FeAture
Oh man, don’t make me, please don’t make
me. Well, it would include Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack spruce. It would be
a Grand Symphony shape and would have
ebony binding and an armrest, and a Brazilian
back strap behind the peghead. And I’m not
copping out when I say I’d be just as happy
if that same guitar were made from Indian
rosewood and Sitka spruce. That’s the truth.
Or I’d have Bill Collings build me a mahogany
dreadnought with tortoise binding, and then
there is this 000 Martin, made in the ’20s,
that a friend of mine owns. That guitar is
really good. See, I can’t do it!
9. A few years ago, I was watching a Taylor
video and I saw a Taylor amp. What is the
story behind those, and will they ever make
it to the public market?
Well, the story is we’re always tinkering and
working on designs. This was made as a cute
little thing that works well with our Expression
System. It sounds great and has one knob:
Volume. Yeah, it will make it to the public market sometime, but it’s too hard to say when.
10. What types of woods will Taylor be
experimenting with in the near future—and
what sorts of sounds would those produce?
7. I see summer humidity levels of more than
75% drop to 30% and worse in the winter,
and it’s nearly impossible to manage the
climate in my entire house. I keep the guitar
in its case, use an in-case humidifier in winter,
etc., but I was wondering if you could suggest any special strategies or products for
dealing with those vast seasonal differences?
while some manufacturing issues were solved.
They’re back, and I can’t imagine being without them. Oh, and by the way, thanks for
storing your guitar in its case. You are miles
ahead of people who want to display them
on their walls. Guitars are not furniture, nor
are they artwork. They’re instruments and
need to be kept in the case when not played.
I think we’re experimenting with the future
woods now. For instance, ovangkol and
sapele are future woods. There’s some neat
South American rosewood species that are
available in very small quantities, so some of
those might find their way into a guitar here
and there. We’re still working on Tasmanian
blackwood, knowing it sounds great; now the
problem is getting it. Also, we’re looking at
some different species to replace ebony if
the day comes when that might be needed.
There’s mesquite too. It sounds like rosewood, more or less, and is pretty and stable.
Yet there’s no real method of obtaining it. I
think the major woods are defined now, with
lots of “wood du jour” guitars that will be
made along the way.
Humidipak by Planet Waves! Don’t forget
that name. Buy them. They will absorb
moisture in the summer and humidify in the
winter. They work both ways. Many of you
may know of the early recall of Humdipaks
8. Having the ability to create, play and
own any guitar you could possibly imagine, what would your dream guitar be?
Please include details such as woods, body
style, bracing, etc.
For next month’s “Go Ahead and
Ask,” click here to head to
premierguitar.com/goaheadandask
and let us know what questions
you’d like to ask Joe Bonamassa.
www.premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2010 43
