TAYLORGUITARS
According to the Timeline section of
Taylor’s website, Bob Taylor had this to
say about his first guitar, “I worked on that
guitar my whole 11th grade year, and the
day I strung it up was pretty great. My
friends came over and we all played it
and everyone thought it was the best guitar they’d ever strummed. Like we really
knew, or something. Actually, it was a pile
and wasn’t made very well, but it wasn’t
too bad for a 17-year-old kid working on
his own and not knowing anything about
the subject.”
Beginning with this humble, self-admitted
“pile” of a guitar, Bob Taylor has earned
a well-respected spot in the industry by
constantly striving to find better ways to
do things, even within a craft as bound by
tradition as guitar making. Initially derided
for such heretical behavior as bolting-on
necks and choosing unique tonewoods,
Taylor’s non-conformist tactics have come
full circle, with even the staunchest of
old-world companies now offering several
“bolt-on” models in their catalogs. Not content with simply building different guitars,
Bob also seems intent on building guitars
differently, honing his manufacturing processes and creating custom tools with a
trusted crew of engineering visionaries.
Bob Taylor and crew were kind enough to
offer Premier Guitar an opportunity to tour
Taylor world headquarters in El Cajon,
California. Nestled in a non-descript industrial park in a San Diego suburb, Taylor
has created a campus that runs the gamut
from low-key gift shop to high-tech robotic
finishing rooms, all within walking distance
of one another.
Waiting in said gift shop for the tour to
start, we were honored when Bob himself arrived to show us around, offering a
glimpse into his overriding sense of stewardship as well as his love for the instrument, demonstrated by everything from
our personal tour to his ongoing quest
for earth-friendly woods and manufacturing techniques. What follows is a small
glimpse into the future of guitar building,
according to Bob Taylor.
