Now that Taylor has. . .

[29er]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Well, perhaps I’m wrong, but those of us who participate on guitar forums and are even aware of technical aspects like bracing, much less worry about them, are a tiny, TINY minority of the guitar players and buyers out there. Some folks on here pore over the Taylor PR magazine “Wood & Steel” as if it was Holy Writ and they’re Talmudic scholars, but - truthfully - I doubt that many other people do.

It’s like the threads that say: “Will my guitar lose resale value if I install a pickup in it/change the tuners on it/put a strap button on the neck?” and three of the first five people to respond to the thread will be people who just HATE whatever the OP is asking about, so they jump right in and say:

“Yes! Doing that will ruin the resale value of the guitar, I would NEVER buy a guitar where someone has put in a pickup/changed the tuners/added a strap button!!!”

Whereas in real life, most potential buyers won’t know or care that they’re supposed to offended and driven away by these things. Because they aren’t.

So for every person who cares that deeply about bracing patterns, there’ll be at least a hundred who won’t know and won’t care.

That’s been my experience, anyway - most players aren’t that interested in the technical details of guitar construction. Not to the degree that’s common on this forum.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

I totally agree. I will also add that the best players that I know personally and are friends of mine spend almost zero time on internet forums and they are usually behind the curve on new gear. That's not to say that there are not great players that frequent these forums, but the folks who seem to be busiest playing their instruments spend less time obsessing over the details of their construction.

[Shades of Blue]

Just from my sarcastic point of view, a lot of Taylor buyers will run from X braced Taylors like they have the plague. Some Taylor buyers are only interested in the latest and greatest, and showing them an X braced Taylor is like showing them a laptop with 2GB of RAM and a 50GB hard drive.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Well, perhaps I’m wrong, but those of us who participate on guitar forums and are even aware of technical aspects like bracing, much less worry about them, are a tiny, TINY minority of the guitar players and buyers out there. Some folks on here pore over the Taylor PR magazine “Wood & Steel” as if it was Holy Writ and they’re Talmudic scholars, but - truthfully - I doubt that many other people do.

It’s like the threads that say: “Will my guitar lose resale value if I install a pickup in it/change the tuners on it/put a strap button on the neck?” and three of the first five people to respond to the thread will be people who just HATE whatever the OP is asking about, so they jump right in and say:

“Yes! Doing that will ruin the resale value of the guitar, I would NEVER buy a guitar where someone has put in a pickup/changed the tuners/added a strap button!!!”

Whereas in real life, most potential buyers won’t know or care that they’re supposed to offended and driven away by these things. Because they aren’t.

So for every person who cares that deeply about bracing patterns, there’ll be at least a hundred who won’t know and won’t care.

That’s been my experience, anyway - most players aren’t that interested in the technical details of guitar construction. Not to the degree that’s common on this forum.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

I agree with you 100%. However, we must all keep in mind that when we are trying to sell a guitar on a forum, we are effectively selling directly to that TINY minority of which you speak. So in theory, the specs of a Taylor matter a LOT.

Taylor buyers want the ES2. Forget the fact that an LR Baggs Anthem is probably the better system, they all want the ES2.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Well, perhaps I’m wrong, but those of us who participate on guitar forums and are even aware of technical aspects like bracing, much less worry about them, are a tiny, TINY minority of the guitar players and buyers out there. Some folks on here pore over the Taylor PR magazine “Wood & Steel” as if it was Holy Writ and they’re Talmudic scholars, but - truthfully - I doubt that many other people do.

It’s like the threads that say: “Will my guitar lose resale value if I install a pickup in it/change the tuners on it/put a strap button on the neck?” and three of the first five people to respond to the thread will be people who just HATE whatever the OP is asking about, so they jump right in and say:

“Yes! Doing that will ruin the resale value of the guitar, I would NEVER buy a guitar where someone has put in a pickup/changed the tuners/added a strap button!!!”

Whereas in real life, most potential buyers won’t know or care that they’re supposed to offended and driven away by these things. Because they aren’t.

So for every person who cares that deeply about bracing patterns, there’ll be at least a hundred who won’t know and won’t care.

That’s been my experience, anyway - most players aren’t that interested in the technical details of guitar construction. Not to the degree that’s common on this forum.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

Every time I talk to other guitar players in shop, this is the case. The subject matter discussed on the forums is not quite representative of the interests of musicians and folks out in the real world.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

I have one of the Andy Powers "revoiced" 810s from ~2014, which in my opinion, is the finest sounding Taylor to date. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

As it turns out, it's going to be a rare guitar, as that arrangement only lasted a couple years. While I don't think that's going to make it highly sought after in the future, I also don't think it's going to lose any value, either. If I decided to sell, there's likely going to be somebody that specifically wants that voicing...

As a confirmed Anti-Taylor-tone guy, the "re-voiced" Taylors are the only ones I've ever liked, and the few I played were KILLER! Big bass, big volume, everything you want in a fine Martin and the Taylor playability.

I agree completely and why they didn't expand that design I'll never know. In my opinion it was a seriously poor decision.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

. . . gone full on board with the V-Class bracing, how much (or how less) value do you think an X-Bracing Taylor will have?

There will be plenty of people who prefer the x bracing guitars. If we haven't seen a decrease in value yet, then who's to say there will be one?

[RockerDuck]

X braced guitars haven't decreased in price in the last two yrs. since V class came out, because I'm always looking for a deal.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

I agree with you 100%. However, we must all keep in mind that when we are trying to sell a guitar on a forum, we are effectively selling directly to that TINY minority of which you speak. So in theory, the specs of a Taylor matter a LOT.

Yes, I understand. But I tend to either buy and sell instruments locally, or else have extended online conversations with people about the instruments I’ve decided to sell.

Perhaps the most detail-oriented folks pass me by, because even the times I have sold guitars through a guitar forum, I haven’t tended to need to deal with many of these details. I just tell the potential buyers what, if anything, I’ve changed about the instrument, usually right in the classified ad.

Those who find my purely utilitarian changes to be heretical must just leave me alone (for which I’m very grateful....)

Mandolins, now, are a completely different proposition: if you think guitarists are fussbudgets when it comes to this stuff, you should try selling a mandolin online! Guitarists are big ol’ softies in comparison, even the more neurotic ones.

But in any event, whether it’s been locally or online, most people don’t seem to care as passionately about a lot of these things as those who make the biggest fuss about them. For every guy like that (and they’re ALL male - female guitarists tend to be far too sensible to burst a blood vessel over these things,) for every guy carrying on about this stuff, there seem to be about a hundred who don’t see them as deal-killers.

Hope that makes more sense.


whm

[Monts]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

Just from my sarcastic point of view, a lot of Taylor buyers will run from X braced Taylors like they have the plague. Some Taylor buyers are only interested in the latest and greatest, and showing them an X braced Taylor is like showing them a laptop with 2GB of RAM and a 50GB hard drive.

I've been actively trying to sell my 517 since October. The only thing people care about is the ES2. Once they find out there is no ES2, they never contact me again. Forget the fact that it is a great guitar.

I have a 317, I absolutely love it. If I would have been onto the Grand Pacific's earlier, I would have been all over yours. I paid more than your asking price for my new 317 GP! ...Furthermore, I could care less about the ES2 system. That being said, I'm still tempted! haha!

[Audie]

My observation has been a higher number of used V braced guitars selling cheaper than their x braced counterparts. The used GP market is horrendous. I see mint condition GPs' selling for 1100 to 1400 for 317's and 1400 to 2100 for 517's and 717's.

So I don't think X braced guitars have anything to worry about.

[FOG01]

Originally Posted by DavidE

There will be plenty of people who prefer the x bracing guitars. If we haven't seen a decrease in value yet, then who's to say there will be one?

I recently found a NOS X braced model at a nice discount and bought it. I happen to prefer the X sound over the V and the GA body style over others (though I think I've learned my lesson about gushing that there is one and only one sound/guitar for me!) which is what led me to it. As this guitar checked off so many boxes for me, at the price offered I just wasn't going to pass it up.

If the reason it didn't sell at the original price was because of the switch to V bracing, then I am highly grateful to Taylor. I had seen and lusted after this guitar before, but couldn't justify the original price tag.

[whvick]

After finally getting to try out some Xs and Vs today I think the value of your X just went up!

[gmel555]

My guess: for the foreseeable future, there will be Taylor X-brace fans and Taylor V-Brace fans and some who don't care. While some are strongly vocal one way or the other, I don't think that applies to the masses so I don't expect great pricing variance one way or the other. The exception would be if 5 years from now stories of V-Brace guitars "imploding" start surfacing.

[B Chas]

Certainly is a giant selection Taylor generations. I have a pre-nt neck, 1997 714, I don’t think any of the models since come close, but it’s one of many 714s produced over the years. I agree with many posters here, most buyers just see it as a 714, except that the Brazilian Back is attractive.

[jazzguy]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

I don't know that the X braced guitars will be a "collectors" item... But I don't see a lot of folks trading in their X braced Taylors to "upgrade" to V braced. I currently have 3 Taylor guitars, the newest being a 2017 X braced model and to be brutally honest, I have zero interest in any of the new V-braced classic models. I've played several, and in all but one or two instances I was severely disappointed, especially when comparing my X braced guitar with the same model with the V. The sole exception would be the GP lineup.

Agree 100%!