The Emperor’s new Clothes (Taylor V-Brace)

[BoneDigger]

I have not tried the V braced guitars myself. In the video, the X braced guitar is more to my liking than the V braced guitar.

[GuitarDogs62]

I listened to the video and you could hear the difference for sure. I liked the X bracing so much better. It sounded Full where the V bracing sounded like it was 2/3 of the way there to full.

Taylor makes good guitars and the last time they re-voiced their line up I felt it was for the better. This time however, I feel they broke the golden rule, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it.". I feel Taylor made this change to try and get more sales with a new gimmick.

[Dwight]

Maybe someone else will post a comparison where the majority like the new V braced guitar better. I'm pretty sure if Andy were playing, it would.

[varmonter]

I am certainly suspect of any video on utube
What i can say is i went to a Taylor roadshow
a month or so back and tried several V braced
bling bling guitars that the fellows brought along.
All of them were made from very pretty woods.
being only offered in their higher end at the time.
My favorite guitar i played that night was a 712ce
with a lutz top and Ier back and sides 12 fret. X braced
half the price of the v braced blings.
I can't say the v class sounded bad just different.
But like an autonomous car not something i would buy.
And don't necessarily appreciate it being crammed down my throat.

[Wade Hampton]

Honestly, I fail to see how anything is being crammed down anyone's throat here. A guitar company has made a business decision to change its bracing pattern on some of its models. We have the option of buying those guitars or not buying them. It's that simple.


whm

[jimmy bookout]

I'd like to know how old the X-braced 814 is. The top is noticeably darker in color which implies it's been hanging around in the shop for a while, which could account for "some" of it's better fullness.
I'm with most everyone else, I preferred the X-braced guitar.

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Honestly, I fail to see how anything is being crammed down anyone's throat here. A guitar company has made a business decision to change its bracing pattern on some of its models. We have the option of buying those guitars or not buying them. It's that simple.


whm

Exactly. Taylor seems to bring these responses for some reason, I never understand it. They didn't say the V-brace obsoletes the X-brace, they just did something different. Don't like it, don't buy it. Pretty sure Andy Powers isn't going to show up on one's door step with the guitar mafia in tow.

In response to them doing this to "get more sales"....well, they ARE in the guitar SALES business. If you like the new model, buy it (Taylor would appreciate it!), it not, again, no one's holding a gun to your head.

PS. Being a lefty, there are not as many chances to try out guitars. That said, I was in Nashville a few years ago, went to George Gruhn's store, and they had a re-voiced lefty 814CE. I thought it was hands down the BEST Taylor I've ever played. I have owned many Taylors in the past (and have a Leo Kottke now).

[Wade Hampton]

After I wrote that nobody's being forced to buy these new V-braced Taylor guitars, Jimmy wrote:

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

Exactly. Taylor seems to bring these responses for some reason, I never understand it. They didn't say the V-brace obsoletes the X-brace, they just did something different. Don't like it, don't buy it. Pretty sure Andy Powers isn't going to show up on one's door step with the guitar mafia in tow.

Actually, Jimmy, Andy Powers, Bob Taylor and some of the other thugs from the Taylor Guitar Company DID show up at my doorstep trying to force me to buy some of these revoiced V-brace guitars. What they failed to take into account is that most Alaskan homes are bristling with firearms, so my son held a shotgun on them while I went through their wallets, took their money and credit cards and told them to never come back.

I did leave them the keys to their rental car, though, because I figured they'd get out of here faster if they weren't forced to hitchhike...

That experience, I'm sure, caused them to rethink their corporate strategy of forcing people to buy V-braced guitars.

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

In response to them doing this to "get more sales"....well, they ARE in the guitar SALES business. If you like the new model, buy it (Taylor would appreciate it!), it not, again, no one's holding a gun to your head.

However much they might like to...

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

PS. Being a lefty, there are not as many chances to try out guitars. That said, I was in Nashville a few years ago, went to George Gruhn's store, and they had a re-voiced lefty 814CE. I thought it was hands down the BEST Taylor I've ever played. I have owned many Taylors in the past (and have a Leo Kottke now).

Good to know. I seriously doubt that Taylor would be making this change if they themselves weren't impressed by the results.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Good to know. I seriously doubt that Taylor would be making this change if they themselves weren't impressed by the results.

Fair point. Ultimately it doesn't matter what they think, the market will decide. I wonder if some of the results they may have been impressed by are financial, as there are manufacturing efficiencies to be gained here. They've certainly tried things that the market didn't like before (finger joints on the neck).

[martingitdave]

Personally, I’m sticking with my fairy tale metaphor of the emperor’s clothes to explain the sudden, and I think wrong headed, decision to move the entire line to the new bracing. But, they may, correctly, produce both styles for a while to see which the market prefers.

[Rogerblair]

I’m somewhat relieved to read this, as I preferred the X braced one as well, but thought it was probably just me.

If there is one thing Taylor doesn’t need more of, it’s “thin sounding”. Also, was intonation really THAT much of a problem? It’s hard to believe that probably the most machine-made, precise guitars on the market really had intonation issues. Maybe I’m wrong....

Rb

[martingitdave]

I equate the V brace to an electric guitar. There is more rigidity along the axis with the neck. In principle it makes sense that there would be more stability and less deflection, thereby making the performance more consistent up the neck. The problem is... I just don’t like how they sound. I don’t doubt his claim. It just doesn’t sound good to me.

[89bruin]

I have to confess that every time I read an interview with Andy Powers I’m LESS inclined to purchase a Taylor ... nothing concrete, he just rubs me the wrong way. That said, Taylor has successfully gotten a lot of people playing acoustic guitars and that’s a good thing. Maybe someday I’ll even find a Taylor I like.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Fair point. Ultimately it doesn't matter what they think, the market will decide. I wonder if some of the results they may have been impressed by are financial, as there are manufacturing efficiencies to be gained here. They've certainly tried things that the market didn't like before (finger joints on the neck).

And, as you pointed out, the market will decide. I ain’t gonna worry about it either way.


whm

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by GuitarDogs62

I listened to the video and you could hear the difference for sure. I liked the X bracing so much better. It sounded Full where the V bracing sounded like it was 2/3 of the way there to full.

Taylor makes good guitars and the last time they re-voiced their line up I felt it was for the better. This time however, I feel they broke the golden rule, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it.". I feel Taylor made this change to try and get more sales with a new gimmick.

Dog, I do think that's a large part of this effort, marketing. I have no inside information of their fabrication processes; however, as a manufacturer myself I can tell you that part of this would almost certainly be a way to reduce manufacturing costs (which typically means more automation and fewer human hands in the process). With economy of scale, this would reduce cost per unit and thus increase profit margins. I don't fault Taylor for this, as it's a brutally competitive environment with great Asian guitars coming into the market. ALL the mainline U.S. vendors are struggling. Chris Martin said they lost millions last year.

So marketing, yes, but I don't think they'd be pushing this new bracing so hard if there weren't a manufacturing benefit (and increased margin) on the back end.

My Three Cents,
Scott Memmer




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