NGD- Taylor 516 Custom

[KenL]

Scott, those Taylor 12-fretters are gorgeous. But I'm good in that department with the Martin in my sig. That thing is a killer guitar.

[llew]

Hey Ken...just saw your NGD. Big congrats! That's a beautiful guitar! I've heard the all mahogany versions are special...enjoy!

[KenL]

Thanks, Jim. It has its own tone, that's for sure. I like it!

[mawmow]

Congrats ! Certainly a great guitar !
It reminds me the GS-5 I once owned...
It sounded quite alike the Gibson J-100 I also had then.

[FOG01]

I bet that thing is a beast!

[llew]

Originally Posted by KenL

Thanks, Jim. It has its own tone, that's for sure. I like it!

The bigger question however is how does "Luka" like it?

[llew]

Originally Posted by KenL

This guitar has zero fret wear and not a scratch anywhere, including the pickguard. I don't think it's been played hardly at all.

And we bicker sometimes about whether or not a guitar will go "dormant." I'm of the opinion that they do, and this guitar proves my point.

When I got it on Thursday, it wasn't at all loud, and the tone was subdued. It sounded good, but seemed to lack "energy," if that makes any sense. I wasn't worried, though, figured it had just gone to sleep. So I just kept playing, with a pick mostly. On Friday I sat down with it and played "Key to the Highway," hard, for an hour straight. And all the sudden it woke up and started rumbling, with a big volume increase, especially in the low end. I could feel it reverberating against my chest and in my left hand.

Pretty cool to hear/feel, when it happens.

Also, it is one of the rare Taylors without a "e" in the designation. I'll be able to put a K&K in it. Happy about that!

"Key To The Hiway"...love that song!

[KenL]

Luka, he don't care, he likes 'em all. Or not, can't tell! He can sleep through anything I play.

Yes, "KttH" is the perfect song to get a guitar humming. All those big open chords! Funny you should mention, I was playing the new one while watching a movie, and that was the song that I ended with. This guitar has come alive, and it sounds like a million mahogany bucks. It was fun to hear it do that.

[mimmo]

A real beauty, congratulations!

[Mr. Paul]

That's a handsome one indeed. Very nice!

[Stonehauler]

very nice. Congrats on your new guitar

[KenL]

Thanks, all! I wasn't exactly sure what it was when I bought it. Neither did Gryphon, apparently. Glad I did, though!

[mr. beaumont]

That's absolutely gorgeous. Understated, classy, and as a recent all mahogany lover, I bet it sounds as good as it looks.

[KenL]

Jeff, "understated" is a good word for it. That's what I like about it. And, yes, it sounds great and is getting better by the day.

[KenL]

One last post just to wrap it all up.

I was chatting with Chad at Taylor Customer Service via email about this mystery guitar. He was able to tell me that it was not a "custom" build, but rather a "special order." It is a 2013 516 that was special ordered with a mahogany top.

However, Taylor had not yet switched to 2013 specs when it was built, so it was built with 2012 specs. They did not, oddly, make the switch until August of 2013.

The 2012 models had the tortoise binding and the abalone rosette and those cool fret markers. The 2013s had ivoroid binding and something else for the rosette and rather basic fret markers. I googled the 2012s, and sure enough, that's what they had for features.

So, mystery solved! It is a 2013 Special Order Taylor 516, built with 2012 features. Thanks to Chad at Taylor for the excellent and quick responses.