• March 16, 2018
• by Colin Griffith

Top-Notch Craftsmanship

A tour of the Taylor factory in El Cajon, California (weekdays at 1 p.m. if you find yourself in the San Diego area) reveals our proprietary blend of precision engineering and hands-on craftsmanship. We’ve pioneered the use of laser mills, robotic finish application, and other high-tech processes, which help ensure consistent build quality on all of our acoustic guitars, but we also believe in the value of the human touch. Every Taylor guitar ships to a store after being carefully built and inspected by our skilled craftspeople, with the highest levels of quality assurance.

One thing you’ll notice about every Taylor acoustic guitar you find in a store, no matter what series or price point, is that it has a solid wood top. A guitar with a solid top will produce better sound—typically more dynamic range and a more expressive tone—than one made with a laminate top. Plus, the sound of a solid top actually improves as the guitar ages and is played in, creating a richer, more resonant tone over time.

Playability

If there’s one term that you’ll hear used to describe Taylors more than any other, it’s “playable.” From the beginning, we’ve sought to build guitars with easy-playing necks, which help musicians play their best.

It starts with our sleek, hand-friendly neck profile and continues with our patented Taylor Neck, which is featured on most of our guitars (with the exception of Baby and Big Baby models). One of our major innovations as a guitar company, the design allows us to consistently set the ideal neck angle for playability. The design also lends itself to easy micro-adjustments in the neck angle over time (think of it as a minor tune-up as a guitar settles into its environment), which will preserve that playability for decades to come. If you’re a seasoned player with particular playing preferences, the neck design also makes it easy for a Taylor service technician to perform a custom setup to help you dial in the right feel for your playing style.

Friendly Service

Taylor is a full-service company, which means not only do we produce high-quality instruments, we also support them with a dedicated customer service department staffed with experienced guitar experts. Our service department is renowned for being responsive, quick, and most of all, effective in helping you with your needs, whether you need help finding the right guitar or taking care of your existing Taylor. Our guitars carry a lifetime warranty against defects in construction, materials, and workmanship, and our service department offers a range of additional service packages to revitalize your guitar beyond the warranty coverage at a reasonable price within a quick timeframe.

Reliable Cases & Bags

We’re one of the only manufacturers that provides a carrying case with every guitar we sell and includes it in the price of the guitar. All guitars made at the El Cajon factory (300 Series and up), plus the 200 DLX Series (made in our Tecate, Mexico factory) ship with a Taylor hardshell case. We make our hardshell cases in-house, using proprietary molds that are custom-fabricated to securely fit each guitar shape we make, for maximum protection.

Our other guitars ship with either a soft gig bag or a hard bag (GS Mini, 200 Series), both of which provide excellent protection and carrying convenience for your guitar. Many of these are also produced in-house. All of our cases provide some measure of protection against changes in climate and humidity.

Environmental Responsibility

As we’ve grown as a company, we’ve assumed a leadership role in the pursuit of sustainable forestry initiatives to preserve the tonewoods we use in our acoustic guitars. We recognize our responsibility to help preserve the supply of natural resources for future generations. The world’s forests have given us so much, and our goal is to leave behind much more than we take, which is why we’re investing in innovative replanting programs with species like ebony in Cameroon and koa in Hawaii. When you purchase a Taylor guitar, you can feel good about supporting the highest levels of ethical, eco-conscious business.

Naperville Music, your home for everything Taylor!

contact: Connor@NapervilleMusic.com

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This post was authored by Marc Seal, Taylor Product Specialist and Worship Artist Relations

In 2005, Taylor Guitars released a revolutionary new guitar, the hollowbody hybrid T5, capable of a myriad of electric sounds thanks to its sophisticated three-pickup configuration and high-definition preamp. In 2014, we followed that up with the T5z, which features the same electronics in a smaller body. The T5z’s more radiused fretboard (12” instead of 15”) and jumbo frets help make it feel even more like a traditional electric guitar.

The T5 is tremendously versatile, and it’s especially ideal for worship leaders as the modern worship guitarist is often required to play a variety of different parts that require different sounds—everything from natural acoustic chords to clean electric lines. Sometimes we may even be lucky enough to get the nod from the leader to launch into a searing guitar solo. The T5 can easily handle all of these demands, and brings a lot of versatility to your worship setup.

Recently, my T5z Custom (featuring a Hawaiian koa top) accompanied me to a worship service I played in Southern California. The moment I took it out of the case, the rest of the worship team took notice. Several of them are guitar players and wanted to check it out, while the others simply acknowledged how beautiful the guitar was with its stunning koa top.

This was an exciting evening as I was using this T5z for the first time with a Fractal AX8 processor and Ultimate Ears UE18s. I had programmed the AX8 so that I could move from warm acoustic sounds to some really nice clean and dirty tones should the night warrant it. I did some experimenting during soundcheck, switching seamlessly from sound to sound. I was able to play melodic acoustic fills with bends and slides and then quickly switch to fat overdrive sounds while playing power chords. This guitar delivers incredible dynamic range, even within the frame of a single song. There were a few opportunities for soloing, and with some distortion, delay, and reverb added, the T5z responded with that sought-after David Gilmour tone.

When all was said and done, I felt as though something magical had just happened. Several people approached the stage to tell me much they enjoyed the sounds that came out of the T5z, and to ask how I was getting electric and acoustic sounds out of the same guitar.

When guitars play and sound great, they can remove the distractions that can hinder worship. The versatility of the T5z enabled me to be more sonically expressive. This felt very freeing as a player, and ultra-conducive to a powerful worship experience.

Easy Setups to Maximize the T5z

The T5 family is loaded with features and sounds, and there’s no limit to the ways you can make a T5 instrument sound great. Here’s a list of suggested setups that I’ve found bring out the T5’s amazing sonic range.

Traditional Setup

Gear required: Acoustic amp or D.I., electric guitar amp (with pedal board if desired), and an A/B/Y box.

With this setup, you would have your T5z plugged into the A/B/Y box, giving you the ability to switch with ease between your acoustic amp and your electric amp and select your favorite tones from each. With the A/B/Y box, you also have the ability to send the signal to both amps simultaneously for some full and original sounds.

Digital Setup

Gear required: Multi-effects processor with amp modeling.

This setup is the easiest to put together, since it really only requires the guitar and an effects pedal. What makes this rig desirable is its versatility, ease, compact size, and simple operation. You’ll be able to achieve a wide range of sounds, using just the switching on the T5z and the modeling effects of the pedal. The downsides here are the learning curve to programming custom sounds and the steep cost of an advanced multi-effect unit. But in my opinion, it’s well worth the investment. Some pedalboards that work well with T5z are:

Boss GT-100, ME-80

Line6 – Helix and HD series products

Fractal Audio – Axe fx and AX8

Minimalist Setting Acoustic

Gear required: Basic acoustic amp.

This is a great practice setup, but it’s also perfect if you know you’re only going to be playing your T5z in an acoustic setting. With a small acoustic amp, you’ll have a portable rig with stage monitoring, and you can use the line out on the amp to send your signal to a board or PA.

Minimalist Setting Electric

Gear required: Small electric guitar amp and pedalboard

This is great for practice or for a scenario in which you will be using the T5z exclusively as an electric guitar. A small electric amp is a portable setup, and you can place a mic in front of the amp to send your signal to the PA.

• February 6, 2018
• by Taylor Guitars
• Guitar Gear

Contact Conner for Taylor questions or availability

Connor@napervillemusic.com

The post Why the Taylor T5z Is the Perfect Worship Guitar appeared first on the Naperville Music Informational Blog .

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Ever wonder what separates a decent acoustic guitar from a great one? One of the most important factors is the way the neck joins the body. The neck joint sets the foundation of the playing experience, and will directly impact a guitar’s feel and sound for the rest of its life.

Let’s break it down. One of the fundamental challenges of crafting an acoustic guitar that will perform well is in reconciling two competing goals: structural strength vs. sound. Because of the amount of string tension exerted on a guitar (particularly a steel-string acoustic model), it needs to be structurally strong enough to resist folding in on itself from the forces of that tension, which essentially want to pull the peghead and bridge toward each other. At the same time, a guitar’s tone-producing capability comes from the use of light, responsive tonewoods and bracing, so the wood needs to be able to resonate to produce a pleasing acoustic sound.

If a guitar is overbuilt with excessive structure, it will suffer tonally because the movement of the materials will be restricted. If a guitar is built too lightly, the forces of tension will pull the guitar out of alignment. For this reason, the ability to control a guitar’s neck-to-body geometry is a critical part of maintaining an optimal balance between stability and sound quality. This is why the neck joint design is so important.

Taylor’s Patented Neck Joint
A well-designed neck joint and a proper neck angle setup will occupy a sweet spot in which the guitar is both structurally balanced while also playing and sounding great. This helps the guitar stay in tune, makes it comfortable for a player to fret the strings, and enhances the overall tone and sustain, all while keeping the guitar from getting too physically stressed from the string tension. It’s like having strong core muscles. It means more stability, better posture (a good neck angle), and less likelihood of getting thrown out of whack. And like a strong core, it supports better all-around performance.

As Taylor Guitars co-founder Bob Taylor likes to say, Taylor has the equivalent of a Ph.D. in neck design. It started with Bob’s obsessive pursuits as a young guitar maker, with the goal of making consistently great-playing guitars that could also be easily adjusted over time. It culminated years later with Taylor’s patented neck design, which proved to be a game changer, cracking the code on an age-old problem with the way an acoustic guitar’s neck and body are traditionally secured and serviced throughout its life.

Well over a million Taylor guitars have been crafted with the patented Taylor neck since the design was born in 1999, and the proof is in the playing. That’s a big reason why the Taylor neck has become widely recognized as the gold standard for playability in the acoustic guitar world.

Why Adjustability Matters
These days, if you go to a music store and play different brands of guitars, you’ll probably find varying degrees of playability and intonation. Among reputable brands, many new guitars will probably play pretty well initially, but the important question is how they’ll fare over time. What many customers often don’t realize when they buy a new acoustic guitar is that the ability to make micro-adjustments to the guitar’s setup (to maintain the proper neck angle) is essential for the guitar to have a long and healthy life. Why? Because every steel-string acoustic guitar made of wood will physically change over time. This isn’t a design flaw; it’s simply the nature of the way wood ages, how the materials respond to the forces of tension being exerted upon them as a guitar, how the wood reacts to surrounding climate conditions, and how the guitar naturally wears as it’s played. The ability to recalibrate the neck angle from time to time is as natural as getting a tune-up for a car.

“Even the best-made acoustic guitars will probably need a couple of neck angle adjustments within their life span,” says Taylor Service Network Manager Rob Magargal, a veteran repair technician who has worked on thousands of guitars. “Guitars are made of organic materials and they are moving constantly. String tension, temperature and humidity changes — all of these factors will affect the instrument’s neck angle over time.”

That’s one of the key advantages of Taylor’s neck design: the ability to make precise angle adjustments easily over the entire life of the guitar without ever compromising its structural integrity. This makes a Taylor guitar a great investment — both in the guitar itself and in your own musical enjoyment — since you’ll be able to enjoy the guitar to the fullest as long as you own the guitar.

The Flaw of Traditional Neck Attachments
Traditional methods of attaching an acoustic guitar neck to a body, such as a dovetail or mortise-and-tenon joint, involve gluing the neck in place. And once the neck is set, it’s difficult to reset it, so if the neck angle isn’t correct the first time, more stress will be exerted on the neck, making it structurally compromised right out of the gate, with more issues likely over time. Guitar service technicians can attest to the “major surgery” required to make even minor adjustments to guitars with a traditional neck, which can take a long time, translate into substantial cost to the customer, and leave the guitar structurally compromised due to the need to remove wood material from the guitar’s heel and alter the bridge.

Anatomy of the Taylor Neck Joint
One of the critical aspects of Taylor’s neck joint design is that both the neck and the body of each guitar must be made with extreme consistency in order for the design to work. That’s where the precision and consistency of Taylor’s proprietary tooling and manufacturing processes shine. As a result of our sophisticated production approach, Taylor’s craftspeople can easily set the perfect neck angle for every guitar made at the factory. It also makes the guitar equally easy to service, so a qualified service technician can perform a Taylor neck reset in about 10 minutes, without any “major surgery” that could compromise the guitar’s performance.

Read on for a breakdown of the key design elements that set the Taylor neck apart from others.

Neck “Paddle” Joint
On traditional acoustic guitar necks, the neck itself ends at the heel, leaving the fretboard extension unsupported. Typically the fretboard extension would be glued to the top of the guitar to secure it. But as the guitar changes over time, the top may sink or swell, changing the neck angle in the process. The fretboard extension moves with the top, so it can create a hump where the angle changes. With the Taylor neck, the paddle portion will be precision-fitted into a pocket that’s routed in the guitar body with a computer-numerical control (CNC) mill.

Dual-Pocketed Neck Block
Pockets are precision-routed into a neck block of the guitar body using a CNC mill. The neck will later be inset into the pockets and bolted securely in place.

Neck Angle Spacers
Laser-cut and milled in varying increments of .002 inch, these form the basis of setting the perfect neck angle. The spacers are inset (without glue) into the two pockets where the neck will meet the body and can be changed easily to micro-calibrate the neck angle in Final Assembly and throughout the guitar’s life.

Glue-Free Assembly
The glueless, three-bolt assembly ensures a secure wood-to-wood surface connection between the neck and body and a strong transfer of sound between the neck and body. The design also makes it easy to remove the neck for service at any time.

Bridge/Saddle
Like the neck and body, these are CNC-milled for accurate and consistent dimensions. This contributes to our ability to set the precise body geometry on every guitar.

Three-Piece Neck
This combines structural improvements (see Scarf-Jointed Peghead below) with greater computer-milling capability to make a straighter neck. The ability to add the heel separately enables us to process the neck and fretboard as a flat surface, ultimately bringing greater overall stability to each neck.

Scarf-Jointed Peghead
Part of Taylor’s three-piece neck design, this more than doubles the strength of the neck where the angled headstock meets the neck shaft to give the neck more resilience. On a single-piece neck, this is a structurally vulnerable area.

Wood Conservation
Our three-piece neck design allowed us to change the cutting specifications to increase the yield from each tree harvested. Rather than cutting traditional rectangular 3×4-inch neck blank dimensions, Bob Taylor changed our cutting specifications to 4x4s. This ensures the proper grain orientation every time — the wood can’t be cut wrong because of its square dimensions — and roughly doubled the yield from each tree.

The Taylor Neck is consistent across the Taylor line from the GS Mini, Academy and 100 Series all the way to the Koa and Presentation Series. Learn more about the Taylor acoustic guitar line here.

• March 13, 2017
• by Jay Parkin
• Contact Conner for Taylor questions or availability

  Connor@napervillemusic.com

The post Acoustic Guitar Innovation Spotlight: The Taylor Neck appeared first on the Naperville Music Informational Blog .

20 Acoustic Guitar Terms You Need To Know

 

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