REVIEW > TAYLOR
TAYLOR
710CE ROSEWOOD
BY CHARLES SAUFLEY
Few guitar companies have done more to align themselves with the interests
of performing acoustic musicians than
Taylor: Gig-ready acoustic-electrics constitute a huge percentage of the company’s
offerings. And when the Taylor-designed
Expression System showed up several
years ago, it drew accolades for reliability,
relatively natural-sounding performance,
and a plug-and-play user-friendliness that
suited high-profile guitarists and coffee-shop players alike.
It’s almost enough to make players forget
that Taylor rose to prominence on
the strength of acoustics
that sounded great without amplification.
But the Taylor 710ce Rosewood is a great
reminder of how good a Taylor can play,
feel, and sound when there’s nary an amp or
PA for miles around. It also illustrates (yet
again) how classic Taylor acoustic virtues
and the company’s focus on electronics can
pay real-world performance dividends when
they’re combined in a well-built guitar.
Dread Deluxe
Taylor is among the guitar industry’s highest profile users of less-traditional tonewoods. The company is a major player in
to hear audio clips of the guitar
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the industry push toward alternative sustainable woods, and Bob Taylor was investigating the use of ovangkol, koa, and sapele
for large-scale production when such woods
were the domain of small luthiers. So, while
it’s not new, it’s still cool to see a Taylor
crafted in the time-tested combination of
Indian rosewood back, sides, and headstock
overlay, and an Engelmann spruce top. The
rosewood is pretty stuff, with a varied and
deep grain pattern that gave our review
guitar a unique fingerprint. The spruce
top is crafted from good-looking wood,
too, though what you’ll notice is the lovely
Taylor Expression System electronics
Indian rose-
wood back
and sides
Engelmann
spruce top
Ivoroid
binding
156 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2012
premierguitar.com
