Taylor announces solid body electric debut

[12 string]

The Taylor Insider Email has annouced the new solid electrics line will be officially launched in early 2008, with limited pre-release availability at select dealers this fall. We've seen the video with prototype, now it's official.

[jayhawk]

My son had an interesting take on this, 'It's wrong'. His reasoning was that Fender makes great solid bodies but there acoustics are not very good. Martin makes great acoustics but could never get into the solid body electrics. Taylor should stick to what they do best and stay away from solid bodies.

I pointed out that Gibson does both, but I don't think he was swayed by the argument.

Jack

[Bill Cory]

Oh, my. They've gone and done it now.

Better be good!

I'll wait and see.

[Forensicguy]

I don't see a problem with Taylor making a solid body guitar. Their manufacturing techniques are top notch and I can't see them making a "bad" guitar no matter if it's an electric or acoustic.

What they bring to the table though is innovation and that's always welcomed. From what I hear, a lot of the parts in the new Taylors are made specifically for them or by them.

It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

[airpatrick]

I am very excited for this. I am in the market for a solid body electric. Of course it will depend on a test run and the price point but this very well could be my next purchase. It only seems right that they step into the electric market. I think that if Gibson can do both well, Taylor can to. We should be welcoming a new product from Taylor rather than automatically dismissing it.

[miteemike3]

Interesting... so I guess what it boils down to is les paul, or taylor electric? I'll take the Les Paul

[airpatrick]

I'm sure they will be will be competeing with everyone in the mid-range electric market, Les Paul, Strat ect. I just don't think we can write them off without at least playing one.

[california91207]

Just got this email from Taylor...

Featuring Tommy Shaw's solid body:

For years – decades even – Bob Taylor’s answer to that question was “no.” Not for some complicated business reason, or even because we’ve focused on acoustics for so long. Bob’s thinking was simple: he wasn’t going to build a solid body electric unless he felt there was a real reason to. In other words, he wouldn’t put the Taylor name on a guitar that was just another version of what already existed. For this new electric guitar to happen, it had to be new, unique and worthy of a place alongside the guitars that electric players have loved for generations.

Then Bob heard the pickups our design group had invented. And he knew. It was time.

The new solid bodies are coming. Designed from the ground up. Two proprietary humbucking pickup options. An innovative new all-aluminum bridge. Patented single-bolt T-Lock™ neck joint. Sculpted body contouring. Unique design. Unique voice.


Launching January of 2008. Limited release pre-launch in select dealer locations starting this fall. More details coming soon at Taylor Road Shows and taylorguitars.com




We knew that entering the electric guitar market would be a big deal. Sure, the success of our electric hybrid, the T5, opened up a lot of doors for us. We’re thrilled that the T5 is the market leader in its category, outselling all other hybrids and semi-hollow body guitars. But our new solid body lives in the heart of the electric guitar market – in the straight-up solid body world.

With this in mind, we took our three advanced prototypes to some people who also live in that world. Who are that world, to be exact. We packed up the team and headed for New York City to show the new electrics to the people behind Guitar World magazine. What happened next was beyond any of our expectations.

As we walked from our hotel on 24th Street toward GW’s 5th Avenue office, we were blissfully unaware of the events of the previous evening. A tornado had touched down in Brooklyn, causing major flooding that had shut down the entire subway system. People had to scramble to find alternate ways into the city the next morning. People including GW Tech Editor Paul Riario, who endured a three-hour car ride from New Jersey. Publisher Greg Di Benedetto and Editor-in-Chief Brad Tolinski made it in next. Both were near their breaking points following their excruciating three-hour drive from JFK Airport, which was the capper after a redeye flight from the West Coast.

We got right down to business. David Hosler, who heads up the Taylor Product Development team, Brian Swerdfeger, our Director of Product Marketing and one of our product specialists, and yours truly, Director of Brand Marketing, walked the guys through the guitar’s design features. We explained how it wasn’t until David perfected a new pickup that Bob Taylor got excited about the electric guitar project. We discussed building a bridge from scratch. The original body shape. The neck design. How we didn’t want to merely “Frankenstein” a Taylor-branded copy of an electric guitar using off-the-shelf parts. How we even designed our own pots and switches.

They were suitably impressed. But that’s what they expected from Taylor. Quality construction, unique design…they get it. Now they were ready to plug in for the true test. To feel and hear if this was more than just a good story. That's when everything changed.

Greg and Paul laid into their guitars. They pushed them hard. Within minutes it was clear that the guitars would deliver everything that was asked of them. A few minutes of jamming turned into a half-hour. Any leftover stress from their morning commutes vanished as Greg told us that these guitars were “alive.” That they had their own personality, voice and vibe. What he described was the synergy that can only come from complete guitar design. The uniqueness that Bob insisted on was not merely for the sake of being different. It was necessary to create a guitar that inspires. That was what Greg and Paul didn’t expect.

Next, we filmed a conversation with Paul, David and Brian, which will be featured on a CD-ROM in an upcoming Guitar World issue. Take a look at a short sample clip here and look for the complete video
in an upcoming issue of Guitar World.



While we were at Guitar World, we got to talking about artists, among them Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw. GW’s sales representative, Jason Perl, happened to be a huge fan and was planning to go to the Styx show at nearby Jones Beach the following week. It was suggested that we invite Tommy, who loves his T5s, to come to the GW studio and try out some guitars.

A few phone calls later, it was arranged. Tommy would stop by the studio and have his first chance to play the new Taylor electrics, which we'd leave behind for him. Without us there to walk him through it. To tell him the story. To make sure he “got it.” And with the cameras rolling, no less. Uh, great. Actually, it was what we needed: to get a realistic taste of how a discerning electric player who has played plenty of other brands for years would respond, in a more neutral environment.

Not long after Tommy finished playing the guitars and filming the video, Jason called. Tommy wanted to know if it was okay if he kept the guitars. Both of them. (The third had come back to the factory the previous week.) There were no other prototypes like them, but…sure why not?

The next thing we knew, he had played them at the Jones Beach gig and later had posted an entry on his website, where he referred to the electric as a “home run.” For more of Tommy’s post, click here.

At Taylor, it seems like we design a new guitar or figure out some major guitar improvement all the time. Still, no matter how much we love guitar innovation, it’s impossible not to be a little nervous before that moment of truth, when a guitar finally gets into the hands of players. Seeing Tommy, Greg, Paul and Brad react the way they did was truly more than any of us had hoped for because, hey, we’re skeptics about gear, too, and it’s easy to slip into critic mode. Did the GW guys really like our stuff that much? Or was it just because we brought the Taylor “Dog and Pony Show” to town?


The day after our meeting with GW, Paul told us something he didn’t have to. He could have said “nice guitars,” thanked us for coming, and sent us on our way. Instead, he told us he had woken up that morning thinking about the guitars. The sound. The feel. He couldn’t get it out of his head.

That's what a great guitar does. It calls you. It inspires you in a fresh way. This is why Bob Taylor waited so long to make these new solid bodies. It's the same approach Bob has always taken from Day 1, and it's the reason why a Taylor has always been a true original.



Your first opportunity to see the new Taylor solid body electric is just around the corner. We’ll be giving you a first glimpse this fall at our Road Shows. Click here for the latest Road Show listings.

Taylor is sponsoring a contest in conjunction with the 2007 Van's Warped Tour, in which three lucky sweepstakes winners each will win a 110 guitar signed by their choice of one of three of the tour’s main stage bands: Coheed and Cambria, Yellowcard and New Found Glory, all Taylor-playing acts. The contest is being promoted on both the Warped Tour and Taylor websites. This is the final week to enter. Feeling lucky? To enter, click here.

[ataylor]

i really like the "standard" maple top electric. a little more refined than the one with the pickguard and not as fancy as the one with the koa top. my one complaint design-wise is the r.taylor-style headstock. i wish they would have stuck with the standard taylor headstock. oh well.

i wonder how much these will cost...

- ataylor

[Taylorplayer]

My past experience with solid body electrics has not been good. But, that's because I'm a lousy electric guitarist :-(

Actually, this is pretty interesting. If they have Taylor's "signature stamp" of quality, they should be wonderful guitars!!~!

I'm exciting to see and play (OK, atempt to play) one.

Tp

[tbondo]

If you noticed, one of the guys doing the T5 demo (months ago) on Taylors site had a dual humbucker T5, when the best you could order was a twin lipstick.....

[macfawlty]

I just got the email myself.

I haven't been that interested in the T5 because I don't play plugged in very much and prefer an acoustic with electronics. Lately, I have been thinking about getting a new electric solid-body. I really like the PRS guitars, but would love to check out the Taylors. They have to be real pretty though as well as sound good and versatile.

[DChap]

please someone correct me if I am wrong....but electric guitars have more or less everything to do with the pick-ups and very little to do with the solid wood body. So we all know that Taylor makes a great neck and fret board, we know that they have done a lot of previous research on pick-ups due to the T5, so is there any real way that Taylor could make a bad solid body electric?

I think the only problem they may run into is selling the darn thing. I mean they are really well known for their acoustics, any guitarist (acoustic or electric) could tell you that Taylor make amazing acoustics, but now they need to become seen as an electric guitar producer also. We shall see.

Please correct any of the above as I know little about electrics.

[kronos810]

What is wrong with this!? Mr.Taylor has great wood suppliers.He has factories on both sides of the American borders & employs folks from each.Skilled craftsman all.Maybe this will lower some prices and compete with the Asia trade??

[Bluelew]

Wood makes a big difference in the tone of a solid body too.
I think these will be great guitars.
Gotta wonder bout the p/ups though.