On October 15, 1974, a couple of eager, guitar-loving dreamers from San Diego showed up for work at the small guitar shop they’d just bought and began a journey that would change the way guitars — and music — were made. Over the next five decades, co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug would overcome countless obstacles, gradually growing their shop into a world-class guitar manufacturer. Some of the keys to their success? Passion, resilience and a relentlessly innovative mindset.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the many dealers, players, employees and other partners who’ve been part of this amazing journey with us. To celebrate Taylor’s 50th anniversary, we’re highlighting some of our history and innovations from the past half century.
In the early 1970s, the acoustic guitar was riding a wave of widespread popularity. From the “Great Folk Scare” of the early ’60s to the folk-rock fusion that followed to the hippie-spirited singer-songwriter scene that wafted out of LA’s Laurel Canyon to the pastoral Celtic/blues-folk of Led Zeppelin, the acoustic guitar had become an essential musical tool for both songwriting and performance. Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, John Denver, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Gordon Lightfoot, America, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, John Prine, Leo Kottke and many other artists had helped create demand for acoustic guitars.
Larger established guitar companies like Martin, Gibson and Guild were straining to keep up. Smaller instrument makers started to emerge alongside them, offering more customization by working directly with clients. This luthier’s revival gave rise to independent guitar makers across North America like Jean Larrivée, Richard Hoover and Bruce Ross (Santa Cruz), Stuart Mossman, Michael Gurian and Thomas and Augustino LoPrinzi.
And at a small shop in San Diego, Sam Radding....
Brothers Sam and Gene Radding establish the American Dream Musical Instrument Company in San Diego. Sam, a self-taught luthier, builds guitars, and Gene sells them. The shop has a retail area in the front and workshop space in the back to build and repair guitars. The shop’s early success prompts them to relocate to a larger 1,500-square-foot building in nearby Lemon Grove. It has a casual, hippie/co-op vibe, where other builders had an assigned workbench and supplied their own hand tools but had access to the shop’s table saw, band saw, sanders and other tools.
Brothers Sam and Gene Radding establish the American Dream Musical Instrument Company in San Diego. Sam, a self-taught luthier, builds guitars, and Gene sells them. The shop has a retail area in the front and workshop space in the back to build and repair guitars. The shop’s early success prompts them to relocate to a larger 1,500-square-foot building in nearby Lemon Grove. It has a casual, hippie/co-op vibe, where other builders had an assigned workbench and supplied their own hand tools but had access to the shop’s table saw, band saw, sanders and other tools.
Left: Bob Taylor with the first guitar he ever built;
Right: Kurt Listug , circa 1973
Sam Radding hires Kurt Listug to work at the American Dream. A week or so later, he offers a workbench to an 18-year-old high school graduate named Bob Taylor who’d made his first guitar in eleventh grade and two more guitars during his senior year.
Left: Bob Taylor with the first guitar he ever built;
Right: Kurt Listug , circa 1973
Sam Radding hires Kurt Listug to work at the American Dream. A week or so later, he offers a workbench to an 18-year-old high school graduate named Bob Taylor who’d made his first guitar in eleventh grade and two more guitars during his senior year.
The Early Years
A soggy first day in business.
After Radding announces he plans to sell the American Dream, Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer, a childhood friend of Kurt’s who also worked at the Dream, partner up and borrow money to purchase the shop. Since the purchase doesn’t include the rights to the American Dream name, they decide to call the new business Westland Music Company, because that sounds “big and important” and they aspire to expand the business beyond just guitar-building to include making and selling guitar parts and doing guitar repairs. Their first day in business is October 15. It’s an inauspicious start — they arrive at the shop that morning only to discover it had flooded from a storm drain next door that had overflowed. They spend the day mopping up.
A soggy first day in business.
After Radding announces he plans to sell the American Dream, Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer, a childhood friend of Kurt’s who also worked at the Dream, partner up and borrow money to purchase the shop. Since the purchase doesn’t include the rights to the American Dream name, they decide to call the new business Westland Music Company, because that sounds “big and important” and they aspire to expand the business beyond just guitar-building to include making and selling guitar parts and doing guitar repairs. Their first day in business is October 15. It’s an inauspicious start — they arrive at the shop that morning only to discover it had flooded from a storm drain next door that had overflowed. They spend the day mopping up.
Westland Music Company changes its name to Taylor Guitars. Kurt hits the road to sell directly to dealers. Taylor’s proximity to Los Angeles, coupled with supportive and influential dealers there, including Westwood Music and McCabe’s Guitar Shop, gets Taylors in the hands of some notable artists. Fred Walecki, the owner of Westwood Music, sells Taylors to David Crosby, JD Souther and others.
Westland Music Company changes its name to Taylor Guitars. Kurt hits the road to sell directly to dealers. Taylor’s proximity to Los Angeles, coupled with supportive and influential dealers there, including Westwood Music and McCabe’s Guitar Shop, gets Taylors in the hands of some notable artists. Fred Walecki, the owner of Westwood Music, sells Taylors to David Crosby, JD Souther and others.
Rust Never Sleeps, the concert film capturing the 1978 tour of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, is released. The film prominently features Young playing a Taylor 12-string 855, putting Taylor in the spotlight.
Rust Never Sleeps, the concert film capturing the 1978 tour of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, is released. The film prominently features Young playing a Taylor 12-string 855, putting Taylor in the spotlight.
An early version of Bob Taylor’s bolt-on neck featuring a mortise and tenon joint.
Taylor’s signature playability is the product of Bob Taylor’s slimmer necks, an intuitive design decision that marks a departure from the bigger, rounder neck profiles of other acoustic guitars. Another contributing factor is a bolt-on heel design, a structural innovation that was initially sparked by a repair job Bob performed on a friend’s Guild G-37, in which he converted a dovetail to a bolt-on in 1973. Bob introduces a more refined version of the bolt-on heel in 1976 with input from other luthiers in San Diego, including Sam Radding from the American Dream and James Goodall. The bolt-on neck also makes it easier to perform neck resets.
Another prominent demonstration of the superior playability of a Taylor is Bob Taylor’s 12-string guitars, which help the company establish a niche in the acoustic guitar world. Most 12-strings of the day are notoriously difficult to play due to a combination of chunky neck profiles and relatively high action. In fact, most 12-strings have to be tuned down just to make them playable. Taylor’s 12-strings are playable enough to be tuned to concert pitch, and thanks to the efforts of a few early Taylor dealers in the Los Angeles area, including McCabe’s Guitar Shop and Westwood Music, our 12-strings are embraced in the ’70s by the likes of Neil Young, David Crosby, and JD Souther, and later by John Denver, Kenny Loggins, and many others.
Taylor’s early struggles to turn guitar-making into a successful enterprise were compounded by the shifting music trends of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Acoustic guitars diminished in appeal as pop music transitioned from the era of the singer-songwriter to the Bee Gees, disco, punk and new wave, with synthesizers and electric guitars prominently featured in pop and rock music, and visually showcased in music videos with the debut of MTV in 1981.
Larger acoustic companies like Martin, Gibson and Guild took the biggest hit. As Bob Taylor reflects in his book, Guitar Lessons: A Life’s Journey Turning Passion into Business, “In the eight years from 1974 to 1982, Martin went from total production of more than 20,000 guitars to about 3,000 guitars. In many ways, the fact that they survived is more remarkable than the fact that we survived.” Gibson struggled mightily as well, as did Guild. And smaller companies weren’t immune either. “Even my good friend Jean Larrivée quit making acoustic guitars during these years and made only solid body electric guitars just to survive,” Bob writes.
Fortunately, Bob’s guitars and Kurt’s outreach to dealers helped the company get a foothold, as Bob recalls. “The dealers...are guitar enthusiasts at heart, and they loved the shape and feel of our guitar necks, the brilliant and balanced tone, and our craftsmanship. They bought guitars because they wanted to, and thankfully, they kept acoustic guitar playing alive during those years, no matter how unpopular it had become.”
Bob and Kurt buy out partner Steve Schemmer, incorporate as Taylor-Listug, Inc., and purchase new equipment they’d designed to handle the most laborious aspects of tooling and processing raw materials. It is a turning point in the company’s evolution.
Bob and Kurt buy out partner Steve Schemmer, incorporate as Taylor-Listug, Inc., and purchase new equipment they’d designed to handle the most laborious aspects of tooling and processing raw materials. It is a turning point in the company’s evolution.
A Purple Guitar for Prince
After a request from McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica for something unique, Taylor’s Larry Breedlove, who has been experimenting with color applications on wood, makes a bold, color-stained maple/spruce guitar that allows the wood grain to still show through. McCabe’s likes it. This leads to production of a purple-stained 12-string Jumbo for Prince — though it required being made without the Taylor name on the headstock because Prince refused to perform with instruments that had the maker’s name on them. Soon, calls come in from other artists interested in stage-friendly colored acoustics and custom inlay work.
A Purple Guitar for Prince
After a request from McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica for something unique, Taylor’s Larry Breedlove, who has been experimenting with color applications on wood, makes a bold, color-stained maple/spruce guitar that allows the wood grain to still show through. McCabe’s likes it. This leads to production of a purple-stained 12-string Jumbo for Prince — though it required being made without the Taylor name on the headstock because Prince refused to perform with instruments that had the maker’s name on them. Soon, calls come in from other artists interested in stage-friendly colored acoustics and custom inlay work.
Dan Crary Signature Model
Taylor’s first-ever signature model is designed as a custom guitar for progressive bluegrass flatpicker Dan Crary, who craved a Dreadnought for flatpicking lead lines with a louder, more responsive treble, a more musical bass, and nice balance between the two. Bob Taylor essentially revoices a rosewood/spruce 810 by shifting from scalloped bracing to taller, more blade-shaped braces and thinning the top. The guitar also features a soft cutaway to give Crary access to the upper register for his blazing solo runs. It’s loud, with a tone that’s sweet rather than strident. Dan and Bob like it so much that it becomes an official production model for a number of years.
Dan Crary Signature Model
Taylor’s first-ever signature model is designed as a custom guitar for progressive bluegrass flatpicker Dan Crary, who craved a Dreadnought for flatpicking lead lines with a louder, more responsive treble, a more musical bass, and nice balance between the two. Bob Taylor essentially revoices a rosewood/spruce 810 by shifting from scalloped bracing to taller, more blade-shaped braces and thinning the top. The guitar also features a soft cutaway to give Crary access to the upper register for his blazing solo runs. It’s loud, with a tone that’s sweet rather than strident. Dan and Bob like it so much that it becomes an official production model for a number of years.
Leo Kottke Signature Model
In the mid-’80s, a store-bought Taylor mahogany 12-string 555 lures fingerstyle virtuoso Leo Kottke back to playing guitar after a hiatus due to hand ailments. As the story goes, Kottke uses a pocket knife to carve down some of the braces inside the guitar to modify it. Bob Taylor later connects with Kottke, and after a series of conversations, they decide to work together on the design of what Kottke feels will make the ultimate 12-string. The resulting LKSM retains the mahogany/Sitka spruce wood pairing and Jumbo shape, with a flatter-style cutaway. Kottke feels that a 12-string’s strength is a rumbling low-end and shouldn’t be tuned to pitch, so the guitar is designed to feature heavy-gauge strings and be tuned to C-sharp. A 6-string version is later made.
Leo Kottke Signature Model
In the mid-’80s, a store-bought Taylor mahogany 12-string 555 lures fingerstyle virtuoso Leo Kottke back to playing guitar after a hiatus due to hand ailments. As the story goes, Kottke uses a pocket knife to carve down some of the braces inside the guitar to modify it. Bob Taylor later connects with Kottke, and after a series of conversations, they decide to work together on the design of what Kottke feels will make the ultimate 12-string. The resulting LKSM retains the mahogany/Sitka spruce wood pairing and Jumbo shape, with a flatter-style cutaway. Kottke feels that a 12-string’s strength is a rumbling low-end and shouldn’t be tuned to pitch, so the guitar is designed to feature heavy-gauge strings and be tuned to C-sharp. A 6-string version is later made.
In November, the first episode of MTV Unplugged airs and a Taylor is featured (Chris Difford with the band Squeeze). The series becomes a catalyst for a period of renewed popularity for acoustic guitars and robust growth for Taylor.
In November, the first episode of MTV Unplugged airs and a Taylor is featured (Chris Difford with the band Squeeze). The series becomes a catalyst for a period of renewed popularity for acoustic guitars and robust growth for Taylor.
The first Grand Concert, a koa and spruce model with a Florentine cutaway built for Chris Proctor.
The compact body style is designed with input from 1982 national fingerstyle champion Chris Proctor during a time when a new generation of adventurous, genre-blending fingerpickers is searching for guitars that would better match their playing needs. The era’s main tools of the trade are larger-bodied guitars, Jumbos and Dreadnoughts, with narrower fretboards and a boomier low end. The Grand Concert offers a more balanced and articulate voice, is more responsive to a lighter attack, features a cutaway and offers easy playability along the entire length of the fretboard.
Taylor’s touring, in-store guitar workshops first roll out in 1984 with fingerstyle champions Harvey Reid and Chris Proctor as clinicians. Both had showcased Taylor’s guitars at NAMM Shows, and they take the guitar demo clinics on the road to Taylor’s dealers as in-store workshops arranged at dealers located along their tour route on off days. Their grassroots promotion of Taylor is cheaper than traditional magazine advertising — an important consideration given Taylor’s budget constraints. Their efforts lay the groundwork for an expanded workshop program that features a robust and evolving stable of world-class guitarists over the next 20-plus years, including flatpickers Dan Crary and Beppe Gambetta; fingerstylists Laurence Juber, Doyle Dykes, Pat Kirtley and Piedmont blues picker John Cephas; singer-songwriter/producer Wendy Waldman; rockers Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller; and folk players Chris Shaw, Artie Traum and Livingston Taylor, among others.
What begins as Larry Breedlove’s experimental color application techniques on maple/spruce guitars (including a purple 12-string made for Prince) eventually grows into the stage-friendly Artist Series. With the acoustic guitar market slumping in the mid-’80s, the colored aesthetic recasts the acoustic guitar in a more contemporary light, attracting a lot of attention and bolstering awareness of Taylor as other high-profile artists of the day from Alabama’s Jeff Cook to Kenny Loggins to Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens order custom color-infused models. The Artist Series later evolves into the maple/spruce 600 Series, which incorporates an array of color finish options.
An 812ce in a Taylor-produced case for the Grand Concert shape, ensuring the perfect fit.
Guitar cases had proved to be a problematic issue for Taylor in the late 1980s, especially as the company had begun increasing its daily production. Between the lack of a consistent supply from its vendor, quality issues, and an improper fit due to the nuances of Taylor’s guitar shapes compared to several other major brands (which most cases were designed to fit), Bob Taylor decides to begin manufacturing cases in-house. Doing so resolves those issues and enables Taylor to better manage the shipping flow. Bob takes things a step further, overseeing the design of customized inserts for the boxes in which the cases were shipped, providing extra protection by enabling the cases to effectively “float” within the box.
The 1990s would prove to be a decade of significant growth and transformation for Taylor. For starters, after the lean years of the 1980s, acoustic guitars began to experience a resurgence in the music industry, thanks in part to the popularity of MTV Unplugged along with emerging artists like Dave Matthews who sparked a renewed interest in acoustic guitars.
Meanwhile, Bob Taylor started using a CNC (computer-numerical control) mill in January of 1990, ushering in a prolific period of innovation as Taylor embraced technology (such as lasers and UV-curable finishes) and developed proprietary tooling and manufacturing processes to refine the guitar-making process. As a result, Taylor was able to make guitars with greater precision and consistency and simultaneously ramp up its production capability. Bob also introduced his Grand Auditorium body style mid-decade, which would become enormously popular — and ultimately Taylor’s flagship body shape.
Taylor’s first CNC mill
Computer (CNC) Mills
Taylor is the first acoustic guitar company to use computer-numerical-controlled (CNC) mills for guitar production. (But Bob Taylor always credits Tom Anderson as a CNC pioneer who used a CNC milling machine first to make his electric guitars.) The game-changing machines offer exacting precision for cutting, pocketing and shaping complex guitar components and bring unprecedented consistency to the guitar-making process. CNC mills eventually are used to fabricate proprietary fixtures and other tools that help improve Taylor’s guitar-making methods. They become a key catalyst for other innovations and help spur Taylor’s growth during the ’90s into an industry-leading manufacturer.
Taylor’s first CNC mill
Computer (CNC) Mills
Taylor is the first acoustic guitar company to use computer-numerical-controlled (CNC) mills for guitar production. (But Bob Taylor always credits Tom Anderson as a CNC pioneer who used a CNC milling machine first to make his electric guitars.) The game-changing machines offer exacting precision for cutting, pocketing and shaping complex guitar components and bring unprecedented consistency to the guitar-making process. CNC mills eventually are used to fabricate proprietary fixtures and other tools that help improve Taylor’s guitar-making methods. They become a key catalyst for other innovations and help spur Taylor’s growth during the ’90s into an industry-leading manufacturer.
Taylor introduces its mahogany/spruce, satin-finish 410 model. With a list price of $998, it’s the first American-made, all-solid-wood steel-string guitar in the industry to be priced under $1,000 — and includes a Taylor-produced hardshell case. The attractive pricing was the product of both efficiencies created by CNC milling and minimal cosmetic ornamentation.
Taylor introduces its mahogany/spruce, satin-finish 410 model. With a list price of $998, it’s the first American-made, all-solid-wood steel-string guitar in the industry to be priced under $1,000 — and includes a Taylor-produced hardshell case. The attractive pricing was the product of both efficiencies created by CNC milling and minimal cosmetic ornamentation.
Taylor Ad Campaigns
In the early 1990s, as the acoustic guitar begins to experience a resurgence in popularity and Taylor is increasing its production capacity, CEO Kurt Listug looks to develop a brand identity and ad campaign that set Taylor apart from other guitar companies. Many guitar ads within the industry have a homogenized feel, featuring either a slick photo of a guitar, a famous guitar player with an endorsement, or a bombshell model selling sex appeal. Inspired by the advertising of other brands he admires, such as Harley-Davidson, Kurt keys in on the aspirational nature of their ad campaigns and works with designers John Vitro and John Robertson from a local ad agency. The result is a series of ad campaigns that are radically different than those of other guitar brands, from the off-beat, nature-themed Trees series to the Discovery campaign, which incorporates excerpts of letters from actual customers about how they discovered their Taylors. The campaigns prove to be very effective, and the creative approach reinforces Taylor’s innovative thinking as a company.
Taylor Ad Campaigns
In the early 1990s, as the acoustic guitar begins to experience a resurgence in popularity and Taylor is increasing its production capacity, CEO Kurt Listug looks to develop a brand identity and ad campaign that set Taylor apart from other guitar companies. Many guitar ads within the industry have a homogenized feel, featuring either a slick photo of a guitar, a famous guitar player with an endorsement, or a bombshell model selling sex appeal. Inspired by the advertising of other brands he admires, such as Harley-Davidson, Kurt keys in on the aspirational nature of their ad campaigns and works with designers John Vitro and John Robertson from a local ad agency. The result is a series of ad campaigns that are radically different than those of other guitar brands, from the off-beat, nature-themed Trees series to the Discovery campaign, which incorporates excerpts of letters from actual customers about how they discovered their Taylors. The campaigns prove to be very effective, and the creative approach reinforces Taylor’s innovative thinking as a company.
The first issue of Taylor’s magazine, Wood&Steel, is published in the summer. Produced in-house and printed and direct-mailed for free to registered owners of Taylor guitars and Taylor’s dealer network, it establishes a direct line of communication between the company and Taylor enthusiasts and becomes an important vehicle for growing the Taylor community around the world.
The first issue of Taylor’s magazine, Wood&Steel, is published in the summer. Produced in-house and printed and direct-mailed for free to registered owners of Taylor guitars and Taylor’s dealer network, it establishes a direct line of communication between the company and Taylor enthusiasts and becomes an important vehicle for growing the Taylor community around the world.
Taylor expands its guitar line from 38 models to 61. The Koa Series and Walnut Series are introduced, African ovangkol is adopted for the back and sides of the 400 Series, and the 300 Series makes its debut, sporting sapele back and sides. Windham Hill Records introduces Sounds of Wood&Steel, a compilation of acoustic recordings featuring artists exclusively playing Taylor guitars. The Taylor website is launched.
Taylor expands its guitar line from 38 models to 61. The Koa Series and Walnut Series are introduced, African ovangkol is adopted for the back and sides of the 400 Series, and the 300 Series makes its debut, sporting sapele back and sides. Windham Hill Records introduces Sounds of Wood&Steel, a compilation of acoustic recordings featuring artists exclusively playing Taylor guitars. The Taylor website is launched.
First introduced as a limited edition to celebrate Taylor’s 20th anniversary, the medium-size Grand Auditorium body shape represents the crystallization of Bob Taylor’s aesthetic design sensibility. Its greater versatility gives players a guitar that they can flatpick, strum and fingerpick, and it fits into a recording mix nicely, making it a go-to guitar for session musicians. It goes on to become the quintessential Taylor body shape and redefines the acoustic guitar for the modern player.
Taylor pioneers the development of new polyester-based guitar finishes that are more durable and contain fewer solvents than traditional nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, and can be applied in thinner coats to optimize the tonal properties of the guitar. Taylor’s design of an ultraviolet light curing oven enables the curing time to be reduced from more than a week to a little over a minute.
It’s a cult favorite among Taylor fans, but what might seem like a cool one-off novelty guitar is actually crafted to make a more profound statement. Bob Taylor decides to respond to the growing commentary that an exceptional supply of tonewoods is the secret of Taylor’s great-sounding guitars. Making a guitar out of a distressed, discarded shipping pallet demonstrates that strong design and craftsmanship can transform virtually any materials into a guitar with great playability and quality tone. The result, the Pallet Guitar, features back and sides made of oak, and the former nail holes in the wood are filled with aluminum inlays resembling nail heads. The six-piece top is made from a 2x4 of a nondescript wood (probably either pine, fir or hemlock). The wood’s previous life as a pallet is honored whimsically (and artfully) with an inlay of a forklift in the fretboard.
The offspring of a unique collaboration between Bob Taylor and envelope-pushing luthier Steve Klein fuses Klein’s radical design ideas with Taylor’s aesthetic lines. The body features a big, round lower bout, a Maccaferri-style cutaway reminiscent of Taylor’s LKSM, and a dramatically wedged body depth (3-1/2 inches on the bass side; 6-1/4 on the treble side) to maximize the interior air chamber while also optimizing playability. An offset soundhole increases the vibrational surface of the soundboard, while Klein’s asymmetrical bridge is designed to help the top move more efficiently and boost the bass and treble. The interior boasts Klein’s elaborate bracing scheme. Four models are offered, with tonewood choices that include imbuia and maple. While the size and nature of the design make it a niche instrument, it’s well received by established bassists including Nashville session ace Michael Rhodes, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, and jazz virtuoso Stanley Clarke. With limited demand for the instrument, it is eventually discontinued in 2002.
Taylor’s ¾-size mini-Dreadnought is initially conceived as a ukulele concept from Bob Taylor, but Bob quickly realizes that a travel- and child-friendly guitar is a better idea. It turns out that the impressive playability and musicality of the guitar greatly diversifies its appeal as a legitimate musical instrument for players at every level. Adult players buy them for their kids but also embrace the Baby for other applications — as a slide guitar, songwriting guitar, an alternate tuning guitar, etc. Its popularity helps establish travel guitars as a category.
After first using lasers to etch the rosette pattern for the Baby Taylor, the company expands their use to include the cutting of guitar tops, backs, sides, braces, intricate inlays and other guitar components. Controlled by computer programs, lasers are able to cut wood parts quietly, accurately, efficiently and without chipping since there are no high-speed rotating cutters to stress the material.
Not only one of the most revolutionary innovations in Taylor history but in the entire acoustic guitar industry, the patented NT neck (now simply referred to as the Taylor neck) arguably marks the first major advance in acoustic guitar design since the birth of the steel-string. The neck design, which also incorporates precision-routed pockets in the body, leverages computer mill and laser technology to change the way the bolt-on neck attaches to the body of the guitar. The design brings more stability and precision to the neck, enabling unprecedented micro-adjustability to ensure a precise neck angle and easy serviceability to maintain the ideal neck angle. The three-piece design also brings greater structural resilience to the neck and significantly reduces the waste of mahogany wood.
Heading into the aughts, the increasing sophistication of Taylor’s manufacturing processes led to other breakthrough innovations. One of Bob’s most important developments was a revolutionary neck joint design that proved to be the most stable, micro-adjustable neck in the industry, enhancing playability and performance consistency.
This decade also saw the opening of a second factory in nearby Baja California, Mexico (45 minutes from Taylor’s U.S. headquarters), which enabled the growth and diversification of the guitar line. Other new products introduced included the Nylon Series, the proprietary Expression System pickup and preamp, the hybrid electric/acoustic T5, and the Grand Symphony body style. Laser and CNC technology also enabled Taylor to execute more elaborate inlay work and saw the release of many unique artist signature guitars.
Tecate Factory
What begins as the relocation of Taylor’s in-house case production from its factory complex in El Cajon, California, to a new facility in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, over time has gradually evolved and expanded into an integral extension of our guitar manufacturing operation. Located just an hour from our complex in El Cajon, Taylor’s Tecate facility currently not only produces cases, but also crafts the Baby, GS Mini, Academy, 100 and 200 Series, and performs other essential wood processing functions for our production line. Tecate’s close proximity to our U.S. headquarters has enabled us to maintain Taylor’s high quality standards, as production supervisors and machine and tooling specialists travel back and forth to the factory every day.
Tecate Factory
What begins as the relocation of Taylor’s in-house case production from its factory complex in El Cajon, California, to a new facility in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, over time has gradually evolved and expanded into an integral extension of our guitar manufacturing operation. Located just an hour from our complex in El Cajon, Taylor’s Tecate facility currently not only produces cases, but also crafts the Baby, GS Mini, Academy, 100 and 200 Series, and performs other essential wood processing functions for our production line. Tecate’s close proximity to our U.S. headquarters has enabled us to maintain Taylor’s high quality standards, as production supervisors and machine and tooling specialists travel back and forth to the factory every day.
Robotic Buffing
Designed both to alleviate the physical demands of the manual buffing process and improve production consistency through automation, our robotic buffing technology makes it easier to give a guitar’s finish an even luster, which can be a challenge given the mix of complex geometry and different body styles. The 6-axis robots are programmed to interact with buffing wheels that move to maintain an optimized pressure level throughout the process.
Robotic Buffing
Designed both to alleviate the physical demands of the manual buffing process and improve production consistency through automation, our robotic buffing technology makes it easier to give a guitar’s finish an even luster, which can be a challenge given the mix of complex geometry and different body styles. The 6-axis robots are programmed to interact with buffing wheels that move to maintain an optimized pressure level throughout the process.
Expression System®
After years of installing after-market pickups from outside manufacturers, Taylor’s product development invests in scientific research to better understand the resonating properties of a soundboard. This leads to the design of a proprietary pickup system capable of capturing a guitar’s rich acoustic nuances and translating them into a more natural-sounding amplified tone. The original Expression System incorporates a network of magnetic neck and body sensors and a preamp designed with input with revered pro audio designer Rupert Neve. A later iteration, the Expression System 2 (2014), features a breakthrough redesign and repositioning of a piezo-style pickup.
Expression System®
After years of installing after-market pickups from outside manufacturers, Taylor’s product development invests in scientific research to better understand the resonating properties of a soundboard. This leads to the design of a proprietary pickup system capable of capturing a guitar’s rich acoustic nuances and translating them into a more natural-sounding amplified tone. The original Expression System incorporates a network of magnetic neck and body sensors and a preamp designed with input with revered pro audio designer Rupert Neve. A later iteration, the Expression System 2 (2014), features a breakthrough redesign and repositioning of a piezo-style pickup.
Automated Sidebenders
Our side and cutaway benders are designed and fabricated in-house and incorporate a Programmable Logic Controller to maintain a consistent temperature, tension and rate of speed. This virtually eliminates breakage and other problematic issues associated with the manual wood-bending process and enables us to make a more accurate set of sides.
Automated Sidebenders
Our side and cutaway benders are designed and fabricated in-house and incorporate a Programmable Logic Controller to maintain a consistent temperature, tension and rate of speed. This virtually eliminates breakage and other problematic issues associated with the manual wood-bending process and enables us to make a more accurate set of sides.
A revolutionary “electracoustic” guitar design, this hollowbody “thinline five-way” hybrid leverages Taylor’s proprietary pickup design capabilities and bridges the acoustic and electric worlds in a truly unique and inspiring way, infusing a versatile palette of tones into one all-performance guitar. Compatible with both electric and acoustic amps and equipped with acoustic and electric pickups and five-way switching, the T5 proves to be one of Taylor’s most successful product launches. The T5 later evolves into a next-generation design, the T5z, which features a more compact body and a more electric-friendly feel.
Taylor dramatically increases the transfer efficiency of the finish sprayed on a guitar from about 15 percent when sprayed manually to about 85 percent with the integration of electrostatic and robotic technologies. The electrostatic application is enhanced within a controlled spray environment, in which the finish temperature and the humidity levels are stabilized to create optimal conditions for finish attraction. The resulting finish coating is more evenly applied and more consistent across the production line.
The pursuit of a richer, more robust acoustic voice leads to the Grand Symphony body. Bob Taylor and Larry Breedlove expand the footprint of the Grand Auditorium, raising and slightly widening the waist and rounding out the lower bout. The resulting shape retains an aesthetic family resemblance with other Taylor body styles while also yielding a distinctive tone profile with a deeper, piano-like bass, extra volume and low-end sustain, without ruining the clarity of the mids and highs. (In 2020, Taylor master builder Andy Powers introduces a redesigned version of the Grand Symphony with the Builder’s Edition 816ce, featuring an innovative soundport cutaway.)
The redesign gives the guitar a more immersive, surround-sound voice for the player. It also incorporates a slightly shorter scale length along with light-gauge strings that make it comfortable and responsive, with rich, blooming sustain.
Bob Taylor wanted to ensure that guitar design would remain a central focus at Taylor in the decades ahead, so in 2011, he hired Andy Powers as his design successor. Andy’s arrival would kick off a prolific period of tone-enhancing guitar innovation at Taylor. Over the course of the decade, Andy revoiced the entire Taylor guitar line to create a more diverse range of musical personalities. He introduced new body styles, groundbreaking new guitar voicing architectures like his patented V-Class bracing, and an ultra-premium class of guitars called Builder’s Edition, matching tonal improvements with ergonomic playing features to offer the ultimate playing experience in both sound and feel.
With Andy taking the design reins, Bob Taylor was free to devote more time and energy to invest in environmental stewardship initiatives to safeguard the future of the natural resources we rely on. These included the Ebony Project in Cameroon, which grew into a scalable ebony planting and agroforestry program; native forest restoration in Hawaii, including koa research and replanting; and a socially responsible urban wood partnership with one of California’s largest arborists to make guitars from formerly discarded end-of-life urban trees.
GS Mini
Taylor’s next-generation version of a scaled-down guitar after the Baby Taylor is designed to create a bigger, richer guitar sound that still retains the compact feel of a travel-friendly guitar. The guitar borrows from Taylor’s shapely Grand Symphony body style and incorporates many of Taylor’s latest design ideas, including the patented Taylor neck. Right out of the gate, the guitar is smash success, yielding a full-size voice in a comfortably intimate package that suits both an active lifestyle and relaxed couch strumming. In 2024, we will produce our 500,000th GS Mini.
GS Mini
Taylor’s next-generation version of a scaled-down guitar after the Baby Taylor is designed to create a bigger, richer guitar sound that still retains the compact feel of a travel-friendly guitar. The guitar borrows from Taylor’s shapely Grand Symphony body style and incorporates many of Taylor’s latest design ideas, including the patented Taylor neck. Right out of the gate, the guitar is smash success, yielding a full-size voice in a comfortably intimate package that suits both an active lifestyle and relaxed couch strumming. In 2024, we will produce our 500,000th GS Mini.
Andy Powers Joins the Company
Bob Taylor hires Andy Powers to be his eventual guitar design successor. It’s important for Bob to ensure that the next generation of the company has a great guitar maker as the central wellspring of ideas in order to preserve Taylor’s culture of guitar innovation for the future. An immensely talented luthier and pro-level player also based in the San Diego area (where Taylor is based), Andy’s diverse instrument-making repertoire includes flattop, archtop and electric guitars, along with ukuleles. Before finding Andy, Bob famously writes a wish list with all the attributes he wants in a successor, including this seemingly impossible requirement: “It would be good if they had 20 years of experience and great if they were less than 30 years old.” It turns out that Andy checks all the boxes, including that one.
Andy Powers Joins the Company
Bob Taylor hires Andy Powers to be his eventual guitar design successor. It’s important for Bob to ensure that the next generation of the company has a great guitar maker as the central wellspring of ideas in order to preserve Taylor’s culture of guitar innovation for the future. An immensely talented luthier and pro-level player also based in the San Diego area (where Taylor is based), Andy’s diverse instrument-making repertoire includes flattop, archtop and electric guitars, along with ukuleles. Before finding Andy, Bob famously writes a wish list with all the attributes he wants in a successor, including this seemingly impossible requirement: “It would be good if they had 20 years of experience and great if they were less than 30 years old.” It turns out that Andy checks all the boxes, including that one.
Grand Orchestra
The first full-fledged guitar design from Taylor master luthier Andy Powers replaces the Taylor Jumbo with a re-envisioned big-bodied shape that blends depth, boldness and complexity with remarkable balance and responsiveness, which is a unique tonal package for a big guitar.
Grand Orchestra
The first full-fledged guitar design from Taylor master luthier Andy Powers replaces the Taylor Jumbo with a re-envisioned big-bodied shape that blends depth, boldness and complexity with remarkable balance and responsiveness, which is a unique tonal package for a big guitar.
Award for Corporate Excellence
Taylor Guitars is honored by the U.S. State Department with the prestigious Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) for its transformative work in the ebony trade and in the lives of employees at the Crelicam ebony mill. The award recognizes U.S. companies that uphold high standards as responsible members of their communities and represent American values in the way they do business in their overseas operations.
Award for Corporate Excellence
Taylor Guitars is honored by the U.S. State Department with the prestigious Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) for its transformative work in the ebony trade and in the lives of employees at the Crelicam ebony mill. The award recognizes U.S. companies that uphold high standards as responsible members of their communities and represent American values in the way they do business in their overseas operations.
Hawaiian Koa Forest Restoration: Siglo Tonewoods
Taylor Guitars and longtime supply partner Pacific Rim Tonewoods form a joint venture in Hawaii called Paniolo Tonewoods (later renamed Siglo Tonewoods). The mission is to combine the selective harvesting of koa trees with a collaborative forest restoration program, and to grow Hawaiian wood for the future (100 years and beyond) to create an enduring supply of wood for musical instruments.
Hawaiian Koa Forest Restoration: Siglo Tonewoods
Taylor Guitars and longtime supply partner Pacific Rim Tonewoods form a joint venture in Hawaii called Paniolo Tonewoods (later renamed Siglo Tonewoods). The mission is to combine the selective harvesting of koa trees with a collaborative forest restoration program, and to grow Hawaiian wood for the future (100 years and beyond) to create an enduring supply of wood for musical instruments.
The Academy Series
Taylor introduces several impactful new guitar offerings, including the Academy Series, geared toward developing players, which earns critical raves and industry awards; and the groundbreaking GS Mini Bass.
The Academy Series
Taylor introduces several impactful new guitar offerings, including the Academy Series, geared toward developing players, which earns critical raves and industry awards; and the groundbreaking GS Mini Bass.
V-Class Bracing
Taylor debuts Andy Powers’ revolutionary V-Class® bracing, a patented design that marks a major evolution beyond X-bracing, which had been an industry standard for more than century. The game-changing internal sonic architecture brings major improvements to the sound capabilities of an acoustic guitar and introduces an exciting new platform for future guitar Taylor designs. The bracing is rolled out with Grand Auditorium models across the line throughout the year, and the V-Class design is showered with awards.
V-Class Bracing
Taylor debuts Andy Powers’ revolutionary V-Class® bracing, a patented design that marks a major evolution beyond X-bracing, which had been an industry standard for more than century. The game-changing internal sonic architecture brings major improvements to the sound capabilities of an acoustic guitar and introduces an exciting new platform for future guitar Taylor designs. The bracing is rolled out with Grand Auditorium models across the line throughout the year, and the V-Class design is showered with awards.
In 2011, Taylor becomes the co-owner of Crelicam, an ebony mill in Cameroon. In the course of researching the harvesting of ebony there, Bob discovers that most ebony trees felled are left on the forest floor because the wood featured color variegation rather than the all-black appearance that has historically been valued by instrument makers. Bob shares this revelation with the music community in order to promote broader acceptance of variegated ebony among instrument makers. Bob uses Taylor’s manufacturing expertise to upgrade the harvesting and milling efforts in Cameroon, improving working conditions for employees, introducing better tools and machines, and training employees to improve the mill’s processing capability. Ultimately, this sets the stage to enable Cameroonian communities to build a better economy through responsible management of an important natural resource.
After using external sales distributors in the European market for years, Taylor takes on its own distribution by establishing a multifaceted facility in Amsterdam to better serve dealers and customers. In addition to inventory warehousing, our European headquarters house our sales and customer services offices, dealer education space, and a fully equipped Factory Service Center that performs every level of repair that our factory in El Cajon can.
The comprehensive design overhaul of our flagship and most popular guitar series makes the bold statement that we believe in continual innovation and in exploring new frontiers in tone. The new 800s also showcase a fusion of Andy Powers’ talents as Taylor’s next-generation master luthier with the R&D and manufacturing sophistication that enables Andy’s ideas to be implemented in an unprecedented way at a production level.
Taylor Guitars launches a partnership with the Congo Basin Institute with the goal of conducting research to better understand the ecology of African ebony (Diospyros crassiflora Hiern) and to enhance ebony stocks through community-driven planting.
Taylor introduces a new body style, the Grand Pacific, a non-cutaway round-shoulder dreadnought that replaces our traditional dreadnought shape among our El Cajon-made models. Powered by V-Class bracing, the guitar introduces a different sonic personality than the articulate, well-defined “modern” voice people normally identify with Taylor. Notes blend together smoothly to create a warm and seasoned sound.
As the COVID-19 pandemic upended people’s lives, Taylor was able to modify its factory configuration during a brief shutdown in order to resume guitar production safely. Adapting to the new realities, Taylor launched a new American Dream series to supply dealers with an affordable range of solid-wood guitars in response to the surge in interest in guitars among consumers during this time.
Taylor also made the transition to 100-percent employee ownership as a means to preserve the company’s innovative culture and give employees a direct stake in its future success.
COVID-19 and the American Dream Series
The COVID pandemic forces the temporary closure of both Taylor factories. After reopening, Taylor responds by launching the American Dream Series, named after the guitar shop where Bob and Kurt began their careers because operating during the pandemic channels the same scrappy, resilient spirit of Taylor’s early years. Because the pandemic has disrupted the wood supply chain, Taylor takes a “cooking with what’s in the pantry” approach, working with its existing wood inventory to design guitars that are highly distilled to offer its most accessibly priced all-solid-wood guitars. With people spending more time at home, consumer interest in playing guitar spikes, and the series not only helps meet the demand, but supports Taylor dealers by supplying guitars for them to sell to keep their businesses alive.
COVID-19 and the American Dream Series
The COVID pandemic forces the temporary closure of both Taylor factories. After reopening, Taylor responds by launching the American Dream Series, named after the guitar shop where Bob and Kurt began their careers because operating during the pandemic channels the same scrappy, resilient spirit of Taylor’s early years. Because the pandemic has disrupted the wood supply chain, Taylor takes a “cooking with what’s in the pantry” approach, working with its existing wood inventory to design guitars that are highly distilled to offer its most accessibly priced all-solid-wood guitars. With people spending more time at home, consumer interest in playing guitar spikes, and the series not only helps meet the demand, but supports Taylor dealers by supplying guitars for them to sell to keep their businesses alive.
Transition to Employee Ownership
Taylor announces the transition to 100% employee ownership, including employees in Tecate and the EU. Bob and Kurt have wanted to enact a succession plan that would preserve the company’s culture of creativity and guitar innovation for the long-term future and decide that employee ownership is the best solution — one that will give employees a greater stake in the company’s future success. Andy Powers (who had become a third ownership partner the previous year) continues in his role as Chief Guitar Designer.
Transition to Employee Ownership
Taylor announces the transition to 100% employee ownership, including employees in Tecate and the EU. Bob and Kurt have wanted to enact a succession plan that would preserve the company’s culture of creativity and guitar innovation for the long-term future and decide that employee ownership is the best solution — one that will give employees a greater stake in the company’s future success. Andy Powers (who had become a third ownership partner the previous year) continues in his role as Chief Guitar Designer.
Andy Powers Becomes President & CEO
In May, Andy Powers is named President and CEO (also retaining his title of Chief Guitar Designer), while Bob and Kurt formally become senior advisors and co-chairmen of the Taylor Guitars board (which was established with the ESOP).
Andy Powers Becomes President & CEO
In May, Andy Powers is named President and CEO (also retaining his title of Chief Guitar Designer), while Bob and Kurt formally become senior advisors and co-chairmen of the Taylor Guitars board (which was established with the ESOP).
In the fall, Taylor introduces the Grand Theater body style, or GT, with compact proportions that make it bigger than the GS Mini and smaller than the Grand Concert. The guitar is designed to appeal to fans of the GS Mini who want a more premium-sounding guitar that still offers the physical appeal of a sub-compact design — sort of a modern-day parlor guitar. The guitar features solid-wood construction and is voiced with new, asymmetrical C-Class bracing architecture (informed by the V-Class design) to elicit extra bass response that belies the small body size.
Taylor partners with California-based West Coast Arborists, Inc., a company that provides professional tree maintenance and management services for nearly 300 public agencies in cities and counties across California and Arizona, caring for over six million trees. Together, Taylor and WCA launch an Urban Wood sustainability initiative that aims to upcycle suitable wood from end-of-life California street trees into guitars rather than being disposed of. The first Taylor model features Shamel ash, which is dubbed Urban Ash, with another urban wood, red ironbark eucalyptus, added to the Taylor 500 Series in 2022. The program aims to build a new market infrastructure for creating value from urban wood, with the broader goal of creating a circular economy and stimulating the re-greening of communities.
Explore the limited-edition models being released throughout 2024 to celebrate five decades of Taylor guitar making.