Taylor Previews 2004 Product Line

654CE (Click for a close-up)

Changes in the 2004 Taylor line include 13 fresh new models; significant upgrades to two of Taylor's most popular guitar series; a "re-voicing" of the small-body Grand Concert; Expression System pickups on all cutaway electric models (including the 300 and 400 Series); and the introduction of the K4 -- Taylor's first stand-alone electronic device for creating great amplified acoustic tone.

Continuing the re-definition of Taylor tone that began last year with the revoicing of the Taylor Dreadnoughts, the Grand Concert (500 Series and up) has been given new bracing and a slightly deeper body, in order to add what Bob Taylor calls a "boisterous" volume to the clarity and sparkle for which this guitar is known. Other changes to the line include elegant new fretboard inlays for Taylor's flagship 800 Series (Indian rosewood), and an exotic wood upgrade for the 300 Series, which now will be built with solid African Mahogany backs and sides.

Taylor's Nylon Series guitars make their first appearance in the catalog, and include five new nylon-string Grand Auditorium cutaway acoustic/electric models, in solid-wood combinations that range from African Mahogany backs and sides with Sitka spruce tops (NS34ce) to Indian rosewood backs and sides with Western Red cedar tops (NS74ce).

Another guitar previously offered only as a Limited Edition is now being integrated into the 2004 line: the sweet-sounding Grand Auditorium 12-string. This guitar will appeal to players who prefer a smaller, more comfortable-to-hold body than the Jumbo that has been standard on Taylor 12-strings. These rich-sounding GA-12s are available in each Taylor series from the 300 Series up.

Taylor's first mid-priced guitars, the 110 and 214, have been creating a stir with first-time buyers and multiple Taylor owners. Customers have been snapping them up faster than Taylor can make them, and sell-through may get even hotter now that these guitars are available with a pickup option.

Finally, the 2004 Taylor catalog includes the Taylor Guitars K4 Graphic Equalizer. This stand-alone electronic device, which builds on the balanced output of the Expression System, allows the user to zero-in and tweak particular frequencies, thus giving guitarists expanded power to explore the tonality and shape the sound of their amplified Taylors.