Has Taylor stopped building "custom" guitars?

Louisiana · #1 03-07-2001, 05:54 PM

A couple of weeks ago I inquired at my local Taylor dealer about ordering a custom Taylor guitar (an 814c with a 500 series style neck with the diamond-style inlays) and was told by the deal that, because it was so hard for Taylor to keep track of these custom-ordered guitars as they progressed throughout the factory, they are discontinuing their "you name it and we'll build it" policy.

Has anyone heard anything about this?

I know that Taylor will put a different top on some series of their guitars at little or no additional cost but have they stopped offering say an 814c with 500 series diamond-style fingerboard inlays?

I think, for a while, Taylor would even re-created any type of inlay or any other ornamental feature that you could dream up.

God bless,
Louisiana

GRW3 · #2 03-07-2001, 06:02 PM

In an earlier e-mail conversation I had with them, Taylor said they would do limited customization but had no desire to provide true custom guitars.

Somewhere in this mass of info you will find a note that custom shop activities would be suspended while they got a handle on the new product lines.

I think you will likely be able to get the requested combination later this year but be warned, Taylor custom prices are steep. They even charge for no inlay on the neck! Any significant changes and you should find a custom shop like Harvey Leach or Lance McCollum.

J.R. Rogers · #3 03-07-2001, 06:15 PM

As George said, Taylor has temporarily halted their "major customization" options, until they can get a handle on their new lineup. However, they will still do certain things like - cutaway, electronics packages, neck width, etc. And, this year you get your choice of tops on all their 500+ series guitars. That sounds like it covers probably 90% of what people would want to customize.

I know that we'll see the custom options return. Stay tuned....

J.R.

JW · #4 03-08-2001, 01:25 PM

Take it from the one who knows "Custom Shop" Taylors are not cheap. My 910B is a custom shop order and when you get it its yours if you like the sound or not. Never Again! I would like to be able to have them build the guitar of my dreams but the cost is not worth it. All guitars have a differant sound no matter what. I cant say what my custom 910B cost me but I can tell you that it was as much as I can buy a real cheap NEW car for. My advice would be shop around and find the best factory line guitar you want and then have the inlay put in it like you want. I got my K14C stright from the store and it is my favorite acuostic Ive ever had at waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy less than my custom 910B. I will leave the custom orders for the rich and famos, of which i am neither..JW

GRW3 · #5 03-08-2001, 07:05 PM

As JW points out, Taylor customs are expensive and final. Guaranteed for life but you order it, its yours. Taylor is not a custom operation anymore. If they were to let customers order unusual (for Taylor) combinations and return them if they didn't like the results they would be letting their customer so their research.

From my forum travels I have become aware that true custom luthiers often have a money back guarantee of your satisfaction. Oh there may be a small percentage return fee or it may not apply if it is too personalized but reasonable combinations won't leave you in the hole like JW. (I have a copy of the 2000 custom price list, now defunct, so I understand how deep that hole is)

A couple of luthiers have described the process. It usually involves dialogs between the luthier and the client wherein playind style and desires are explored and consultation is given. If I wanted a true custom, that's where I would go.

#6 04-14-2001, 08:40 PM

Well, To put my 2 cents in... I also contacted a dealer and tried to get the guitar I wanted built. Taylor told them that they would not be using brazilian rosewood for at least the next 2 years. I called Taylor directly and found this was true. I was going to get different inlays and binding. I wound up just buying a 814-BCE which was the closest thing to what I wanted.

J.R. Rogers · #7 04-16-2001, 12:22 AM

Hey, Basicblues! Welcome to the forum. You're right. I heard from a reliable source at Taylor that they're really low on good Brazilian rosewood - so much so that the 2001 Presentation model might be limited to only 25 guitars instead of 100.

The 814BCE is a great guitar. Several members here own one, and surprisingly, there still seems to be quite a few out in the marketplace.

J.R.

Mike A. · #8 05-31-2001, 04:43 AM

Hey guys,

Once again, great dialogue. I'm a Taylor dealer and you're all pretty much right when you say that Taylor is no longer offering custom orders. JR is right as well, they still offer a TON of "options" that can fit about 90% of the public's desires. But for those like me......I wanted that little bit more that they just wouldn't do. It was minimal stuff, too. I'm having a luthier friend of mine do the final stuff that I want(when the guitar gets here) and it'll probably cost me less using him than getting it from Taylor anyway.

For a little history on my plight visit the topic string under "Taylor Guitars-General Discussion: Topic: 'Has anyone ordered direct from Taylor before? I have some ?'s...'". You can also see a picture of what my end product is going to look like.

The latest is that I called Taylor and they told me that the guitar is scheduled to ship June 27th!!!! These next few weeks will be tough on me............

Thanks again guys,
Mike

Dennis · #9 06-02-2001, 02:10 PM

Folks:
Regarding whether the custom guitars are worth it.. speaking my own experience,yeah it was pricey, but well worth it. somewhere on the gallery forum here you'll see my custom W65 12 string. i love it.

they are low on the wood for the Whales guitar. i just found out yesterday that mine is delayed for months. they ran out of the wood.