| The luthiers in the small R. Taylor facility
are really pushing the envelope with regards to sonic detail!
The first word that comes to mind after playing this instrument is "eloquent".
Some instruments are quite articulate but somehow sterile and characterless.
This guitar has very successfully avoided that pit fall.
I realize that this sounds like hyperbole, but to me this cutaway
Style 1 reminds me of getting a new pair of glasses. The world just
seems clearer with more detail ... more colour ... more EVERYTHING!
That is honestly the way I felt after playing this instrument. Everything
is bumped up a notch (or two!).
After admiring the classically simple exterior
aesthetics of this R. Taylor, I put the inspection mirror inside
to see if there was anything obviously different to account for this exceptional
sound. The short answer is YES! You don't have to be
a guitar builder to appreciate the considerable extra thought and effort
that is "under the hood" on this guitar!
The first thing that I noticed is the radically
new Asymmetrical strutting pattern. Gone is the X-brace that has
been the foundation of top strutting for a century. This instrument
features more of a T-brace with offset bass bar, along with a small
maple bridge plate, 65 foot top radius and Bob Taylor's proprietary
inner lower bout relief that allows more top vibration! I'm also
convinced that all of the work involved in applying solid linings to both
the top and the back (and believe me, it is a LOT of work) has dramatically
noticeable sonic results. A section of spruce has even been inlaid
cross-grain under the fingerboard extension to ensure decades of trouble
free playing and the end block has been chamfered to optimize every possible
square millimeter of vibrating surface!
Looking inside this instrument is like getting
a glimpse at the engine of a Formula 1 car. Absolutely EVERYTHING
has been done to get the most out of this guitar ... and it you can hear
the results immediately. This is one of the most purely satisfying
fingerstyle guitars I have ever played!!!
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