26 www.taylorguitars.comsays. “I like to take note of the way theyapproach an instrument; the peculiarnuances and individuality of their ownunique style of playing; the songsthey find in a guitar; their techniqueand the sounds they produce from aninstrument. Hearing a wide variety ofimmensely talented players helps mefigure out what’s working and whatisn’t. Each of these artists is as uniqueas a fingerprint, so no two players willsound or play the same way on oneguitar. When I hear a guitar really workwell for one player, then work equallywell for the next player who has avastly different style, the same with athird player, I know I’m onto somethinggood.”By all accounts, he’s definitely ontosomething good. The feedback wasoverwhelmingly positive, and guitaristDanny Rader (DN8) from KeithUrban’s band ended up borrowing oneof the Dreadnought protos to try outand possibly use on tour. Another wasleft at Soundcheck for more players tosample.A lot of guitarists in Nashvillehave an existing perception of whatour guitars are, and this event gavethem a chance to reconnect with ourlatest instruments in an organic wayand refresh that perspective with new<strong>Taylor</strong> tones. Among the other playerswho visited were Jerry McPherson,George Marinelli, Stu G., PatBergeron, Steve Mandile, AndyChilds, Marshall Altman, and JeffKing.“I came back full of new music andsome fresh thoughts to pour into theinstruments, as well as a lot of encouragementand affirmation that these newinstruments have a musically rewardinglife ahead,” Andy shared after the event.Another guest, singer-songwriterSonia Leigh, also dropped by to pickup a custom Grand Auditorium she hadordered, along with a K4.“Andy built me the most beautifulguitar, I was speechless!” she wrote inher blog afterward. “I named it Jacksonafter one of my favorite writers, JacksonBrowne.” She performed with it the nextnight in front of 70,000 people at theCMA Fest with the Zac Brown Band,whose Southern Ground label is hermusical home.Tim and Andy also met with producer/composerFred Mollin, anddropped by the studio of guitarist/producer John D Willis, who showedoff his Dan Crary long neck guitar,one of only three that exist. They alsosidled over to the Wildhorse Saloon forCMT’s Fan Social, where ThompsonSquare performed and where Andyplayed Vanna White, giving away asigned <strong>Taylor</strong> to an audience member.On their last day in town, Tim and Andycaught up with Danelle Leverett andSusie Brown from the on-the-rise duothe JaneDear Girls (410ce, 712ce,614ce). Susie noted that she’s planninga series of YouTube videos inwhich she plays the songs she grew upwith on the 712ce.Acoustic MedleyAndy Innes, the guitarist andmusical director for celebrated SouthAfrican singer-songwriter and musicalactivist Johnny Clegg, visited the factoryin May during a tour stop in SanDiego. Innes, a longtime <strong>Taylor</strong> playerwho’s been with Clegg for 19 years,has an 815ce, 414ce and a recentlyacquired Baritone 8-String he sayshe loves. While at the factory, he had achance to play a 12-Fret that wastedno time seducing him. He says heplans on picking up a Grand Concertin the near future….Singer-songwriterChristina Perri was recently interviewedfor Spin.com and called out herblack 614ce: “This is my favorite instrumentand has been with me througheverything,” she says. “When I’m holdingher, I feel better and ready to writea song or play a show.” Perri’s leadguitarist, John Anderson, loves hisT3/B….Guitar legend James Burtonraved about his <strong>Taylor</strong>s during a recentinterview with Randy Patterson, editorof Boomerocity.com, calling them “firstclass quality instruments.” “I just thinkthat it’s one of the finest guitars madetoday,” he said. “Bob <strong>Taylor</strong> and KurtListug, these guys are my friends. Theywould not release an instrument unlessit was inspected, perfected and readyto go….” Guitarist, songwriter andproducer Buddy Miller, who’s beentouring with Robert Plant’s Band ofJoy, has been having fun exploring aBaritone 6-string. He told <strong>Taylor</strong>’sAndy Lund at Merlefest that he likes ita lot, and that it feels “alive.”Clockwise from top right: Sonia Leigh with “Jackson”; (L-R) Andy Powers,Susie Brown and Danelle Leverett from the JaneDear Girls, and Tim Godwin;Andy listening to Danny Rader sample a prototype at Soundcheck; Christina Perri
27<strong>Taylor</strong> NotesSolidBody Configurator 2.0If you’ve been to the <strong>Taylor</strong> websitein the last month, you’re probably awareof the newly relaunched SolidBodyConfigurator. Our dynamic online toolhighlights the flexible ordering optionsavailable to you by walking you throughthe process of building a virtual model.You can choose your body style (Standardor Classic), cutaway (single ordouble), color, pickups, bridge (stoptailor tremolo), and pickguard color (ordirect-mount option). As you make yourchoice in each category, your virtualmodel will display that option. It’s agreat way to explore different combinationsof features together to give youan idea of what they would look like.Ultimately, the Configurator gives you away to create a visual blueprint for thetones and looks you crave. This latestversion incorporates all the optionscurrently available for 2011, includingthe double cutaway and new colors forthe Standard. It’s also a great tool forexperimenting with different LoadedPickguard options.Once you’ve designed your model,you can save the image and your customizedspecs and have them e-mailedto you. We’ve even made it easy toconnect with a <strong>Taylor</strong> dealer to get moreinformation about ordering a model. Ifyou haven’t built a model yet, give it atry. We hope you like it.GS Minis for Everyone —Including LeftiesAfter last year’s debut of the GSMini, the hot demand outpaced ourability to fill the pipeline for a while, butwe’ve been steadily ramping up production,so you should find it much easierto get your hands on one this summer.And lefties, rejoice! Now you can orderone too.MusicWood Documentary<strong>Taylor</strong>’s efforts to support the sustainableharvesting of Sitka spruce, themost prevalent tonewood for acousticguitar tops, have been well documentedon our pages in recent years.Most of the supply comes from thecoastal rainforest region of SoutheasternAlaska, on private land that hasseen aggressive clear-cutting over theyears. You may recall that in 2007, <strong>Taylor</strong>joined together with several othermajor guitar manufacturers, includingMartin, Fender, and Gibson, tobecome members of the GreepeacefoundedMusicWood Coalition. Oneof the organization’s goals is to raiseawareness of the depletion of oldgrowthspruce and, more specifically,to convince Sealaska, a native-heldcorporation that owns much of theland where the spruce clear-cuttinghas been happening, to adopt moresustainable logging practices beforeit’s too late.When a pair of music- and guitarlovingdocumentary filmmakers, MaxineTrump and Josh Granger of Brooklyn,New York-based Helpman Productions(helpmanproductions.org), gotwind of the threat to Sitka spruce andthe future of acoustic guitars, theyfelt instantly compelled to make adocumentary to amplify the story andsupport the push for sustainable solutions.They contacted members of theMusicWood Coalition, who welcomedthe participation. A film crew eventuallyjoined members of the coalition on atrip to Alaska, and they’ve continued towork over the past three years to completethe documentary project, titledMusicwood, relying on a mix of selffundingand private donations.When the funding well recentlywent dry, they turned to kickstarter.com, an online funding platform for creativeprojects, and were able to raiseadditional funds to finish filming andpay for post-production editing. In additionto the documentary, the productionteam has also been filming musicalperformances from bands that supportthe cause, including Yo La Tengo andTurin Brakes. To read more about theproject and watch a trailer for the film,which includes comments from Bob<strong>Taylor</strong>, visit musicwoodthefilm.com.Road Show ReviewOur Road Show teams had a blastthis spring and early summer as theyscattered across North America andEurope — presenting 115 shows — tobring you the latest and greatest ideasand guitar concoctions direct from the<strong>Taylor</strong> mother ship. Normally we wouldreport about how much the attendeesenjoyed these events — which wasclearly the case again this time — butit’s worth noting how much our <strong>Taylor</strong>sales managers and product specialistsalso enjoyed the interaction and passionshared by so many people, includingour dealers. Every Road Show isa truly unique event, but a couple ofrecent shows stood out for unusual andvery different reasons. Our sales repswho presented the shows share theiraccounts below.The Orlando Science CenterOrlando, Florida, June 18, 2011Aaron Dablow:What a fun day. I met Angella(Director of Special Exhibits for theOrlando Science Center) last Novemberat a Road Show in Daytona Beach,and she reached out to see if we’d beinterested in doing a Road Show withthem for a special touring exhibit theywould be hosting. The Science Centeris huge — four floors of educationalexperience for all ages (dinosaurs,astronomy, nature, physics, etc.). Theexhibit is called “GUITAR: The Instrumentthat Rocked the World.”I did a meet-and-greet from 11 a.m.to 1 p.m. I set up a few guitars in theexhibit and let people know we weregoing to do a Road Show at 2 p.m.in the auditorium. There was a steadystream of people all morning, and Italked to many people who didn’t playguitar or know anything about them. Itwas fun educating non-players aboutguitars and how we differentiate ourselvesfrom other manufacturers.By the time 2 p.m. rolled around,the theater was packed with 250-pluspeople. We did an exact replica ofevery Road Show we’d do at a dealer,and it was an amazing experience.Marc Seal and I entertained the crowd,and we did a bit more detail about thedesign of our guitars to promote the“science” aspect of the event. Manypeople hung out afterwards to thank us,and we had great interaction with themthroughout the day.That night there was a fashion showevent called “Cocktails and Cosmos” inthe Science Center’s astronomy/planetariumsection, and Marc played someof his songs for 45 minutes before theevent. We thought he was going to bebackground music, but about 50 peopleactually stood and listened to himplay. The fashion show was interesting,as a couple of the models actually usedour guitars as props when they walkedthe catwalk. We were at the ScienceCenter for 14 hours, but it was wellworth it.Ernie Williamson MusicJoplin, Missouri, June 15, 2011JR Robison:After the tornadoes ripped thoughJoplin on May 22, I thought the upcomingRoad Show would be canceled.After speaking with Mitch, the storemanager, he told me there was no waythey would cancel. It will be a goodescape for everybody, he said. I’d beentold for weeks that I wouldn’t believewhat we’d see when we got to Joplin,and they were right. The pictures can’teven come close to showing the puredevastation they’ve experienced. Morethan 100 people were killed, and thousandsare displaced from their homesand businesses.Despite what Joplin has beenthrough, we had a great turnout. Wemodified the presentation a bit. It’s notlike the Road Shows are pushy salesevents, but we didn’t want to be evenremotely insensitive. We still talkedabout body shapes and tonewoods,the T5, Baritone and GS Mini, but[product specialist] Michael Lille playedmore, which was great. We set up avocal mic, and he even sang a fewtunes, much to the delight of those inattendance. We also did a GS Minigiveaway to a customer of the dealer’schoice. It went to Justin Nevins, a localworship leader who lost everything —his house, both cars, all his guitars,everything material, but he got out safewith his wife and four children. Hethanked us profusely not only for theGS Mini, but also for bringing the RoadShow to Joplin.
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