GEAR REVIEW
TAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION EXPANDS | Eric Dahl
integral part of many new Taylor guitars.
KEY FEATURES
electric guitars and don’t want a big bodied,
hard to navigate 12-string that they won’t play
• V-Class Bracing Powers is very passionate about these as frequently as their favorite 6-string. The body
• Reverse-Strung Strings instruments as they are frequently the ones shape is a condensed Grand Auditorium with
that he creates from scratch in his home luthier a cutaway and the neck joins the body at the
workshop and then brings to the Taylor guitar 12 th fret.
• Condensed Grand Auditorium body
• Neck Joins Body 12th Fret
facility to reverse engineer them so that they can
be produced on regular runs. The new models The torrefied Sitka spruce top is finished in
added to the Builder’s Edition series this year Wild Honey Burst and has big leaf maple
in are all progressive and include the Builder’s back and sides. The neck is hard rock maple
Anaheim, California this past January, was Edition 912ce, 816ce, 652ce (12-string) and with an ebony fingerboard. The first thing that
overwhelming… but it affords the opportunity the 324ce. contradictions tradition on the 652ce is that the
The
Winter
NAMM
show,
held
12-strings are reverse-strung, and the double
to chat directly with the builders and creators of
WM received the Builder’s Edition 652ce for strings share the same bridge pin. Typically,
review, but we will touch on the other models most 12-string guitars have the smaller octave
One of these is Andy Powers, Master Guitar since I was able to play them all and discuss string first and the larger string second, but not
Designer and Partner at Taylor guitars. Powers their attributes with Andy in person. Taylor on the new Taylor, the larger string is first to
is always generous with his time and this year instruments have been popular with the Praise bring out the bass note tone first and make the
he walked me through his expanding Builder’s and Worship musician crowd due to their sound thicker. The rationale behind the double-
Edition Collection. In 2018 the Builder’s Edition playability, great looks and consistent sound mounted strings is so that both strings bend at
was the launching device for Andy’s innovative unplugged or plugged in. The 12-String 652ce the bridge in the same place to provide better
V-Class bracing designs that are now an is aimed at musicians that are more familiar with tuning stability.
musical equipment.
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March 2020
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