Taylor's new Dreadnought

[MChild62]

I had planned to splurge this year on a new D18 or D28 but will wait until I can try one of the new Taylor dreads. If I buy new, the deciding factor will probably be the availability of warranty and service in Europe.
Unlike Martin, Taylor has a servire shop here and their warranty coverage is global. For an expensive new guitar, that may be a difference and enough to present Taylor with an advantage

[ataylor]

You know what I love about the guitar in the Sean Watkins clip?

No cutaway.

No ES knobs.

I took my daughter to Guitar Center today. We have a really good one — probably the best I’ve ever visited. They have a lot of really nice Taylors, and every single one seems to be a CE model.

I’ll rarely even take a CE model off the wall, let alone consider buying one. I know that makes me a minority for Taylor’s target customer, but I know I’m not the only one, especially if they’re serious about going after more than just the plug and play cutaway crowd.

I liked how Taylor launched the GS shape with just acoustic, non-cutaway models back in the day and I’d love to see them do something similar here. It would show a lot of confidence in the tone and performance of the new model, particularly considering who they’re trying to sell to and the guitars they’re competing against — and at Taylor’s price points these days, it’s not just Martin and Gibson.

I’d also like to see more accessible models of this guitar sooner than later — I think a 300 series Grand Pacific guitar could be a huge seller for them.

[Cuki79]

[RP]

Originally Posted by ataylor

You know what I love about the guitar in the Sean Watkins clip?

No cutaway.

No ES knobs.

Me too.....

[varmonter]

Ill concur with a lot of great observations here.
This guitar will not convert martin stalwarts.
It does look like not quite an l and not quite
a slope. Sort of hybrid. clever.
I am a huge fan of lutz spruce since i played
a 712ce 12 fret.
I played a dred at my lgs (not this one) and
it had that typical taylor sound. I didnt like
it and put it back on the wall.
I have a custom shop taylor dread that
was built in 2012. Adi over madi. No cutaway. no es. This guitar
is stellar and is a bluegrass monster. low end
is clear and deep. not your typical taylor sound., So i think this new guitar
may be a winner for folks that want that sound.
Martin traditionalist players wont buy these.
Its just not done. . But folks that are looking
for a more trad dred sound might.

[ii Cybershot ii]

The sound clip Taylor released still sounds exactly like the recent Taylors to me. Probably just a bit deeper and fuller due to the body shape.

The sound is loud, the string separation is extreme, and the attack is very "hard". (Martin string attack is soft, and the string separation is minimal leading to a "blended" sound when strumming).

So to me it's still the opposite of a Martin... It does share some qualities with the Gibson sound though.

[guitar12]

To the handful of folks who have played it, what is the nut width and scale? Thanks.

Rob

[Paddy1951]

Both Taylor and Martin are in the business of selling guitars. First and foremost. So, they must mix it up now and then not only to capture first-time younger buyers but to keep selling guitars to those of us, not so young and first time buyers.

Re-imagined? If you know Martin's history the current guitars are mostly about building them the way they were built many years ago. Martin has 100 plus years of changes that can be mixed and matched to create "new" guitars. Yes, there are new woods and other materials but it is still all about how they have always done it. 20 years ago the cool thing Martin was promoting on their standard series were the new neck profiles, not wide and V shaped. Now, it's wider nut widths, etc.

Taylor changed up bracing, like it or not. I think this new guitar moves... Just a tiny bit, toward a Martin-ish sound. I think some of the Martins may move a bit toward the Taylor sound. It's in the subtlety.
It's who sells the most in the end.

Here's a wild thought. What if one or the other or both of them decided to build guitars that truly offered shades of gray in both directions, sound-wise. Both companies are certainly capable of that. What if it came down to how guitars are built quality wise and customer service wise and not a "sound?"

No, it is not legal in my state, lol.

[flaggerphil]

I have three good Taylor dealers within an hour of me...I'll have to try this new guitar when it gets here.

[edward993]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

...Taylor probably can't CNC manufacture a guitar, at their high profit margins, using their repetitive quality processes, proprietary bracing, bountiful supplies of direct sourced materials, and robotic applied finishes that sounds as resonant as a Martin.
...
Incidentally, the genius of Taylor marketing is to make such a superbly robotic, precise, sterile, and repeatable process seem "human" and "organic" based on the power of personality and words. Many of the people buying these guitars are not buying a Taylor guitar, they are simply relating to mystique of Andy Powers.
….

Funny stuff!
And the only thing more humorous are the "+1" that follow. Great stuff, guys. I know who to count on for some good laughs! So predictable, yet just as funny every time I hear it!!

Edward

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by gr81dorn

There’s a bunch of pros who’ve had these out and about for most of 2018. I’ve seen at least three. Sean Watkins has been playing out with his in sunburst.

Here’s a clip of him playing it at home.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGlfPwl...=1dy3rje20ws9t

In recent years, he’s been pretty much exclusively playing vintage Gibson’s. Not sure if there is any line to connect there, but it probably is closer to a Gibby than a Martin.

Oh that's very interesting.... Taylor might have a guitar that wins me over with this one. Interested to see what price point this comes in at.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I But, if you love a traditional Martin Dreadnought sound, you might night go for this.

Thank you. Reading this thread gave me GAS. Now it's gone. Phew.

[Kh1967]

Even though I don’t currently own a Taylor and have not for a few years, I have tremendous respect for their innovation, environmental approach, build quality and marketing strategies.

Guitars are designed to make music but, if they need marketing and innovation to drive sales. I think this is a smart move on Taylor’s part and from the sound clip, I think it sounds darn good. Looking forward to giving one a test drive.

[dodge]

I see on the acousticletter's Instagram clip feed there's a little teaser of the new Taylor dred hanging on the wall behind Paul from Musicvilla.

[jas]

That body shape looks like a Larrivee L Body