Letters

I recently decided to shake up my guitar collection and purchased a Gibson J-45. The guitar looks and sounds absolutely beautiful, but some early onset arthritis in my hands has not been too happy with my decision to continue playing big old dreadnoughts. It is very taxing to play or practice for as long as I’d like. I decided I needed to find a smaller guitar that would go a bit easier on me. I saw that you were about to release the Grand Theater and decided to pick one up.

This guitar has given back the joy of playing without pain. Instead of counting the minutes until my joints are too inflamed to play anymore, I can go on for hours. I can explore songwriting ideas again. I can play songs I haven’t been able to play in years. All without sacrificing tone for ease of play. Sheer childlike bliss. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and the appreciation for when it returns is immeasurable.

The Taylor Grand Theater has replaced my grimace with a smile. I am so moved by what Taylor has been able to offer me. I want to thank you from the very bottom of my heart for keeping an acoustic guitar in my hands and music in my heart for years to come.

Since 1970, I have played in a folk music combo in the province of Quebec, Canada. Two acoustic guitars and vocals through a standard sound system make up our configuration. A good acoustic guitar with a piezo pickup under the bridge worked well, but later I wanted a guitar that could produce a greater variety of sounds. The salesman at Steve’s Music store in Montreal introduced me to the hybrid concept, and the Taylor T5 became my first choice for my purchase in 2007. I have been using it since.

This guitar has served me well through years of steady performance. Recently I was invited to back up Marty Hall, an established blues performer in Germany, as he toured the continent. Night after night, the T5 put out its clear sounds through top-of-the-line acoustic amplifiers. I really appreciate its sound versatility, fast fingerboard, light weight and its proven durability. The T5, a fine workhorse, has served me well all these years. Thank you, Taylor folks, for producing such a practical performer.

I purchased a 514ce in November and can’t put it down. This guitar sounds so good, I can’t wait to play my first winery gig of the year in three weeks to see what it sounds like thru a PA. I appreciate the diligent craftsmanship of everyone in your factory…and this wood combination of cedar and mahogany. I have owned a 214 and 314, but this 514ce has topped the sound quality of both of those fine guitars in my humble opinion. The Elixir strings were a great combination with the tonewoods of this guitar. I took it to a certified Taylor repair shop locally and had the action lowered and the strings changed to .011-.052. Again, thank you so much and pass this along to all who were involved in building the guitar.

I recently bought a GS Mini-e Mahogany. Before the pandemic, I used to play alone or practice several times a week besides volunteering to perform with my friends once a month at a local independent living facility in town. Like everyone else, my ability to perform ended once the pandemic hit. Sadly, I also lost my desire to play the guitar, not only due to the pandemic but also due to right shoulder pain and, more so, a general malaise that set in.

However, since I bought the GS Mini, my love for the guitar has returned. I have been playing it non-stop, and the excitement of playing and the hope to return to performing have been rejuvenated, all due to this little guitar with a big sound. Sometimes, you can find magic in a guitar. Usually, the magic manifests itself in a song. For me, it manifested itself by reminding me just how much I love playing music, whether alone or with my friends for an audience. My GS Mini turned out to be the cure for my COVID-19 blues. Word has it that my other guitars, including my Taylor NS24, are jealous of the new guitar in town. But, they shouldn’t worry, I’ll get back to playing them again soon. And they can all thank the GS Mini for bringing me back to my guitar flock. Thanks for manufacturing such a wonderful guitar. Even though I have guitars from multiple brands, as I always say to anyone who will listen, “You can’t go wrong with a Taylor.”

I very much appreciate Wood&Steel. As with any guitar addict, I have a few, including sweet old girls like my ’60s Gibson and ’50s Martin, and as Andy Powers states so well in the latest edition [Vol. 102], every guitar has its own identity. I mention these fancy possessions not to brag but to make my point about my beloved little Baby Taylor.

I feel you are doing the Baby Taylor a disservice by depicting it as a beginner’s guitar when it can produce some beautiful sounds with cool fingerpicking. What I really love about my Baby though, is that it can always be right there wherever you are — to be grabbed with one hand to put down a spontaneous musical idea. It’s so light that I can keep playing it walking from room to room with no strap while I search for somewhere to write the lyrics. One more plus: I can break it down to fit in my carry-on when I fly, and it’s still perfect when I put it together at the other end.

P.S. I would love to see some more developments to the Baby size — go on, Andy, I know your creative juices would enjoy it, a perfect, gorgeous miniature!

I have been playing Taylor guitars since the 1990s and currently have seven of your instruments (K20c, 35th anniversary parlor guitar, limited-edition cocobolo 814ce, 8-string baritone, 618e, 810 and K66ce). In the past, I have had others and given them to friends and family. I have also in my collection several Collings guitars, a Guild D-50 and a Bourgeois OM.

I wanted to say how much I have enjoyed playing your instruments, especially in live performances.

I grew up in the 1950s and ’60s in Oswego, New York, where the winters were long and my brother and I dreamt of the beaches of California. I played Fender electric instruments from the time I was nine. I knew that California had innovation, and when I first picked up a Taylor instrument (an 810), it felt special. I am close to 69 now and still get together with friends to play frequently… and I always bring at least one of your instruments. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your genius craftsmanship.

The latest Wood&Steel had a great article on tonewoods, and the graphs were amazing. I have koa, maple, mahogany, cocobolo and rosewood instruments, and the analysis surely fit in my mind.