Is Taylor just trying to blaze their own trail?

[Jasper64]

I love watching reviews on YouTube of the latest acoustic guitars that have come out and the other night I watched one that was comparing a Taylor 517 GP, a Gibson J 45 and a Martin D 18. One of the guys made a statement about Taylor's new GP being somewhat of a SS dread, but "he thinks" it is Taylor being more consistent with their different lines, and not trying to really compete as much in the role of the traditional dreadnought. I also heard that they were doing away with their 10 series so that was a very interesting comment he made. Over the years I have owned some incredible Taylors including a 410,a 710 and an 810 but eventually when I could finally afford a Custom guitar I went with a Custom Martin D-35. That deep full dreadnought sound is what I was most drawn to. So that brings me back to my original thought or question... With Andy at the helm are they just wanting to do what they do best? Taylor makes incredible, beautiful, well made guitars. They are known to have that balanced tone and great playability, and now with their new V bracing they seem to really be trying to blaze their own trail.

[Orphan]

Taylor always has and will probably continue to try new things. Some will be widely accepted and some won’t.

[Tnfiddler]

I'd say you're probably right. They'll no longer have to say they are using bracing designed by another manufacturer. I won't be selling my 1995 810 for any reason. It'll be passed down to my son one day and I hope he continues to care for it and play it.

[Bob Womack]

They are the guitar maker who seem most willing to throw ideas at the wall and wait and see which ones stick and which ones slide down. They are also pretty fearless at dropping tried and true designs to try new stuff. The Taylors of today barely resemble the Taylors of ten years ago. Of course, they also only have about forty-five years in the industry so they aren't bound to their history by a ball and chain as some others are. If you don't like what you see, stick around a few years and there will be something new.

Bob

[mercy]

Many recent posts regarding this

[Monsoon1]

I think it is in Bob Taylor's nature to always seek improvements no matter what.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Orphan

Taylor always has and will probably continue to try new things. Some will be widely accepted and some won’t.

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

They are the guitar maker who seem most willing to throw ideas at the wall and wait and see which ones stick and which ones slide down. They are also pretty fearless at dropping tried and true designs to try new stuff. The Taylors of today barely resemble the Taylors of ten years ago. Of course, they also only have about forty-five years in the industry so they aren't bound to their history by a ball and chain as some others are...

Bob

I'd say that Taylor has always blazed its own trail....

[Jasper64]

Originally Posted by RP

I'd say that Taylor has always blazed its own trail....

I agree. I think what struck me is how it appears that Taylor has just given up on the traditional dread and created their own version. Kinda like they did by taking out the Jumbo and creating the GO. Their 10 series never was a big seller for them.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

I think it is in Bob Taylor's nature to always seek improvements no matter what.

+1. Hiring Andy Powers did wonders.

[ifret]

Originally Posted by Jasper64

...they seem to really be trying to blaze their own trail.

Yes, since 1974.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by RP

I'd say that Taylor has always blazed its own trail....

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

I think it is in Bob Taylor's nature to always seek improvements no matter what.

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

+1. Hiring Andy Powers did wonders.

Bob T. approaches things with a luthier's head/heart, Andy Powers embodies the very same spirit as well as formidable technical genius - and therein lies the difference in both product and corporate philosophy; unlike the other two members of the "Big Three" I actually look forward to Taylor's new releases - whether or mot they match my personal taste I can always count on something not only genuinely innovative but eminently practical (can you say ALternative X/g-Force )...

[Americana]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Bob T. approaches things with a luthier's head/heart.

Sorry, I disagree. If you read his book "Guitar Lessons", you will see one of his biggest motivators is to become the largest guitar manufacturer and trying to achieve that with as much efficiency and cost cutting as possible. The book might as well be renamed "Business Lessons" and he is very upfront and doesn't try to hide it at all.

[MChild62]

Originally Posted by Americana

Sorry, I disagree. If you read his book "Guitar Lessons", you will see one of his biggest motivators is to become the largest guitar manufacturer and trying to achieve that with as much efficiency and cost cutting as possible. The book might as well be renamed "Business Lessons" and he is very upfront and doesn't try to hide it at all.

Nothing wrong with that. Martin, Yamaha, and name any other large builder, they’d all be dead if they didn’t keep their eye on growing the top line while keeping their bottom line low. That’s how they make a profit and stay in business.

For any industrial manufacturer, the concept of “quality” is not what most people have in their head as something divorced from cost and price. On the contrary, the challenge that all manufacturers face is to find ways to deliver the characteristics desired by the market at ever lower prices.

The guitar industry has done this brilliantly over the past 40 years at least. A guitar that retails for $200 today will be so much better than the stringed plywood of equivalent value 4 decades ago. Bob Taylor has just been applying these same concepts to the higher end of guitars. Martin and the others do the same, as they have to in order to survive. Rather than pretending to be something he and Taylor are not (“this guitar was hand assembled by a legion of Trappist monks using sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci for a guitar-like lute”), Bob Taylor is just transparent and even boastful about being a manufacturer.

[Glennwillow]

I think Taylor is thinking like a company that wants to be as successful as a business enterprise as possible. So far they are doing very well.

I am not heavily invested in Taylor guitars. I own two, a 2002 514CE and a 2010 12-Fret. I really should sell the 12-Fret because I don't play it. The 514CE is the only guitar I own that has a pickup in it and there are times when I need that feature. So Taylor's current direction is not for me. But plenty of people are buying their guitars.

I read Bob Taylor's book; I think he is a good business man.

- Glenn

[mercy]

Im glad someone else said it but its all a business thing, has nothing to do with better guitars. Everyone is talking about the V bracing, even on the Martin forum. You just cant buy that kind of advertising and Taylor fans that have one they love are now have a reason to buy another Taylor. Im not saying the V bracing is bad, its just not the reason for it.