Who owns a 20 year old Taylor? - Page 13

JungWoo · #**181** 09-25-2019, 01:24 PM

I don't own a 20-year old Taylor, but one of the first people who inspired me to play guitar had a 510 from 1996 or 1997. I remember trying it out for the first time and being amazed at how it sounded. It was also very lightweight.

I got to see him again in 2015. I played his Taylor. It sounded just as good as I remembered.

Might just be me, but those older Taylors sound better to me than the modern ones.

ChuckNOS · #**182** 09-25-2019, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey All. I was just reading in another thread that Rick S bought his first Taylor 30 years ago and it got me immediately thinking...

1) How many people own at least a 20 year old Taylor? (I'm worried if I use 30 years there won't be many responses).
2) How many people are the original owners of a 20 year old Taylor?

Sometimes it's easy to forget that back in the '70s and '80s Taylor was just entering the market and beginning to make strides. I've never played a Taylor that's pre-2000 (at least I don't think I have).

I have 3 1978 Taylor 855 12 strings.

Makes them now 41 years old.

Dru Edwards · #**183** 09-25-2019, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuckNOS

I have 3 1978 Taylor 855 12 strings.

Makes them now 41 years old.
BTW, one of them is for sale!

Wow, 3 of them. Did you buy any of them new or did you pick them up used over the years? Good luck on the sale!

guitar george · #**184** 09-25-2019, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuckNOS

I have 3 1978 Taylor 855 12 strings.

Do they all sound the same as we might expect? If so, this would confirm that most guitars of the same make and model sound the same.

12barBill · #**185** 09-25-2019, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitar george

Do they all sound the same as we might expect? If so, this would confirm that most guitars of the same make and model sound the same.

I have never found three guitars of the same make and model that sounded the same, or felt the same, or played the same. There always seems to be something different with each individual guitar. Kind of like people and DNA.

GLCentralCoast · #**186** 09-25-2019, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Shepherd

Does it count if it's 40 years old?

It's a 1979 855. I am the original owner.

Well now you're just showing off. Wish I could say the same.

GLCentralCoast · #**187** 09-25-2019, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

My wife bought me a lovely 1999 K14c, koa/cedar, pre-NT. It was started on the last day of production of the year. It is in near-new condition, with the exception of needing a refret. So in three months it will be twenty years old.

Bob

Practically symmetrical grain on the back, love it!

GLCentralCoast · #**188** 09-25-2019, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitar george

I have a 1996 Taylor 512M. It's a little cutie.

Attachment 20067

Pretty sweet!

dwasifar · #**189** 09-25-2019, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

1) How many people own at least a 20 year old Taylor? (I'm worried if I use 30 years there won't be many responses).
2) How many people are the original owners of a 20 year old Taylor?

Ask me again in four years.

Tahitijack · #**190** 09-25-2019, 09:27 PM

I'm the original owner of my Taylor 514ce which I purchased new in 1999 from the Guitar Shoppe in Laguna Beach. Happy to report I still love that guitar and the store is still going strong. I was just there a couple of weeks ago to buy a music stand. The guitar has improved with age and never fails to impress others with its beautiful tones even when it's just me playing it.

Dru Edwards · #**191** 09-26-2019, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwasifar

Ask me again in four years.

lol, I will. Just search for this thread and reply in 4 years. What's your 16 year old Taylor?

WildBill82 · #**192** 09-26-2019, 08:54 PM

This thread reminds me of a 2000 Taylor 810 I played a couple years ago, the thing was an absolute cannon that would have more than held its own in a bluegrass jam. I was jamming away on it when I noticed that down by the bridge there was a good layer of black gunk hanging off the strings, it looked like Spanish moss. And the strings were rusty as old baling wire, I couldn't believe how big and loud this guitar sounded with absolutely ancient strings on it.

I still kind of wish I had bought it. I really dig the 800 Series inlays from the 90's and early 2000's, the opposite yellow triangles. I won't say what I think the next generation of inlays looked like. It's something that I love but I don't want to see it on my guitar...

My 2003 714ce isn't 20 years old but it sounds incredible. The combination of cedar and rosewood in a Taylor GA is a very special sound. In standard tuning it's musical and warm without the characteristic brightness of a Taylor GA, I think of it as a sterling example of the definitively modern acoustic sound. When I tune it down, the dark low end of the guitar becomes very prominent, giving you a lush, dark, and complex sound. It's not the guitar I reach for every day but it is such a sweet departure when I do.

JFB · #**193** 03-06-2020, 08:08 AM

I have a 16 years old 855 that still plays like butter and sounds like a dream....

jaymarsch · #**194** 03-06-2020, 08:53 AM

This thread was started in 2011 so anyone who responded then would now have a 29 year-old Taylor.

I have a friend who has an early prototype built by Bob Taylor that must be at least 25 years old. It has no serial number or label but has aged well.

Best,
Jayne

Ncbandit · #**195** 03-06-2020, 09:26 AM

Well, let me jump onto the old post bandwagon. I was the original owner of a 1994 912C that I sold 2 years ago to help fund recording equipment, 2 Eastmans, an Alvarez, and a Schecter.

Other than sounding great and looking beautiful it was a stable beast. In 24 years it never needed a truss rod adjustment. It spent a lot of time in it's case though.