I had an acoustic guitar once. Then in 2002, after watching this video, the guitar she was playing caught my eye.
I’ve not really seen anyone else playing Taylor guitars at that time. Martins and Ovations were the obvious North American acoustics that I’d recognise immediately in gig vids and the like. I can’t remember why the Taylor piqued my interest, but after checking out the actual gear in Newcastle and avidly reading the now-battered 2003 catalogue, I was hooked. And had wanted one since. Much to the dismay of the neon, who’d only swear by one of the other American make mentioned above (dude, if Clapton played a Tanglewood, you’d be singing a different tune, won’t ya? Hehe).
I wanted an electro-acoustic with a cutaway. If i wanted a proper acoustic, I’d yield. I’d get a martin. But then I don’t want to be asked by Trabye this question, “Boleh main arpeggio tak?”.
Fast forward four years later, I went down to the DHL depot near Attercliffe to pick my very own Taylor up. I bought her from a chap in Arkansas (another great eBay success story for me!). It’s a 314CE made in 2001. It has a lovely sitka spruce top with its sides and backs made of African mahogany. The neck is American mahogany and the machine heads are by Grover, like my Gibbo Les Paul. It has micro dings here and there, but I don’t really mind. It looks like I have had it since day one. A solid-sounding guitar, which has the meat of a dreadnought tone yet bright enough for when you pick the individual strings. The earlier Taylor like this one utilises the Fishman preamp. The current expression is felt to be pretty limau apparently. Whilst I don’t own an acoustic amp or a DI to plug this baby in, I’d do my usual kiasu thing and get the better option. Besides, this Taylor is now 5 years old – the older they are, the better they sound.
Playing an acoustic requires so much refinement, unlike playing an electric, as the tone’s really naked and I so have to work on it. Now, where is that Eric Clapton unplugged tablature book…
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No one got it right, although i have to praise Lita for being pretty close.
oh my sweet pirate ninjas! i should have known you got a guitar!
but a taylor? wa-wa-wee-wa! jealousy doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling! hehe.
so will it make an appearance at The Gig next year? mainlah ‘boundaries’…:)
ahem… boleh main fingerpicking tak? 😛
Dammit. I didn’t know whoever got it right ada hadiah. Aku ada insider info (which you divulged)… Ni yang Stone pakai tu, eh? Daughter satuuuu…!!!
Oh, yeah. Kalau Claptone pakai clothesline to play some tunes, then I’d get me a clothesline of the same make and model, kalau mampu… Hehehehe… Taklah, aku dan Uncle nak Martin pasal John Mayer pakai, mannn… Riki beli Taylor pasal Jason Mraz pakai… Kau beli pasal Michelle Branch… We’re all not so different after all.
haha. mana ada hadiah, dude. btw, i’ve taken after you lot with regards to naming guitars. no prizes for guessing what she’s called.
Btw, Jason Mraz… way cool guy!!
Kalau dia main sebelah² dgn Craptona, silap² the latter boleh cirit-birit dlm seluar! Hah!!
Taylor okay² la… but if I have too much moolah to spare, aku akan tukar Taylor aku ke Martin D-35!! 😀
omigawd. i get a mention.
(should’ve known it was a guitar…)
lmsn rds: Kau cakap macam tu pasal Jason Mraz aku tak caya lah. Tapi John Mayer memang boleh tiau Craptona lapan tiang.
kudo: See, even mamat yang ada Taylor pun nak tukar ke Martin kalau dia ada too much moolah to spare. I guess Martin ni is what a Taylor wished it was? Hehehehehe… Tak laaaaaaaaaaaaaa Gurau2 je laaaaaaaaaaaa… Jangan lah marah. Sheeeesh.
itu riki.
Hahaahahaha… Well said. 😉
[…] anyhoo, as a tribute, i’ve recently had a thing or two that i’m cheesed off about. one was a letter from DHL. yes. semuanya ilusi belaka. i was already half-expecting the VAT on the taylor i bought recently, but an extra 26% customs tax? what the fcuk? and to think they actually tax the total cost of the item and the shipping itself? are they mental? […]
[…] I received her after being flown all the way from Arkansas 7 years ago, I didn’t pay much attention to the […]