Why is Taylor staining the new 614's????

[RP]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Taylor have exhausted all their attractive maple stocks and are now re-cycling old packaging crates.
Staining them hides all the old knots and nail holes.

Maple packing crates????

[mattwood]

I like it!!!

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by RP

Maple packing crates????

See, here's the trick.
They're TELLING you it's maple but they're staining it cause it aint.


BTW I'm only kidding guys.
I'd love to play a new PC Maple Taylor Grand Orchestra.

(That's 'Packaging Crate Maple')

[RP]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

See, here's the trick.
They're TELLING you it's maple but they're staining it cause it aint...

I understand that Taylor has also done that in reverse. That is, take a regular guitar and make it look like it came from a packing crate, or even an oak pallet......

[pjroberts]

Originally Posted by TBman

I wonder what markets Taylor did this "research" in and how the selection process of the participants for the research was performed.

Basing a guitar purchase on "the color" is something I would think a non-player who is a guitar playing wannabe would do for their first guitar.

Then again, a blue guitar would never be high on my list of "guitars to get"

Interesting issue.

One thing we know about Taylor is they've got fairly sensitive marketing ears and eyes and aren't afraid to adapt the product as they go (and that's not uncommon, Martin has made similar evolutionary changes recently with flagship guitars, like the D18 and recent D28 changes). Taylor also has its conservation hat on while not sacrificing the business -- hence selling more widely available US maple instead of dwindling Rosewood and Mahogany that sounds a bit closer to those favored woods is kind of business smart.

I like the brown sugar, and it's good for acoustic Stones:-) The new 600s don't sound very RW to me, but they've got a unique hybrid that to me spans the rosewood-hog-maple spectrum. I have a recent 616 and it's probably the most balanced guitar I have now, not too chimey, though very Tayloresque, with a very healthy thumping bass. Highly recommend people try one if you're swinging in Taylor territory. It is truly the stereotypical Taylor, but not like overly brittle bright. Maple is def not for everyone.

Also, for those who prefer the blonde non-stain, I'm sure you could custom order that at maybe no extra cost.

[rwmct]

I am surprised they think people won't try maple guitars. Its not like Maple is some new tonewood. Always been a fair number of them out there. Quite a few "blond" Guilds out there, for example. Some with arched backs.

[Wade Hampton]

RW wrote:

Originally Posted by rwmct

I am surprised they think people won't try maple guitars. Its not like Maple is some new tonewood. Always been a fair number of them out there. Quite a few "blond" Guilds out there, for example. Some with arched backs.

Yes, but the Yankee makes a good point here:

Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee

considering the extensive use of figured maple in stringed instruments over the centuries, I'd say it's the blonde maple finish that breaks with tradition, not the stained maple.

I've got no problem with either, but a good stain can often accentuate the figure.... as long as it's not too opaque.

What it comes down to in business, always, is how many units get sold and how much money gets made. If Taylor's market research indicated that the guitar-buying public is eager for natural finish maple guitars, then that's what they'd be making.

But natural finish maple Gibson guitars and mandolins have always been rare, and it's arguable that Gibson has sold more maple instruments (including banjos, too,) than any other American instrument manufacturer extant.

If you want to special order a natural finish maple guitar, (or mandolin, or banjo,) Gibson will be happy to make you one. But their best-selling stock maple models get dark finishes on them, and always have.

It doesn't appear that Taylor's maple models are any different in that regard.


whm

[tippy5]

I rather ask why is Taylor overbuilding and over bracing these. Oh I forgot because they are more durable and won't need warranty work.

[flagstaffcharli]

I always thought of maple as one of the big three guitar tonewoods with mahogany and rosewood. Sure, it's more common on mandolins, but there are a lot of nice maple guitars out there.

The brown stain is beautiful. So is the natural blonde. It seems to me that a Taylor buyer now has a choice between two great looks.

[CycleBob]

I think back and side maple looks great as is, and would not buy a stained version. Any Taylor market researchers reading this take heed please.

[RP]

Originally Posted by tippy5

I rather ask why is Taylor overbuilding and over bracing these...

NOT! One of Andy's changes to the 600 series Taylors is that they are "under-braced." Notice in the picture below how bracing does not extend all the way to the edges...https://www.taylorguitars.com/media/...series-bracing

[SongwriterFan]

This is almost an exact quote from Bob Taylor when he spoke to LINT (Luthiers Interactive of North Texas) http://www.lint.org/

He said if there's anything he's learned in his years of selling guitars, it's that people like brown guitars.

And there you have it.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by CycleBob

I think back and side maple looks great as is, and would not buy a stained version. Any Taylor market researchers reading this take heed please.

I like unstained maple also , but I would consider a stained one if I liked the sound. I would guess the market research is substantiated and accurate, and Glenn stated you can order a unstained one, so probably not likely to change .

[merlin666]

I raised the same question about why Taylor was staining their Koa guitars into that generic dark look. One of the wise responses was that the purpose was to bring some uniformity to the quite variable Koa wood that may be more or less figured and has a large variation in colouring. Taylor simply wants each guitar to look (and also sound) the same regardless of the characteristics of the original pieces of wood.

[sutherland]

Guitar players, in general, love contrast. It's emphasized in every piece of equipment we own, so it's only natural that we gravitate towards instruments that have contrasting elements to accentuate the lines. Maple just so happens to have a beautiful, yet subtle, figuring that staining tends to highlight.

I, personally, love stained maple. I think, if done properly and tastefully, it actually celebrates what makes maple stand out, aesthetically, to the rest of the tonewoods.