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#1
10-22-2014, 06:36 AM
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Taylor Factory Tour
I took the Taylor tour last Friday which completes my guitar factory trifecta (Martin, Collings and Taylor). Relative to Martin, it seemed to be roughly similarly automated and templated, but maybe a bit more cramped, not as brightly lit (natural light via skylights), and dustier. None of these modern factories compare to my 1973 Martin tour which was blissfully quiet and if not spotless, it was curls of wood from draw knives rather than dust from CNCs that you noticed. The routing of the famous Taylor NT neck pocket was not on our tour. Also, the unique Taylor side benders (I assume needed because they ship mostly cut-away guitars) were not operating during our tour. If Taylor is building 500 guitars a day, it is hard to imagine how they are being built at the El Cajon factory (the real volume must be in Mexico). All the employees that spoke really love the place. The tour guide was a relatively young newer employee and maybe not technically accurate 100% of the time, but he was enthusiastic.
I grew up playing Martins and now my main gigging guitar is a Taylor T5z. The Taylor visitor center is beautiful and worth visiting just for playing the many exhibited guitars and walking through the shop. Jon      I broke my foot my second day in CA last week on a trail in Big Surr :~(. 
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields 
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#3
10-31-2014, 07:10 AM
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I have done both the Martin and the Taylor factory tours. The Martin tour was in 1983 and the Taylor tour was in 2006. Both were very interesting and eye-opening. Made me proud to be an American acoustic guitar player.
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Susie Taylors: 914 • K24ce • 414 • GSMeK+ Pono Guileles: Mango Baritone Deluxe • Mahogany Baritone Have been finger-pickin' guitar since 1973! Love my mountain dulcimers too! (7 Mountain Dulcimers)
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#4
10-31-2014, 02:16 PM
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I have toured Martin more recently than 1973. I live nearby and I often take guests from out-of-town to the tour. Martin and Taylor admit to sharing build technology and both factories are quite high tech. My Collings tour was in 2007 and back then they had a single CNC machine. But looking at the piece parts in their assembly process it appeared to me that they probably sourced just as many different parts out of the CNC as the rest. The clearest Collings difference was the tuning station for the tops. Jon
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 11-01-2014 at 06:39 AM.
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