Jimi D
@ the hundredth meridian
*brother from another mother
I wasn't really looking for another guitar; I seem to have a fair few lying about as it is, and since we're in the middle of a cross-country move I've had other things on my mind of late, what with packing three households and selling off multiple properties and buying and renovating our new home. Still, sometimes an opportunity presents itself that can't be ignored. I'm an avowed PRS stalwart, but I've always had a weakness for Koa, so I picked up this rather interesting Taylor a week or so back, and I have to admit I'm glad I jumped on it.
Apparently, back in 2008, this was the top model in Taylor's short lived line of solid body of guitars with an MSRP equivalent to a CU24 10 top; it's appointed accordingly with a Koa top, Australian Blackwood body and neck, Ebony fretboard and some intricate mother of pearl inlay work on the fretboard and headstock. It has ivoroid binding around the top, and very fine micro binding around the fretboard and headstock. Excepting the tuners, all the hardware is Taylor's custom design.
Personally, I see a lot of familiar elements in this guitar that remind me of PRS; the build quality is impeccable, employing contemporary manufacturing with old school craftsmanship to produce something that just feels and looks fantastic. The woods are beautiful, the hardware unique, and the design seems an attempt to evolve from traditional electric guitar elements without straying completely out of the gene pool...
But I think Taylor's lack of experience with the electric market shows in the neck carve; it feels a bit alien, too flat a radius and too wide a fretboard give it an almost "acoustic" feel... and for all it's attractive look and fantastic feel under the palm, the bridge is aggravatingly complicated to adjust, and susceptible to damage due to user error if the owner doesn't RTFM. Lastly, the pickups are rather different; very "hi-fi" for lack of a better description, with a flat broad, response and lots of clarity, but perhaps lacking in personality, though there are a couple of interesting positions on the 5-way, including one with the two inside coils in series creating a "very wide humbucker" tone that I really like.
Still an' all, I rather like the guitar. It's pretty, it's different, and this one was essentially "NOS"; absolutely mint, unplayed, and complete with all the case candy and a beautiful HSC with crushed velvet interior that cradles the guitar perfectly and weighs in at about half what a PRS HSC weighs (thank god). Considering I paid less than a third of what I'd expect to pay for a 2008 CU24 10 top in today's market, and I just couldn't walk away.
I wasn't really looking for another guitar; I seem to have a fair few lying about as it is, and since we're in the middle of a cross-country move I've had other things on my mind of late, what with packing three households and selling off multiple properties and buying and renovating our new home. Still, sometimes an opportunity presents itself that can't be ignored. I'm an avowed PRS stalwart, but I've always had a weakness for Koa, so I picked up this rather interesting Taylor a week or so back, and I have to admit I'm glad I jumped on it.
Apparently, back in 2008, this was the top model in Taylor's short lived line of solid body of guitars with an MSRP equivalent to a CU24 10 top; it's appointed accordingly with a Koa top, Australian Blackwood body and neck, Ebony fretboard and some intricate mother of pearl inlay work on the fretboard and headstock. It has ivoroid binding around the top, and very fine micro binding around the fretboard and headstock. Excepting the tuners, all the hardware is Taylor's custom design.
Personally, I see a lot of familiar elements in this guitar that remind me of PRS; the build quality is impeccable, employing contemporary manufacturing with old school craftsmanship to produce something that just feels and looks fantastic. The woods are beautiful, the hardware unique, and the design seems an attempt to evolve from traditional electric guitar elements without straying completely out of the gene pool...
But I think Taylor's lack of experience with the electric market shows in the neck carve; it feels a bit alien, too flat a radius and too wide a fretboard give it an almost "acoustic" feel... and for all it's attractive look and fantastic feel under the palm, the bridge is aggravatingly complicated to adjust, and susceptible to damage due to user error if the owner doesn't RTFM. Lastly, the pickups are rather different; very "hi-fi" for lack of a better description, with a flat broad, response and lots of clarity, but perhaps lacking in personality, though there are a couple of interesting positions on the 5-way, including one with the two inside coils in series creating a "very wide humbucker" tone that I really like.
Still an' all, I rather like the guitar. It's pretty, it's different, and this one was essentially "NOS"; absolutely mint, unplayed, and complete with all the case candy and a beautiful HSC with crushed velvet interior that cradles the guitar perfectly and weighs in at about half what a PRS HSC weighs (thank god). Considering I paid less than a third of what I'd expect to pay for a 2008 CU24 10 top in today's market, and I just couldn't walk away.