April 17th - Rockin' Robin Guitars

[Hondo]

I'm going to try to make this one. This is the first Houston Taylor thing in a long time!

4/17, 6 p.m.
TAYLOR ROAD SHOW
Rockin' Robin
3619 S. Shepherd Dr.
Houston, Texas
(713) 529-5442

Taylor Guitars is bringing the factory to you, straight from El Cajon,
California. Bring your questions and spend an evening with the Taylor
Factory Staff & Guitar Makers. Try out the latest guitar models, and check
out our rare one-off custom Taylors for sale! You'll also learn how to
keep your Taylor in top shape, with a 15-minute guide led by a Factory
Guitar Tech. Admission is FREE.Plus: FREE GIFTS & REGISTER TO WIN A CUSTOM
TAYLOR!

[jeffrey]

Hey neat.

I'll have to see if I'm playing that weekend or not.

[singingstone]

I work about 2 miles from Rockin' Robin, and often stop in to try out their new Taylors. I'm putting this on my calendar!
Strange though, that I haven't gotten anything from Taylor yet. I usually hear about all the workshops, etc. in Houston.
Thanks for posting Hondo!

[Antonio Salieri]

Free...mmm...free is good. Taylor is somewhat lefty friendly (or maybe Jimmy at $outhpaw Guitars does some serious armtwisting). Mo can't make it, but I might drop-in for a looksee.

Jeffrey, April 17 is a Tuesday, one week from today :up:.

[jeffrey]

Aww. :(

I can't do that. I rehearse on Tuesdays and of course, work. 6hrs of driving on a workday won't happen.

[Bacchus2b]

Rockin Robin holds a lot of good memories for me as a kid growing up in Houston. They were one of the first factory authorized Mesa Boogie dealers, and also the first place I ever laid eyes on a Paul Reed Smith guitar. I used to go in all the time as a kid and the salespeople were cool as long as you didn't drool on the merchandise.

Nowdays everyone in the Electric guitar world has flamed and quilted Maple tops, but back in the late 80's the PRS Custom 24's really stood out and Rockin Robin had a whole wall of them to compliment the Mesa Boogie Mark II's and III's on the floor with wood cabinets and cane screens.

If only I had money back then!!!

David

[stratokatsu]

I was in Houston a few years ago and a buddy I was with took me there. I couldn't decide whether it was a store, a surf shop or a museum. I could have literally spent a day there.

[Hondo]

I was in Houston a few years ago and a buddy I was with took me there. I couldn't decide whether it was a store, a surf shop or a museum. I could have literally spent a day there.


It was where I first strummed a Collings......
good memories!

[SongwriterFan]

I'll be the guy with the new custom GS there. :D

http://www.neonlightsimaging.com/CustomGS

However, you'll find that it looks better in the pictures, I bet. :D

Be prepared to play it so you can tell me how great it is. :D Or not? :eek:

[mediumstrings00]

Never been to that shop but me and a friend of mine are planning on going. Can't wait....!

[SongwriterFan]

Hmm, I wonder where they're gonna FIT all of us?

[Antonio Salieri]

I'm going, & hopefully Mo will be able to join me. Would there be any point to taking the 414e Ltd?

This past Saturday we went to Fullers Vintage Guitars, not realizing that they were hosting the Gibson/Epiphone travelling show. We didn't win the Hummingbird :cry:.

[SongwriterFan]

Unfortunately, I doubt I'm going to be able to make it tonight. Major plumbing issues right now . . waiting on a plumber to get a camera so we can see what's going on.

[SongwriterFan]

So, here I am . . plumber just finished up. No way I can get down there before it's basically over, I'm sure. I figure at least 60 minutes to get there, perhaps closer to 90 depending on traffic conditions.

[mediumstrings00]

Was anybody able to make it out? It was definitely worth the 1 hr drive for my friend and me. The Taylor guys were super informative and very friendly. Not to mention, those T5 tops were incredible. Especially the Macassar Ebony. Taylor Rocks!

[SongwriterFan]

I wasn't there, but a friend of mine showed up. However, he had to leave about 45 minutes into it.

Were people able to have the luthier look at their guitars after it was over?

What time did it end?

[mediumstrings00]

I wasn't there, but a friend of mine showed up. However, he had to leave about 45 minutes into it.

Were people able to have the luthier look at their guitars after it was over?

What time did it end?

From what I could tell, I really didn't see people bringing their Taylors in. I was looking forward to seeing your GS though! All of the Taylors there were "special price" and they were offering a free setup if anyone wanted to buy one.
I'm sure that the guys would have been happy to look over the guitars though. They were awesome about answering any questions that people had. If I remember correctly the "formal" part ended around 8 or so, but there were still people there talkin' guitars and asking questions when we headed out. My guess is that it probably went on for a long while.

[SongwriterFan]

Well, I really did wanna show up.

And had I known it would go on THAT long, I might've driven on down there.

Then again, I ended up meeting somebody to sell off one of my digital SLR's that evening, so I guess I probably wouldn't have ended up going anyway.

Maybe there'll be a next time soon!

[Antonio Salieri]

Wife & I made it, we were standing in front of Singingstone, but we didn't realize it until he introduced himself. He recognized Mo, but not me :lol:.

The folks from Taylor were entertaining and informative. Mo got the chance to play the T5 12s (Koa, I think) plugged in, & I must admit that I was impressed.

[singingstone]

I was there a little after 6 and squeezed myself into an already crowded room next to a friend of mine who owns lots of guitars, but NO Taylors. Says he hasn't found one yet to fit his style. He's a Brit with a very percussive style and favors Martins and Collings. Antonio and Mo were right in front of me. He's shaved off his mustache, so I had to recognize Mo's ponytail. It was good to see them. On to the guitars. Brian S. (I'm not going to try to mis-spell his name) gave a strong presentation in two parts with a break of 1/2 hour in-between to let people get their hands on the guitars. I really liked the demonstration of the string changing. I've adopted the Taylor method, but they showed me a few tricks that will speed the process and keep the new strings in tune better.
On to the guitars. I was really interested in trying out the new acoustic line, especially the GC's and got to play a GC5, GC6, GC7 and GC8. It took a little bit to get used to the slightly looser strings of the short scale and the slightly wider neck than my 712 and 512M, but after the second guitar I was playing easily. All were superb instruments but my hands down favorite for sheer sound was the GC5, which is mahogany with a cedar top. I have been jonesing for a GSMC ever since I played one last year, and now I have to reconsider. Great tone, bright, good bass and the sound really gets out there for such a small body. They had a "special" price on all the guitars that night and it was tempting, but I'm going on vacation and money is tight, so I deferred until summer. One other note. Brian S. had me try a special dreadnought acoustic with an Addie top and the V neck. I don't think anything would persuade me to go back to that body shape, but god did that guitar have a nice tone! and the neck was very easy to play, unlike most v-necks I've played in the past.
Well, I stayed until the bitter end, when they were putting the guitars away at 8:45 and was one of the last ones out. They were sure I was going to walk out the door with that GC5, but I fooled them. This has gone on long enough - back to work! It sure was fun!
Steve