Professional Luthier Reacts: Taylor Guitar Factory Tour

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Chris and Matt sit down and watch a tour of Taylor Guitars' American factory.

For more information on Chris and his guitars, go to:

[KellerFkinRyan]

at 28:34, the bench behind the guy with short hair is the bench I work at. the amount of time and effort that goes into our finish department being boiled down to basically "yeah it gets finished and painted" from our own company bothers me. even during the in-person factory tours, they completely skip the finish department and the necks go from the inlays barely being laid in and then all of a sudden its being paired to a body and being strung up.
also- to you two specifically, those are 600 series builders edition guitars you just talked about with the big mahogany block and no binding, thats unique to the builders edition models which also have a cutaway. those are some of the few guitars that dont get bound, nearly all, even the 300's, get bound. it is plastic though until you get to the 500's. the only necks without binding are the AD series guitars and custom orders which ask for no binding. its the same plastic-until-500-series with that too, excluding various limited edition models.

[christophermckee]

On the scarf joint, the joint is stronger when compared to a one piece neck and the consideration of grain runout. Taylor switched to the three piece necks with the NT neck development. Initially they used a finger joint and when they first made the switch they did a series of videos going over the change. Bob Taylor, on video broke headstocks and the finger joint necks took more pressure. The scarf joint came about because they look better. It’s a cool 20 year old video if you can find it. Also, Andy isn’t often building on the factory floor, but has his own workshop where he is often making sawdust.

[rabukan]

Hi guys. I bought a beautiful K24ce Builder's Edition and I'm not sure I agree with your critique about Builder's Editions being built the same as the cheaper lines. The purfling on this guitar is filled with a gorgeous Paua Abalone (very rare, only found in New Zealand) both on top and back as is the rosette, and yes, there isn't an added binding, but all the Koa edges (as you said, they're calling the edges a binding) are rounded, super smooth, yet hard and seem adequately strong. The beveled armrest and cutaway make this the most comfortable guitar I've ever played and I've been playing since the 1960's, and it is super light. The 21:1 Gold Gotoh tuners are superb as well, and the flamed Koa back and sides are IMHO unmatched in looks and intonation. I have owned Martins, Guilds, Gibsons (two 200SJ's, one is a Pre War) and I have to say that this Koa Builder's Edition is really one of the best guitars I've owned. I bought it new for $5, 300 and it's now selling for $6, 300 at Sweetwater, and here in Japan they are selling for $8, 000 new! I didn't think of it then, but is has become an investment. Cheers.

[donovanpreza]

I am a hobby luthier in Hawaii and build ukuleles. Until about 20 years ago we had one factory making ukuleles and they became synonymous with what a ukulele “was”. So, I get it. But to be fair, if we are just talking about scarf joints and one piece necks I think these things could be framed in more productive ways.

For me, I look at this from the perspective of neck design and identifying the specific problem the luthier is trying to solve for. Is grain orientation at the headstock a problem for the luthier to consider? I think Gibson has provided enough examples to say that short grain orientation at the headstock is undesirable if trying to prevent neck breakage due to an accidental fall. One piece necks create short grain at the headstock, whereas scarf joints create long grain at the headstock. For this specific problem, scarf joints are a better solution than one piece necks. We just need to be clear on what specific problem we are trying to solve for.
Recently found your channel and enjoy the content. Heard you mention in other videos that you compliance map and glue your tops on before your backs so you can voice your instruments. In terms of build philosophy are you a proponent of a “stiff back” or a “resonant” back? Just curious.
I would be interested to see a reaction video to Taylor Guitar’s “History of Guitar Neck Construction: Three-piece Neck - Talk About Taylor”. Mahalo for the content!

[robbyclark]

I was gifted my Taylor guitar and could have chosen from several at the local GC, and I chose the 214ce they had over guitars costing much more. I loved the sound and feel of it, and I am a sucker for spruce and rosewood. I also liked the smaller nut width at the time but wish I had the wider nut now. 10 years later and I still have that guitar and play it all the time.

[muradbashaireh]

This video made me appreciate Taylor more, they look, play and sound great for factory guitars, couple of thousand dollars you get a guitar that look and play like 15k handmade instrument

[roelschouten]

Scarf joints are stronger than one piece necks, just look at Gibson with headstock breaks

[rzh]

Enjoyed the video. I have been to the factory, pre V class, and I tried a dozen US made Taylor’s just yesterday, all V braced. Every one of the 12 showed no visible flaws and were perfectly set up (for me anyway) and intonated. I do agree there is little difference, at least that I could discern, in sound as the price rises, except for the ornamentation and the sound nuances between the back and sides.At the factory tour, we saw the bracing process, no secrets. The braces themselves were cut a night by a special crew due to safety reasons. What I gathered from watching the attachment process to the top that no adjustments were made per top to optimize the sound. I also thought, from the 12 I tried, that the urban ash back and sides offered a great compromise between sound and price. Finally, I this Taylor has mastered the marketing process for their product. Anxious to see your take on the V brace concept. You might reference that back to the Mark series guitars Gibson tried and failed with in the 1970 s.

[davidwilliams]

No offense, but I would like to hear an opinion on a scarf joint from a Guitar Engineer, then from a Pro Luthier! The funny thing about it you could put 2 engineers and 2 Luthiers in the same room and get 4 different opinions and of course I value my own. It's very easy to pick another man's work apart!

[keestoft]

Thanks guys, I think this is really interesting territory for discussion. I can see both sides. A guitar hand crafted by a gifted luthier is where we all want to go isn't it? Yet there is genuine inspiration still to be had with a mass produced instrument if its made by people who care. And I believe that Bob and Andy do care. Would anyone argue that a mass produced 1960s Ford Mustang is not a thing of inspiration and beauty? As a foot note, the GS Mini is a magical, little guitar, all the planets aligned when Bob came up with that.

[projectparker]

hey guys. I really love all your videos. I'm not a acoustic guitar builder but player and they give me a deeper understanding of the instrument I love. One thing though I was wondering if you could expand on in any future video: I feel like you're somehow bashing on the three "big ones" for not doing the same precision job as you, and for rushing production for the sake of profit. I'm sure some argument is to be made there. but in the end shouldn't we also be grateful to get a quality instrument (maybe not to your build's standards) for the 3k mark. I mean I'm sure you're building the superior guitar by far. But isn't that why your instrument will cost at least 4 times 700 series "high end" taylor or twice an Martin OM42? Long story short, I think, with all due respect, you should factor in price/quality rapport a little more. In a perfect world we could all afford highest quality, and I wish I could too and I'm not a Taylor/Martin/Gibson fanboy by any means, but please know that we can't all afford your 15k guitar even if we wanted to(and I really really do). Please stop complaining about the fact that others cut corners on bracings and such when their prices are some thousand dollars below yours. It makes me and my guitars feel small for no good reason. stay positive.
best
Parker

[michaelically]

Hey Chris and Matt, just a FYI - In order to rewind or fast forward; click the letter j for rewind, l (small L) to jump forward and k is for play or pause . Makes starting and stopping much easier. BTW back and forward are by 10 seconds per click.

[philbrown]

A stacked heal is definitely not as strong as solid wood, but it seems to me that a scarf joint for the neck/headstock is actually incredibly strong. There is a good amount of gluing surface there. And I have spoken to some builders who believe that it actually makes a more rigid neck in that area, which in some instances positively impacts tone. Now good/bad tone is subjective obviously, but I have never had in issue tonally, or otherwise with a scarf jointed headstock. What do you all think?

[watchnlearn]

Scarf joint that is glues from the bottom is by far stronger than a solid cut neck. However a laminated neck is even better than a scarf joint.

[polescalante]

Regarding their builder's editions, it is true that they "found a way" to cut a lot of corners that take time by not adding binding, which, apart from it being decorative, what would you say the main function of binding is? Protection of the edges, right? Well... In the BE's they went with a simplistic look which is also awesome and unique in it's own way for some, me included. Not cooler than with binding, just another very cool look... The paint to cover up the edge is part of the aesthetics/looks as you can see when comparing to the academy series. You can still see that the wood on both sides of the purfling is the top (I like that detail visually), and where they cover with paint is on the actual sides. This is very well done in the finish department and I give them credit for the idea/execution. And then in terms of protection, it is no coincidence that they round the edges on these guitars to avoid dings, etc... Also, their finish is very tough...

[williamjahn]

There are quite a few companies that are suing a scarf joint. As far as I'm concerned if done proper it's stronger than a one piece neck as is a stacked heel. If I recall Godin was the first to do this. Yes it saves wood yet it's main issue for me is the end result is stronger. Point is how the Epiphone J series broke when dropped and all the other brands you tested did not.

[RogerioCosta.]

Check the Godin acoustic plant video, the automation process is better explained. The buffing machine, for example, has sensors that can recognize the positions of the guitar and the buffing wheel, it is not just a simple CNC, it has a closed loop control system.

[markreams]

The NT neck design is one of the reasons I have a Taylor. Of all the production guitars, Taylor is the best playing guitar out of the box. They seldom need a setup. Neck resets are 20 minute jobs. They sound good and play good. I have a GT urban ash, AD22e and a GS mini.

[daviddoherty]

I wrote all the CNC programs for the body purfling and it’s not just faster but better! Work smart not hard! Great Video guys, let me know if you have any questions I’ve been at Taylor for 18 years

[troyclayton]

Cool video, I enjoyed the commentary. The amount of 'strength' gained from a scarf joint is going to be determined by the angle of the headstock. The steeper the headstock angle on a one piece, the shorter the grain running between the faces becomes- and the weakness that comes with it. I like how your acoustic guitars use a slotted headstock to gain greater break angle without increasing the headstock angle.
edit: Also of interest was that the Taylor 'scarf' joints appeared to have joining surfaces that were curved, rather than flat. Mine's not like that.