You got to think of it this way.
Every manufacturer is a chef, right?
Every chef
makes their own version of a particular recipe.
In this case, acoustic guitar. Right.
And again, going back to the seasoning, how do you season it?
How do you make that sauce or whatever it is that you're creating?
Make it a little bit different, even though it's the same thing.
Taylor Guitars are one of the biggest guitar brands in the world
with a huge range of guitars to match for multiple would
combinations, shapes, configurations.
You can find the right acoustic guitar for almost any application
in Taylor's range alone.
So with all that choice, what makes a Taylor a Taylor?
Using Mike Venezia's is very handy metaphor.
What is Taylor's secret sauce?
We talk about I'm Italian and I make my Sunday sauce,
which is, you know, the red meat sauce that you put on pasta, right?
My family, everybody made it differently.
They all tasted good for one reason or another.
Well, every manufacturer does that.
They do it differently.
Their recipes call for such ingredients as X-Bracing
or hide glue or things like that for us.
It's V Class bracing.
That's the main portion of our recipe right there.
To understand Taylor's secret sauce, a good place to start
is how other acoustic guitars are conventionally made.
Most acoustic guitar brands have not changed much about their build process
in the past few decades, as Mike already mentioned.
Let's start at the bracing.
Bracing, in a nutshell, is comparable to the structural support of a house
it holds the rest of the wood together and make sure the guitar
doesn't fall in on itself.
The biggest challenge of bracing as a guitar builder is finding
the perfect middle ground between something that can support
the structural integrity of your guitar, whilst also ensuring that you do not use
so much wood that you hinder the resonance of the guitar.
Traditionally, most guitar builders use some kind of variation of x bracing,
where the bracing patterns cross over in an X shape.
Taylor, However, have developed their own v-class bracing,
which they have rolled out across almost all of their models in the last few years.
So V-class bracing for me
is genuinely the genesis for our recipe,
where all of our flavor comes from and everything else is based off of that.
So how is V-class bracing different?
Why does it sound different?
Why do we prefer it?
Well, there's nothing wrong with x bracing.
Let me let me just say that right now it's just different.
We feel that v-class is better for a number of reasons.
First off, if anybody doesn't know if you took off the top of most acoustic
guitars made up until 19-2018, you took off that top there.
Be bracing on the inside that looks like an X, right?
That x provides for four different quadrants.
Now, what those quadrants do when you play a chord or play a note or
whatever it is you're playing on the guitar,
they vibrate in a very scattershot pattern.
There's no real continuity to it.
And that vibration is what creates sound to come out of the guitar, etc.
and so forth.
With V-class bracing, If we took that top off right,
it would just be a V on the inside of the top of that guitar.
So what that does is allows that top to vibrate in a more uniform fashion.
So therefore the notes are lined up in a more uniform way,
which is going to a create more volume because it's all coming out all at once.
Right?
And that V down the middle provides a stiff center line.
So you're going to get more sustain out of the guitar.
So you get enhanced volume, enhanced sustain.
But because all those notes are coming
out of the guitar in a very uniform fashion, they align and make it sound
as if they're
better intended, as if the instrument is better intended.
You're not getting that warbling that you would especially
get on the second octave up above the 12th fret.
So if we play the D chord down
in second position, then we play chord in 14th position.
Okay, You would normally get a warbling in pitch with certain notes.
You don't get that on a Taylor guitar because of V class bracing.
If you're not familiar with Taylor's focused efforts and innovating guitar
design with the intention of creating the best possible acoustic guitars,
they can make pause this video and go check out last video
from this series on Taylor Guitars on our channel will wait.
Okay. Done.
Good.
So based on everything we've learned about Taylor,
we know that what drives the recipe of their secret sauce
is the desire to always improve on the flavor of their instruments.
V class bracing exists because Taylor felt they could improve
problems and quirks with acoustic guitars that have simply been accepted
As a matter of fact, for decades.
As a result, Taylor are able to produce guitars
that not only sound great, but perform at the highest standard.
Whether you are using them in a studio setting or playing them live.
This industry is great because there's so many flavors
of guitar out there, different guitar makers with their own
individual recipe to create an acoustic guitar.
If there was one company with one shape
that had one tonality, it would be very boring.
So the way I look at it,
customers may or may not like Taylor Guitars.
That's perfectly okay, but I guarantee there's
something in our line for everybody.
All you got to do is sometimes sit down at a store like guitarguitar,
and make sure that you're
working with your sales person to try out something that fits you.
We've established that V class pricing is the defining gradient in Taylor's recipe.
Now let's talk about the meat and potatoes
or tomatoes of the sauce,
or so I pronounce it, Tom-ah-toe's, but that wouldn't have rhymed.
So anyway, moving on.
As we previously mentioned,
Taylor's range has a huge variety of models, shapes and wood combinations.
If you walk into any guitarguitar and visit our Taylor section,
you'll see Taylor's tagline Find your Fit.
Now we talk about the tone equation, Right?
Tone equation is Tone Woods plus shape
plus bone tone, which is the person playing
the instrument equals tone, right?
So there's always something for everyone.
There's a tone wood pairing and a shape that sets up every single customer to win.
Might it be Taylor?
Well, we certainly hope so,
because we give you a lot of options to figure that out.
If it's something else, great.
As long as you're making music,
that's way that we look at it, because eventually we feel
you're going to come to us.
Taylor's entire range is set up so that no matter what
your playing style requires, what your tonal needs may be,
or even what you want your guitar to look like,
you will be able to find something that suits you.
The experience of finding the right guitar may be overwhelming for some.
Mike has some tips on how to solve your own personal tone
equation and choose the right model when you're trying out guitars.
Well, if it's your first time, welcome.
First and foremost.
Second of all, if I was somebody
first time trying a Taylor guitar, I would look at an 814ce And the reason
why is because it's that classic tone wood pairing of spruce and rosewood.
And most of us like to sing some better than others, but that would
combination is really conducive to a singer songwriter environment.
But more so than that, the 814ce
is what Taylor is kind of known for.
It has all of our ingenuity in it.
We whenever we change something, we change it on that guitar
first on the 800 series, first to show that we do stand behind it.
When we first did V-class bracing was one of the first series that we did
that with.
Everything that we've done revolves around the 800 series, specifically the 814.
Another reason is
because we look at that as the jack of all trades model.
It does everything well from fingerpicking to strumming.
If you're a singer songwriter, if you're mainly bedroom recording,
however it works, you're going to get great sonics out of this guitar
with nice overtones, a lot of sustain,
a lot of volume in a shape that's really comfortable to play.
So if it were me, I'd try an 814ce first, and then if that's
your base line, you can measure everything else off of that.
As Mike explains, starting out with Taylor's baseline flagship
model works because you can figure out which parts of the guitar you get on with
and which parts you don't. Too bright?
Let's try a different top Wrong size, different shape.
Through a process of elimination.
You can slowly determine which model is perfect for your needs
or in Taylor's words, find your fit.
So let's take Mike's advice and use the 814ce
as the baseline model to explain how Taylor's range works.
If you're not familiar with Taylor, this combination
of numbers and letters will probably make no sense.
So let's break them down.
The first number tells us which series this guitar is a part of.
Taylor uses different combinations of timbers for each series.
In the case of the 800 series, it's normally
a spruce top with rosewood back and sides.
Taylor makes sure to have a huge combination of woods
in their product lines to ensure that there are tonal options for everyone.
That includes the classics such as the aforementioned Spruce
and Rosewood, or Taylor's exciting new additions to the acoustic
guitar world, such as Urban ash or urban ironbark.
The second number signifies a couple of things
the number of strings and the type of tonewood.
If the guitar is a six string, this number will be a one or two.
If it's a 12 string, it will be a five or six as well as this.
The second number will tell you if the top is a soft tone wood or a hard one.
One of five is soft.
Two or six is hard.
The third number accounts for the body shape.
The four means this is Taylor's flagship shape.
The Grand Auditorium.
Taylor also makes Dreadnought grand concert,
Grand Symphony, Grand Pacific, and Grand Orchestra shapes the shape of a guitar
will affect the way an acoustic guitar resonates and projects.
Lastly, the letters at the end will tell you
any extra information unique to the model.
In this case, the C stands for the cutaway
and the E stands for electronics.
You might also see an N at the end of the model, which stands for nylon strings.
It's worth mentioning Taylor has some lines
that don't use the first number and instead uses
abbreviations like the AD for the American Dream Series.
Or in the case of the Academy series, an Academy 12
would simply be an Academy Series guitar in a grand concert shape.
Is there anything that I would change or wouldn't change?
Wouldn't change.
Something fundamental like the sort of material the top.
Our shapes, Like you can't deny our shapes, You know, there
we make a few different shapes, six major shapes of guitar,
and each of them offers something else, right?
So if you give more offerings
like we were talking about earlier, having that variety, having that space,
our shapes really help define what those guitars are going to do.
Yes, the bracing is important.
And the other thing that people may not know
is that we actually brace for the shape and the tone.
Wood paring, they're changed a little bit here
and they're made little adjustments to maximize those guitars.
So that is something I would never change are the shapes of our guitars
and the fact that we tweak things to fit those shapes.
Alongside these ingredients, Taylor
also offers up a sprinkling of flavor to their instruments.
Their expression system.
Electronics offer a much more authentic tone with sound
when plugged in to ensure that all your efforts are searching for the perfect
word, combination aren't in vain when plugging your guitar in
sets up wise, Taylor's guitars are characteristically easier
to play than a conventional acoustic,
with a set up and string height more akin to an electric guitars feel.
All of these smaller details account
for why Taylor's guitars are so highly regarded.
And on top of all of this, they never stop making new things.
So for 2022, it's been a really exciting year for Taylor Guitars
as far as new products.
Going all the way back to the beginning of the year
when we introduced our A22e introducing a grand concert shape
all Mahogany into our American Dream series,
but then furthering that with the AD27e
flame top, which is an all maple top sides and back guitar,
which you don't see that too often, especially not an all solid maple.
And the way that Andy Powers designs our guitars.
You end up with a bit more warmth than you would
intrinsically find in a maple guitar.
So that's how the year started.
And then I feel it just got even better from there.
Mid-Year, we introduced our new 700 series,
which are now all Koa top sides and back, and then
our 500 series, which we introduced urban ironbark to the world.
And on top of that, our Academy series, we now have a walnut iteration
of these guitars, the Academy 20e and the Academy 22e,
which features solid walnut tops and layered walnut sides and back.
And we even gave that treatment to our big baby Taylor as well.
So there's been a lot of new guitars that have come out in 2022
for Taylor Guitars giving a variety of tone, but
also furthering our initiatives such as urban wood.
As Mike has pointed out.
Last year alone, Taylor released a huge variety of models
with more on the cards for this year and the year after that
and the year after that and so on.
So when we ask the question what makes a Taylor a Taylor,
we need to step back and think about the fact that Taylor's
guitars come in all shapes and sizes.
Their guitars are intentionally different because, as Mike mentioned earlier,
if they weren't, things would be pretty boring.
Yes, there are fundamental designs that are staples of Taylor's models,
but these are simply all round appointments that make our playing
experiences more enjoyable whilst offering out the best performance possible.
Whether you're a recording artist or a first time player,
Taylor's secret sauce is simply the fundamental designs and choices
they have made to create the best guitars they can offer.
What's important to us as players
is that we are all searching for our own recipe.
In those instances, the guitars Taylor offers are not the sauce
itself, they are the ingredients.
Thank you so much for watching this video.
We recently took a trip to Taylor's San Diego factory
and learned loads and loads of things about Taylor as a company
and as we already mentioned in this video, this is the second of a bunch of videos
we're going to be releasing about Taylor in general.
So if you already enjoyed
either of the videos that we have already released, please
make sure to subscribe to this channel and keep up to date with the next one.
Thank you so much for watching.
Until the next time.
See you soon.