating our first expanded-format Guitar
Guide. It was meant to serve some of the function of a catalog, as
we presented our line in its entirety, complete with the specs details
that many folks crave. Yet, as a quarterly, we were also able to update
our “catalog” throughout the year, which proved especially beneficial
in 2009, given the number of new guitar models that came to life.
This year, we’re pleased to bring you our second annual Guitar
Guide issue. We really wanted to take the photography to another
level, and we hope you enjoy it. Nearly every photo in this issue
was shot by our lean, mean in-house team (with the exception of
Soundings), including the shots of Jason Mraz. Some guitar photos
were taken in our on-site studio, while others were shot in real-life
settings to capture the experience of what makes playing a Taylor so
rewarding. It was a lot of work, but sometimes it’s the challenge that
makes it fun. One thing’s for sure: Shooting guitars is a lot cooler
than shooting medical supply equipment.
Look for more editorial coverage next issue. In the meantime, we
hope your year is off to a happy, music-filled start.
— Jim Kirlin
Correction: In last issue’s Editor’s Note, I made reference to the
epic 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Ali and Frazier;
it was actually Ali and Foreman.
Editor’s Note
Read this and other back issues of
Wood&Steel
at
taylorguitars.com under “Resources.”
Online
5
BobSpeak
New Tones for ’10
— Bob Taylor, President
It’s been ten years since the world
was going to collapse into utter
despair due to the fact that comput-
ers wouldn’t be able to reconcile
the date. I guess that didn’t happen.
Instead, we made cool guitars, peo-
ple dug them, and more good play-
ers were added to the world. Other
great things have happened since
the dawn of the new millennium. For
example, I now have a guitar tuner
on my phone. OK, I’m just sayin’. The
world is so much more in tune now,
exactly the opposite of what they
predicted. Good times.
We haven’t released any signa-
ture models for some time because
you can just do too many of those,
you know? But this issue will show-
case a Jason Mraz model. Jason is
a great player and songwriter, just
doing his thing with a huge following.
He’s the real deal. It’s been my plea-
sure to see him use his Taylor guitars
to perform his art.
Taylor Swift has also shown her
following what a good guitar looks
like in the form of her Taylors. And
a lot of people are looking. You can
thank her for getting a lot of young
people going on the guitar — our
Taylor Swift Baby Taylor model is
already in the hands of hundreds and
hundreds of young players who are
starting out because of her. She’s
become an excellent player, and I’m
proud to watch her progress. What a
pleasure it’s been to see her success
simply rocket out of this world.
I have a few surprises for this
year, probably my favorite being the
OMG-sound of the 12-fret Grand
Concert. This is a guitar that needs
to be in every guitar store for every
player to come hear. You’ll want to
own one, because it just sounds
so beautiful. People can talk about
how much bass or treble a guitar
has, or the sustain, or the projection,
but what is often missing from the
conversation is the tone. The tone of
those frequencies is as different as
the tone of people’s voices. Sheryl
Crow and Josh Groban can both
sing the same notes, yet the tones
of their voices are different. What
gets me about this 12-fret is its tone
coupled with its large voice, all in a
small, lightweight, package. But it’s
the tone that just continues to blow
me away. You’ll probably see a ver-
sion of this guitar as a twin to Jason’s
nylon signature model at some point.
I sat down with Jason and showed
him the guitar, and he strummed it
once and looked up amazed and just
said, “Wow.” Then he got lost in it for
a while. I sent one off to Taylor Swift
and had to ask her dad how she
liked it, because she was off doing
her thing, and he said, “She loves it
and hasn’t put it down for days.” It’s
easy to fall in love with.
The SolidBody tremolo is out,
it works like a dream, and it looks
so beautiful. You know, when we
designed that first bridge for our
SolidBody, we wanted it to be origi-
nal, not a copy of anything, and to
be pretty and feel good. That’s hard
because your mind just slides into
designs that you’ve known and seen
for years. But we managed, never
thinking that we’d have to make a
trem version of it someday. Ouch!
But it happened — it took a year,
but it happened — and we’ve taken
another committed step into the elec-
tric guitar world with it. We’re here
and here to stay, and it’s fun to show
players what we’re up to with elec-
trics. Look for them in stores. They’ll
be arriving as the weeks roll on.
All in all, 2009 was a good year
for us. We made progress along
many fronts, all during a frightening
recession. We thank our dealers
for their love of guitars and their
willingness to keep showing and sell-
ing them amidst stomach-churning
financial news. We thank you players
for playing music and adding your
artistic flair to the world. Guitar play-
ing, singing songs, performing and
listening to great music all helps the
world stay afloat.
Y2K didn’t end up killing us all
ten years ago. Last year took a stab
at it and lost, and people want their
music enough that already this year,
we’re starting out with a shortage of
guitars to go around. It’s a strange
world, and I’m glad to toss some gui-
tars into the mix.
