Taylor Guitars Donates $400,000 Toward Ebony Conservation and Restoration in Cameroon

[TD2]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

Doubt he stole anyone's girlfriend, but he has fired dozens of people, dropped plenty of dealers, and has taken millions of dollars worth of business away from other builders. Many of those folks hang out on forums like this.

Wow! Nice bash. I guess I won't be asking you for a quote when I buy my next expensive guitar.

[GraceMusik]

Originally Posted by TD2

Wow! Nice bash. I guess I won't be asking you for a quote when I buy my next expensive guitar.

Now, I could be wrong, but given that Ted is a major Taylor dealer, I highly doubt he meant any of that as a negative against Taylor--he's simply saying those are the facts, and sometimes disgruntled people like fired employees or dropped dealers carry a chip on their shoulder against them.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by GraceMusik

Now, I could be wrong, but given that Ted is a major Taylor dealer, I highly doubt he meant any of that as a negative against Taylor--he's simply saying those are the facts, and sometimes disgruntled people like fired employees or dropped dealers carry a chip on their shoulder against them.

Agreed. That's exactly how I took it and I'm sure Ted meant it. Not a bash.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by TD2

Wow! Nice bash. I guess I won't be asking you for a quote when I buy my next expensive guitar.

Not a bash at all, in fact, quite the opposite. Like any efficient company, Taylor wont keep employees, or dealers around just to be nice, I mean when was the last time you read about bad Taylor customer service. With a company the size of Taylor, this means there are plenty of disgruntled people out there ready to jump at chance to bash them. For the most part these guys are easy to spot.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Gutch

So, instead of just talking about it, he invests in research to determine what the best way is.

And your problem with that is...?

Originally Posted by flaggerphil

So let's really cut to the chase: sounds like he's working on learning.

And really not sure where you got "absolutely nothing has been done" out of that quote.

Doesn't really sound like you're ready to "discuss" much of anything here...

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

So, feel free to "discuss" restoration.


Anytime....


Thought so.

Jimmy

i really don't have the time nor energy to try and dig into the details and try and discover if/and/or/how taylor is actually making a difference.

i see this as propaganda without any proof of sustainability nor restoration.

i guess time will tell.

none of you has presented any facts, either, i will add.

the fact remains that taylor guitars make lots of money from the harvest of ebony. consider that.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by GraceMusik

Now, I could be wrong, but given that Ted is a major Taylor dealer, I highly doubt he meant any of that as a negative against Taylor--he's simply saying those are the facts, and sometimes disgruntled people like fired employees or dropped dealers carry a chip on their shoulder against them.

I agree - I trust Ted to not be bashing any brand - even if it was a competitor. Why would he bash one of his own brands?!?!?

Anyway I didn't take it remotely as a bash but simply saying that's why OTHER people bash taylor.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

Doubt he stole anyone's girlfriend, but he has fired dozens of people, dropped plenty of dealers, and has taken millions of dollars worth of business away from other builders. Many of those folks hang out on forums like this.

5 Taylors in, I guess Bob et al have taken some dough from me. D'oh!

[fazool]

Originally Posted by mc1

i really don't have the time nor energy to try and dig into the details and try and discover if/and/or/how taylor is actually making a difference.

i see this as propaganda without any proof of sustainability nor restoration.

i guess time will tell.

none of you has presented any facts, either, i will add.

the fact remains that taylor guitars make lots of money from the harvest of ebony. consider that.

Reasonable and healthy skepticism.

I also have no "facts" but only what I've seen that has sufficiently convinced me. I am convinced he is making a huge positive impact on the ebony trade. Look at his work with maple and Sitka (I've watched documentaries where he worked with Martin and Gibson even on conservation efforts).

Yes he does make a lot of money. As I stated in my first reply to this thread, don't automatically vilify him for making a lot of money.

[flaggerphil]

Originally Posted by TD2

Wow! Nice bash. I guess I won't be asking you for a quote when I buy my next expensive guitar.

Then you'll be missing some truly great deals.

[flaggerphil]

Originally Posted by mc1

i really don't have the time nor energy to try and dig into the details and try and discover if/and/or/how taylor is actually making a difference.

i see this as propaganda without any proof of sustainability nor restoration.

i guess time will tell.

none of you has presented any facts, either, i will add.

the fact remains that taylor guitars make lots of money from the harvest of ebony. consider that.

Are you still cutting to the chase?

[Monsoon1]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

I wonder how many posts it'll take for this thread to devolve into Taylor bashing and "this is just marketing."

Thanks for sharing the news bit.

I agree with your take on this. And obviously this serves as marketing, but so what. They're doing the right thing regardless.
I've often wondered why someone like Bob Taylor wouldn't just start a preserve of exotic species right here in the states.
I mean you can still find a ton of "relatively cheap" land in the warm areas here, as long as you stay away from the beach areas.
Imagine a 100 acre parcel of nothing but Rosewood and Ebony. Sure it takes a long time for them to mature, but once that happened, the company would be able to have the most prime cuts of wood available anywhere on a rotational basis.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by mc1

the fact remains that taylor guitars make lots of money from the harvest of ebony. consider that.

And what will they do when it runs out? Trees grow slowly. Whether they care about the bottom line or wildlife habitats or global warming, they have every reason to invest in ebony preservation/reforestation.

I don't understand why this is a problem.

[GraceMusik]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

And what will they do when it runs out? Trees grow slowly. Whether they care about the bottom line or wildlife habitats or global warming, they have every reason to invest in ebony preservation/reforestation.

I don't understand why this is a problem.

Because Taylor is making a lot of money, and we all know that people who make a lot of money are to be "guilty until proven innocent" when it comes to their true motives behind anything involved with their business. /sarcasm

Seriously, though, it seems that some people have this false dichotomy that profitable business strategies can't also be good for things other than making money. I think it's awesome when they do both!

[ukejon]

I've not read Taylor's comments but is it fair to say that he is openly acknowledging his own company' contributions to this problem and trying to help repair the damage done? If so, it seems better than doing nothing at all but also hard to figure out if $400,000 even begins to make a difference. Is it, in fact, a $4,000,000 problem or a $40,000,000 problem....

[M19]

Enough (too much actually) has been said.

Closed.